I'm new to motorcycle too!
Hello there!
I am also new to the motorcycle world, and bought the Burgman 650 as my first bike. I bought mine in Oct of 03. It took getting used to riding a motorcycle, the feel of how it moves, steers, accelerates.. etc. That would have been true regardless of what type of motorcycle I would have bought, but with the Burgman, I got to concentrate on controlling, riding and enjoying the bike, rather than clutch control and shifting (as a brand new rider there's enough things to think about! - I LOVE BEING ABLE TO TWIST & GO!). When I told my co-workers and friends that I bought a "scooter" they, of course, laughed and made jokes about it. When I pulled up to my office on the Burgman, you should have seen their faces! No more jokes or wisecracks. They were very impressed with the Burgman. When I popped the "trunk" open and showed them the storage space, their jaws hit the ground! The design of the Burgman allows for very comfortable riding. I've ridden 150+ miles non-stop at freeway speeds and walked away feeling pretty good, not all beat up by the wind. My friend that rides a Yamaha R-1 said that 150 miles of freeway riding on his bike would be uncomfortable because of the riding position and no wind protection. Now, I wouldn't know because I've never ridden a sportsbike, nor do I care to as long as I have my Burgman. Acceleration is quite good. I've kept right up with those riding big cruisers and some, I've even out-accelerated. It corners very well. I've been getting my confidence up the more I ride the bike, and I can take corners at fairly high speeds (I'm amazed at how much this thing will lean over on turns and feel solidly planted to the road). Overall, I'm very pleased that I chose the Burgman 650 as my first bike. If I had a choice to do it all over again, I'd pick the Burgman 650 again without reservation or hesitation.