Am I asking for trouble?

[sngresty]

Hi to all from a Triumph Sprint ST rider pondering on changing to a Burgman 650. I've had the ST since new for 9 years and clock up around 6k a year and am after a change for comfort and lower mileage. I've seen an 2002 650 Burgman in my local dealers up for £2600 with 13k on the clock. Not "full" history but lots of receipts and all MOT's. Dealer has said they will MOT and do a "full 12000 mile service" if I decide to buy. I must admit it looks in really good condition and I felt very at home sitting on it! I'm feeling a little jittery now though after reading about high service costs (I'm not mechanically minded myself and am used to Triumph's service prices!), problems with "diesel noise" at idle and CVT belt problems with it's age. I'm guessing that it should be a valve clearance service that my dealer would do and what about the belt? Also, would I get away with just one service a year if I'm doing 6k a year? Sorry for the long post and so many questions, but like everyone else, I can't afford to make a wrong decision and ideally need something that will keep me going for the next 5 years for daily commute and motorway travel but I appreciate that it's always a bit of a gamble. Thanks to on this forum for helping me to get this far!

[poldark]

Having owned a K3 bike that failed last year I would say to you do not buy anything older than K5, and clearly the newer the better.

That isn't an especially good price, you'll get a later bike for under 3k although you may need to travel a bit.

[wozza]

Hiya welcome to the forum... I'll let others with better knowledge than me on Burgers answer your question.

[bornagainbiker]

Hello and welcome. It may look clean but it's the mechanics and as you intend to do high miles, I also would also advise staying away from the older 2002 K2 or even older than the 2007 K7 models (In 2007 it was fully revised and upgraded), but everything depends what your budget is and as you intend to do another 30,000 miles strong reliability will be high on the list. There are quite a few on the market at present and there are a couple of newer Executive models at a good price (heated seats and grips with power folding mirrors). I also assume that you want to do part ex with a trader? As an example my local dealer is selling an L0 (2010MY) 2011 reg, 2300 miles and back box for £5199 http://www.newcastlemotorcycles.co.uk/u ... ycles.aspx They say it's an L1 model but it is an L0 registered in 2011 as it does not have the upgraded dash.

The service intervals are low at only 3500 but out of warranty some increase this to 5000.

If you are not familiar with the Suzuki year codes K is 2000-2009 so K7 is 2007 and L is 2010-2019 so L0 is 2010 and L1 is 2011 L2.... etc.

[halfabusa]

Having owned a K3 bike that failed last year I would say to you do not buy anything older than K5, and clearly the newer the better.

That isn't an especially good price, you'll get a later bike for under 3k although you may need to travel a bit.

I second poldark's comments. I had a K3 model (2003) which failed due to primary spline issue. It's a common catastrophic failure on those old models and once fails it's very costly to rectify. Take a look at newer models, 2005-2006 onwards.

Also take a look at honda silverwing. They are very reliable from what i heard and bargain price compared to the burgmans. There was a 2010 model very recently on ebay with bidding starting from 3300 and noone bid on it.The seller relisted from the same price, and still noone bought it

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300769898046? ... 500wt_1287

[Waldorf]

Yes, Silverwings are very reliable and the rather dated technology is rugged.
Because they haven't really changed since they were first put on the market, the problems - not that there were many - have long-since been resolved.

The later models have much better fuel-consumption than earlier ones.

[Normsthename]

Welcome to the site
Get a Burgman 650 you won't regret it!
I have owned three 650's and I absolutely love them!
Avoid the early model and go with a K5 or later.
You will find you are no slower than a 'normal' bike
I have owned one litre bikes and was slower on long journeys over the 650

Andy

[johnp]

Hi and welcome aboard.
I had a 2012 Burger 650 and it was great, i fully recommend it to anyone.

[brandondstafford]

i will recommend you honda or kawasaki ninja if it is affordable to you.

[sngresty]

OK thanks for all the advise everyone, I've taken it on board and as I feared, I'll stay away from the older K2 and will try to juggle my finances for a newer model. I was very impressed when I had a sit on one and agree I need to go out for a ride on one. I'll take a look at the Silverwing too. As long as I can have comfortable, reliable fun and get there less stressed and quicker than a cager, I'll be happy!