Silverwing/Burgman comparison

JeffR suggested that I might like to do a comparison between the Burgman 400 I sold when I bought the Silverwing, so here goes. Obviously some things will not stand too close comparison, particularly on engine size, but these are purely my own thoughts.

I hadn't owned a bike since 1995 when I decided to get back on two wheels in April last year. Having spent ages on the internet, researching things like price, performance etc, I finally went to look at a geared bike, a Kawasaki ER6. First big surprise - the old legs weren't really up to holding up the bike at a stop!
My local bike shop/training school owner, who I know well, suggested I tried a Maxi-Scooter, with their low centre of gravity, combined with ease of handling and no gears to worry about.
That resulted in me buying a 2000 Burgman AN400, with only 14500m on the clock. A couple of rides out on my own, and I knew this was the way I wanted to go. Next thing was to get my good lady Trish on the pillion! Given that she had never been on the back of a bike in her life, it took 15 minutes and she was hooked - fantastic, it's like she's ridden pillion all her life! We spent the first few weeks doing short local rides, just to get used to the scooter, and a problem soon came to light. Being slightly vertically challenged, (little legs!!) her feet only just reached the foot platform the Burgmans are fitted with. This meant after only about 45-60 minutes we needed to stop so Trish could ease her aching legs, so not ideal. To get over this problem, I made some risers to fit to the footboards. (Suzuki make risers, but only for the 650, £150 a pair!!) Not the ideal solution, but it seemed to work. As we did longer and longer rides, and some weekend touring, I began to think that I would prefer a bit more power, given that we had a pair of loaded saddlebags, a 45 litre Givi topbox and things in the boot when we were away from home. I was getting about 60mpg, but I felt at times the engine was struggling, particularly on hills
Just on a whim, we called in at the local Honda dealership in May this year, test-rode a 2004 Silverwing, and bought it on the spot!! The difference was quite amazing. Yes, the Wing is nearly 50 kilos heavier, but it didn't seem so. It felt agile, easy to handle, and comfortable - my wife was immediately taken with the footpegs, much more comfortable. It is obviously difficult to compare a 400cc with a 600cc engine, but the smooth power delivery with the FI on the Wing, compared to the carb on the Burgman, is great. The ABS brakes avoid too much 'dive' under braking, the handling is great, the whole thing seems so well sorted. I was fortunate that the Wing had only one previous owner, and he took to the dealers for absolutely everything- every service done at exactly the right time, belt change, tyres etc. It's fitted with heated grips, and a 45litre Honda OEM colour-coded topbox, and I think I did quite well out of the deal, with a reasonable trade-in price for the Burgman. The mpg isn't as good as the Burgman, I never expected it to be, but I still get in the region of 50-55mpg, unless I open it up! We've done some touring this year, and the difference is very noticeable. We spent some time touring in the Yorkshire Dales this year , where they have some quite serious hills, and the Wing took them in it's stride. One in particular, a 1 in 5 gradient, 55mph, two up, no trouble at all, with power to spare. All in all, we've put about 2500m on it this year, so well pleased.
I wouldn't want to be dismissive about the Burgman, after all it got us back into the great world of riding again, so it served it's purpose. We all need to start, or restart, somewhere, and it helped us to do that. I'm just pleased I made the decision to go for the Silverwing. To quote one of the guys on Maxi-Muppets.co.uk, 'Forget the Burgman grin, get the Silverwing smirk'! I've certainly got it!

Graham.

well i can totally agree with what you have said there ,as i used to have a 2007 burgman 400(the new shape)with fuel inj' witch was a great scoot.but did lack in get up an go.which the s/wing has plenty of.storage is about the same LOTS OF IT.and the wheather protection also about the same.but one thing i do like a lot more about the s/wing is the engine noise.it's so much nicer from the twin than the single burgervan. :lol!:

Great write-up, Graham - thanks!

It's much more what I like; down-to-earth, practical, written by someone who has owned both machines and almost totally non-technical!

I commend your 'non-slagging-off' of the Burgman, too.

