the funny thing about my obsessions is, they tend to very quickly hit a peak of near-insane fanaticism, then taper off to a more rational level after a week or two... its still there, but it drops out of the range of flat-out compulsion, which usually allows my brain to re-engage...

so, ive gone from being obsessed with one single specific bike, to a particular type of bike... ive identified what it is exactly that im wanting:
  • a two-wheeled vehicle
  • geared towards touring
  • big, stable, and safe (relatively speaking)
  • powerful enough for realistic highway usage in dallas (ie, can do at least 75 comfortably with enough power to get away from a bad (read: deadly) situation if need be)
  • automatic transmission (i dont want to fuck with a clutch and shifter and shit while at speed on my first bike... maybe a few years down the road when i feel more confident this will change)
  • step-through body style, OR a very low seating position (i dont want it to be a bitch to mount and dismount my fat ass)
  • easily and inexpensively serviced
  • wide variety of aftermarket accessories and upgrades
so, based on those criteria, i think ive found a bike thats a better fit for me... the suzuki burgman 650...



ok, so it isnt the work of art the italian piaggio is (in my opinion anyway) but it DOES have a whole LOT of things going for it over the BV500...
  • much more comfy. the driver backrest is much more substantial than on the BV500, and adjustable
  • much more plush... lots of nice stuff on it, including both automatic and manual clutchless (tiptronic-like) transmission, nice onboard guages and computers, etc
  • MUCH more cargo capacity... the BV500 cant even hold a full-face helmet without the addition of the optional topcase
  • bigger gas tank = longer range
  • considerably more powerful... almost 50% more power...
  • MANY aftermarket accessories and upgrades. the BV500 had pretty much fuckall in the way of shit to add to it... topcase and sidecases. thats pretty much it. the burgman, being a more popular bike here in america, has a lot more stuff available for it, so i can have more fun decking it out to suit me (edit: omg there are like a metric fuckton of accessories and mods for this bike... i could easily spend more than the cost of the bike itself tricking it out... this is going to be an expensive hobby)
  • CHEAPER. a brand-new 2007 burgman is more than the 2007 BV500... BUT, because there are a lot more of the burgmans out there, the USED prices are CONSIDERABLY better. yes, that means the piaggio holds its value better... but im more concerned with what i have to spend to get INTO a bike, not what ill get OUT of it when i sell it... hell, youre lucky if you can even FIND a used BV500 for sale, but ive found a dozen burgmans with 8000 miles or less for sale around town already, all of them around $2k less than the BV500. i think thats a pretty good deal, especially when you consider i might easily ride the thing for a week and decide "ok this sucks i dont want a motorcycle after all"
based on a TON of reviews and rider impressions ive read over the last week on the bikes in its class (the BV500, the aprilla SC500, the silver wing, the burgman, the morphous, etc) the burgman really does seem to be the best of the bunch...

but im still a long ways out from getting ANYTHING so ive got a lot of time to research before i have to make any decisions...