Musings of Riding

Oh God it felt good to get my bikes out today and stretch their legs. It's been a cold wet winter in Texas and just when it gets pretty, I mess up my back.  

So, being out of the saddle is depressing and I longed so much for the opportunity to fire up my steeds and take the back road out past Motor Trike in Troup, Tx.  One by one I got all 3 through the muddy massive erosion in our driveway and out onto the state highway where at least one will light up like a Christmas tree,  my 919. The CB 900f 919 was not the first out today though as I brought home a Silverwing on Friday from Dallas.

When I bought it the seller hadn't advertised that it had an aftermarket seat. I had posted a pic if it on FB and a friend of mine from Washington said it wasn't a stock seat. Went outside and lifted it up and saw the name, Russell. So, let me tell you that is one sweet seat and makes my Burgman 650 feel like  a hard bench. The bike is considerably smaller than my Burgman and looks allot like a Honda Reflex I once had. Having a pretty bad road after many weeks of rain I was curious how nimble the SW is. OMG, it felt like my Reflex as it was quick to turn and handled the muddy ruts without a hint of loss of control. With the Burgman however, I had to drop my feet a few times to recover from some slippage in loose stuff. The bike came with a Givi windshield and is very tall to me. I have always had bikes that I looked over my windshields instead of thru them. I have to say though that it was a pleasant experience where I could open up my face shield to get more air. And it was quiet and comfortable too.  The bike had as much if not more punch than my Burgman, so it feels like a good engine size to keep up with and get ahead of traffic. Despite the lack of twin rotars, the brakes did great when locking up the rear to test the ABS. Perhaps the near 100 pound differential with the Burgman, the SW appears to me to be the winner too.

Did I tell you it has a Givi V46 top case. It's a nice one and Givi makes fine cases. When I bought my Burgman a few years ago, I thought I'd save some money and get a Bestem. There's a considerable cost differential between these cases and I'm not sure the Givi is worth the extra cost. But I was real happy to buy a bike with one.

The last bike out today was the 07 Burgman 650 Exec. She's got 96k on her and all of those miles were put on by a female rider. When I bought "Mojita" as she called it, it had black poka dots mounted on red Tupperware. That was my first repair. Immediately I went darkside and installed a car tire. Seemed to ride OK and felt good in the turns so I was happy with the c/t. Rode to a motorcycle M&G (different forum) down in the Texas Hill country in Leakey. On the way back, the drive belt breaks  less than 5 miles from home. If you know anything about Burgman 650's, this is the dreaded repair than everyone freaks out about. The Burgman is called a throw away bike because the cost to replace is 2-4k. Fortunately I had a friend that had done his own and offered to help me do it. Reality is he did most of the work and it was a big job. My costs for parts was $500.

So I'm riding the Burgman out the driveway and notice it's the only bike I have to sometimes drop my feet in loose sand or wet mud. Perhaps it's because I had previously owned Goldwings that I never noticed how heavy this scooter is. I think though the real weight issue is pushing it around in the driveway or riding in town. Heavy touring bikes are a beast in town but out on the open road it all disappears. The Burgman is perhaps a better touring scooter than the Silverwing because of it's greater weight and larger tires.

So, I bought the SW to replace the Burgman despite the fact that the SW is 4 years older but with 39k vs 96k. Having owned 3 Burgman's (2-650's, 1-400) I was ready for a change in scooters but also wanted something more dependable with lower cost to repair. If it hadn't been for a friend helping me, I would have had to throw away my Burgman too, as it would have cost too much to repair. I understand the BMW Maxiscooter also has a high cost of maintenance and repair. I've got a buddy who restores Cushman's and he rides a SW. He told me long time ago they were easier to work on than Burgman's. So, the Burgman goes on CL soon.

Now we come to the second  bike out today that puts a smile on my face when I mount it and take off like a jet fighter. The Honda 919 aka as the CB900 is quite a machine. At first glance, nothing stands out as impressive as this naked motorcycle is a real sleeper. This bike pulls like a freight train all the way from the bottom to the top. When I first got it, I was worried I couldn't handle that much power. Essentially it's a hundred horsepower in a 425 pound bike. It's not a crotch rocket so it's no match for sport bikes, but let me tell you.....this bike is awesome.  So what are we saying here?  I had considered selling the 919 too but after getting back in the saddle, I'm having some difficulty with it. It's not that I have to sell it but I've been thinking about going back to one bike, one insurance.....simplify. When I thought about buying the SW, the Swing was supposed to replace all my other bikes. Deb doesn't know about this quandry yet so let's just keep this a secret for now.

Dan

Dan I'm glad to hear you were able to get all your bikes out for a ride. But I'm still jealous of you getting a Russell seat with your first Burgman I've bought three of them(Silverwings) and still haven't gotten a custom seat with any of them, much less a Russell.
Since you have a Burgman 650 and a Silverwing take a tape measure and check the height of the tires, not the rims but the height, diameter or radius of the tires. I believe you'll find out the Burgmans tires are about the same as the Silverwings. Just the rims are bigger.

Dan,

That is a nice write up and thanks. I know I really enjoyed my SWing the 7 years I had it and do miss it. I'm also sorry to hear about the belt on your B650 and you are lucky to have a friend to help you out. I know a very, very small percentage of B650 owners ever have this happen to them but that is one thing that did keep me away from the B650. I'm glad you enjoy your SWing and you might want to look into the Givi Airflow windshield. I had many windshields and the Givi AF was the best of all of them.