A disaster averted.

[Yoda]

I've been shopping for an upgrade to my 13 Burg 400. I do LOTS of highway miles touring. 7500 miles since October last year. It does the job, but......
OK, go ahead and say it: "I told you so".

So, I rode a brand new 13 Burgman 650 last Saturday. Delightful! It was powerful, comfortable, and easier to handle than I thought it might be. It cruised at a much lower rpm than the 400. The clutch engagement from a stop was butter smooth. Unfortunately, my local Suzuki dealer was unwilling to negotiate much at all from MSRP list price.

Yesterday, I went to the local BMW dealer. They didn't have any new scooters, but did have a used 13 model C600 Sport with only 2600 miles. I took it out for a similar test ride as the big Burg. Very interesting. It had a definite lag when taking off from a stop, but accelerated strongly after that. What great handling! Solid in cross wind, and unfazed by grooves, tar strips, etc. The suspension was VERY plush: comfortable and no harshness whatsoever. The seat even felt great.

I made an offer to the BMW store just before closing yesterday. They accepted my offer, and I was scheduled to pick it up today after servicing.

BUT, last night I found the BMW-Scooters.com forum and did some last minute study about the beemers. WOW! Darn good thing I did.

Owners of the new BMW scooters are reporting many, many problems and several recalls. Even a major new recall this week for the cam chain tensioner that has destroyed several engines. What's worse is that BMW apparently has a poor attitude regarding taking care of any problems. Owners report taking several weeks to hear back from district rep's, lack of repair parts, and BMW denying responsibility for some things.

After much thought and consideration overnight, I went back to the BMW dealership this morning and withdrew my offer. I explained in detail my concerns about poor reliability and common failures. They did not argue; the deal was canceled. Kaput. I walked away relieved that I did not buy a lemon. My only loss was the time I had spent looking.

Now, I'm back to square one. Pheww! That was much TOO CLOSE!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Rich, the most disturbing thing about BMWs for me has been the consistency of their denial of the existence of problems for which they are responsible. This pattern goes back almost as long as I've been riding. Back in the late 90s, the R1100s didn't have a problem with surging under steady throttle, then they didn't have any final drive issues, and it just seems to go on and on. I still love the RT, but I'd be afraid to own one.

I was passed by a Kymco 700 (is it called "MyRoad"?) a couple of weeks ago and it was a really nice-looking scooter. Have you looked at one of them?

 

[Yoda]

I think I'll stick with a very well known commodity - the Burgman's. Unless Honda decides to bring the NC700 "Integra" scooter they are now selling in Europe and elsewhere. It is a dramatic change from the SilverWing 600. I'm not holding my breath, however.

 

[Comanche]

Rich - happy you found out about the BMW scoots in time.

You won't hear any "I told you so" from me. The Burgman 400 is a very nice machine - very nice

Like you, I finally came to the conclusion that I was riding the Burgman 400 in a way it wasn't designed for - touring. Sure, it gets the job done and I did two 3,000 + rides on mine, but the fact that people ride 50cc Honda Cubs across the country doesn't make the Cub a touring bike. Like Chris, I had the Dr. Pulley 21 gram sliders (they make a huge difference, but they do wear out quickly) and the Givi Airflow.

I seriously looked at the Burgman 650 - and I mean seriously. There really was only two things I didn't like:

• The transmission, as good as it is (and it is not a true CVT) has a tendency to go belly up at around 50,000 miles. The cure (or prophylactic fix) is about $4-5,000. Since I meant to put a lot of miles on the bike, that didn't work for me.
• If you want to put side cases on it, you have to add your own. If you do, you cover up the fuel filler. I didn't want to have to remove the left bag each time I wanted to gas up on a trip.

If you can live with those two problems (and, if you do it right, you can sell the bike when it gets to 49,000 miles), the Burgman 650 is a superb machine. Good luck in the never ending search for "The Perfect Bike."

PS: Kymco is a very well known and worthy brand - very reliable. I saw a lot of various kinds of Kymcos while I was in Asia. The company is Taiwanese and started out making engines for Honda. The sore point in the lack of a decent dealer network.

 

[RedBird]

Rich, have you checked scooterfinds.com? I didn't see any in NM, but 2 used ones are in AZ. Phoenix area.

 

[Yoda]

Ken, thanks for the link to scooterfinds.com. There were several dramatic changes to the 2013 model year, so I'm not looking for anything earlier. Better fuel economy, easier to push around when parked, and some cosmetic differences.
I only saw one used 2013 on scooterfinds.com, and it was in Florida at a price I may be able to find new. I hope I can find a new old stock 2013 closer to home at a discounted price.

 

[Chucksklrst]

If you are after a super scooter the Burgman 650 IS THE ONLY CHOICE. A couple of friends of mine have them and they are the best scooters on the market. Better then the Honda Silver Wing. Go with the Burgman.

 

[KMGuy]

Being a glutton for punishment I succumbed to my desire for a classic K bike this week. I picked this '89 K100RS-SE up this week. I love this bike and of course I still have my NT as we know it's reliability will be rock solid, but there's something about those K bikes I've loved since I first saw one.

 

[charlie b]

So, now for the big question. Do vibrations on the NTbother you? Are they better or worse on the brick bike?

I have loved the idea of the K100 but have been scared off by others who have owned them.

 

[KMGuy]

Vibes on the NT are undoubtedly better, my Brick still had the original grips and they had turned to rock. I put some ProGrip 737's on it and that helped a TON but the vibes are still greater. I'll be putting some C type bars on over the winter and see what I can do to lessen it more. It's weird, it's a fairly hot ride, it sheds a lot of heat, and it's not as nimble as the NT but it can really chew up the miles, when you throttle up, it goes!! I wouldn't have it as my only bike but it's a ton of fun when you have two. The real problem will be what to do when I want to get my dual sport ;D

 

[Phil Tarman]

That is a good-looking bike. How's it run?

 

[bicyclist]

So, now for the big question. Do vibrations on the NTbother you? Are they better or worse on the brick bike?

I have loved the idea of the K100 but have been scared off by others who have owned them.

If it's K100 vibration you're concerned about, try a K75. Smooooth! Best engine they ever built.

 

[Phil Tarman]

If it's K100 vibration you're concerned about, try a K75. Smooooth! Best engine they ever built.

As I have said before, Bob Higdon, the legal council and unofficial historian of the Iron Butt Association, says that the NT is the K75 BMW should have made. After riding BMWs (mainly K75s) for many, many miles, Bob now has his 2nd 2010 NT700VA.

 

[KMGuy]

That is a good-looking bike. How's it run?

Phil, she runs like a dream. I found her at Grand Prix Motorsports in Littleton by accident one day while surfing CraigsList. I watched it for awhile and then while out for a ride decided to swing by and take it for a ride, it hadn't been safety inspected for a ride since they knew nothing about Beemer's. I went back a few days later and took her out. I offered a really low price, they balked,I walked and then they called me at home the next day and we worked out a deal. It needs a little massaging here and there, the dealer put in a new battery and did a coolant flush and fill but I might still need to put a thermostat in her but otherwise she's really solid for a 25 year old bike. The splines were recently rebuilt which means a lot on those animals. The fun part was when I sent a picture to my wife with a big "I love you and look what I bought"!!!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Back in '98 before I bought my first bike (an '83 GL650i Silverwing). I looked for quite a while at a K100 at Tri-City Bikes in Loveland. Since I'd never ridden a "big" bike at the time, the K100 seemed way too big for me.