Well, Burgertime has over 1500 miles on him now. I am still digging it quite a bit. The bike is just so relaxing to ride.

I figure a lot of people may read this blog having other riding experience, and they may wonder what it is like to ride a Burgman 400 compared to their current ride. Luckily, I have had riding experience on a lot of different bikes, so I can give you a good frame of reference here.

Compared to smaller scooters:
My first scooter was a 2006 Honda Metropolitan. It was a great little scooter for around town transportation and even grocery shopping. It handles as easily as a bicycle. Easier in some ways, since the seat is so low and it is a step through.

Compared to the Met, the Burgman is big & bulky. U-turns require much more skill & balance. Swerving the Burgman cannot be accomplished as quickly, so you're more apt to hit potholes on the Burgman. The Burgman's ride is much smoother, due to the larger diameter wheels and longer wheelbase. Comfort wise, the Burgman offers a bit of back support where the smaller scooters do not. Also, the Burgman gives real wind protection. It isn't such a big deal at speeds less than 30 mph, but above that, it is a godsend.

Economy is much worse on the Burgman. On my Metropolitan, I got about 105 mpg. On the Burgman, I get around 63 mpg.

Aside from handling, the main difference is in range. I have access to all roads on the Burgman. I can go out of town, on the expressway. Surprisingly, acceleration from 0-15 mph is similar between the Burgman and the Metro. You see, the Burgman's clutch is spinning up to 15 mph. After 15 mph, the variable pulley system engages on the Burgman and it becomes a LOT quicker.

Lean angle is better on the Burgman, but since the Met had such a short wheelbase, it turned quicker anyway.

Compared to Midsize Scooters:
After I got wanderlust and sold the Metropolitan, I bought a Genuine Scooter Co. Buddy 125. This bike was actually quicker than the Burgman 400 from 0-30 mph. The handling is much more nimble than the Burgman's, but not quite as nimble as the Metro's.

To be honest, I kind of miss this bike. It was a very good mix of around-town useful and fast enough to hit most roads. (all local roads) I still had the occasional car on my tail on the 45-55 mph local roads with this bike, and it was quite tiring to ride more than about 40 minutes on it. The wind just wears you out. Many midsize scooterists will alleviate this problem with a windshield.

The ride on the Burgman is much smoother, and the wind protection is better. In high speed turns, the Burgman is much more stable. When I was leaned over say 45° on the Buddy or Metro and hit a bump in the road, it got pretty scary. I started pogoing around. The Burgman's suspension just sucks it up.

Compared to Midsize Motorcycles
The Burgman is much more stable than midsize sporting motorcycles. The bulk of my experience on these bikes was from my 2000 Suzuki SV650, which I put 35,000 miles on. The wheelbase is shorter on the motorcycle, so it is more nimble in corners. This is mostly due to the longer wheelbase of the Burgman. However, even though the Burgman has a longer wheelbase and less aggressive steering geometry than the sporty midsize bikes, it transitions from side-to-side just as quickly. You see, the Burgman has a much lower center of gravity. The engine is just above the ground and is at about shin/knee level instead of thigh/hip level. On motorcycles, one has to balance stability against nimbleness. If you gain some of one, you lose some of the other. With the Burgman, you keep them both and just lose some power instead. BurgerTime weighs about as much as my SV650 did; right around 400 lbs. The SV was blisteringly quick in comparison. Once I got a windshield on it, it got about 55 mpg, so fuel economy is about the same, even though the bike is 250cc bigger. The brakes on the SV were a little better too. Fun-wise, they are about the same, but it takes a more mature rider to appreciate the Burgman fully. Nothing compares to throwing a light, quick motorcycle around in the twisties. Leaning my torso to bias the weight, going to the edges of the tires. Coming out of a turn and applying the throttle and accelerating past the speed limit...What fun! However, it is hard to stay out of trouble, I've found. On BurgerTime, I've found that it isn't so hard to stay out of trouble. I can lean almost as far on the Burgman as I could on the SV, but since acceleration is good instead of great, I didn't get up to "go to jail" speeds before I realized it. Also, on the Burgman, I don't feel the need to lean so far over in every corner. I'm satisfied with a moderate lean most of the time instead of a deep lean.

