[blueburgerbob]

All to often you hear comments like " should have bought a real bike". or "We don't sell mopeds here". Whats going on here ? Suzuki must be selling every Bugrman that comes to the dealers . and there is hundereds of us on the NET. .. Yet there seams to be a real ignorance about big scooters.
Even at the motorcycles shows alot of folks walk by the Burgs not knowing what they are looking at ??? and the sales people are just as clueless.
So maybe what we all have is the best kept secret on two wheels. Only those of us who ride Burgs & a few who realy want one know how good a bike we have. Most of us sold other bikes in favor of the best ride of our lives. That says a lot !
So should we keep our secret ....or should we demand more press-time here !
I would like to think that this forum & the others have resulted in a lot of sales for Suzuki.... maybe they should be coughing up the bucks for this site.
And maybe they could sponser a national ralley of Burgman owners... and fans.. with vendors of after-market stuff...
Or we could "grow" one of the existing ralleys into a bigger event . ??
I Love my Burgman....I love this forum... I think what I have is a more afordable BMW touring bike with Japanese reliability.
Should we let the secret out....... :wink:

 

[abm]

matter of time

Aunt Suzi should at least place a banner and pay small tribute here, if they are aware.

Its only a matter of time till fullsize (+500 lb) machines like the Burgman get more popular. More large road bikes will have automatic transmissions.

Its inevitable. We are on the cusp.

 

[Edwljoseph]

Fred Rau wrote an interesting article on the 650 Burgman this month in MCN. He basically said in was 90% motorcycle in a much friendlier package.

The biggest problem with the Burgman is that it is classified as a scooter. If it was put in a class such as sport commuter or step through tourer, there would be far less stupid comments.

Also, in this country we are cruiser and sport bike oriented. The Burgman is an oddity.

I'm thrilled to own one. I do enjoy my Bandit as well.

Eddie

 

[allwalk]

I think we need to get the word out and not keep it a secret. I for one plan on keeping this machine for a minimum of 4 years. The more popular it is and the more demand for this product , the better resale value of my machine. Then I will get the latest newest Burgman at that time.

 

[Randy]

One problem is getting people to of think scooters as "real" bikes.
For my money it's one of the best all around do anything machines out there. and I for one really don't care what others think, if there too dumb to know better who wants them on a bike anyway. :lol:

 

[pauljo]

I've seen a few posts on motorcycle forums. A guy said that he looked at the Burgman, but backed away because he was afraid of the scooter image. Another guy said that scooters were probably fine for basic transportation, but if you want to have fun - buy a motorcycle.

A couple of times I've put up a reply describing how much fun the Burgman 650 is to ride - and what it's capabilities are. You'd be surprised. There are always a couple of folks that come back with posts saying that they have been curious about the Burgman - and maybe they'd go give it look.

The "scooter image phobia" thing exists in the minds of some potential buyers - and as we know, in the minds of some dealers. That's unfortunate, because it is not reality. I've had lots of people stop to look at my Burgman and chat. Reactions are usually very positive. Out of probably 100 people that have looked the machine over, there was only one who was negative. (Poor fellow had a real need to support his feelings of masculinity with a "real motorcycle".) I never owned a motorcycle that consistently drew as much interest as the Burgman 650 does.

It's just going to take a little time...

 

[mick6502003]

blueburgerbob

blueburgerbob relayed comments from "other" riders... My three most memorable were:
Guy comes over with an HD tied down in a pickup. Says, "Sure funny lookin'" I asked him how badly his was broken.
Two guys in big dodge ram pickup with two bikes on a trailer. One asks "How come you didn't buy a real motorcycle?" I said I couldn't afford a trailer.
Guy with a big HD tour bike on a trailer comes up. Says "I wouldn't ride one of them." I told him it didn't look like he would ride a Harley, either.
The thing of it is, there are owners, and there are riders. I don't have much to do with owners. I sure enjoy other riders.

 

[rlin22]

Blueburgerbob....are we taken seriously

I went down to the park last nite and a bunch of "cycle guys" were gathered in a parking lot near one of the lakes. Two of them came over to scope out my new AN400 and started asking me questions. To make a long story short......they were both tired of their big bikes (1 a Harley & 1 a Goldwing) and were looking for something more reasonable, economical, and comfortable. I let them ride my scoot in the lot and they were both very impressed. Seems like they like to gather on their cycles and BS to each other, but when it comes right down to it, it is all show. I wonder how many of them are really unhappy with the "cycle scene"? Burgman owners are real riders....at least in my mind anyhow.

 

[allwalk]

Re: blueburgerbob

blueburgerbob relayed comments from "other" riders... My three most memorable were:
Guy comes over with an HD tied down in a pickup. Says, "Sure funny lookin'" I asked him how badly his was broken.
Two guys in big dodge ram pickup with two bikes on a trailer. One asks "How come you didn't buy a real motorcycle?" I said I couldn't afford a trailer.
Guy with a big HD tour bike on a trailer comes up. Says "I wouldn't ride one of them." I told him it didn't look like he would ride a Harley, either.
The thing of it is, there are owners, and there are riders. I don't have much to do with owners. I sure enjoy other riders.

