Ride a Burger to Work

I am seriously enjoying the nice weather we're having so far this spring.  Sure, we've had our fair share of rain (like today), but  I'll take the wet stuff over the frozen stuff any day!  Last year in early May, there were still remnants of snowbanks along some of the city streets... This year, I've already mowed the lawn - FOUR TIMES!

Anyhow, I'm discovering how practical and convenient the Burgman really is.  Sure, I still love the old Yamaha Seca, and a bigger bike would be nice for serious touring duties, but for riding to work or running errands, the Burgman beats most other motorcycles hands down.  It's no slouch for light touring either!

Water puddles along city streets?  No problem, I still get to work nice and dry (and clean) thanks to that huge fairing and the fact that I'm actually sitting in, rather than on, the bike.  Stop and go traffic?  No cramped clutch hand here!  Not to mention that this little thing zips away from red lights way ahead of the rest of the queue.  What about chilly mornings?  Standard issue heated grips & seat, and that big windshield that lifts up with the push of a button pretty much cancel out the cold.  Need to tote your stuff around?  There's plenty of room under the seat for my briefcase, lunch, and space left over for a grocery bag on my way home.

Sure, it still isn't a "motorcycle" to most peoples' eyes, but you'd be surprised the attention it gets over the cookie-cutter cruisers and crotch rockets in the MC parking lot!  I mean, thousands of Italians can't be wrong!

Besides, it looks like Suzuki will have some serious competition in the big scooter business.  BMW has been making the rounds of the spring motorcycle shows with their new C600 and C650GT "Maxi-Scooters".  Overall specs are similar to other big scoots, but I get the impression that BMW will bring a whole new level of refinement to the game.  The GT even has optional GPS!  Although I expect that they'll sell decent numbers in Europe, I doubt they'll bother importing very many this side of the pond.  As always, chrome and displacement sells bikes in North America, since it's little more than a hobby to most motorcyclists.