 |
Piaggio X9
by checkers88
My Piaggio X9 125 was my first motorcycle/scooter. At first I was really impressed and couldn't be happier. After fitting it with a top box I used it for a daily commute.
The best thing about it was its storage capacity. I could comfortably get a motorcycle jacket and a full face helmet under the seat, then motorcycle ... trousers and boots in the top box with room to spare. During the winter months there was even room to carry around a full cover for the bike to keep it nice and dry.
I was also really impressed with the performance of it. the X9 is actually a rather big bike to be powered by a 125 engine. I therefore expected it to be a little sluggish and struggle on A-Roads. It actually surprised me though, it wasn't the quickest pulling off, but once it got going it really came into its own, comfortable cruising at 70mph.
The only problem I had with the X9, which proved to be a major problem, was it's unreliability in the rain. The amount of times the bike cut out and wouldn't re-start in the rain was appalling, I was almost on first name terms with the AA. After spending over £400 at a specialist Piaggio dealer, only for it to break down 200 metres later (seriously), I eventually cut my losses and sold it.
Very good bikes if you get a good one, personally though, I wouldn't trust one if it was to be used in all weather types.
Read the complete review |
 |
Suzuki Burgman 400
by Broggie
Despite how much I loved My Kawasaki GPZ500 I bizarrely kept finding myself wanting a suzuki 400 burgman...I hadn't a clue why, well actually I did, I just wanted one. Anyway I found myself bidding on this AN400Y on ebay and got it for £1000 with 14k on the clock. Riding it home I was surprised at how well it rode, how fast it seemed ... to be, and how unbelievably noisy the roar of the wind was in my helmet. So yep, your first port of call is to change the standard screen for a Givi item, this oddly comes in two parts. the windscreen 'plastic' and the fitting kit, which are ordered as separate items. Fitting is a doddle once you get past the poor instructions and the fact that the lower support bar mountings aren't shown on the instructions...still there's only two ways they can go on and one way they will fit properly so it soon becomes obvious. It still took less than an hour even with the poor instructions.
The difference....windblast gone, but an odd feeling like someone is pushing down on your crash helmet, something I suppose you get used to in time. The second thing that needed to be addressed was the lack of a topbox. On this 'early' an400 model I fitted a Givi Monokey rack, this meant drilling two 18mm holes in the plastic above the numberplate. Givi do provide a template for the drilling and it is accurate. to drill the two 18mm holes I used a stepping drill bit from screwfix direct, which drilled the holes in no short order and job done. There is enough clearance behind the panel for drilling these holes with a stepping drill bit, so no need to remove the panel to do it, underneath the panel are two threaded bolt holes that are already part of the frame. The rest involved simply bolting the rack arms on and attaching the top plate, fairly simple.
The Early 400 burgman has a single carburettor so no faffing about balancing it against others, the later ones have fuel injection and I guess more to go wrong in that department. People speak of vibration, yes there is some, but then not any more than you would expect from a fairly large capacity single cylinder bike, if it was multi cylinder it'd be smoother, but also more complicated and that is not what the burgman was designed for. The left hand brake lever operates linked brakes front and rear and the right hand lever operates the front brake alone. I've found the best braking to be by squeezing both levers.
People talk about being affected by crosswinds and yes again the Burgman is affected by crosswinds, but then in my experience most bikes are. let's face it if you put a sea of plastic on a bike you will give a greater area for wind to press on, but also you will give the rider a lot of weather protection...So it's either blasted by wind and rain and being miserable or nicely protected and the odd scary moment...Your choice.
So far the Burgman rides well, although currently the suspension is a bit hard, handles reasonably. Due to it's long wheelbase it does tend to under steer on sharp bends, but you just learn to set the bike up for such things and get used to it.
Early models problems, a thirst for oil some worse than others, check daily off stand on level ground until you know its consumption...as it does not have a wet clutch it does not require specific motorcycle oil...10w 40 car oil will do ok.
Looks like the rear axle shaft bearings might suffer wear with the single sided wheel attachment...will keep you updated as to wear. Later models 2007 on seem to have additional support on the previously 'unsupported' side which I presume probably helps the bearings service life. However looking in the service manual it appears that it would be fairly simple to change out the bearings anyway, though it would require a visit to the tool hire shop for a 'blind' bearing puller.
The next update to this review will be the fitment of Oxford 'hotgrips' heated grips. I have ordered a set of hotgrips model No OF693 and will let you know how easily these fit. The oxford website lists only the different models of grips, not what bikes they fit, so buying these grips without that information is a bit of trial and error.
For those interested in the AN400 burgman as a commuter or as a kind of 'mini goldwing' The storage works out thus. The an400 X & Y have the smallest underseat storage...You can fit a full face helmet and a few bits and bobs...this model has a rear backrest which curves backwards and is shaped like a tongue. Do not take any notice of the year of the bike as some Y models took longer to sell. the next update was the K1 of 2001, this is given away by the wider and more forward backrest...I believe that this also had a larger storage area under the seat capable of taking two full face helmets. From K3/K4 models the carburettor was replaced with fuel injection, and from 2007 the engine capacity was increased from 385cc to 400cc.
Here's a link to basic information on the Suzuki Burgman an400 different model years.
http://www.suzukicycles.org/Burgman-series/AN400-Burgman.shtml
The site keeps putting in a space between the 'AN400-Burgman' in the link I cannot remove this space so you'll have to do it in the address bar, sorry.
Ray.
Read the complete review |
