I went for a short ride (25miles) on the new Suzuki Burgham 2011 650cc. last week. All I can say is WOW. It was very smooth.

The transmission was like silk and has a push button manual trans (if you don't want the automatic) 6 speed.

Push button windshield is fantastic and the seat a little wider than the S/W. But for $11,000 plus? I think I will continue to add accessories to my 2008 and just be happy with what I have.

Hi john123,

From what I hear, the WOW factor kicks in when a person takes it in for service.

Is this Burgham 650 a newie!!!!

I have the Silverwing 'smirk'!

I spent the past few days riding in company with good friends, all of whom ride Burgers - a ratio of 7-1 over my Silverwing.

They did seem to spend an awful lot of time discussing problems with their bikes.

Some (good-natured) crack was made about mine being the only non-Burger to which my response was,
"Burgers? Common as muck!'

I get that same vibe from Glock owners. It's prevalent enough to notice. Obviously there are polite, friendly owners, but there is a large portion of the population that views it as "there's us intelligent Glock owners (because obviously nothing compares), and then there's the poor fools who shoot some other brand".

Its the height for one. I can flat foot my Burgman 400 s just like my Silverwing. the 400 is alot more agile though at around town. too bad there isn't a 400 Honda....

On buying a Burgman----I rode both the 400 and 650, bought the 400.....it got traded on SilverWing.

Downside for me on 650 Burgman---uses a lot of gas, complicated trans and drive, heavy-----but plus is Electric Windshield and ABS on Only model featured in US now.
Old design.
I don't care about image/clubs/groups. Jan-Feb 12 I will get new scooter--SilverWing with ABS fine....$1500 cheaper than Burgman 650....400 Burgman is about $1500 cheaper than SilverWing...and has 4 way flashers.

To me...I like scooters...they are still putt putts.....no matter how much noise they make.

My take ----you have to own one to really know it. TMAX Yamaha, I had one. Great until you want or have to fix it.

All of the Japanese scooters and Kymco are pretty good......wonder about new Vespas? and their 6,000 mile belt changes.

Big displacement scooters are not sub for motorcycle and they remain attractive....until they break.

I saw where BMW is developing a large displacement scooter

Here's a first look at BMW's new scoot.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/789/8340/Motorcycle-Article/BMW-Concept-C-Scooter-First-Look.aspx

And here's confirmation that they actually ARE building it. In fact, they're building three different scooters. Two combustion engine and one electric.

http://www.bikesales.com.au/news/2011/scooters/bmw/bmw-confirms-maxi-scooters-25698

The burgman 650 is an attractive machine until you need to replace the CVT drive belt. That's when the silverwing becomes very attractive.

Very nice - but that windshield looks pretty suspect for controlling airflow. I'm sure if it's priced right, they'll sell a ton of these

Chris

Somerled wrote:

Here's a first look at BMW's new scoot. http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/789/8340/Motorcycle-Article/BMW-Concept-C-Scooter-First-Look.aspx And here's confirmation that they actually ARE building it. In fact, they're building three different scooters. Two combustion engine and one electric. http://www.bikesales.com.au/news/2011/scooters/bmw/bmw-confirms-maxi-scooters-25698

Yippee! Bigger wheels. I hope it sets a trend. (I want a Scooter that is an off-road / highway crossover.)

BMW is never priced right.

It does not look as comfee as a Burgman or Silverwing. I find BMW bikes I sat on are not all that comfee.

I rode a Burgman at the Carlisle bike show this summer and found it was very comfortable. At 60+ mph it was nice to raise the adjustable windshield but lower it at lower speed for a cooling breeze. The seat was very wide so my fat butt was happy and I had more leg room than on my Silverwing. On the other hand it felt "bigger" and harder to maneuver in slow turns. Overall the Burgy is a little more "luxurious" while the Swing is more maneuverable. I think the Burgy would be more comfortable on the highway on long trips. The Swing really lets me toss it around in twisties.

I agree with Ishkatan. Short of getting a Burgman 400, (got it) a Silverwing (got one), and a Burgman 650 (don't got one, but thinking about it, although my wife would not be happy) the Silverwing is the best all around choice.

I was told Burgman 650 doesn't require drive belt replacement

If you want to know what is involved with replacing the belt on a B650 look here

http://maxi-scoots.com/scoot/index.php?topic=2668.0

while the author of the post makes it sound simple, it still seems to be taking him 20 hours or so to do the job. I feel comfortable replacing the belt or roller in the Silverwing, but would never attempt doing as much work as it takes to work on the B650.

I've got both the Burgman 400 and the Silverwing 600 so I'm grinning on both sides of my face!
Just want some half decent weather so I can ride one of them.

(Fitted LED bulbs ( stop / tail ) on the SilverWing today, very impressed with their performance (in the garage that is!)

Cheers,