2009 Suzuki Burgman 650 Executive

I got to ride one of these the other day!  A friend is selling it for his son, it only has 11K on it and is very clean.  Scoot is located in Sun City, AZ so in case anyone is looking for one of these, PM me and I will pass along contact info.

I had never ridden a "big Burgie" so it was a treat, and wanted to share my thoughts:

The Executive has more storage and is a bit larger than my SW.  Heavier too, natch.  In flat out acceleration I did not notice a big difference; the Burgman has a bigger motor and is faster of course.  Seems very smooth and quieter than the SW under hard acceleration and quieter than the SW at high speeds.  On the other hand the SW seems much more nimble in handling to me.  Just from the short ride I had I can see the Suzuki might be more comfortable on long hauls but the SW easier to ride about town.  I especially liked the electric windshield BUT if I bought the Burgman I would have to replace the shield as it is still too short. All in all I will keep my SW because after all it IS a Honda!  But if someone forced me to take a trip on a Suzuki 650, I would not cry!  

I had a 2008 Burgman Executive which had the heated grips and seats as OE. I changed the stock screen for a higher Secdem (now cluttering up my garage with three other screens). The big Burgman was a bugger to manhandle about and awkward to clean, especially those rough cast wheels and dirt trap rear end. It was a big lump to ride too and you can never forget it's weight. It was a fine autobahn tourer but I found it hard work to hustle round country roads at home and abroad especially in Germany's Harz Mountains and over in rural Luxembourg with a passenger and all our kit. Riding in heavy city traffic with a passenger isn't much fun on a 650 Burgman either.

A major service requires lot's of Tupperware removing and of course there's that worldwide Internet hysteria about a few transmission failures. When I traded mine in for a Silver Wing and rode it home from the dealers in the rain, I knew within a few miles that the lighter Honda was a much better all round maxi scooter.

I completely lost all interest in Burgmans that day in November 2010, although I did venture back into a Suzuki dealers for the first time last week. There were a couple of 400’s and a 650 Burgman on display and they didn't get a second glance from me. I was there as it's also my local Kymco dealership. After giving it some thought I don't want a Kymco as a replacement scooter.

The problem with some scooters is they don't have enough payload capacity for a rider and passenger along with any gear in the top box and under seat area. The main reason I went to the BMW was it has a capacity of a bit over 500lbs. The mrs. and I run a bit over the max. on the SW. She doesn't like to ride these days so as it turned out I could have kept the SW and saved a bit of a bundle. But now that I have it I do like the GT.

When I was looking at the Daelm/Kymco scoots a while back not one dealer would let me test ride one before, placing a firm order, in some cases they did not even have a scooter in stock to look at, but still expected me to sign up for one, bloody cheek!!!

I rode both Bergman's when the 400 was a 385. Still, I liked the 400, didn't care for the 650. Today the 400 has an appeal. To be a fit any machine has to be able to cruse at 75, the local freeway speed. My swing is at 6000 rpm at that speed although that level of spin doesn't feel at all stressful. My old VTX would hit rev limiter at 5K and there in the push rods were working well overtime. I have had two Suzuki's, both were solid and reliable. I have had 6 Hondas and that is my brand of choice.

Old limey, test rides are a thing of the past here in Tucson. It doesn't sound right but it is.