Impressive! I'm tempted to put rack and side panniers on mine for my up and coming intercontinental trips. This will give me around 200+ litres of onboard storage, that's more than my Vstrom 1000GT had! I can then take the entire contents of my house with me!!

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V-Strom 1000 k8 GT - Now Gone! But 2012 Burgman 400z ABS now in service...

Doesn't look like much in storage..but the speed should be plenty~!!

Aprilia

If you still crave the pure speed of a big bike, then you definitely need more than your scoot!

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V-Strom 1000 k8 GT - Now Gone! But 2012 Burgman 400z ABS now in service...

Starfleet I can't believe the number of views this thread has generated.
Are you in reality the sales manager for Suzuki western Europe?
Is this some sort of left field marketing ploy?
Are there that many Strom riders who would secretly like to make the switch to the Burgman?

Seriously though I met up with a guy on a Burgman some time ago. We were both halfway through interstate trips of about 2500 miles and got to talking. He was a lot like you. He's had many motorcycles over the years and had switched from his cruiser to one of the Yamaha scooters before buying the Burgman. He said it was the best move he'd ever made, for the reasons you've listed.

Now comes your post. I have to say I can't imagine life without my Strom but my days of long rides are probably coming to an end (I'm sixty-eight) so a Burgman has to be a consideration if I'm going to keep riding, which I certainly want to do. I think a scooter is a good solution for many reasons. I know a motorcycle salesman at a Yamaha dealership who owns an FJR 1300 but rides his Burgman to work every day and "confesses" to enjoying weekend rides on it also.

Questions. I'm 6'4" and with post middle-age spread I tip the scales at 110 kgs , about 240 lbs. I've raised the seat on my Strom to provide more leg room so simply, would I fit on the Burg? How's the knee/leg room? Would I be banging the fairing? With some luggage, not much, for short two or three day rides would the Burg cope with my weight? I ride alone so a pillion is not a concern. How have you found the comfort? My back has seen better days and I rely on being able to take some weight on my feet if some rough road is approaching. Plenty of that in Australia!! Cruiser style seating would be no good for me, so how is the "semi-cruiser" seat of the Burgman? I'd be happy to invest in some decent after-market suspension if necessary.

Thanks for a very interesting post.

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Don.

Scooters are more interesting than a person would think. Theres a certain purity to the riding experience of one.
The strangest thing I've experienced is how people on motorcycles tend to ignore scooters. No wave, no acknowledgement of any type. Interestingly, the public at large seems much more interested. I get little waves and smiles from young people in cars all the time.
On the whole, I'd rather get a smile from a pretty young girl in a Toyota than a wave from a guy on a motorcycle so I'm good with it.

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'11 DL650
'10 Tiger 1050
'09 XR1200
'09 400 Burgman
'07 DR650
'01 HD FXD
'97 R1100RT

For some reason people just don't see scooters. I've had more close calls with people either pulling out in front of me or left turns at intersections than I've had over the entire previous year on my strom. I though I was imagining it but then my wife mentioned it today when we had a close call at an intersection. Maybe the taller bike gets peoples attention better. I can't figure it out. Sames clothes, same helmet.

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If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got.

Interestingly, I have not had that experience, could be in part because my Burgman is pearl white and stands out a bit more than some colors? Really have no idea why that would be otherwise.
I do remember years back, when I had a pearl white GL1500 Goldwing, then sold it and started spending some time on a Ducati 900SS that I felt practically invisible. My wife said it was because the wing had 'presence.'

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'11 DL650
'10 Tiger 1050
'09 XR1200
'09 400 Burgman
'07 DR650
'01 HD FXD
'97 R1100RT

Hi Donunder, I'm sure you wouldn't have any difficulty using the Burgman 400. I concur very much with Joes4570's comments. I'm 6'2" with 33" leg inseam. I find the legroom supreme amongst the scooters, but they are all mostly good in that area unless you are looking at much smaller engined scooters. Although I found the Yamaha 400 Majesty did have less leg room. The seating position on the Burgman is adjustable, it's low, very low compared to the Vstrom, and the back rest moves to allow you to move forward or backwards. You kind of sit in the bike rather than on it when you compare it to the Vstrom. It's ok for most people but there are other seats and mods you can make for your comfort. For me, I have so far gone 400 miles in a day and haven't been uncomfortable with the stock seat. After many years as a motor technician I too have a bad lower back. I can only say try one to see how the seat position feels. It is more cruiser style than a Strom but you can move about a lot on one of these which makes the ride more comfy for many over long distances.

Incidentally, Suzuki market the 400z ABS as a long distance mile eater, well capable of upper highway speeds. So, power wise, there wouldn't be a problem there either. It will haul you around with power to spare no problem. I've met other Burgman riders bigger than you and they don't have any problems in that area or with the suspension in stock form. It can be modified with different suspension if you want to go that far but most don't. Cranking up the preload is all that's needed for many.

Interestingly, I too could never see myself being without my Vstrom 1000. That is until I ended up riding the 400 Burgman for an entire day by accident and riding over 200 miles for my work (see my opening post for this thread). Big maxi style scooters are very popular over here in 'Urop'. They seem to be gaining ground against the big bikes now. I didn't know this at the time I bought mine but my Suzuki dealer has shown me that Burgman 400's are going out the door as fast as he can get them (between 4-6 a week!) and it's nearly always to ex-big bike owners trading in there Vstroms, Bandits, Yamaha XJR's, Kawasaki 1200's etc etc. He is multi franchise selling all the big name bikes. They are going to all ages of rider too. One reason is the low maintenance that's easy to do, the easy cleaning of the bike and no chain to clean and tighten, plus the good gas mileage. But it's the fun factor and useful nature of the scooter whether going on a local run or a bigger long distance tour that's the really big pull. The other thing I've found is that Burgman owners in particular really use their bikes. Often putting 25k miles on the clock each year when previously they hardly used their big bikes by comparison. The engine on the 400 Burgman can go big miles before you need to put a spanner on it. We have one guy with over 90k miles on his 2008 model which he has owned from new without any problems and it's still going 'just as new'. Pretty bullet proof. They are fun for sure.

Sadly, I'm not the sale manager for Suzuki Western Europe! I'd like his bank balance though I'm sure . Here is a link to the Suzuki GB site showing the one I bought. They are big and peachy in the flesh...

Suzuki GB Motorcycles/ATVs: Burgman 400Z ABS: Intro

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V-Strom 1000 k8 GT - Now Gone! But 2012 Burgman 400z ABS now in service...

Thanks for that extremely informative reply Starfleet.

Very tempting .... I can see a test ride coming up this week.

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Don.

Donunder,

Here's a quick promo video of the B400 2007 onwards model. There is some good shots of the bike in use. It's showing the standard version with no frills but good none the less. It gives a sense of the riding position and how big the bike is. I've just been checking and one of the reasons the 400 is so popular is the fact that it has a bigger carrying capacity than it's Six Fiddy stablemate...interesting I thought. It's just we are all conditioned to think bigger is better...but not always it seems if carry capacity is what you want. The motor is more than capable. Hope all this helps.

Enjoy and here is the link: Suzuki Burgman 400 - YouTube

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V-Strom 1000 k8 GT - Now Gone! But 2012 Burgman 400z ABS now in service...