Maxi scooters

[captincvmn]

I’d like to move up into a larger more capable machine.
Burgman, Silverwing, Yamaha Max, BMW C650, Kymco xciting/ak550
I’ve even been looking at shifter motorcycles but I’m kinda spoiled by the ease of scooting.
Aprilia Mana (auto), Ducati Monster 620, any number of oriental fuel injected cruisers

I’ve looked at the Aprilia Atlantic before and never found one close and always too much.
The Burgmans are weighty but capable.
The Silverwing 600 seems decent plus it’s a Honda
All the scooter type large bikes seem to be a maintenance ordeal.

Can’t I just find a 1971 Sportster 1000 kick start machine?

[John Kiniston]

I’ve had a Kymco People gti300 and a Burgman 400.

The Burgman is a great touring machine, I put a taller screen and a Corbin seat on mine and it’s great for all day riding.

Don’t look at any Burgman older than 2007, earlier ones consumed oil.

[aeroxbud]

Big capacity scooters don't sell well here. They are far more expensive than an equivalent motorcycle. So for a lot of people it's not even a choice.
A new T-max is priced starting from over $17,000 at today's price. You can buy an awful lot of nice bikes for that.
A new MT09 is over $5000 cheaper!

[captincvmn]

And that’s kinda what I’m seeing here in Pennsylvania. A 600cc scooter is easily $1k higher than a 1000cc shifter bike.
I’m spoiled by ease of operation though.

[90GTVert]

You really have to evaluate what's important to you, what it's worth, and what's available.

I would want a 500cc or larger for touring. I say that because I have put 20,000 miles on my TMAX 500 and I wouldn't want less. When I went up to visit Ryan in PA, the interstates were fine... but with traffic going 80-85, that's not all that far from my max speed. I really like bikes like the Vespa GTS 300, but then you really are maxed out to reach roughly 80MPH. True tourers are giant engine monsters like a Goldwing... but you could do whatever road trip you wanted to for the most part on something like the TMAX, Xciting 500, Burgman 650, BMW or Silverwing for example. Some are more plush than others. The TMAX for example has a more sport inspired seat. It works, but long days will leave you wanting for a little extra cushioning where a big Burgman should be more plush.

The big scoots can be quite heavy. I'd imagine most recent models don't feel bad to ride or to get on the stand from better design. I got on an old Burgman 650 and that sucker felt heavy. The TMAX does not feel like a nearly 500lb scoot. I was totally surprised at how easy it was to ride the first time I got on and it doesn't bother me at all at slow speeds. The only time that I really notice the weight is backing it up (try to avoid needing to back up a hill) and if my foot slips at all.

If you don't have aspirations to travel the country, a smaller scoot may make more sense. Something like the XMAX, GTS 250-300, and many others fit in there. Save a little weight, save a little money on the purchase and fuel and possibly have something a little easier to service.

As far as maintenance ordeal... we have a lot of fairings on scoots and the challenge of a step through design plus the automatic transmission. Not all motorcycles are a walk in the park either TBH. If you're like most riders, you'll just ignore the maintenance schedule till something is wrong and not have to worry about it for awhile. I've done more by the book and thorough service to mine, but part of me thinks I'd be better off just to ride it and do the basics.

To me, the main negative about most big scoots is that you get way less performance than you can out of motorcycles. With a variator, the TMAX 500 can run with some of the smaller Harleys... but there's no contest if you were looking at a sport tourer or something like the MT-07 for example. You have to value things like built in storage and ease of use for a scoot to make sense. A 600cc sport bike wouldn't realize you tried if you raced from a 60MPH roll. A friend that owned a cruiser, sport bike and small scoot rode my TMAX and told me it's the easiest thing he's ever rode though and if you get stuck in traffic there's no clutch and shifter to fuss with.

Don't think a big scoot can't be fun though. I've really enjoyed owning mine.


If you're in the used market, the prices may not be so bad. I've seen TMAX 500s for $3000-5000 with pretty low miles on classifieds (sorry, that's all I've really followed aside from wishing a Gilera 800 or Aprilia 850 would appear). That's not as cheap as some motorcycles, but it's not awful if you really want a scoot. Look at what some people are asking for questionable 50s and the big boys seem pretty fair for what you're getting.

[captincvmn]

I’m looking at the Silverwing 600 over the 650 Burgman. It’s smaller and lighter but also less of a machine. I want more but not automatic Goldwing more. Motorcycle shop guy told me to get a Burgman 400, he had one and sold his sport bike, prefers the Burg. Silver wings seem to be running around $3,000-$4,000 with mileage all over the place. Everything from 1000 mile units to 50k but the prices don’t reflect the mileage.

[captincvmn]

Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda all made scooters,

Where is the Kawasaki scooter?

[aeroxbud]

Kawasaki have only just got back into the market recently with a couple of scooters.
What about a Piaggio MP3 500? Are there many in the States?

[captincvmn]

The MP3’s come up but they aren’t very appealing to my eyes

[jackrides]

There was a Burgman in Danville Pa that could be rented daily by "Twisted Road", a rent bike by owner site.

[aeroxbud]

Apr 28, 2023 7:00:21 GMT -5 captincvmn said:

The MP3’s come up but they aren’t very appealing to my eyes

A Gilera Fuoco wouldn't apeal then? 😂

[captincvmn]

That looks like something from the Batman movie

[190mech]

Got a buddy at the airport who picked up a Burgman 650 a few years back from a Harley shop, gave $2000 for it.Runs great, he just does oil changes and minor fixes, no problems so far..

[aeroxbud]

Apr 28, 2023 15:19:56 GMT -5 captincvmn said:

That looks like something from the Batman movie

You could be the caped crusader?

[captincvmn]

🦇 👨