RIDING IMPRESSION
2013 SUZUKI BURGMAN
LIVING WITH
THE BURGMAN
IT'S SO GOOD, YOU WON'T CARE THAT IT'S A SCOOTER
BY KIT PALMER
I
'm pretty much a function-overform kind of guy, especially when
it comes to one of my daily rituals
– my 100-plus-mile commute. When
you're logging those kinds of miles
on a daily basis, things like comfort,
practibility, affordability, durability and
realistic performance all take precedence over things like looks, image
and racetrack performance. That's
why I've become such a big fan of the
Suzuki Burgman 650 and the latest
Burgman - the 650 ABS.
For 2013, the Burgman got a major overhaul and is now offered in just
one package. Previously, Suzuki sold
the Burgman 650 in two variants –
standard and Executive. Compared
to the standard, the Executive had
more goodies, such as electronically
folding mirrors, an electronically adjustable windscreen, and a passen-
ger backrest. Suzuki dropped the
standard model in favor of the Executive model, but it no longer carries
the Executive name. Now it's simply
the Burgman 650 ABS, but it enjoys
all the amenities of the previous Executive. In Europe, however, Suzuki
still offers an Executive model and it
comes with heated grips and seat,
which are available only as accessories in the U.S.
Suzuki made many changes to the
2013 Burgman 650 ABS, but focused
on certain areas that previous Burgman owners have been squawking
about for a while. One of those is styling, something that hasn't changed
much since the Burg's birth some 10
years ago.
So the 2013 Burgman 650 has a
more modern look. It's not a dramatic
difference, but when you compare
the previous Burgman to the new one,
side by side, the differences become
P46
