84%

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written by ketzals , July 28, 2008

Simon you keep telling me what I think. I never said bigger is better, I personally HATE large heavy scooters with a vengeance...more powerful is better though. At least it is in my book.

My current rides of choice go.

2008 Honda SH300 for town (the best scooter for town work by a good margin)
2008 Honda CBR 600 for the twisties
2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R for breaking the law

As you can see there is no maxi scooter in there. They are simply too slow and too heavy for my tastes. However if I HAD to buy one it would certainly be the GP800. I'm doing a two week ride this summer and am yet to decide on what to take. I'm pondering on taking a scooter over a motorcycle...crazy talk.

The Honda VFR runs 40-45MPG for most riders and the Triuph Sprint ST returns only slightly higher. Both of these numbers are based on owners claims; we are yet to test both bikes so it's possible our MPG test could differ. This is certainly no better than we returned for the GP800. In fact we were quite happy with the fuel economy of the GP800 as it did slightly better than it's competing scooters while offering better performance.

We actually confirmed the MPG rating for our Burgman story via Burgmanusa.com, which is as you say a superb site for information on the Burgman.

Most motorcycle frames flex to varying degrees, it's actually intentional in most cases. There's an interesting write up on how Kawasaki improved the handling of their latest Superbike by increasing the flex in its chassis in various directions. Same goes for MotoGP bikes. The Burgman certainly has more flex in it's chassis than the Kawasaki. Maybe as you claim it's not the chassis flexing but the suspension being either poorly mounted or unnecessarily soft. Sadly if feels like neither to me, the flex I and our other testers felt was best described as unwanted torsional flex. The best I could do to describe it would be to compare it to the motion a convertible car makes while cornering over road undulations. The chassis simply twists to a small degree which the rider/driver can feel. I'm yet to ride a maxi scooter that doesn't do it, GP800 included. It's possibly the result of the long wheelbase and low overall height of the average scooter frame.

I must say the Honda SH300 felt fairly free of this problem so it's certainly solvable.

The GP800 (as I said in my review) is WAY to heavy to be a real 'performance' option to a motorcycle but, it's certainly a sign of things to come.

I also dislike the chain drive, although it is implemented very well. I would have preferred a more modern take. Maybe a belt system like Buel use.

Obviously some people don't like the GP800 and think that it's pointless. I will just have to agree to disagree on this one. Hey, I wouldn't buy a Silver Wing or a Burgman or likely a Yamaha Tmax as they are all far too heavy and slow for my tastes. Other people love them. Some people like heavy metal...others like country. The fact remains, the GP800 is a hell of a lot faster than the competing maxi scooters. (read our test results for acceleration)

If Gilera had bought the bike in at under 190kgs then I imagine it really would be a world beater, as it is, it's still the benchmark.

I'll give up arguing about the GP800 as I actually enjoy the outside. Ignore all the negative things you read here, simply go out and try the scooter for yourself.

PS We're currently switching our website over to a different platform. The new site will feature the full gallery on each bike. All of which feature shots of the storage areas.

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written by ketzals , July 27, 2008

That's a big call Simon...not riding the bike 'proper fast', clearly you don't know me very well. It's an awfully big call from zero information on the subject. I refrain from touting how fast and how aggressively I ride bikes as it's highly illegal and I'm comfortable with the size of my penis. (pretty average to be fair)

Given that I spent some reasonable time riding a 2008 Kawasaki ZX-10R back to back with the GP800 at let's say...fairly insane velocity's, I feel I'm confident in my review.

Simon I do agree with most of your points, the GP800 is far from perfect...not so with the brakes though. Maybe the bike you rode was defective. I haven't yet ridden the 08 TMax although I am reviewing it shortly, given it's reputation I do expect it to be a fantastic handling bike with a similar problem to most other large capacity scooters...a weak engine. The GP800 is certainly vastly too heavy for my tastes but in direct comparison to other Maxi scooters we've reviewed it still manages to make them look old hat.

I have ridden the Burgman 650 and completely disagree on the transmission, all of our reviewers disliked the Burgman's transmission system. The Honda Silver Wing is certainly a better benchmark in the CVT transmission department. It is absolutely not any better than the transmission on the GP800. Again I wonder if the bike you rode was defective. Actually while I had the GP800 a very talented motorcycle racing friend of mine rode it and shared most of my sentiments.

The GP800 is miles from perfect but is certainly a step forward from the Maxi's we've had to date in the performance and to some degree in the high speed handling department. Trying not to be rude but you ask me if I've actually ridden the bikes...of course I've ridden them. It's what I do for a living. If you'd ridden a GP800 and Burgman at "high speed" around any corner with even average undulations it amazes me you'd even mention the two bikes in the same sentence.

Victor. You are very much correct, the bikes performance is it's standout feature. Storage wise it's a real let down although still better than the motorcycles I ride. I never even thought about the getting on and off element as I am used to motorcycles. I'm quite happy to sacrifice the flat floorboard in regards to greater torsional rigidity. On such a powerful bike I think it's almost necessary. The complaints Simon made about the handling in regards to the flex etc would be vastly worse if it was step through. It's a real surprise Simon mentions them as the Burgman is notorious for flex at high speed and the Gilera is light years better in this regards.

In terms of long distance riding my thoughts go along the lines of...it's comfortable if you are of average height. I can very comfortably sit with my feet forward or on the flat floor boards. I however am a midget at only 5"7 (171cm). One of our other reviewers is 6"3 and he also found the bike reasonably comfortable. I don't think it's as nice to sit on as the Burgman or the Silver Wing however. Both have much better back support for long hauls.

It really is a question of what you want. The big Burgman or the Silver Wing are still going to superior over the long haul due to added storage and more comfort both from seating position and weather protection.

But and it's a big BUT...you have to except massive sacrifices in the handling and performance department in comparison to a motorcycle with these two bikes. The GP800 is a big step forward in this regard. If you want the convenience of an automatic transmission, combined with the comfort and(some)storage a scooter offers over a motorcycle, then the GP800 is the only scooter currently available that comes close to offering some of the motorcycle dynamics.

I personally don't see the GP800 as a Burgman, Silver Wing, TMax competitor. The focus has shifted. It's now it's own category of some sort. People who want ultimate comfort will keep buying the Burgmans etc. People who want ultimate performance will keep buying the latest Superbike. However people who want a nice general all round bike like a Honda VFR800 or Triumph Sprint ST will actually be able to get 'some' of the thrills with the GP800 with some added benefits. The Gilera GP800 is just easier to ride in town, same reason an automatic car is. Same reason a majority of cars sold are automatic, it just makes more sense in busy traffic.

Summing up I think the GP800 suits someone who rides in town a fair amount but still likes to take long multiple day trips on some nice roads. Not a mad sportsbike rider, a casual sports tourer rider. Someone who's just a bit sick of wearing a backpack to carry milk and is over changing gears around town to and from work. The GP800 is genuine option for this sort of rider. That's my two cents...