MOVING UP THE CC SCALE

I've ridden motorcycles for a lot of years, but the first time that I rode a scooter was in 2006.. When gas prices spiked, I walked into a Yamaha dealer with an open mind, sat down on a used Vino 50, and fell in love - well, intense like.

It quickly became clear that a 50cc scoot was not going to make it through my commute - a combination of city streets (no problem) and rural blacktops (couldn't keep up). So I sold the Vino for the purchase price - and rode 1,000 miles in the bargain - and bought a drop-shipped Chinese JMStar Jonway 150.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, that 150 was a joy - very little mechanical down time over three years and 12,000 miles traveled, 72 mpg at high revs, and a top speed of about 60 mph (never verified by GPS). But all things must pass. The clutch threw a shoe and started wobbling. I was 25 miles from home so I kept riding. And the wobbling clutch blew its oil seals. Not a big job and not outside my comfort zone but I decided that I'd got my money's worth and it was time to move on. It didn't hurt that an old Honda Elite 250 was on craigslist cheap.

For a 25 year-old machine, the Elite seemed in good shape. She started right up, cruised all day at 65 - 70 mph (indicated and topped out), and was reasonably good on gas. I was firmly convinced that 250cc was the right size, that anything more belonged in a motorcycle. I said as much publicly.

It took a couple of months, but I found out why the Elite was cheap. First this, then that. Parts hard to find. More trouble than it was worth given the purchase price. Bad choice. Walk away. What next?

Another look on craigslist and two interesting prospects appear - a 250cc Honda and a Suzuki Burgman 400, both just a few years old, both in good shape, the Burgman cheaper than the Honda. Why cheaper? The owner was an idiot. But the scoot was solid. So I bought it.

I discovered the differences between a 250 and a 400 immediately. The Burgman is a big, cushy, rocking chair of a ride. You don't flick it around the way that you do its smaller cousins. Not a bad thing for me, an old coot whose reflexes ain't what they used to be and who doesn't mind being comfortable. And the extra size and weight translates to stability on the highway at speed - and speed is 80 mph with sufficient throttle left to get past the crazies if I have to.

I like my Burgman. 400cc are just right. We've been averaging 600 - 700 miles a month together. Not a single mechanical blip. 60 mpg. I highly recommend what I previously scorned.