Wind Screen, Seat hump, leg cutouts, LCD display, tailights.

8145 Views 23 Replies 15 Participants Last post by wheels, Jun 24, 2008

Robert

Discussion Starter · Sep 13, 2004

The windscreen is too short.
The seat hump on the 650 is designed for little people - why doesn't the seat on the 650 have more room than the 400?
The leg cutous in the floorboard on the 650 are too far back - they are placed correctly on the 400.
Why does the Japanese version of the 650 taillight get light bulbs in seperate locations, vut the Europe and America version use a single two filament bulb? Why don't the tail lights actually warp around as far as they look? I had to pay for the bike before they would service it - and was dissappointed to learn those great lights aren't that great...

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

Randy

· #2 · Nov 14, 2004

Don't know haw many bikes you have bought in your life, but I can tell you this much, only 5 or 6 complaints your doing good.. And really the windshield-seat-lights- don't count. you can spend 3x the price of the 650 and still have the same troubles .
And if your like most riders you will spend a lot of money getting the bike just the way you want it.
And most times you succeed just about when your ready to sell..

pauljo

· #3 · Nov 14, 2004

Randy said:
And if your like most riders you will spend a lot of money getting the bike just the way you want it.
And most times you succeed just about when your ready to sell..

Heck, I got mine straightened out pretty good in the first year. Had to do the same thing with the V-Strom last year too. Yes, it cost me over $1000 per bike to get them 85% perfect for me. But 85% is quite liveable - they are both enjoyable rides at this point. The last 15% may or may not happen - and I'm in no big hurry.

See, I'd kind of like a Corbin seat for the Burgman, but my re-covered stock seat looks real nice and it is pretty comfortable. It's not at all urgent to get that Corbin, although it would probably be even better. The old style LG Clearview shield that I bought at Scootercade works pretty darn well since I shimmed it out 1/4" at the top. Would a larger new style Clearview with a vent be an improvement? Possibly. I don't have a lot of incentive to mess with something that's performing pretty darn well though. That final push for perfection might not be worth the cost and effort. Might be better to just spend that money taking another trip on the scooter. :wink: The bottom line is that I've successfully fixed the things that annoyed me the most.

The only way I've beat that "improvement phase" is when I've bought a used machine that the prior owner had already upgraded with the right stuff. My Kawasaki Concours was like that. Prior owner did a great job. It had the Corbin seat, a Rifle windscreen, Genmar handlebar risers, Wind Wings - all the stuff I would have done to a new one. All I did was ride that thing for 6 years.

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Robert

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 15, 2004

I don't know how many bikes I've had in my life either - but I know I had 35 running (plus spares) at one time. I used to be really into roadracing (CRRC, WERA, AMA) - and I went through a lot of bikes in the Stock and Superbike classes, and probably a dozen street bikes turned GP. The windscreen height is something I would expect, and having 2 heights available from Suzuki now has addressed that. But the seat hump position on the 650 seems to be closer than on the 400. When you look at it with the floorboard cutouts - it doesn't seem to make sense. For someone with very short legs, the floorboard cutouts are positioned to where it seems having the seat hump all the way back makes them the most accessible (unless your legs bend backwards). I think the seat hump on the 650 should adjust further back, and/or the floorboard cutouts should be further forward. I normally have my legs further forward than the cutouts (when stopped) - because I can't hold the bike up with my feet back there. Then there's the difference in the lights between the Japanese and Euro/US versions. I've added LED's to the unlit portions in the taillight lenses - but in Japan the bikes come with those (look at your taillight lenses from the back and you'll see the markings for the placement of the extra bulbs). The seat and floorboards are not terrible - but they seem to be engineering faux-paux's - their placements seem to contradict each other. The lights are just an issue of "it's there already - why isn't it being used", the windscreen height is the onlt one I'd consider BAU for the customer to address (unless they make an adjustable screen). Don't get me wrong, I like both the 400 and 650 Burgmans - I just think a few things could be better. For me personally I'd also get rid of the manual shift mode - or make it an option.

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pauljo

· #5 · Nov 15, 2004

Robert,

I was surprised when you complained about the leg cutout position. But I removed my adjustable butt stop a long time ago - then had the seat recovered without it. So, you are correct, when a person is sitting further back, the cutouts are more natural. They are probably perfect with a Corbin seat, which would position the rider even further back. I also have fairly long legs - so it doesn't really matter to me where the cutouts are positioned.

As for manual mode, I never need it. On vary rare occasions I use it just for the heck of it. But it does sell 650's - just like the digital dash which I consider to be even more worthless. Under many light conditions I can't even read half the stuff on the dash - and can barely make out the speedometer. People are attracted to high tech stuff though. The existance of the manual mode option was one reason I went to look at the 650 before buying it.

jkrerol15

· #6 · Mar 28, 2005

Pauljo, I know you have probably said many times how much it cost you to get your seat covered, but please tell me again. That is a nice look and I don't want to go the Corbin rout because of the cost on it.
Also, with your knowledge and scoots and seats, I wonder if I got a seat recovered could I still get my Utopia backrest to work out because I definitely don't want to give it up. I'm only 5'11" but I'm sort of longlegged and I wouldn't mind having the butt stop out and a little more leg room to stretch out. Thanks.

pauljo

· #7 · Mar 28, 2005

It cost me $200, done in automotive grade vinyl. This is a much better grade vinyl than what is used on the stock seat. I could have done leather for $50 more. But the vinyl is holding up well, and there is less maintenance involved than with leather.

It is a local auto upholstery shop, but the guys that own it ride motorcycles and have done motorcycle seats before. I brought them a picture of a similar re-cover job that someone else on the forum had done, and they basically used it for the design, substituting the material colors I wanted. I think they did an excellent job.

There are additional pictures here.

