[scooterracer]

Wanted to say hi to all the Burgman owners on the site. I just bought an 04' 650 less than a month ago. Been riding it every day that has a hint of sunshine. 35 degrees the coldest so far but no problem riding to work 38 miles away. All highway miles. I also have an 03' Vulcan Nomad 1500 and Suzuki sv650. I only ride the scoot. Handles the best with the low center of gravity and small tires and great brakes. Been riding 44 yrs and had 41 bikes. Use to race in Japan as a young fellow. This 638cc v-twin is nicer than anything I have had in the past including one goldwing. "Twist and go." what a great idea! Always in the exact power range for the performance I need and other than scraping both side when buzzing the back roads against my son on the SV, it is perfect. I am on this site every day and evening enjoying the great banter and stories. I already have lots of good stories about riding with my harley, honda, kawasaki suzuki buddies. When the riding gets very agressive the Burgman leads. Go figure!

 

[JohnnyDeath]

Welcome to the best darn forum on the net!

Look forward to reading some of your stories.

 

[pauljo]

Welcome to BurgmanUSA! You might want to consider adding your location to your profile. Its always nice to know where folks are from. Since you've ridden in 35 degrees, I'm assuming you are not in the southern regions. :wink:

The AN650 is a parallel twin of course. I think you had a Vulcan / SV650 flashback when you keyed v-twin. It certainly is smooth, especially coupled to the cvt automatic.

It's funny, but the Vulcan Nomad was on my short list of machines I was considering purchasing last year. Ended up buying the DL1000 V-Strom instead. Then 6 months later I bought the Burgman 650. My current mileage is 12,000 on the Burgman, 7500 on the V-Strom. I still enjoy riding the motorcycle occasionally, but it has definitely taken a back seat to the scooter. Try Power mode on those back road curvy stretches if you haven't already - it can make the scooter a real contender in the tight stuff.

Glad to have you with us! Keep us posted on your experiences with the AN650.

 

[scooterracer]

Burg stories

Absolutely correct about it being a nearly horizontal parallel twin not v. I have v twin on my mind with the vulcan and sv. I am in the Eastern part of Connecticut. Beauiful riding in my area. Especially with the leaves changing and the cool crisp days. After riding the burgy when I get on the vulcan it takes at least 5 curves to get it right. Seems to want to go straight and I need to be conscious of countersteering just to get it offline. Traded a warmed over bandit 1200 for the nomad and thought that was nice until the 650. 0 to 90 the 1500 kaw and 650 burgy are dead even. Rollon from 70 to 90 and the Burgman runs away and hides. I have a Givi windshield and Givi rear backrest. Easy to ride in the cold mornings with my hands so well covered and another 4 inches of shield height. Riding almost 40 miles to work on the highway each morning it is fun to get next to a pickup truck with harley stickers on the window and see the double take when the driver looks over at my machine in the fast lane doing 80. I have the throttle rocker so can move the palm of my hand down without obviously twisting the throttle. I'm gone and Mr GMC man is wondering how he got spanked by a scooter. What is that all about! great fun to be had

 

[pauljo]

Ha! I lived in Connecticut for years! Moved from Guilford, CT to Omaha, NE about 2 years ago. Basically, my adult children had all moved here for one reason or another, grandkids came along, and we were beginning to feel too isolated from the family. I miss some of my favorite New England rides. What I do not miss is the daily commute down I-95 from Guilford to Trumbull! 35 miles, and on a bad Friday evening it could take 3 hours!

The other thing I miss is Duncan Donuts coffee... Always use to stop in Guilford and pick one up as my reward for surviving another work day and I-95 commute. Nothing comparable out here.

 

[billmeek]

Welcome to the BurgmanUSA forums scooterracer. Glad to have you join us. Look forward to hearing some of your new (Burgman) stories. :wink:

 

[allwalk]

Greetings :wave: and welcome to the forum! I to am looking forward to hearing some of your stories.

 

[scooterracer]

This sure is the best forum I have been on. As I drink my Dunkin Donuts coffee on this brisk 42 degree morning... in Connecticut. I have a friend with a new VTX 1800 and he is a timid rider and is always lagging behind so we ride accordingly when together. I finally talked him into riding my AN650 the onther day and he led. Doing indicated 75 in a 45 zone was completely out of character for him. Then.... I couldn't get him off the thing. He says he didn't know how fast he was going until he looked down and was shocked. Yep, no vibration, no engine noise, no shifting and always in the powerband. Just doesn't get any better. The folks at the local harley hangout are very interested in the scoot. when asked where the engine is I just say I will let them know when I find it if ever need to. So far I don't care where it is because nothing leaks or rattles.

 

[pauljo]

As I drink my Dunkin Donuts coffee on this brisk 42 degree morning... in Connecticut.

Rub it in! :?