Did you know that 85% of all Harleys sold are still on the road.

Only 15% of them made it home

 

[billmeek]

Bob...stop making fun of the Harley riders.

(It's not nice to make fun of riders with mental disabilities)

Bill

 

[lycheed]

Funny hearing these sorts of conversations from where I'm standing. Over here in Tokyo there are more big-scooters than conventional bikes on the road. No-one is in any doubt which is faster, more confortable, more convenient and more attractive to the ladies (for the single guys out there)...

rlin22

You are a more trusting man than I. People can drop a bike in parking lot. My advice is never let anyone ride your bike - especially someone you have just met. Just try getting them to pay to replace the single panelwork the 400 has when they scuff it grabbing the rear brake thinking it's the clutch... Each to their own, though.

Be proud all, and forget the narrow minded who need HD on their tank to feel like their balls have dropped.

 

[migz123]

Should we let the secret out....... :wink:

We don't need to. The secret's already out. It's a done deal. In 10 years, all bikes will be a Burgman, in one form or another - even sportbikes. You can take that to the bank! :tongue8:

Just ride and ride and ride and work that auto tranny

 

[c5loadmaster]

I am impressed with how the HD company has returned from the ashes that it became when owned by a multinational co. Especially with all the competition from abroad. It seems that these import cycles all want to look and sound like a HD. That being said, if you want one, you must pay out the nose and wait for many months for delivery. Just think of all the time they have wasted waiting and waiting when they could have gone down to their Suz dealer and bought a Burger and had fun all that time.

What is the difference between a HD and a Hoover Vacuum cleaner?
It's the position of the dirt bag.....

Rob in SoCal

 

[Mike Doss]

:lol:

Hey Be nice, Some of those HD riders actually take baths.



Mike
In Florida

 

[Herfnerd]

I gotta agree with all the comments here. Having had my AN400 a mere month, I get lotsa looks and most of the comments are favorable. Of course, the guys at work gave me a ribbing when I said I bought a scooter - here in NC scooters/mopeds are called liquor sikkles because they are the only type of motorized transportation those who lose their driver's license due to DWI can operate. Anyway, once they saw it (especially parked next to some of the other guy's crotch rockets and was size comparable) and saw me zip buy them on the highways, that stuff pretty much stopped. I get the bike brother's wave on the roads - except when they see me on it in profile. Anyway, close to 400 CC's is a lot bigger than a couple of the guys at work who just bought start bikes (Honda Rebels)

 

[Randy]

Are you sure about that the bath ? I thought it was just a myth.

 

[monty]

I've seen a few posts on motorcycle forums. A guy said that he looked at the Burgman, but backed away because he was afraid of the scooter image. Another guy said that scooters were probably fine for basic transportation, but if you want to have fun - buy a motorcycle.

A couple of times I've put up a reply describing how much fun the Burgman 650 is to ride - and what it's capabilities are. You'd be surprised. There are always a couple of folks that come back with posts saying that they have been curious about the Burgman - and maybe they'd go give it look.

The "scooter image phobia" thing exists in the minds of some potential buyers - and as we know, in the minds of some dealers. That's unfortunate, because it is not reality. I've had lots of people stop to look at my Burgman and chat. Reactions are usually very positive. Out of probably 100 people that have looked the machine over, there was only one who was negative. (Poor fellow had a real need to support his feelings of masculinity with a "real motorcycle".) I never owned a motorcycle that consistently drew as much interest as the Burgman 650 does.

It's just going to take a little time...

I agree 100%....I bought mine last Thursday and rode all weekend around
town (show-off) I was stopped 5 times at traffic lights and at work
where we park the cycles everyone was IMPRESSED!

 

[sctrnt]

the world is full of IGNORANT / PREJUDICED people. among them:
those that loath scooters/ burgman, etc.
those that loath Harley Davidson.
those that loath....

 

[Linda North]

I have had nothing but positive remarks about my 400 Burgie. I went riding Saturday and stopped to buy some gas. Had two guys in a Van stop and ask questions. Told them about the 650 and they were interested. Also, later that day went shopping at a Walmart and rode my Burgie. Had 2 women come over and ask questions. (I am a female) said they were looking at motorcycles but did not like the fact that they had to straddle the tank. They were really impressed with the storage places and place to hook up your cell phone, etc. (hey, that's a selling point to women). I told them where I bought mine and they were going to go over and look when they left Walmart. I think we Burgie owners are trend setters.

 

[Franklin]

Alternative View

I don't CARE what others think. As we used to say in the Army, "FTW." I got what I need, and I share with my friends. Everbody else wants a Harley, cool.