That's a good idea!

 

This morning, while in our morning routine, Joan asked me, "Are you going for a ride this morning, or do you want to test out your cooling vest some more this afternoon when it's hot?"

"I hadn't thought about it, but a ride right now sounds good - thanks for suggesting it!"  I geared up to head out... without the cooling vest.  It was 56º when I got up - already up to 75º an hour and a half later.

With the current arrangement of bikes in the garage, I can easily take out my choice... and my choice this morning is the Burgman.  I considered Joan's Xmax - another day.  Riding down the street, there are new houses going up on both sides - workers' vehicles line both curbs, allowing room for only one vehicle to pass down the middle; no problem with a scoot.  One worker blew through a stop sign without looking just as I was about to go by on the street without a stop sign - he didn't know I was there.  I saw him, and could see that he was going too fast to stop, so I was already covering my brakes.  Yes, I hollered - he just looked bewildered.

With that out of the way, I can get on with enjoying my ride.  And, I did.  The only other traffic I encountered was... wildlife on the twisties: lots of quail, other birds (sadly, no roadrunners), a couple lizards (these are bigger than the friendly little geckos we had in the Tropical Tip), and a snake.  First snake I've seen since we've been here; he was moving along smartly, right across the road.  These critters seem "street smart"... or is that "desert road smart"?  There are a couple places where hiking trails cross the road, so I keep an eye out for hikers; saw a dozen or so, but not on the road.  Two other motorcyclists going the other way - I can't say for sure, since they were each wearing a full-face helmet, but I'm guessing they were smiling as much as I was.

In the grand scheme of things, the twisty roads that are reasonably close to us are a pleasure to ride.  Are they as good as the roads in the Black Hills?  No, but thanks for asking.  Well, not all the roads in the Black Hills, but most of them there have a decent road surface.  I am glad to have a more comfortable seat now on the Burgman - it helps with the occasionally rough road surface.  And as much as I like the right curves, I have been enjoying the views: the desert is still pretty green, but I expect that will tend to go more brown soon.  I like the "cliff on one side, drop-off on the other side" views here, too.

The riding is supremely better than anything we had in south Texas.  Even when I have to ride on the freeways, it feels less dangerous here than in Texas.

And what about the Burgman?  Goofy name, great bike!  Here's the scoop on how that name came about...

"Burgh, burg, berg etc means “town” or “city”in many European languages." The story from a Suzuki spokesperson is that Suzuki hired a German marketing firm to name the bike. "Burg" = "castle" in German. It's prestigious to own a castle, therefore, it's prestigious to own a Burgman.

Not sure I buy that.  But, I am enjoying the heck out of the B200, especially with the Corbin seat.  It is an interesting combination of peppy, maneuverable, comfort (great food/leg positions), good storage, and surprisingly good fuel economy.  Decent wind/weather protection.  It does not have the sexy Italian style of a Vespa, but that is a personal taste thing... when I first considered buying one of these in 2018, I thought it was better looking than the Vespa.  My tastes have matured somewhat, but I think it's still a decent looking bike.

As much as I like the CTX, the Burgman is getting more riding time.  Could be it is still the "honeymoon stage" with it being the new bike, or more likely the fact that it is lighter and easier.  The CTX is bigger, faster, and more "planted" at highway speeds.  Both are fun bikes to ride, offering different riding experiences.