Stormsteed

· #8 · Mar 28, 2005

Never mind.

jkrerol15

· #9 · Mar 28, 2005

She still has the butt rest though and that's what has me a little iffy. I'm wondering could I still use the Utopia with no butt rest. I haven't really put a whole lot of thought into how that thing bolted on with the butt rest and all since I installed it, but maybe I'll crack open my seat today and see what I can come up with.

Pete

· #10 · Mar 28, 2005

IMO the headlights, on high beam ROCK...on low beam? Well - so so. The rest? eh, well, the rears are better than most but I would like separate "side markers" on the back and front too. I also would like the yellow front "turn signal" lamps to light up (ala parking lamp style) when running and have a flash (twin filament) function for when turning.

Agree - leg cutouts are too far back (made for little ppl).

I like analog gauges best, but the digital isn't that bad, I just wish they'd get the speedometer calibrated right!

The stock seat's buttrest IS TOO CLOSE! Make it so that it "fits" 6 foot tall ppl who have 34 inch inseams in the fully-back position. Shorter legs can ratchet it up if need be.

Windshield - marginal for colder weather. OK (sort of) for Northwest Florida. When it's 98 and about 91% humidity I am sure that I will be glad I have a "little" windscreen.

Wasquid

· #11 · Mar 28, 2005

Re: Wind Screen, Seat hump, leg cutouts, LCD display, tailig

Robert said:
The leg cutous in the floorboard on the 650 are too far back...

They don't go far enough back for me. I often place the balls of my feet are on the trailing edge of the floorboard.

As the floorboards are designed, you can't really get your feet under your center of gravity to "weight the inside peg" in a turn, or unweight your butt from the seat when going over a rough patch of road. That, and the lack of a tank upon which to press the outside knee are drawbacks outweighed by the many scooter virtues.

Robert

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 30, 2005

You must be a lot shorter in the thighs than I am - because I can't comfortably ride with my feet back that far. If you move the seat pad forward, does it make your knees hit the dash? With the seat pad all the way back, my knees still bump the dash. I have more knee room to the bars on the 650 compared to on my wife's 400 - but I bump the dash more on the 650. The room seems to be lost on the seat of the 650, as though the seat pad is farther forward than on the 400...

Wasquid

· #13 · Mar 30, 2005

Robert said:
You must be a lot shorter in the thighs than I am - because I can't comfortably ride with my feet back that far. If you move the seat pad forward, does it make your knees hit the dash? With the seat pad all the way back, my knees still bump the dash.

I think that is probably the case, Robert. I'm 5'-10" and wear 34X32 pants. I do not ride with the seat forward; I ride with it in the rear most position. But, I think that your concept is good...if I put the seat forward, by butt would be more centered under my feet. I do have some room between my knees and the dash, so I could give it a try.

Robert

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 30, 2005

Yeah, I'm 6'3" with 38x36 pants - so I'm used to my legs being a tight fit. I'm really into kayaking - and they get in the way there big time.

When you move the hump forward for comfort when seated, you'll have to get used to the new position of the cutouts for when you put your feet down. They're in the wrong place for me unless I actually stand up (if you can't reach around the footboards while seated, then you might have to stand up at every stop to be stable).

I think the cutout position was a compromise. I think anyone can use them when standing - but only people with shorter legs that also ride with the seat all the way back can use them at a stop without standing.

A seat that goes back a lot further (like a Corbin) would be really helpfull for us taller folks. The adjustable hump is a good idea - but I haven't heard of any 650 riders that use it all the way forward anyway.

pauljo

· #15 · Mar 30, 2005

Robert,

I am surprised that you haven't removed that butt stop yet. My legs are shorter than yours (34.5" inseam), but I've been much more comfortable since I got rid of that thing.

Robert

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 30, 2005

The holes and lack of padding are what has stopped me. I rode it around without the hump once, and really felt a pothole on my tailbone.

Even like that I didn't have as much room as I would like - but it's better. I'm modifying Roger's old hump to try to find a cost effective alternative to a Corbin seat ($100 to recover the existing seat and not really have that much more room is out). It seems that by removing the mounting frame and bolts, and adding a few slits in the plastic plate - that I can shift it up and back into a secure position and zip tie it through the existing holes. It will be closer to Ann's thighs - but then so will I.

C. DeCarlo

· #17 · Nov 12, 2007

Remove back rest

The first time I rode my 650 more than 100 miles my butt hurt so much I almost walked home. I removed the back rest. It helped a lot.

rbparks

· #18 · Nov 12, 2007

I am 5/10 and the seat back seems OK, although maybe it could be back a bit more. One thing I have noticed. It is most comfortable to ride with your feet in the full front position, but when you are coming up on a stop, where you need to put your feet down...it is smart to bring your feet back to the horizontal footboards before you stop. That way, it is much easier to get them down and avoid possibly hitting the footboards trying to get your feet down.

jim ceriale

· #19 · Nov 12, 2007

Ya'know, all you complainers are Neanderthals. Ya need Goldwings or Hummer scooters.
I'm 5'7" with a 29" inseam. More like a fit with the Japanese crowd.
Everything fits for me. No problem with the cutouts, butt stop, handlebars etc.
There is justice for us little guys. HA ! :wink:

CalvinFold

· #20 · Nov 12, 2007

Re: Wind Screen, Seat hump, leg cutouts, LCD display, tailig

Robert said:
Why does the Japanese version of the 650 taillight get light bulbs in seperate locations, vut the Europe and America version use a single two filament bulb?

Can someone explain this one? Does the 2007 have this "extra" position? Can it be retrofitted? Where is it?

Would love pics of the location, as I'm all for extra lighting, and I'm going to be in the tail of the bike eventually to hook-up my fancy brake light bar. If there is something I can do to easily get more light back there, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

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