Followed another rider to work today.

[phil]

Had to work on Sunday, and rode my FJR the 32 miles. Crossing the overpass to get on 4-lane U.S. 69, I saw another bike go by at a fairly brisk clip. I thought, "I'll just catch this sucker, and use him for a front door in case of any radar traps this morning." Well I had to get up to 100 to catch him as he slid by all the slower traffic. But I just settled in about 1/8 mile behind him, while he ran 85-90 mph. As we got near town, I saw that he would be easy meat for that city cop who often shoots pictures over the last hill into McAlester. So I whipped up to get in front of him, and slowed in front of him. What the hell?! He was riding a goddamn scooter!! I was chasing a scooter for 21 miles! I slowed down beside a semi, so he had to do the same. Sure enough, there was Smokey waitin' over the hill, so I saved his ass. But a scooter . . . . when did they start makin' em so big and so fast?

 

[zip]

So what kind of scooter was it? Sounds fun!

You're going to start seeing a lot more of them with this economy, along with motorcycles. It's fundamentally the way I convinced my wife to allow me one.

 

[phil]

I didn't see a name on it. From behind it looked like a sport bike. But I could tell the rear tire was more narrow, and the mirrors were tucked-in close to the fairing. I freaked out when I saw his knees together on the floorboard. He just waved and blew on by, headin' toward Texas.

 

[El Toro]

I bought the FJR AE because of a left foot problem that has now abated. But before I found out that the AE model could move shifting to a paddleshifter at the left hand, I owned a Suzuki Bergman 650 for almost 3 weeks.

The Bergman 650 will top out around 115 mph. It has a cvt that can be manually shifted to pre-designated positions, or it can be run in "power mode" or "regular mode." The speedo was optimistic by a fair amount, but even so, you would find yourself drifting up toward 80 mph on back roads, and on the interstate, it would easily hang with the traffic. Around here I-40 runs at average speeds of 80 +/-.

Why did I sell it? I found the leftover '06 FJR AE for not a whole lot more cash, and I just wasn't ready for the scooter culture. I bought the FJR on Tuesday, and sold the Bergman on Thursday.

Interestingly, the dealer who I'd bought the Bergman from as a leftover '07 for a significant discount sold the scooter for me on his showroom floor because in the three weeks I'd owned it, Suzuki had run out, and the gas crisis was driving folks to the showrooms to ask about scooters. He said he could easily sell it if I would let him take $100 off the top. I told him no. I told him he needed at least $200 because I wanted him to be able to stay in business and make some money too. So that's what we did. I lost a little bit of money, but not much (mostly sales tax). I had the fun of doing a proper break in for the scooter, and the honor of completing its first service at my shop. My wife followed me one day when we both happened to be heading home at the same time. She said the Bergman looked like a regular bike from behind.

The gas mileage that I got ranged from 54 mpg to 59 mpg.

 

[happyPuppy]

the new T-max ( at least new to N. America) looks like a sports bike and is 500cc. They are surprisingly quick. stock they shift at around 5k , but with after market variators you can get them shift much closer to red line. They are a lot of fun, and make a good 2nd ride.

 

[spalkin]

Burgman's a good guess. I had one and believe it, it moves - after all it is a 650.

Check this out, it's at least entertaining.

 

[madmike2]

Holy Moley, Batman, this sounds like James Burleigh's post a few months ago, "I've been passed by.....by....a scooter!" The horror....the shame...the humiliation..... :dribble:

 

[Bounce]

Aprilia scooters were doing the ton years ago.

 

[gregory]

I started this madness on a Yamaha Majesty 400. I loved that ride. 60-80MPG depending how hard I was flogging it and my top speed was 110 and she was solid as a rock! (granted, I had a slight tail wind and was going down a VERY slight incline, but still 110MPH!)

Greg

 

[jmdaniel]

One of the first rides I went on with the Austin Motorcycle Riders Group (AMRG) had us splitting the 50 bikes into 5 more manageable groups. In my group was a lady riding the 650 Suzuki Burgman. I was very impressed, both by the scooter, and the rider's ability and moxie. I started calling her "Ingrid", and I doubt she is impressed with my sense of humor! :lol:

 

[phil]

I recently told my wife that, when I get too old to handle the FJR, I'd get a Mazda Miata. But maybe something like the Burgman will save my 45-year riding "career" after all. phil

 

[ceddec]

My wife has no trouble keeping up with me. I do wish she would stay off the horn in the curves when she is behind me and wants me to get moving.

 

[Crash Cash]

The Bergman 650 will top out around 115 mph. It has a cvt that can be manually shifted to pre-designated positions, or it can be run in "power mode" or "regular mode." The speedo was optimistic by a fair amount, but even so, you would find yourself drifting up toward 80 mph on back roads, and on the interstate, it would easily hang with the traffic. Around here I-40 runs at average speeds of 80 +/-.
The gas mileage that I got ranged from 54 mpg to 59 mpg.

Wow, there's far more info in this one paragraph than I was able to pry out of Suzuki in an hour at the Bike Week demo rides. Plus I was totally surprised at the get-up-and-go that the thing had. Thanks.

 

[CHRIS_D]

Just Remember..... Scooters are fun to ride until your friends find out!! :lol: :lol: :lol: