Re: OT: Burgman 650

["tourman" <rh.campbell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yes, I don't doubt that your Bergman can easily keep up to most of the
cruisers on the market. The new breed of scooters are something quite
different from what most people think of as scooters. They are now the
biggest sellers in North America for companies like Yamaha, and I
expect that model selection will only increase with time as more and
more people who normally wouldn't buy a motorcycle for whatever reason,
will buy a scooter. And if Honda does come out with their rumoured  900
cc four cylinder scooter, I suspect there may be many other converts
from conventional motorcycles to this new breed of scooters (perhaps
even me...)

Big cruisers by their very nature are drastically underpowered for the
size of their motors.  For example, my 750 lb 1500 cc Nomad puts out
only 67 horsepower, about what your average 500 cc sportbike puts out
at four times the rpm, and which will run rings around my Nomad in any
kind of speed contest. That is the same horsepower rating that the
large Harley cruiser has. However, what these bigger cruisers have in
abundance is massive amounts of comfort and torque, allowing you to
ride two up with luggage with ease, and even pull a trailer with little
effort. Cruising uphill at extreme slopes in the mountains of Colorado
is effortless; the Nomad doesn't know what a hill is !! . It's only
turning about 2200 rpm at 75 mph, and 100 mph is 3700 rpm (right in
it's maximum torque range). You can only legally drive so fast.....

I'm always amazed at the uncomfortable physical demands that young guys
tolerate when they are all hunched over their "crotch rockets" revving
the hell out of them to drive at the insane speeds they are capable of
(you know, the bikes where the driver is all hunched over like "an
elephant trying to screw a golfball"...:)). Personally, I really don't
know what use 168 horsepower in a 400 lb bike serves unless you enjoy
tempting fate at 200 mph. That's BIG ticket country for sure !!!!!.

However, no matter what you drive, it's really all about "what turns
your crank" not what make or model you drive !!

I'm in the process right now of putting my bike away at the dealers for
the winter (sniff..), until I take it out of storage on 12 January to
head south.

RHC

Robert L Bass wrote:
> Riding back from S Venice a week or so ago on the Burgman scooter, I came up next to a guy riding a new Harley cruiser.  We nodded
> hello, and took off as the light changed.  He shot forward, switched lanes several times to pass the (somewhat sparse) traffic.
> Next thing he noticed was me passing him.  I slowed a bit and he came up next to me.  We took turns zipping ahead of each other,
> never really speeding much but giving the bikes a chance to work a bit.
>
> At the next red light he pulled up and asked, "Is that thing a scooter or a motorcycle?"
>
> It's a scooter but it can cruise nicely at highway speeds and it's more nimble than many true motorcycles.  I suspect that's because
> of the low CG and good fore/aft weight distribution.  I've been gradually working on my sharp turning skills and at the same time
> learning the limitations of the bike.  I find I can easily corner in one lane at 30 mph.  Curves in the Tamiami Trail (US41) rated
> for 30 mph are no problem at 55+.  I know that more experienced riders don't have trouble doing these things but what surprised me
> was how well the scooter handles them.
>
> Friends who also drive Burgmans and who also own big bikes weighing more than 1k say the same thing.  Bob L, was it you who said
> you've owned lots of bikes but never a scooter?  One of these days you ought to test one of the "big" scoots out just for the heck
> of it.
>
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