Agreed, Stupid journalists who really don't know what they are looking at have been known to compare the AK 550 with the Burgman 400 and that is mainly, I think, due to curb weight being about the same. But those 2 are not in the same class. The AN400 is LESS scooter so of course it will cost less new. The AK is better compared with the Burgman 650 or even BMW C650 or TMax super scooters. And even then when compared fairly the AK does really well in that group. I continue to be convinced that my 2022 AK 550 is a better scoot than my previous 2013 Burgman 650. More power, better comfort, more nimble, slightly faster, 115 lbs lighter, better performance. All that with a smaller displacement. I even consider my AK to be the better one compared with my old Honda ST1100! I consider my AK to be comparable to a 750-900 class regular motorcycle. So to get the same performance in a nice motorcycle from the Big Four you will pay more. My OTD price was $10,450 (before deducting the military discount that was offered). MSRP on that model was $9899. My Honda CTX1300 was about $14875 and that was WAY below MSRP at the time. To get a comparable typical motorcycle new you'd be paying a bit more than my AK cost me.
But of course you COULD pay less... IF you buy used.
