My dad just down sized to a 400 Bergman from a 1500 kawi. He loves it. Lots of storage easy to ride. The one he got doesn’t seem to have been babied or overly loved… but works great.

 

We have owned both 650Exclusive and 400 Burgman. We liked the 650, had zero issues in the 14000 miles we put on it. Storage space was a great size, the bike was quick and easy to drive. The 650 was heavy and that was a good thing. Weather protection was good. Maintenance was a little lengthy to perform in that the body panels had to be removed. The drive gear maintenance was easy and the original tires lasted until we sold the bike. My wife was the primary operator and she is of very small stature, she never had an issue managing its hefty weight. Fuel economy was good averaged 65+ Us mpg. The 400 yielded 80+ us mpg. I drove the burg every now again and had fun every time. On occasion we rode two up comfortably. Feel free to ask any specific questions you may have.

 

I love my 400 Burgman. 75 mpg and really lopes along at freeway speeds. It has become one of my top favorite 4 bikes, and definitely the one that lets me ride it the most.

I really love it because I can step through like a lady (which I am not) and not have to swing my sciatically challenged leg over the back end. No, I will never be 50 again.

It really is so darned easy and it is no real work to zip quickly up to speed. Luggage space is phenomenal though it is not as easy as it could be to strap on an extra box of groceries. I will fix that.

GREAT weather protection and even better with the aftermarket shield that has wings.

I have a Michelin car tire on the rear of mine and would do that again in a heartbeat.

While it is very capable on the freeway, I am quietly considering a 650. Please let me tell Patty I'm my own time. Not for the power, but to make it feel more stable (like my Valkyrie) at 70 mpg.

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I had a Burgman 650 for two years back when I had a 90 mile round trip commute for work. It was very capable and quite fun even for performance riding in the mountains. Two issues I can think of, the tires being of small diameter wear quite fast and they were impossible to get at certain times of the year. When it was time to sell it, THAT was painful. 2008 timeframe there was no demand at all for a scooter.

 

About the only issues I can find. That to do any service work the tupperware must be removed first. Also that by 2011 the CVT issues had been resolved.

 

I had a Burgman 400 I liked, it was actually quite fast. I looked at a 650 too, it has more features like heated grips. It's a bit heavier but both the 400 and the 650 didn't feel too heavy for what they weighed.

 

That's the crazy thing. The Burgman weights more than my friends 750 Night Hawk. It's also above the weight limit for my new hitch carrier.

 

This was my Burger. If weight is a concern I think there's a 200 as well. Also Kymco I believe had a similar bike at the time but it had GPS navigation built-in to the dash which I thought was cool, can't remember the name of the model. This one has plastics even on the handlebars so I had to get a phone mount that screws on to where the mirror screws in. The only negatives I thought were the price and having plastics on everything but overall I had a lot of fun on this thing, just traded it in to dump more $$ into my other toys

EDIT: Another thing I miss: a ton of storage space under the seat on these things in addition to some 'glovebox' space that also had a phone charger built-in

 

Mcoop57 said...
"I had a Burgman 650 for two years back when I had a 90 mile round trip commute for work. It was very capable and quite fun even for performance riding in the mountains. Two issues I can think of, the tires being of small diameter wear quite fast and they were impossible to get at certain times of the year. When it was time to sell it, THAT was painful. 2008 timeframe there was no demand at all for a scooter."

Tire wear was really an issue on my Valkyrie til I joined the Darkside Club. A Michelin 205-65-R16 T car tire costs about 1/3rd the price of a mid priced motorcycle tire and fits nicely under the rear fender. Instead of the normal 4,000 or 5,000 miles, I sold the bike with 18,000 miles on the Michelin and it had 8/32nds tread left. More load carrying capacity and handled great. Lock to lock figure 8 parking lock turns were easier than with the previous 5 motorcycle tires. Plus it gave me a rear brake that wanted to help stop the bike. Not for everybody, but I swore I'd never go back.

Well the Burgman 400 has a Michelin rear car tire option so I took it. Seems to act exactly like the 1/3rd worn rear tire that I removed. Time will most likely confirm my suspicions as to rear tire life. I can't imagine a scenario that would switch me back.

 

I am a dark side fan myself, at least on the GL1800 because it is such a monster on rear tires. My friend Phil tried dark side on his Burgman and offered me to take it for a spin. It changed the handling significantly, maybe the steering trail? Anyway he crashed it soon thereafter and it was sold. I was very much against dark siding a Burgman after that.