I have owned both a new 400 Burgman K-7? and 09 SilverWing. Both are ok...but scooters, Burgman is still the old engine goes up and down with rear suspension---so with lots of rear unsprung weight Burgman handling at higher speeds can be a little funny...but so is SilverWing. They are scooters.

Price difference $2000 new, a consideration.

I had no driveline issues with Suzuki as it was latest model.

Burgman about 10 mpg (US)better than SilverWing. Lighter weight

My Suzuki went away for TMAX---as it had engine out for oil leak(rare for Suzuki) on the third time out, just warmed up my credit card, went in the showroom and got the TMAX.

Based on price, I would consider Burgman 400 again---previous good luck also factor with GS-500E, 62,000 trouble free miles in 15 months (except the lean spot off idle) org. chain went 43,000 miles!

As to 650 Burgmman vs Silverwing----I have ridden one only once---they are heavy---nicer adjustable windshield on EX---maybe great if you can or want to pay somebody to work on it. And what $1500 more for Suzuki in ABS version thanABS SilverWing. Near $10,000 for scooter? I can buy I guess anything I want from new Goldwing to the cheap stuff----I like the cheap stuff, have had everything from new HD Factory Sidecar outfit on down to Tohatsu Runpet 50cc. If I win lottery--another HD outfit for special occasions.

John Grinsel

Thanks Mike, not so much 'almost non-technical' as 'completely non-technical, I think! Check tyre pressures, oil, fuel, anything simple, but then I stop dead!! You want a pedal cycle fixed - NO problem! Engine - no chance! Find it saves me money that way.
I didn't want to slag off the Burgman, it served it's purpose, and we enjoyed the ride while we had it. Considering I took a chance buying it, never having had an auto, I was pleased with it. I'm just a lot more pleased with the Silverwing!

Graham

Same with me and my X9 500 - it wasn't perfect and let me down totally on one occasion but I had many comfortable, trouble-free miles on it and my previous X9 250 (with Honda engine) introduced me to the wonderful world of maxiscooters and turned up some super people, many of whom are now close friends.

I can certainly agree with most of what Winger says having also come from the Burgman 400 K4 to the SW.

The only real findings I would say from my personal perspective is that I found the Burgman more 'sure footed' than the SW. That said would I go back? - No way, the extra power and smoothness of the engine is worth it alone. I have also learned to accept the diferering nuances of the SW over the Burger.

I have enjoyed all my bikes. They have all had there diferences and I have adapted to them all. Each one has had it's own grin factor somewhere. I can still see me riding a 'Wing' well into my next decade. A great all round maxi scooter with loads of potential.

Waspie:
You may want to look into the HyperPro springs for your Swing. The change in handling is amazing.

The Scootist wrote:

Waspie:
You may want to look into the HyperPro springs for your Swing. The change in handling is amazing.

Thanks for that, after the Givi Airflow screen I may just take your advice.

Have owned 2 Burgman 650s and now a 2009 Silverwing with approx 1700 miles. Thank God for maxi-scooters, if I'm going to have one, it has to kick some butt. Great for around town and short trips otherwise we use the touring bike. The Burgman may be 40 lbs heavier but its faster with its POWER mode but who cares, its a scooter and you hardly notice the difference. Both machines are so light its almost impossible to drop them and they handle just great. I don't care for all that shuttering, etc., bringing them up to speed but once there, think the Silverwing is smoother. Course if you bring them up to speed gently, you don't have to deal with that. If your good with the throttle, you can ease them around a parking lot at 1 or 2 mph while looking for a place to park. Overall, both scooters are even. Opps, wait a minute, I'm on a Silverwing message board here so, like the Silverwing better and I really do like the smoothness and handling better.

I recently switched from a 2004 Burgman 400 to a new-to-me 2005 Honda Silverwing with ABS. I've put 40,000 km. (25,000 mi) on the Burg and only about 1,000 km. (610 mi.) on the Silverwing. I'm 6'1" and 220 lbs. Here are my initial impressions:

Rider Fit - Burg beats Swing - installed Genmar risers on the Burg and it brought the bars back nicely. Also installed a backrest lift which work marvelously. Plenty of room for my knees.

