DGS49
Diamond Member
Because I'm getting older and weaker, and have a problem with keeping my legs in one position for more than a short time, I sold my big (850 pound) "bagger" in October, despite still enjoying riding a MC.
Being a non-conformist, I've always been interested in the "maxi-scooters" that are out there, and thought sometimes that I might end my riding days on one of those. The floorboards of a scooter allow a riding position with the legs almost fully extended, which would be very helpful for my issues. I took a Suzuki Burgman 650 for a ride a few years ago, but was not impressed.
As luck would have it, a friend of mine who lives in three countries got in touch with me a month or so ago, saying that he was coming in from Mexico in April, and would be wanting to sell his BMW maxi-scooter - a C650GT.
He wants to sell it while he's in the U.S., and thinks I'm a good candidate to buy it. It only has 2,000 miles on it, and it is in fact "like new." He wants a relatively high price - $6,500 - but that's another issue.
I took it for a long ride yesterday and confirmed all the good things that one finds when looking at reviews and YouTube videos of this "bike." It is fast, comfortable, smooth, and has most of the stuff you would want from a "touring" motorcycle. I was having understandable problems with the impulse to actuate the clutch (that is, the rear brake on a scooter) when slowing down, but I think that impulse would go away fairly soon, just like reaching for the clutch in an automatic car.
But it's not a motorcycle. To me, part of the enjoyment on a MC is shifting gears and using the transmission to control things. when you just have the throttle and brake, it's not the same. It's not as much fun.
I have arranged to "babysit" his scooter while he is in Europe for 6 weeks or so, at the end of which I will let him know whether I will buy it, or try to help him sell it to someone else. I may learn to "love" it during that time, but my initial reaction is that there are a LOT of better things I could do with $6,500 than buy this wonderful maxi-scooter.
Being a non-conformist, I've always been interested in the "maxi-scooters" that are out there, and thought sometimes that I might end my riding days on one of those. The floorboards of a scooter allow a riding position with the legs almost fully extended, which would be very helpful for my issues. I took a Suzuki Burgman 650 for a ride a few years ago, but was not impressed.
As luck would have it, a friend of mine who lives in three countries got in touch with me a month or so ago, saying that he was coming in from Mexico in April, and would be wanting to sell his BMW maxi-scooter - a C650GT.
He wants to sell it while he's in the U.S., and thinks I'm a good candidate to buy it. It only has 2,000 miles on it, and it is in fact "like new." He wants a relatively high price - $6,500 - but that's another issue.
I took it for a long ride yesterday and confirmed all the good things that one finds when looking at reviews and YouTube videos of this "bike." It is fast, comfortable, smooth, and has most of the stuff you would want from a "touring" motorcycle. I was having understandable problems with the impulse to actuate the clutch (that is, the rear brake on a scooter) when slowing down, but I think that impulse would go away fairly soon, just like reaching for the clutch in an automatic car.
But it's not a motorcycle. To me, part of the enjoyment on a MC is shifting gears and using the transmission to control things. when you just have the throttle and brake, it's not the same. It's not as much fun.
I have arranged to "babysit" his scooter while he is in Europe for 6 weeks or so, at the end of which I will let him know whether I will buy it, or try to help him sell it to someone else. I may learn to "love" it during that time, but my initial reaction is that there are a LOT of better things I could do with $6,500 than buy this wonderful maxi-scooter.