I used to own a Kymco Bet & Win 250. When the Xciting 250/500 were coming out everyone was so eXcited about getting one. I was down at the dealership and while I didn’t get a chance to ride one, I did get to look it over a lot Since the differences between the 250 and the 500 are basically the number of discs for the front brakes and the engine size, what I saw is applicable for the 500.

Storage for a scooter owner, is a major consideration…otherwise, we’d be buying a motorcycle, wouldn’t we? I walked up to the Xciting and thought Id see an improvement over my much smaller B&W. I didn’t. The Xciting underseat storage isn’t much bigger than the B&W, which is why almost all Xciting owners invest in a top box. The 07/08 Burgman 400 has the largest underseat storage of any maxi-scooter sold in the USA. You can fit two full-face helmets under there with room to spare. Or another way to look at it is what I do each day with mine.

I can fit a Nolan N102 full-face helmet TourMaster jacket and pants with those bulky pads, jacket liner, gloves and even have enough room left over for a pair of shoes if wanted…under the seat I had planned to buy a top box, but I can’t find anything to put in it. I looked at the Majesty also, and while it has almost as much storage, the area is split into two parts. An advantage to the Majesty is that the pillion storage area can be accessed without opening the seat. That would be handy for when you are touring and have a lot of things tied down on top of the seat. Otherwise though, it isn’t as practical or as large. Under the seat, the Burgman also has two small side pocket enclosures that are large enough to put your tie-downs, tool kit, etc inside and out of the way of the main storage area.

In the front fairing, I was again disappointed in the Kymco Xciting. My Bet&Win only had a hook in front to hang something from. With the huge front fairing of the Xciting, I expected a large storage bin. There wasn’t much. What was there was about as much as only one of the two small bins in the Burgman’s front fairing, just big enough to hold sunglasses and a couple other small items. The difference in the Burgman is that there are two of those smaller bins…and also a large full-width lockable storage area under them. The left side has the battery, so it only goes in part way. But the right side goes in over a foot and is large enough that I can put a gallon sized Ziploc bag in there stuffed with snack food, socks, toiletries and a Bible for homeless people I find on the freeway off-ramps. The point is that it is huge in comparison and totally lacking on the Xciting.

The Xciting seat is supposedly lower than the B&W seat, but it was so wide, I couldn’t touch the ground as easily as on the B&W. As Paul mentioned on the Kymco forum, the Kymco seats are hard and the Burgman seat far better. And I think you’ll find the Burgman 400 ergonomics fit a wider range of rider sizes than the Kymco or Majesty. (Blackbeard can give you more details on his experience of looking at all three.) I can attest to this much. After riding for an hour to work in the mornings, I look forward to getting back on the Burgman 400. The seat is very comfortable for me. While the Xciting has more horsepower, it also has more weight. I think if you read the comments made on both the Kymco forum and the BurgmanUSA forum, you’ll find people disappointed with the top end of the Kymco (@90 mph) and people who have run their 07 Burgman 400s over 100 mph, both indicated and GPS.

I don’t think you’ll find a more economical 400-500cc bike out there than the Burgman 400. The Kymco Xciting 500 gets around 50 mpg, which some people think is good. Many of us owners of the new Burgman 400s average around 65 mpg. So not only does the Burgman keep up with the larger displacement Xciting, it beats it for efficiency.

When I finished looking at the Xciting, I was disappointed. I had expected great things from Kymco. The Bet&Win and People scooters had seemed well thought out, and Kymco had a clean slate to design from with the Xciting. But I think they did a poor job of it by not making good use of the opportunity. It was like the people designing the Xciting hadn’t really looked at the competition and tried to improve on what they saw. The filled the square” in adding features, but didn’t make the most of what they had. I hadn’t expected it, but I got back on my little B&W 250 and thought I was getting on the better bike…even though it was a much older design and about $1000 less in cost than the Xciting 250 I had looked at. If you look at Burgman 400 reviews, take note of the model year being reviewed. Suzuki redesigned an already good bike in 2007 and changed just about everything on it. About the only thing left unchanged was the general shape and name. Prior to 2007, I’d say the Yamaha Majesty set the standard. After the redesign, I believe Suzuki raised the bar and has set a higher standard.