[BerndM]

I'm confused.
Suzuki has been designing and building all manner of vehicles for quite some time now, so it absolutely blows me away that they either can't, or won't, for whatever reason, make the 650 Burgman suspension ride like a bike should, with a speedometer that is actually accurate.
Is it cheaper to build a speedometer that is 10% off? I can understand being off by 2 or 3%, but 10%???
I have ridden other bikes by Suzuki that ride infinitely better than the Burgman. I would have gladly paid a bit more for my bike to have a well designed suspension instead of the pathetic OEM system they use.
Has anyone here ever heard of a reasonable response from Suzuki if these questions were ever posed to them?
Other than these 2 issues, I do really like the bike, but the ride is right on the verge of being a tipping point for me as to whether I'll keep it or not.
Sign me

 

[miken6mz]

I'm a new rider but my buddy who's been riding all kind of MCs most of his life says that the speedos are intentionally calibrated 10% fast in an attempt to slow riders down. He says every Japanese bike he's ever owned has a 10% fast speedo. I know, it's stupid. It's <SO> stupid that I have a feeling that it's a result of some government BS somewhere.

I just installed new Progressive Suspension shocks and 65/100 springs on my 650 K4. They're still breaking in, but I notice that the ride is better already. Next I'll attack the forks. There's a good topic somewhere on the forum here, "Installed Progressive rear shocks; and air in the forks on my 650 Executive" Yeah I know, why couldn't they do it at the factory?

 

[osbornk]

I've had over 16 motorcycles and scooters over the last 40+ years. They were both Japanese and European. All of them but one had a speedometer that was inaccurate and normally 10% fast. The only one that was not fast was a BMW that was inaccurate until it had to be repaired. The repair shop made it read slow by about 5%.

 

[cliffyk]

There is no technical reason why the speedometer could not be accurate, if it can be consistently 10% high then it could be just as consistently 10% low or better yet accurate--making it read high is a conscious decision.

As to the ride of a scooter versus a "real" bike the main culprit is mostly the very high un-sprung weight of the scooter engine/transaxle assembly. Other than improved damping, which seems to be available for the 650, apples for apples a "real" bike will always have an advantage. There is no way around this with mass, inertia and gravity being what they are

 

[ErikDK]

There must be enough riders around that don't want to know that the speedo's read 10% high. There's also many people who use the "salesman speak to truth conversion factor" by heart, and automatically add at least 10% to the truth when they tell something and deduct 10% when they are told something.
I'm not one of those, so that's why I use a speedo healer.

 

[cliffyk]

I use a SpeedoDRD device to correct mine, same thing as the SpeedHealer just a bit smaller and fewer $$.

How does the fact that the odometer has read 9.9% short since the correction device was installed enter into your "salesman speak" equations? I mean when we do sell (most likely in my case my wife's listing it at the estate sale¹) our scoots?

-----------------------------------------
¹ - If I am the one to sell mine I will be removing the SpeedoDRD and telling the buyer the speedometer reads 10% fast but the odometer is dead on--which it will be once the SpeedoDRD has been removed--I learned truth telling from Bill Clinton, and more about it recently from the incumbent...

 

[miken6mz]

cliffy -- it depends on what the definition of "is" is!!!!

 

[dpilot]

I think most people don't know how to ride a 650.
Take that [email protected] "backrest" off and throw it away.
I only punches you in the a$$ at every bump.
When riding, hold your hands loose on the bars and let her rock like an old rocking horse
Having a cruise control helps
I own 2 Goldwings and a BMW and they have set all this season,
while my 650's have 38k and 50k on them.
I love the way they ride, and I am a grouchy 80 year old
JimV

 

[Buffalo]

As to the ride of a scooter versus a "real" bike the main culprit is mostly the very high un-sprung weight of the scooter engine/transaxle assembly.

The 650 does not have the the engine/transaxle assembly as unsprung weight. The engine and transmission is solidly mounted in the frame and does not move up and down with the rear wheel like the 400 does.

Biggest issue with the 650 is the relatively short suspension travel combined with suspension components that are average at best. Higher grade suspension components can resolve the later but not the former.

The short suspension travel is a compromise brought on by the need to get the seat height as low as possible while at the same time providing a large under seat storage area. That is the same reason the tires are sized as they are.

 

[miken6mz]

Buffalo is my hero.

 

[Jeff_MdR]

I understand the suspension limitations/tradeoffs that make a scooter a scooter and accept them, and happily ride within the design parameters. What I don't understand is the unpleasant vibrations when riding on rough pavement, tar snakes or innocuous highway seams that do not test the suspension travel. I notice this mainly through the front suspension/handlebars. Surely there must be a way to dampen this sort of vibration.

