[BRC Native]

Hi everyone!

Well, at 58 years old, I just bought my first motor bike, a new 2012 AN400 AL2. I call her "Ingrid". I'll be using it visit clients (I'm a personal Mac consultant) and to go on auditions. Yes, I'm an actor as well.

I'm looking forward to putting the wife on the back and taking off on the occasional jaunt to San Diego or Santa Barbara.

Many thanks to all of the contributors to this forum. It was super helpful in making my purchase decision. I only have 180 mi on the odo so far, but Ingrid is a heck of a lot of fun to ride. Cheers!

 

[w8wca]

Welcome & Congratulations!

I am 60 and just bought (in late June this year) a New 2013 400

I used to ride but that was 35 Years ago!

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I (Well - my Wife and I) do. I just hit 4400 Miles already

 

[Desert Rat]

Welcome from the desert around Palm Springs.:wave:

 

[Yoda]

Hey, I'm 66, and just bought my 2013 Burgman 400 two weeks ago. Only have about 400 miles on it, so I'm still in break in mode. So far it is perfect in town, much more comfortable than my (former) heavier Honda NT 700. Better fuel economy too!
Welcome to the forum from a new member.

 

[Jamerican]

Welcome. Riding the coastal hwy is one of the great rides anywhere. Ride safely.

 

[BRC Native]

Thanks all, I'll keep you posted. For those of you in LA, today I rode Mullholland Drive from the 405 to Studio City. Lots of fun and a beautiful day.

 

[Liamjs]

Welcome BRC,

As an added bonus, now that you have a new scoot... Check out the local LA meetup group. We do one or two rides every month to all kinds of cool places. No dues, no patching, no commitments, just sign up and show up and enjoy the company of dozens of scooterheads. It's a lot of fun. And we have a lot of knowledgable, experienced members. We know the roads, routes, bikes and more. Hope to see you on a ride some day.

http://www.meetup.com/LAScooterGroup/

 

[Liamjs]

Thanks all, I'll keep you posted. For those of you in LA, today I rode Mullholland Drive from the 405 to Studio City. Lots of fun and a beautiful day.

Oh Boy, you're in for a treat on that new bike. Wait till you get into the Santa Monica mountains, canyon country and the venerable Angeles Crest highway. There is a lot to explore. I've been riding for many years and still find new routes in LA.

Your best bet is to join one of the many riding groups available. You can find a ride every weekend, two if you want, and some during the week even, all year long. I can point you to the groups that are "scooter-friendly". Send me a PM if you are interested.

 

[BRC Native]

Thanks, Liam. I joined the Meetup group. I still need to pass my skills test, though, so I'm going to be doing a lot of practicing until I pass.

On another note, do you have anyone you would suggest for painting the Burgie? When I was shopping around, I was really looking for a white one, because it would be easier to see at night. In addition to being harder to find, they seemed to cost more. Eventually, I ran across an offer I couldn't refuse on the bike I bought. So, I thought, what that heck? How much could it cost to get it painted? So, I'm thinking about that.

 

[v8eyedoc]

Hi everyone!

Well, at 58 years old, I just bought my first motor bike, a new 2012 AN400 AL2. I call her "Ingrid". I'll be using it visit clients (I'm a personal Mac consultant) and to go on auditions. Yes, I'm an actor as well.

I'm looking forward to putting the wife on the back and taking off on the occasional jaunt to San Diego or Santa Barbara.

Many thanks to all of the contributors to this forum. It was super helpful in making my purchase decision. I only have 180 mi on the odo so far, but Ingrid is a heck of a lot of fun to ride. Cheers!

Sorry....But the name "Ingrid" was taken by me about 4 years ago.. Ya gotta come up with another name.......

 

[Liamjs]

I have a friend who has a guy... That's the great thing about these groups and forums. Everyone has a friend who has a guy for whatever you need done.

But I've seen the guys work. Very nice and professional. I'll contact my friend and see if I can hook you up. I'll send you a PM or one from my scooter group.

 

[Liamjs]

Oh BRC, one last thing. We do require licensed, insured and responsible riders on our rides. So study up and practice. There are some tricks to employ to pass the test successfully. You might want to comb the burgman site for advice and tips. We also have several riding skills pages on the LASG site. Let me us know if you need help. Have fun!

 

[BRC Native]

I decided to go ahead and take the MSF course. Finished the first day of riding today. Going back tomorrow for the second ride day, then classroom on Wednesday.

It was so funny today as everyone else class was training with a 250cc motorcycle. I had a 125cc Buddy, so I skipped anything that had to with shifting. One exercise had us going around in a big oval, shifting from first to second on the straights, so I just spent the time literally going around in circles. But, it was still a lot of fun!

Riding a scoot that small should make passing the test much easier. Meanwhile, I have to come up with a new name for my ride.

Another question: Where do you take your scoot for service?

 

[Liamjs]

I don't want to bore the www with a local solution, but quality repairs are difficult on a scooter. They're a bit of an odd bike to begin with, transmission wise.

I have a great tire guy. I do oil changes myself. The dealer does the heavy lifting and there's a new scooter shop in town that has done some things for me in the past; remnants of the old North Hollywood scooter shop. Drop me a PM to discuss further.

Good luck with the class and test. See you on a ride soon.

 

[Jeff_MdR]

BRC - nice meeting you this morning in Brentwood. I took the MSF class at the VA about 8 years ago. Are the two ladies still teaching it??

My first 2-Up tour with the wife was to the San Diego area (town of Julian, actually) about eight years ago. One more tour to the Central Coast convinced us that this would be part of our lifestyle going forward, and I added the 650 to the stable. We've got well over 30k miles riding the best motorcycle roads in California.

You're in for a huge treat!

 

[BRC Native]

Yeah, wasn't that funny? It's just how the our minds work, once something is given importance, we seem to see them everywhere. You were having coffee with your friends, I'm zipping down the street, yet we both noticed each other bikes.

Oh yeah, I passed the riding test.

 

[BRC Native]

Responding to my own question about where to get my bike serviced:

I just came up on 600 miles and was looking for a place to have the service done. First, I checked the Suzuki dealership closest to me, about 5 minutes away. They wanted $385 and said it would take four hours. Then, I tried the place I bought it from (about 30 miles away) said they'd do it for $285 in about four hours.

I had heard good things about Bombay Motorsports in Reseda, so I gave them a call. Learned that they don't do service, but they suggested Suzuki of Van Nuys, which was about 7 miles away. I had actually gone there when I was looking to by my bike. Nawaz, the owner, quoted me $150! But wait, after it was done, he realized that he quoted the price for the larger Burgman, so it was actually $140! They got it done in two hours.

Then, we were talking about the fact that I had just completed the MSF RiderCourse. He asked me if I got the Suzuki RiderCourse incentive form. "What's that?", I said. Nawaz says, "Oh, if you buy a new Suzuki and then take the course, Suzuki will send you a check for $100. Your dealer didn't tell you that?"

Then, we got to talking about accessories and I told him that the first thing I wanted to upgrade, from reading these forms, was to replace the windshield with a Givi AF266, but I heard they were hard to find. Nawaz goes in back and comes out with a brand-new AF266! If I hadn't spent so much money on the bike so far (MSF course, insurance, safety gear, service, etc.), I would have bought it there and then.

Anyway, now I have place to get my new bike service and buy anything I need for it. And they seem to have a great mechanic because, the scooter is running better than ever.

Thanks, Nawaz!

 

[Liamjs]

I know Nawaz, bought my first Burgman from him and I work down the street. So they've done much of the work on the 400. He's a nice man. Glad you had a great experience.