Hi, All. I had a Honda 250 Elite Scooter from 1985 sitting in my garage unstartable for about 2 years. Finally sold it to a young Mechanical Engineering student for $300. She was sure she and her friends could get it running again since I'd ridden it into the garage under it's own power. I believe she will.
Anyway, my wife has two brothers with Harleys, and told me that I could get a Harley since I'd gotten rid of the old scooter. The thought of owning and riding a Vrod appealed to me! Reality hit when I priced out that HD. I even went and rode one, but making it as comfortable a ride as my scooter had been was going to cost me more than $20000 U.S.
The only motorcycle dealer in my city is a Yamaha dealer, so I went there to see what they had that might be more in my price range. The only bike in that store that appealed to me was a Yamaha majesty 400 scooter. I was surprised to find scooters back in style again, and looking much nicer than my old Honda. The Majesty was sluggish off the blocks, and low windscreen wouldn't keep the wind off my face. On my honda I could slide back on the seat to lean forward and down out of the wind. The stepped seat on the Yamaha prevented that. The dealer also knew of no optional taller windscreens.
I decided to find all the dealers within 100 miles, all the 400cc+ scooter, and drive them all until I found one with the power and wind protection my 6'1" wants. I drove an Aprilia Atlantic 500 and was intrigued. I researched every large scooter available in the US, and found the Burgman 650 and the Silverwing to have the best power (HP) to weight (bike+rider) ratios. So those were the only others I test rode. The Honda had a very smooth ride. Neither blocks the wind with their stock windsheilds. But since Givi makes taller windsheilds for both, I decided I'd buy whichever of those two bikes I could get the best deal on.
Last saturday my wife and I drove to Topeka KS, where both could be found. The Honda dealer had a 2005 silverwing, but wouldn't or couldn't quote me anything lower than $7200+tax. The Suzuki dealer had two 2004 burgman 650s in his store. Both were brand new 0 miles, and both had $6725 tags on them. A Salina Kansas dealer had quoted me no lower than $7800 for a 2005 Burgman 650.
By the end of the day I was riding home a black 2004 Burgman 650. I'd paid $7000+tax for the scooter + a backrest and two new helmets.
Love the scooter. Parked it in the driveway to wash it today, and gathered a crowd of neighbors oohing and aahing. My wife thinks I should name it "Darth" on a custom license tag. I'm thinking "2FUN"!
Dave B.
Anyway, my wife has two brothers with Harleys, and told me that I could get a Harley since I'd gotten rid of the old scooter. The thought of owning and riding a Vrod appealed to me! Reality hit when I priced out that HD. I even went and rode one, but making it as comfortable a ride as my scooter had been was going to cost me more than $20000 U.S.
The only motorcycle dealer in my city is a Yamaha dealer, so I went there to see what they had that might be more in my price range. The only bike in that store that appealed to me was a Yamaha majesty 400 scooter. I was surprised to find scooters back in style again, and looking much nicer than my old Honda. The Majesty was sluggish off the blocks, and low windscreen wouldn't keep the wind off my face. On my honda I could slide back on the seat to lean forward and down out of the wind. The stepped seat on the Yamaha prevented that. The dealer also knew of no optional taller windscreens.
I decided to find all the dealers within 100 miles, all the 400cc+ scooter, and drive them all until I found one with the power and wind protection my 6'1" wants. I drove an Aprilia Atlantic 500 and was intrigued. I researched every large scooter available in the US, and found the Burgman 650 and the Silverwing to have the best power (HP) to weight (bike+rider) ratios. So those were the only others I test rode. The Honda had a very smooth ride. Neither blocks the wind with their stock windsheilds. But since Givi makes taller windsheilds for both, I decided I'd buy whichever of those two bikes I could get the best deal on.
Last saturday my wife and I drove to Topeka KS, where both could be found. The Honda dealer had a 2005 silverwing, but wouldn't or couldn't quote me anything lower than $7200+tax. The Suzuki dealer had two 2004 burgman 650s in his store. Both were brand new 0 miles, and both had $6725 tags on them. A Salina Kansas dealer had quoted me no lower than $7800 for a 2005 Burgman 650.
By the end of the day I was riding home a black 2004 Burgman 650. I'd paid $7000+tax for the scooter + a backrest and two new helmets.
Love the scooter. Parked it in the driveway to wash it today, and gathered a crowd of neighbors oohing and aahing. My wife thinks I should name it "Darth" on a custom license tag. I'm thinking "2FUN"!
Dave B.