In the long run, the Burgman is more comfortable than midsize motorcycles, because of the variety of seating and foot positions that are available to the Burgman rider. I can stretch my legs out and keep them there with the Burgman. I can sit up straight or slouch. I can scoot back and forth on the seat to vary my arm positions.

Compared to Small Motorcycles
I had a Ninja 250 and a Nighthawk 250 in the past. Fun little bikes. The Ninja was more fun than the Burgman. It is so light, and I could use all the engine all the time. Shifting up through the gears, leaning way over, and not even speeding! (much) it got about 65-70 mpg. I plan to have another one of these some day. The Nighthawk was more upright, and more fuel efficient, but not as much fun. Plus, the damn thing took forEVER to warm up, so for cross-town type trips, it wasn't even worth the trouble. It was hesitating all the time when I gave it gas.

For cross town trips, the Burgman excels vs. the small motorcycles. The motorcycles seemed to take longer to warm up. Maybe it was just that the Burgman is fuel-injected, so the warm-up is computer-managed. Also, the Burgman has a huge, locking, inherent storage space, where the small motorcycles need to be adapted. When I arrive somewhere on BurgerTime, I put my helmet, jacket, and gloves in the trunk under the seat. I arrive as if I came by car. No dirty or wrinkled pant legs, and no drama. There is no need to wear a backpack, which is good. You see, if you carry a backpack, you need to be careful what you put in it, because there is an outside chance that you'll be landing on that, and right against your spine. Wouldn't it suck to break your back because you landed on a can of Coke when that old lady left-turned into you? I actually use a backpack quite a lot, but it goes in the trunk when I'm riding.

Compared to Large Motorcycles
In the past, I have ridden an 1800cc Honda Goldwing and a 1200cc Harley Sportster. My current big bike is a Yamaha FJR 1300 ABS. The Burgman seems about as stable as any of them, with two exceptions: A) With a passenger, the big motorcycles are more stable. B) in a high speed turn, the big motorcycles are slightly more stable. Since the Burgman has a low center of gravity and a stepped saddle, adding a passenger drastically changes the center of gravity, and a lot of the stability is lost. Big motorcycles already have a higher center of gravity and are already over 600 lbs, so adding another 200 lbs. does not make as big of a change to the handling characteristics.

Economy: The Burgman is more efficient. I get 63 mpg on the Burgman in all around riding. I get 47 mpg on the FJR.

Carrying Capacity: About the same, for tour-oriented bikes. On my FJR, I believe the included saddlebags carry about the same amount of luggage as the Burgman's trunk. But the luggage is better integrated into the Burgman, as it doesn't have all that useful room taken up by the mechanics of the bigger engine. Touring bikes have saddlebags sticking out into the wind, whereas the Burgman retains is smooth profile. The idea of ruining aerodynamics for luggage is a compromise I was never really comfortable with, so I wound up buying a Givi topcase for the FJR, which I use 90% of the time instead of the saddlebags. I can put this same topcase on the Burgman and have double the luggage capacity without ruining the aerodynamics of the bike.

Wind Protection: The bigger touring bikes tend to have better wind protection than the Burgman, but a big cruiser's will be far inferior. The FJRs wind protection is probably 20% better than the Burgman's.

Hot Weather Riding: The Burgman winds against all comers. The engine is under your butt and behind you, not between your legs and in front of you. Whatever heat the engine makes never gets to the rider. On the FJR, on an 80°+ day, it is sweaty and uncomfortable, as that 1300cc engine makes a lot of heat that comes right back to the rider. The new FJRs have addressed this to a large extent, but I bet they are still much hotter than BurgerTime. For summertime riding, nothing beats a scooter.

Conclusion:
I'll take one each of the big touring bike and touring scooter. They compliment each other so well! The scooter's better in the summer, for shopping, and for commuting. For outright cornering fun and long distance touring, even two-up, the big touring motorcycle wins. If I could also have a small scooter, it would be ideal. But that is always the case, isn't it? It always seems like more is better. For all-around "grab and go" riding, nothing beats a scooter's convenience & versatility.