Piaggio out Burger the Burgman.

[macamxthe1st]

Kevin Ash (highly respected) has a "First ride" piece in MCN on the new Piaggio X10. In a nutshell he says that it is a better scooter in every respect and at £4,999 it is £1,400 cheaper than the comparable 400AZ. I will wait till latter in the year to see what if anything Suzuki come up with but the X10 looks the best bet at the moment.

Geoff.

[Bluebottle]

I don't know if it out-Burgers a Burger but I doubt if it will out-last or out-reliability (?) a burger

I am trying to be open minded but the last time I looked at anything Piaggio they couldn't even put the badges on straight which didn't bode well for the engineering underneath.

[macamxthe1st]

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/ ... irst-ride/

[Daboo]

Thanks for finding this report. I did find it interesting that they compared it to the Majesty by name, not the Burgman. It is good to see some competition out there.

First ride reports seem almost like someone takes them out for a quick ride, then sits down with some company literature to write the review. I'll be very interested when they get some in-depth reviews, perhaps even with some of the competing models.

Chris

[macamxthe1st]

Fully agree, I will be waiting for "comparison tests" and also to see if and how Suzuki respond. I will also be looking for an extended test ride (a couple of hours). Bearing in mind who wrote the review it does note bode well for Suzuki.

Geoff.

[NormanB]

It is a nice looking offering.
Kevin Ash may be respected but the review is a tad economical to say the least - did he ride it or watch someone else ride it?

[ErikDK]

A case of "Virgin Birth"

[Quantum Mechanic]

MCN is usually quite anti-scooter and don't normally give much space to scoots at all. If it doesn't go at least 140mph and 0-60 in 3 seconds, it's no good! No doubt it's because Kevin Ash was doing this initial impressions type review that it got space at all. Wouldn't mind a test ride though myself.

[WNC Burgster]

Kevin Ash may be respected but the review is a tad economical to say the least - did he ride it or watch someone else ride it?

[InfernoST]

Non mi piace...

[G-Bo]

It sure takes alot of the body styling from the Burgman, Will be interesting to see what the 2013 Burgman looks like.

[Bolzen]

It sure takes alot of the body styling from the Burgman

To put it simple -- rip-off. Wish only Zuki wouldn't screw the design of new models, like they did with the V-Strom 650.

[alloo]

$7200 shorter belt life, less storage, and less engineering. Not a good deal. A friend of mine had so much trouble with his MP3 500 he eventually dumped it. Poor tire life, locking headset, poor running.

[westnash]

Maybe the 500 would be ok but he doesnt go into depth on this. No way any Euro scooter will be as user friendly as the Burgman....which also could be made somewhat more user friendly itself.

Dealers will likely love to sell you these as they will sell many parts and much labor in time.

[Frank Tabor]

Don't know about the Piaggios except that all of the MP3s finished the 2014 Scooter Cannonball Run.
I have a 2009 400 with 1,000 miles on it. I also have a 2003 Kymco 250 B&W with 11,000 miles.
The seat is horrible for a 6 footer on the Kymco. It'll go 75-80 indicated on the interstate.
The 400 Burger is more comfortable and will go 85-90 indicated. It is still new enough that I don't push it for very long.
The Burger drops out of gear on decel at 2800 rpm and engages around 3400 rpm.
The Kymco seems to always be in gear except at a stop.
I was a multi-line motorcycle dealer at one time and believe that Suzuki is a quality product, but my opinion is that the Kymco is a better 250 cc scooter than
the Burger is a 400.
Maybe it will change after break-in. Maybe a different set of clutch springs is available or different weight rollers that can tune this shortcoming (in my opinion).

[dsfraser]

Kevin Ash (highly respected) has a "First ride" piece in MCN on the new Piaggio X10. In a nutshell he says that it is a better scooter in every respect and at £4,999 it is £1,400 cheaper than the comparable 400AZ. I will wait till latter in the year to see what if anything Suzuki come up with but the X10 looks the best bet at the moment.

Geoff.

I can't speak for what it's like on your side of the Pond, but Piaggio's parts support in North America is ZERO. The problem is with their distributors in New York.

My son has an Aprilia Scarabeo, made by Piaggio. He has been waiting TEN MONTHS for a dipstick. Without it the bike cannot be properly maintained or even ridden. In the meantime, he has plugged the hole in the crankcase with a standard bolt, but "in the meantime" has an air of "forever" about it.

DO NOT BUY A PIAGGIO UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO WAIT A YEAR FOR PARTS!

Caveat emptor
Scott Fraser

[Davej]

It is a nice looking offering.
Kevin Ash may be respected but the review is a tad economical to say the least - did he ride it or watch someone else ride it?

+1 Norm.........MCN Stands for.....More Crap than News, among most of the guys I ride with !

[ted clement]

Several years ago a local BMW dealer took on the Piaggio scooter and I bought a new X9 with 500cc motor. Nice running and handling machine but then it developed a problem with gas getting into the oil. By this time the dealer had dropped the Piaggio line and another dealer who specialized in smaller Piaggios and Vespa attempted to repair it with little success. I soon got rid of it and would never own another at any price simple for lack of parts and technical support in the USA.

[Noth]

Several years ago a local BMW dealer took on the Piaggio scooter and I bought a new X9 with 500cc motor. Nice running and handling machine but then it developed a problem with gas getting into the oil. By this time the dealer had dropped the Piaggio line and another dealer who specialized in smaller Piaggios and Vespa attempted to repair it with little success. I soon got rid of it and would never own another at any price simple for lack of parts and technical support in the USA.

Ditto. Same experience here.. too bad.. but that's the way it is.

[RashaMatt]

Just to jump on the anti-Piaggio bandwagon: I bought a used 2006 Piaggio BV500 about a year ago - I had it two days, and then it wouldn't start. It has been sitting with a local mechanic ever since, and he still doesn't know what's wrong with it.

Nobody on this island has a scanner for it, so I would have to ship it to Oahu for "qualified" service (or buy a scanner myself). Plus the mechanic says he has not been able to find anyone to get parts from.

This past April I finally got tired of waiting, admitted it was a lost cause, and bought a new 2012 Burgman 400

Yesterday it wouldn't start (ohmygod not this again ), and the dealer's service guy came out this morning with a truck, ramp, and helper, ready to take it in to the shop. But it started fine! No charge Now that's what I call service!

[Noth]

I have no interest in slamming Piaggio the product, but unfortunatley dealer service is also part of that.. My dealer went under.. a new dealer was appointed who was a good distance away.. I made the effort, brought it in.. and discovered that they too did not have the computer necessary for ECU updates & diagnosis... And yet they were an authorized dealer.. They lost me then.. It was completley over for me & I couldn't get rid of my beloved MP3 500 fast enough..I loved the bike.. but had no interest in putting up with dealer dithering..

[Quantum Mechanic]

Over this side of the pond, we have Piaggio dealers of some long standing 'throwing in the towel' with Piaggio brand due to the very poor support they get. Piaggio only pay half the repair labour costs for any warranty work that needs to be done! So dealers have to cover the extra cost and it can hurt. That plus the fact it can take forever to get spares or sometimes even genuine factory service items. Dealers don't want unhappy customers so they are choosing other scooter brands to take on.

[Noth]

Wth no information and only a suspicion.. I suspect that Piaggio support is being thrown toward Asia & Europe where, of course, 2 wheel modes of travel are very popular.. Although I had not heard about issues in the UK.. I am sorry to hear that...It's been an issue for quite a while in the United States.. Along with Piaggio shoving huge amounts of floor plan down the throat of the dealer.