Suzuki VS800 or VS1400

[HCDawg]

Hi all, a little advice please. I currently own a 1986 VS750 and it's a fun bike and I love Intruder styling but the motor is coming to the end, just waiting for the rod to let go. When I'm riding the highway at about 60 - 70mph I feel like I'm pushing the motor to the edge, it would be great if I had one more gear. When my bike dies I'm going to buy a VS800 or a VS1400, would the 1400 be a better highway bike as well as a street cruiser? pros and cons?

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[Easy Rider]

When my bike dies I'm going to buy a VS800 or a VS1400, would the 1400 be a better highway bike as well as a street cruiser? pros and cons?

Depends on your situation and your priorities.
The S50 is light and fast and gets about 50 MPG.
VERY good general purpose bike......but you might still feel you "want" another gear.
It certainly doesn't NEED one, as it isn't anywhere near it's limit at 70.
That's a common feeling that LOTS of riders just need to get over.

The 1400 would probably be a little more comfortable on the highway.
Some others here will have to speak for the 1400.

Where you located ?
I might make you a deal on a real nice VS800.

[HCDawg]

Thanks for the offer . Ontario Canada, the Great White North, I never feel relaxed after a higway ride because the bike seems stressed and it makes me stressed, that extra gear would do wonders for my ride.

[Easy Rider]

I never feel relaxed after a higway ride because the bike seems stressed

Well then it's obvious that the only solution is a much bigger bike......one that is not "stressed" at highway speeds.

Or maybe better ear plugs.

My VS800 is about as far away as you can get in North America; central Florida.

Edit: Here's another idea: Maybe you should ride a few highway miles on a Ninja 250.
That might change your perspective on what constitutes a "stressed" bike engine.

[HCDawg]

I hear you I'll probably stay with the VS750 or VS800...Cheers

[DrBob]

The 800 is much faster, quicker, lighter, and more agile. The 1400 gives you about 1 more inch of leg room, a smoother ride due to greater weight, and about 20% lower RPMs on the highway.

The VS750 and 800 are powered by small, high reving motors with a very high red line. Either will cruise at 85 MPH all day long without troubles. You are NOT "pushing the motor to the edge", as at 60 MPH the motor is less than halfway to the the 8500 RPM redline- in top gear the bike will do 105 before the rev limiter cuts in. If you are fishing for a 6th gear, it is because of rider error, not because of the bike, and you will most likely have the same feeling with any bike short of a Harley touring bike with its low RPM motor and true overdrive 6th gear.

[imp81318]

...If you are fishing for a 6th gear, it is because of rider error, not because of the bike...

I paired down your post to strictly the part that I'm responding to (thanks, btw, for the info about the redline on the Intruder 800.)- What do you mean that feeling like you'd like another gear is 'rider error'? I have an Intruder 800 (1995 year) and I get this feeling all of the time when I'm cruising on either a 2-lane or 4-lane highway. I'm sure that I'm not doing any damage to the bike, and I'm confident that I'm not pushing it harder than I should, but at the same time once I get up to speed I feel like it would be a more comfortable ride if I had another gear to drop the RPMs a bi lower. And I've ridden 1100cc cruisers (Honda Shadow, for example) and have not had this feeling at all.

[Easy Rider]

but at the same time once I get up to speed I feel like it would be a more comfortable ride if I had another gear to drop the RPMs a bi lower.

It is just a "feeling".

I think it is mostly because most of your "driving" experience is in a vehicle that turns maybe 2K RPM at 60 MPH and is quiet as a mouse in the process.

Move to the bike. Not only is the engine turning faster that what your unconsciouis brain tells you is "normal" but it makes a LOT more noise in doing it.......because you are sitting right on top of the engine and the exhaust is not muffled as much.

Like I said, do a few interstate miles on a Ninja 250 or similar that turns 12,000 RPM at 70 and maybe you will have a little better handle on why you have that "feeling".

If you like the bike in all other respects, you just need to "get over it". It is not a car.
If there are some other things with the bike that aren't "perfect", then start shopping.

Not everybody has the choice, or the desire, to ride a bike that just purrs along on the highway because the only ones that do that are generally just the "land cruisers".

P.S. Almost forgot, vibration has a lot to do with that feeling too and a properly tuned and maintained bike will minimize that part. Some models vibrate more than others though and proper valve adjustment and carb sync. will only go so far.
Finding a mechanic who really gives a crap is sometimes hard too.

[DrBob]

EZ is correct: you are basing your desire to shift into another gear upon your thinking/ feeling that the motor is spinning too fast and you should shift. The bike is in high gear and well within its designed/ intended operating RPM range of >8500 RPM, and any attempt to upshift is in error, because not only is there NOT another gear, but there should not be because you would be spinning the motor below its power band. The 750 and 800cc Intruders NEED to spin fast to make power, and are designed to rev high like a sportbike- the designers penned this bike specifically for the US rider, taking into account US interstate and highway speeds, and the motor is supposed to be spinning at 3000-4000 RPM on the highway between 60 and 70 MPH. Drop that to 2000 RPM and the motor would lug, and you'd have to downshift every time you came to a hill or tried to pass someone. Most first-time Intruder owners shift too soon and set the idle way to low, expecting the small 2-cylinder motor to sound, drive, and idle like a larger v-twin displacing over two times as much. But just like you can not shift a 4-cylinder Mitzubishi Eclipse at the same points you would shift a V-8 Charger, you can not operate a 750/ 800 Intruder the same way you would a 1700cc Harley or even an 1100cc Honda. Your bike makes power above 2500 RPM all the way up to 8000 RPM, so spin it fast like the designers intended. I owned three small Intruders, and took them all over the country, doing Iron Butt rides and cross-country trips that put me on the interstate at 80-85 MPH (5500-6000 RPM) for hundreds of miles a day for days on end. Trust me, you can't over rev it and hurt it, and it will do a 1000 mile day at 5500 RPM without even breaking a sweat- despite the rider's mistaken impression that the motor is spinning to fast.

[HCDawg]

Thinking of doing the VS1400 final drive swap, any insight? Most who have done it say that the bike now runs like it should from the factory.

[DrBob]

You loose some acceleration and have to be a lot heavier on the throttle in the mountains, but on the highway it is a nice mod. So it depends on what type of riding you do- interstate trips yes, ripping up the twisties or racing stoplight to stoplight, no.

[HCDawg]

Too old for the stop light to stop light stuff, just like to go out and cruise, I do miss my 79' CBX days though

[Camp21178]

I've ridden at 85 for a long stretch on my S50 and I think it feels and sounds great. I've been over 100 a lot of times and the engine felt smooth as heck. Now, don't let my wife see this. LOL

[DemonHunter]

i ride a m50 in southern California, so i do a LOT of highway riding, it needs a sixth gear... bike feels very small very fast especially if your 6 foot talk like me.

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[mrbreeze]

I used to have a VX800 (same motor) and it felt to me like it was about to grenade at 80+. I was doing that pretty much every day in rush hour traffic. It was a great bike otherwise. I traded it for a GSX1100G - now there's a motor!