The spouse and I have been riding motorcycles since 1991–everything from sportbikes to sport-tourers to Harleys–but we’ve recently realized that we just don’t have the time (and if we’re brutally honest with ourselves, the desire) to do a lot of motorcycling anymore. That meant that the two bikes in our garage (my '03 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and his '03 Kawasaki Z1000) were essentially expensive paperweights. They didn’t deserve that.
For quite awhile now I’d been looking at maxi-scooters (Honda Silver Wing, Suzuki Burgman, Aprilia Atlantic, etc.) thinking it would be fun to have something that looked quirky-cool, I didn’t have to shift, was comfortable, was convenient, had some power, and had enough storage so we didn’t have to carry our helmets around every time we took the bike(s) shopping. I mentioned it to the spouse (who had even more reluctantly–and with no prodding at all from me–admitted that he wasn’t getting the same thing from motorcycling as he used to) and he thought it might be a nice compromise. We’d get one scooter which we could both ride individually but was big enough we could ride two-up if we wanted, then revisit the situation in six months or a year to see if we rode it enough to want to get a second one.
So we’re now the proud owners of an '06 Suzuki Burgman 650 (ours looks just like the one in the pic except it doesn’t have the backrest). This thing is amazing. It can do 80+ on the freeway with both of us on it, it’s got enough storage for 2 full face helmets, it’s fun and convenient to ride, and it looks cool. Our sportbikes are on consignment now, and except for the initial pain of separation, I haven’t missed mine at all. I hope it sells fast. It’s been ages since I’ve actually looked for *excuses * to take the two-wheeler instead of the four-wheeler. Sure, the Gixxer was “cooler”–but cool takes many definitions.
Any other ScooterDopers out there? Whatcha ridin’?
congrats on the new ride. so it looks a scooter on steroids, or a goldwing. Its a scooter you say?
I have a spouse who wants to drive the hondaruckus 20 miles to work, but thats crazy.
will you be commuting? what are the real advantages over your gixxers?
Guess it is lighter, better gas mileage, but can it still own the road? Or does one drive it along the shoulder? jus wondering, thanks.
It’s a scooter. Goldwings are huge, very heavy, and have amenities that would make some car owners envious. I personally don’t like them (they seem to cross the line between “ride a motorcycle” and “get a car” to me) but I know a lot of people swear by them. Still, a motorcycle that needs a reverse gear and a power-assisted centerstand isn’t for me.
That depends on a lot of things. If it’s a standard Ruckus (50cc), then yeah, that’s crazy. If it’s a Big Ruckus (250cc) it becomes somewhat less crazy. Still, I wouldn’t pick even the Big Ruckus as a commuter bike unless it was all backroads (no freeway). That’s me, though. Others might.
The spouse commuted on it yesterday and had a good time (14 miles each way, almost all of it freeway–he gets to take the commuter lane with it, which shaves time off his trip). Advantages over the Gixxer and the Z1000: gas mileage, storage, cheaper insurance, no need to shift (which some would not consider an advantage, I admit) and comfort–it’s great to be able to move your feet around on the floorboards instead of having them stuck in one position on pegs.
Well, it’s not much lighter–it weighs a little over 500 pounds. And yes, it can own the road! It’s 650cc, the biggest scooter currently on sale in the US–not as big or as fast as the 1000cc GSX-R, true, but I’ve had it cruising at 85mph on the freeway and it’s quite smooth, comfy, and still has power to spare. It’s fully freeway legal (actually, I believe anything over 125cc is freeway legal in California, but you wouldn’t catch me on anything less than a 250 out there).
