Roadtesting the Suzuki Bergman 650This is the largest of the big-bore scooters. At 638 cc, it beats Honda's impressive Silver Wing by 56 cc and Yamaha's T-Max by 138 cc. It also comes with a unique transmission system.
Most scooters are straightforward "twist-and-go" machines. The Bergman 650 is that - and more. There is an automatic mode, but with a difference - you can select "normal" or, any time more performance is needed, just press the Power button for really impressive acceleration. To our surprise we found that the engine braking effect in automatic mode was much better than any others in the big scooter class.
Then there is a "manual" mode. Here five pre-selected gears come into play. Gear changes are clutchless, being selected by Up and Down buttons on the left-hand grip. You decide upwards and downwards changes.
A nice touch is that, even if you stop in, say, third gear, once the machine has come to rest it selects first gear ready to move off again. Upward changes can be "full-power" - there's no need to close the throttle or pull in a clutch. Engine braking, even better in this mode, is every bit as good as any "conventional" motorcycle.
This transmission system means you can ride it like an orthodox motorcycle. Married to a lively, smooth 638 cc twin-cylinder engine, it can give a sports bike level of performance coupled with, importantly, excellent engine braking. All of which makes it either a scooter or a "motorcycle" at the flick of a switch.
Those of us who usually ride "real" motorcycles often think of "scooters" as being some sort of poor relation, certainly nothing to compare with a real motorcycle. Not so in the case of this machine. It's one with which a motorcyclist could be happy, even enthusiastic.
The powerful engine and CVT transmission means you have all the control of a conventional motorcycle, with the added advantage of full-power upward changes. This machine can be as quick off the mark and up to 60 mph as any sports bike, and well able to do 112 mph. The brakes are perfect and the mirrors give an excellent view. It even has a parking brake.
Rider comfort is first rate. Both slow speed stability and cornering are excellent. Although this is Suzuki's heaviest machine, it's easy to lift onto the centre stand. It also has a side stand.
The Bergman 650 has all the scooter advantages: good weather protection and lots of stowage space. The front scuttle has three useful "glove" lockers. Under the seat there is a 56-litre compartment, able to take a briefcase or two full-face helmets, even luggage for the weekend. Our hard-to-please pillion critic reckons the pillion seat is as good as anything she has tried.
The very clear and well-laid out instrument panel is an object lesson in clarity and simplicity with a large LCD display for speed, distance, clock, oil change and oil level displays as well as a bar/graph rev counter and gear position indicator, D for automatic mode, with an extra icon to remind you if the Power setting is in use and 12-3-4-5 for the "manual" gears.
There is also a power socket to charge your mobile phone or laptop.
Absolute perfection would have been an adjustable screen - and our pillion critic would have welcomed the optional extra top-box which incorporates a pillion backrest. That apart, one cannot fault this machine.
A scooter this sophisticated, with a level of usable performance way ahead of most saloon cars, allows absolutely no excuse for sitting in the traffic in lonely isolation in a mobile sitting room. It has virtually all the comfort of a car with the efficiency, ease of parking - and exhilaration - of a motorbike. If it suits your lifestyle, you can ride it in a kilt or mini-skirt.
At €10,400, it costs about the same as a very basic economy car. This level of comfort on a conventional motorcycle would cost twice as much. In terms of pure enjoyment and practicability, for either commuting or touring it's very hard to beat.