 

[Flywheel]

Buffalo's spot on. Part of the problem is packaging. Another inch of travel + bigger wheels means a seat too high for most and a smaller trunk.

The components are designed around the "average" rider, which means something different in Japan than here. The engineers probably didn't consider just how bad our governments maintain the roads either. Also, Suzuki are cheapskates.

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to address the situation.

 

[Quail]

I bought foam grips and they made the front vib much better. Buffalo: He's my hero too. I think it rides very well for it's light weight.

 

[R1200]

I own 2 Goldwings and a BMW and they have set all this season, while my 650's have 38k and 50k on them. I love the way they ride, and I am a grouchy 80 year old
JimV

All bikes seem to specialize to special interest groups. I've gone through the BMW F800GS and R1200R both have better suspensions than the Burgman 650. Have the Goldwing GL1800 F6B which is 64lbs lighter than the standard GL1800 models. In long distance these bikes have better suspensions, but don't necessarily have the bumper-to-bumper every day ride convenience of the Burgman 650 or even the Burg 400.

Compare the cruiser M50 which is the 800cc Suzuki cruiser to the Burgman 650 and there is no comparison. The Suzuki M50 will vibrate, front end lifts is approaching an indicated 80mph with a windscreen. The Honda 750 and 1100 Shadows is only a little smoother the Suzuki M50(800cc) at an indicated 75+mph.

For this reason, I think many of us on this forum have a couple motorcycles as not one size fits all. For a while I thought my Burgman 650 outlived it's usefulness and I sold it. After several months I bought back the same Burgman 650 that I sold to the dealership

The only bike that was light and comfortable to be used everyday was my former BMW F800GS. I had so many recalls and little things going wrong that I finally got rid of it when it started weeping oil at 16,000mi and no even the shop could fix it.

This coming March it will be 3 years for my Burgman and almost 10,000mi with no intention of selling it -Yes, I do agree that the suspension could be improved on the B650 so that it would hold out like the F800. Thus far no problems with the B650 and within the 1st month my F800 was going through recalls and all sorts of quirks until I permanently got rid of my F800. If BMW could do something about all those quirks before I sold it, I would have kept my F800.

Just noticed that Buffalo has 103,000 mi on his B650 :tongue9:

 

[NormanB]

What amazes me most is the number of times the issue of the inaccurate speedometer has been discussed on this forum.

 

[ChipDoc]

Almost as bad as Tire threads and Oil threads, eh?

 

[Ralph M]

Small diameter wheels will always fall further into a irregularity than a big one,
my 30 odd year old Morini is smoother in that respect even though the Suzy suspension is light years ahead.

 

[trainman]

Having had some 45-50 bikes over the past 45 years of riding I have learned one thing, ride the bike as it came from the factory and if you think you need to change suspension, whatever, you purchased the wrong bike. Now I do realize that a scooter is a different animal, but it's a scooter, why would anyone spend the money to upgrade the suspension. I can see the windshield for some, but mine still has the stock factory one and I'm ok with it. As far as the speedo readings, I don't really care what it says as long as I know what the error amount is, buy a GPS and it will calculate much more then just the speed, plus it moves from bike to bike. And last, the Burgman's have the worst resale value of any motorcycle I have purchased in the last 10 years, it took me 4 months to finally find one that I felt I might could sell it the next day if I wanted to get my money back. Adding farkles to a burgman is just throwing money out the door in my opinion, but I do admit it's not the only love of my life, which I think it is for many. Now you may think I'm knocking the Burgman, not really, I feel the same on all my motorcycles, ride them for what they are and if they don't meet my expectation, move it one to someone else. I like my burgman, it is what it is and I will not try to make it something it isn't.

John

 

[bigfoot]

Trainman nailed it for me.

I buy motorcycles to ride, not upgrade.
I added nothing to my Burgman 650 Executive while putting 38,000 miles on her in 3 years.
All Suzuki speedometers on my buddies bikes read about 9% high,
I always mount my GPS to my bikes and go by it.

The only motorcycle company I know of that has a reasonably accurate speedometer is Victory.
My Vision reads 80 when it's only going 78-79 mph according to my GPS.
I have 4 Fords that are about the same accuracy.
My daughter has a Focus that reads low, which is certainly more undesirable than reading high.

 

[carewser]

......it started weeping oil at 16,000mi.....

Sadly, that's a fitting term.

I agree that the burgman 650 does not have the smoothest most comfortable ride and it's ironic since mine's called the "executive" model. I seem to hear and feel every little bump on the road.