I have a friend with a new VTX 1800 and he is a timid rider and is always lagging behind so we ride accordingly when together. I finally talked him into riding my AN650 the onther day and he led. Doing indicated 75 in a 45 zone was completely out of character for him. Then.... I couldn't get him off the thing. He says he didn't know how fast he was going until he looked down and was shocked.

Yep. The AN650 isn't as fast as many motorcycles on paper, but it is "street fast".

Twist throttle on Harley cruiser - generate huge noise.

Twist throttle on crotch rocket - headlight points toward sky.

Twist throttle on AN650 - go like a greased pig. :twisted:

 

[anderson0502]

 

[NormanB]

Hi scooterracer

Welcome to the forum :hello2:

Enjoyed your posts - lets have more! :thumbright:

Sure would like to hear about your racing days.

 

[scooterracer]

Good old racing days

In Japan in the early sixties there were scrambles (early motocross) and what we had to use were honda cl250's and cl305's. Very heavy but we thought they were great. Also an American friend and I were able to get the use of one runway at Yakota airbase and we started drag racing for the first time. I had a CB250 Hawk that we stripped down to bare bones and used a "brasso" can for gas. Were turning 106 in 13.6 with a 250 back then. I remember the tachometer wouldn't keep up with the engine so we use to take the tach apart and 3 in 1 oil on the moving parts to help. What fun. the new scooters are almost that fast now and with cvt

 

[chuck807]

This 638cc v-twin is nicer than anything I have had in the past including one goldwing.

Its a twin allright, but not a V-twin.

 

[pauljo]

Re: Good old racing days

In Japan in the early sixties there were scrambles (early motocross) and what we had to use were honda cl250's and cl305's. Very heavy but we thought they were great. Also an American friend and I were able to get the use of one runway at Yakota airbase and we started drag racing for the first time. I had a CB250 Hawk that we stripped down to bare bones and used a "brasso" can for gas. Were turning 106 in 13.6 with a 250 back then. I remember the tachometer wouldn't keep up with the engine so we use to take the tach apart and 3 in 1 oil on the moving parts to help. What fun. the new scooters are almost that fast now and with cvt

I was in Texas in the late sixties. San Angelo area. They also had scrambles. Some of the guys from the air station competed in them, but I just went to watch. Those riders were crazy! Had to watch out for the rattlesnakes too.

The local airport there used to have drag races. I have a trophy for winning the 250cc class on my Yamaha 250cc Big Bear street scrambler. Stripped off as much weight as I could at track side (had to ride the bike there and back). I was laid down on the tank, feet on the rear pegs, shifting the foot shifter with my left hand. After surviving several elimination runs, I ran against my buddy on his 250cc Suzuki X6 Hustler for the trophy. His was a faster bike, but he wheelied at the start and that gave me the edge I needed. I had a perfect start. Kept the front wheel down, engine near redline by the time I got the clutch fully out in 1st, and from there it was just yank on the gearshift at redline. He darn near caught me at the end, but my front wheel tripped the timer ahead of his. Yeah! That's my total "official" racing career. But a win is a win! :twisted:

 

[RobK]

Too COLD for me!

Scooterracer,

Welcome and thanks for the stories! Keep them coming
I have yet to get my Bergman - I used to commute 20 or 40 miles, depending on the customer. Fifty degrees is as low as I will go.
I don't have any "real" riding clothes... but I can't imagine those temps creeping into the helmet, ankles, hips... at 60 or 80 mph!
My Helix and I enjoy 65 - 70. and with my half helmet and Clearview screen, I'm best at 55 degrees and above.

Again, welcome -

Rob

 

[ajwood]

22 years ago, I headed south out of Davenport Iowa on my Honda CB400A this time of year.
It took stuffing cut foam pieces into the chin of my helmet to keep the
15 degree air out of my face long enough to get south of Springfield Illinois
on into a warm 40 degree afternoon.
As long as I remained on the bike, the 15 degree pre-dawn ride pushed me
into near-hypothermia drowsiness, but once I got off 50 miles south
of Moline, my body started to wake up and shiver like the dickens.
Occasional placement of my gloves onto the valve cover kept my fingers
alive but the rest of me started to suffer.
The danger of biking hypothermia is that the rider initially believes that they're
getting comfortable but last minute mental comparisons reveal a physical "slowing down all over".

On I-74 near Kewanee, I stopped at a coffee shop at 5am to order hot tea
to warm up but my teeth chattered so much at the table that all I could do was
point at the tea item on the menu to get it ordered.
The waitresses had a good laugh.

Moral of the story:
At the first sign of un-natural drowsiness while riding in the cold, get off of
the bike before stumbling off later and maybe dropping the bike while getting clear of it.

P.S. Hypothermia is not like Hypoxia (take the 172 up to 14 point 5 and
read Life in Hell) it is not funny.

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