As many of you know, I ride a Suzuki Burgman 650 motorscooter. In Japan the Burgman line are called “Skywave” (which I think is an appropriate name for such technologically advanced machines), but the marketing folk at Suzuki for some reason call them “Burgman” in Europe and the Americas.

A member of the Burgman owners’ forum that I belong to commented that since “Burg” means “Castle” in German (in fact, Burgmann — with 2 ens — is a German surname meaning “man of the castle” or “man of the city”), he was going to call his Burgman “Shirojin.”

I don’t know if such a word already exists in Japanese, but it has a nice ring to it!

As far as ABS is concerned Ive learned to accept its value and lifesaving properties on 4 wheels as its come on so many times when driving my car. Probably a reflection of how bad a driver I really am. I’m sure today its improved on 2 wheels anyway and will offer a real contribution to anyone who has it fitted I have read many times in the motor cycle magazines I read of so called professional riders who turn it off as they have better control without ABS.

A control I can’t say I have even though Ive ridden for over 40 years. Despite my numerous number of offs due to high speed or lack of experience, but I applaud these experts but would caution anyone without that level of expertise to be cautious in their own ability to outperform a factory fitted system like ABS. I did however, the other day have a need of a panic braking system and my 08 Burgman doesn’t have ABS fitted although it does have the linked braking system as fitted as standard. I did apply the left hand dual brake in emergency and the back brake locked up and gave me an interesting situation by locking up and stepping out which I wasn’t ready for.

I was fortunate and my reactions kept the bike upright and no problem but it was the first time Id locked the back wheel since I can’t remember causing me, now I do it was a 150cc Lambretta that caused me some consternation when it locked up on the rear brake and I ended up running into the back of a truck at slow speed with my back brake locked and the rear wheel skidding much again to my embarrassment as I damaged the front of the scooter and the front wheel jammed under the rear step of the truck in front locking the wheel under the step of the peoples carrier and my being in a position of not being able to remove it until they pulled forward and released my front wheel..

My note is to those on linked systems i.e. k series 400s and alike. Be aware that linked braking systems are indeed excellent but not foolproof. Its worth a note my k8 when delivered wasn’t the smoothest of the bunch and clanked and banged a little when new but now has calmed down with use and although the clutch uptake is still higher than the 03 its not a problem event though it records 4k on the clutch engage which I challenge.

I guess its nearer 3k and the recorded revs on engaging to be optimistic as the final speed generally tends to be. Anyway the bike is operating well and it seems to be settling in now Ive got a few miles on it. In comparison with the 03 its got more grunt at lower revs and wants to go faster when the open road calls but until I get the first service done I will keep the revs down.

I just did a 4000km trip over Easter.

On the way up, I used a borrowed “o-ring cruise control” which worked well. It just makes the throttle stiff so the return spring doesn’t work. You could wriggle your fingers and adjust the electric screen without the throttle suddenly closing. The problem is that the action
of quickly grabbing the breaks didn’t always close the throttle, thus emergency breaking distance could be significantly increased - scary, besides, the expensive catapillar o-ring broke the 3rd time I took it off. (I didn’t want it on around town)

On the way back I used a butterfly clip (the kind draftsmen used to use before CAD) and a tent peg. The tent peg goes through the holes of the butterfly clip, held in place by a couple of cable ties. The tent peg hooks onto the break leaver from underneath. The instant you
hit the breaks it slips off

plusses:
- instant disconnect if you touch the breaks
- handle of the clip is an execllent palm rest, even if you’re not
cruising.
- it cost 50c

minuses:
- once disconnected, it’s hard to accelerate PAST the throttle position where the tent peg hits the break lever.
- can be clumsy moving the clip in and out of position.
- if you’re using it as a palm rest and you hit a bump, the weight of your hand on the clip opens the throttle - not dangerous, just not condusive to smooth, ecconomical riding.

Anyway, thought others might be interested in the experience. I did 65000km on my Maj and didnt’ ever wish for cruise control, mainly because it was so much less powerful you knew when you were at cruising speed, but also the throttle return spring was much less
aggressive. I didn’t ever get tired hands or blisters from the Maj. Has anyone tried leaning on the throttle return spring or fitting a softer one? There’s a return cable so it will work without the spring

- obviously not recommended, but the spring doesn’t have to be so strong.

I think I’ll go the electronic version eventualy, more to avoid speeding fines and to maintain constant speed. I wonder if the speedo input can be used to control an AP50 (car cruise control), I’ve installed dozens of those (in cars) They cost $250 from Kmart.

Anyone out there have some experience with electronic cruise controls on Burgers?

Suffer from punctures on your scooter?

I like to have Tyre Shield in my tyres in the hope that it will seal any puncture before I even know about it. I have not noticed any punctures on my bike tyres so far but I did use Tyre Shield recently to repair a basketball that my 3yo Lab pup managed to puncture with his teeth. When it was deflated I wrote it off, assuming I would have to buy a new one, and let him and some other dogs play tug-of-war with the deflated ball. As a result it ended up with about half a dozen teeth puncture holes in it. I put about 30ml of Tyre Shield in it and pumped it up and was surprised a just how many little white blobs started coming out of the ball. It stayed inflated for about a day the first time but after pumping it up a second time it has remained inflated for many weeks now and the dog plays with it every day. This was a great test of just how good Tyre Shield is at fixing a puncture.

I just got back from a lovely little ride, my first since early January. I went to RadioWorld to pick up the update for the Garmin Quest Maps, and then went out to Bronte - in the opposite direction from my home - to see my cousin who I haven’t seen all winter because either she or her husband were sick all winter.

She isn’t in good shape. A slip on the ice the other day broke one rib and cracked three others so she is in a lot of pain.

Any way the weather is beautiful today with the Weather Channel saying 4C, but the thermometer on my bike hit a high of 10C. Bright beautiful sunshine and light winds as long as you’re away from the Lake.

Unfortunately that may be the last unless I ride to breakfast tomorrow morning. Whether I ride or not will strictly depend on the temperature. There is so much water on the roads today that the -3C forecast by the tiny minds at the Weather Channel with a high of -1C means there will be a lot of ice tomorrow morning.

The 650 weighs almost one hundred pounds more, and one of the comments I’ve read about it is how hard it is to back out of parking spaces. So if weight is a factor, this might be a consideration. (Some people call it “Lardy”.)

While the 400 doesn’t have the power the 650 has, it’ll clear 100 mph which is enough for some of us. Power is greater on the 650…but the gas mileage is less. The Burgman 400 averages around 65 mpg, and the 650 is 10-15 mpg less. Dimensions are about the same, but the 650 is a little higher and a little wider.

The mirrors on the 650 are great…but if you wear bifocals, they can be an issue. The mirrors on the 400 aren’t fancy…but work and aren’t mentioned as one of the things to change on the forums.

The 2007+ Burgman 400 has more storage space than any maxi-scooter sold in the USA…including its big brother, the 650. It has a digital display and even an mpg readout.

The 650 is a motorcycle pretending to be a scooter, while the 400 is a scooter. The engine on the 650 is attached to the frame and the 400 has the engine attached to the swingarm. Some people think that makes a difference. The 650 has an electronically controlled transmission, while the 400 uses a standard CVT drive.

If you’re trying to figure out which you like the best, it would be worth it to sit on each and even if they don’t let you take one on the road, to see what it feels like to move it around on the parking lot. Many people have gone from the 650 to the 400 simply because they can’t handle the weight anymore and they find the 400 fits their needs just fine. (And obviously, some go from the 400 to the 650.)