 

We had a 400 for a while. Very comfortable and capable street bike. It has zero tip over protection as the wife found out, so be extra careful. I think in the two years we had it, I replaced a bearing on the drive side...that was it. In the end, I wanted something more off pavement capable to haul behind the RV we had.

$4500 seems like a lot.....crazy times, I know.

 

Well the Burg turned me into a dunce. Go to start it and nothing!! Check that the kill switch is turned on and that the battery has charge...Still nothing. Give up and take the truck to work. Come back in the afternoon. Kick the side stand up and she starts! W.T.F.!!? Turns out a Burg won't start with the side stand down.

 

Yup, I had my tool kit out and my mini jump starter hooked up when I learned my lesson.

There is a center stand with no switch.

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Was messing around with the dash when it went from MPH to KPH and I can't get it back. Anyone know how to reset it? The owners manual shows a different dash than what I have. Mine's simple with just two buttons.

 

I say leave it and brag about your mileage.


PS... Sorry, I'm not home and can't experiment on the Burgman.

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Found out the online fix was wrong. No need to use the select and adjust buttons together. Just push the select button when the odo reading is on the dash and it switches back.

 

I’ve had both burgmans and the bmw 650. The burg man 400 was my favorite and the bmw was my least favorite. I think the transmission works better with smaller engines.

 

I had a 2006 Burgman 650 Executive, from a period when I was a bit heavier, had back issues, and wanted to try something different. It was what I moved to after I sold the BMW...quite a jump, what?

I bought mine with 8000 miles on it, and sold it three years later with 24,000 miles. I had NO problems with it. Except, that doing work on the engine was quite a challenge.

Now, a few things to keep in mind: First, a B650 is not a scooter the way most of the others are. That two-cylinder engine is frame mounted. That's good, in terms of ride and handling. But the power transmission gets complex.

I had no issues with the transmission - a sort of CVT with various steps, to simulate a conventional gearbox. But there's a piece in there, called a "stopper bolt" - that catches the movement of the variable pulley - and on earlier machines, it had a way of failing. And once it did, repair to the CVT was more than the value of the bike. Basically, the machine was totalled.

Suzuki put out a replacement bolt that is not prone to failing, but they never issued a recall. The improvement was done on the line, about this time, 2011. You could ask the dealer or a Suzuki mechanic about it. Removing an intact bolt and putting the improved part, is not such a crushing job.

Other than that...the only downside I had, was the seat. First, it isn't designed for tall Americans. I had to modify it (remove the butt-stop) to make it comfortable. I had a backrest someone made me, out of an Isuzu car headrest.

Second, you're sitting ON that seat, not straddling it as you would a bike. The way the B650 is set up, you have clearance to lean into turns. But you don't have the ability to clench the gas tank or frame with your legs. Grab the bars and hope you don't slide off and out.

Otherwise, a fine machine. Silky smooth engine. Fuel economy...not that great, about 45-55. But it was a great touring machine...I took mine from Wisconsin, where I lived at the time, to Seattle and Crater Lake in Oregon, and back. The windshield and fairing kept me dry in rainy weather.

 

I've got a spare stopper bolt on order. Yes I'm learning not to push on a brake pedal or shift lever that's not there. Also getting the cornering down as its very different from what I'm used to. Still I think its going to be a fun machine but more important Roe enjoys riding it.

 

This dang scooter is starting to grow on me. Came home on a cold ( For Florida) night with Roe on the back. Put the windshield on the highest setting and tucked my feet into the footwells. No problem and It handled traveling on RT27 at 70MPH.

 

Yeah, you get kinda addicted to the weather protection.

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I've got to stop riding this thing too much. I'm starting to think the clutch lever on the Dub is the rear brake instead!

 

Just a follow up. Had a great time riding two up in East Tennessee. Longroof showed us around Crossville with a tour of the waterfalls and road side caves. Later on the Dragon we passed a C7 Corvette and several Harleys. Hamburgler now sports green dragon stickers and a 129 tag frame. Needless to say this scooter is starting to grow on me. No I'm still not selling the Dub.

 

Another update. Changed the coolant and spark plugs. I tell you who ever designed this thing must have hands the size of a baby! The plugs are buried behind the radiator and even with it swung out of the way there is little room to work. Got the job done but now I see why many owners just take it to the dealer and pay big bucks.