What to buy?

[Miseryguts]

Hi guys
In a bit of a quandary (much underused word)
I've got a budget of £2,000 and can't decide what the best Maxi would be, I've kind of short listed

yamaha majesty 400
Suzuki burgman 400

I also like the Silverwing but put that to one side as it's a bit more expensive and also seems to be more thirsty.

The Majesty seems to be praised for its reliability and build quality, but the Burgman seems more economical and roomier but seems to suffer from an iffy clutch looking at the many posts on the forum.
I am 5 foot 11 if that has a bearing on any advice that is about to come my way.

Thanks
Gary

[Raven]

Hi Gary
welcome to


I’m no expert but I recently bought a 400 Burgman and loving it so far. It has plenty of power, bags of storage space and good weather protection. Getting around 65 MPG commuting and it has excellent build quality. Single cylinder is not as smooth as my Burgman 650 twin but I can live with that and they seem to hold their money quite well.

I had the dreaded clutch screech with mine, it was quite easy to remedy plenty of videos on YouTube.

Can’t comment on the Yamaha never ridden or seen one for that matter. But maxi scooters do seem to be thin on the ground down here

Raven

[Miseryguts]

Thanks for that Raven
Is the Burgman spacious enough for a 5'11" rider, I'd heard that the Seat height is quite low.

Gary

[MrGrumpy]

The Burger is a BIG beast. Besides it the Maj looks relatively petite!
I think Burger clutch issues were a feature of early ones - but it has been steadily incrementally upgraded over the years. It has been around since 1999 you know!

[Deeping]

I have had a maj250 and it is still the most comfy bike I have owned. I wanted faster so now its a tmax but not as comfy on 100 mile runs but more fun

[poldark]

Thanks for that Raven
Is the Burgman spacious enough for a 5'11" rider, I'd heard that the Seat height is quite low.

Gary

Will fit you fine, but the lower seat means it feels quite cruiser-like when using feet forward, no issue it just feels different to the Maj. People tend to prefer one or the other, so really important to try them out before committing any money.

Some advise a 250 would suffice provided you're only running solo, but I've found that a 400 can be as cheap on fuel as it's not as strained, although that will depend on the amount of right hand you use. Maintenance can be dearer on 400s but especially if you plan to DIY there's not so much in it.

If you want to include other options certainly the Kymco Downtown 300 & Sym 300i GTS Evo are worthy of a look too, again especially if you can cope with DIY oil changes.

Sym 300i GTS

[Miseryguts]

Thanks for the replies guys great advice.
Seems like there's not much in it, I'll just have to have a go on boy hand see which fits best.
As for the clutch issues I'm sure I read on another forum about a burgman AN400 K9 owner that was on his 3rd clutch in 14,000 miles from new.
Maybe he was just unlucky.

[halfabusa]

The Burger is a BIG beast. Besides it the Maj looks relatively petite!
I think Burger clutch issues were a feature of early ones - but it has been steadily incrementally upgraded over the years. It has been around since 1999 you know!

Unfortunately not exclusively on the earlier ones, mine's a 2011 and Data's is a 2012 and we both suffered the screeching issue. However, that's not something that causes breakdown or costly clutch issues. It's just uncomfortable to have a judder and sound on it until you clean it up.

Can't comment on the maj but burgman's very comfy and frugal. I'm 5"10' and find it the best size for my liking. I can easily put my feet flat to the ground when stopped and don't feel like i need any more space in leg department.

As others said, try them out if you have the chance and decide yourself.

Also i might be wrong but if my memory serves me right, servicing on the majesty was more fiddly and more costly when i was researching before buying.

[Miseryguts]

Thanks Halfabusa
Most of my riding will be A roads with a 260 mile trip to our Caravan in Scotland 2 or 3 times a year
Anyone have a view as to which is the better suited to long distance/ motorway type riding.
Can you fit a top box to both scoots.
Are the stock screens ok or is the advise to get a taller one.

[horobags]

Id decide on two or three scoots that will do the job, then see what bargains come up, its the right time of year to buy.