Swing has about the same knee room, not sure if I can use Genmar's to bring the bars up and closer and I haven't yet raised the butt rest. Seating firmness and comfort are about the same on both = good. Burg seat a little closer to ground which improves stopped stability and comfort.

The Burg's lighter weight makes it easier to manouver at slow speeds and in parking situations.

Handling - Burg beats Swing ... so far. The Burg is extremely flickable and you can really throw it hard into corners. Also much easier to handle in slower city traffic. I do not get the same level of feel or confidence in the Swing. It's heavier and not as responsive to rider input from hand, feet or weight shifts.

My Burg also has separate front/rear braking which makes rear brake only corner braking possible. Also, the Burgs mirrors are superior to the stock Swing mirrors which I've already replaced with a set of Burg mirrors. Not sure why Honda puts those little, short-armed oval jobbies on but our Reflex also had them and we swapped them out too.

Ride Quality - Swing over Burg. It sits firmer on the road, handles higher winds better and on the highway, just feels more solid. The Swing's stock windsreen stinks (as did the Burg's stock screen) but I hope to alleviate that problem with the GIVI Airflow as I did on the Burg with the GIVI Touring screen with installed Snap Vents.

Suspension about the same on both although the Swing seems to be somewhat of a harsher ride ... both are adequate but nothing to rave about. I like the pre-tensioning adjustability on both.

Quickness and "At Speed" Acceleration - No contest ... Swing trumps Burg every time. The first few times I had the Swing out I hardly believed the quickness off the start and its at speed acceleration.

2 Up Riding - Swing beats the Burg because it's heavier, feels more planted and the power is there to get up and go. The Burg is a very capable 2 up riding machine in most circumstances ... the Swing simply does it better all around.

Passenger Comfort - Pretty close here ... both seats are firm and the legroom about the same. I think the Burg gets the edge for integrated floorboards rests for the passenger vs. the Swings foot peg approach.

Fuel Economy - Burg whomps Swing. I regularly achieve 65 - 69 mpg's and a 200 mi. plus tank range on the Burg. So far, the Swing isn't even close ... and probably will never be.

Looks - like 'em both ... dead heat here for me.

Maintenance & Repairs - Although I haven't done much on the Swing, the reading I've done suggests the Swing will need less attention with longer service intervals. My 2004 Burg needs it's valves checked often which is a labour intensive process (stripping tupperware etc.) . Interestingly, I've never had to actually adjust the valves as they are always within spec.

Can't speak to the Swing here but the Burg has been trouble and repair free except for the usual, wear items.

Braking - Swing (I have ABS) noticeably superior to Burgman. Strong, straight stops everytime ... the Burg's brakes, although quite fine, seem "softer" and only adequate compared to the Swing's braking abilites.

Storage - Even though they are rated about the same in under seat cargo space, the burg's almost perfect rectangular shape is more useful than the Swing's "two level" plateau. I can carry my brainbag with laptop comfortably in the Burg. With the Swing, I can't close the seat.

Gauges - Personal preferences here ... I love my K4 Burg's large, white on black analog gauges. The Swing is adequate with its smaller analog speedo & tach. I'm not a fan of digital meters although I can get-along with the digital gas, time & temp readouts on the Swing. I'd never buy a Burg 650 as all the meters are digital and I just don't like 'em.

Burgman Grin vs. Silverwing Smirk - again a dead heat here. Both are priceless.

As mentioned, the Swing is new to me and I have yet to grow into it and push its limtis from a handling/rideability standpoint. The Swing has a lot of positives about it which I like ... but the Burg is no slouch.

~ sonuvabug ~

Sonuvabug, I also rode a K4 Burger 400, albeit mine had the linked brake system.

I wouldn't disagree with you on any of the comparisons you made.

I did some 29,000 mikes on the Burg against 6000+ on my year old 'Wing.'