[bhamon]

I am picking up the first bike I have ever owned (excluding a moped at 14 yrs old). I am buying a black Suzuki C50 from Lee's in Harrodsburg, KY for $5995, which is a great deal. BTW, as others have said here, do not go to Bell's in Lexington!

My questions:

1) I have been reading both here and other websites about helmets. I think I will be getting a full-face or flip-face helmet. Am I going to get laughed off the road for driving a cruiser with a full-face helmet?

2) I am definately adding a windshield and back rest to my bike. I was going to buy the OEM models that Lee's sells. Has anyone had any problems with these Suzuki accessories? Would anyone skip the OEM and buy something a different brand?

3) There is a ton of posts regarding protective gear. I have read many of them. However, I am looking for any information on what others who ride cruisers are wearing besides the traditional leather jacket/chaps/boots.

Thanks,

Bryan

 

[Dodge345]

What problems have you had with Bells? I'm headed there tomorrow to order Exhaust, Jets, and filters...anything I should know?

Transport in Lexington is who I think is terrible, from when I had a Yamaha.

BTW. A friend of mine is starting a forum for Lexington Car, Truck, and Motorcycle riders/drivers. Not very many members yet, but as people join it could be a good place to meet local riders.

www.lexistreets.com

 

[Dodge345]

Forgot to respond to yout questions.

I ride a Marauder and wear a full face helmet, riding jacket, and boots every time I ride...chaps for long rides. I actually see a lot of other cruisers wearing full face helmets. I even wear the helmet and jacket for the 5 mile ride to campus every day. hope this helps.

 

[Paladin]

.... Am I going to get laughed off the road for driving a cruiser with a full-face helmet?

If you are worried about what people think, drive a Ford Escort. IMO as long as you do not endanger others you can ride any which way you like. Anyone who laughs at a full-face helmet runs the chance of leaving their face on the pavement.

....I am looking for any information on what others who ride cruisers are wearing besides the traditional leather jacket/chaps/boots.

Half-helmet only 'cause it's the law, deerskin gloves, Tony Lama cowboy boots, black denim trousers and a 30-year-old denim jacket. I won't laugh at your choices if you don't laugh at mine.

 

[bhamon]

Doge345, I can only comment on Bell's regarding buying a bike from them. I know nothing about their service or accessories/gear. At the beginning of the Summer, I was sure I was buying a Volusha. Their best offer was about $150 off MSRP. Finally when I came in armed with prices from other dealers, they would do a little better. But, they just about refused to find me a black one. They kept pushing the LE for a few $100 more. Long story short, I waited to see the 2005. Just a few days ago, I walked in with checkbook in hand to buy the black C50 they had in stock. When I told them the price at Lee's he said the best he could do is 6300. In addition, they charge a $200 documentation fee ($150 if you pay cash). I asked him if I could see the manager hoping to do business, but he said he wouldn't give a better price either. Just before I walked out the door, I asked if that was the best they could do, or if they were going to let a sale walk. Their reply, "It wouldn't be the first."

Maybe I am just too cheap, but I am saving $450 by buying at Lee's.

 

[oldgeezer]

A 3/4 helmet with a face shield would be an acceptable alternative. Normally, in the summer, I wear a half helmet but make sure it's cinched up well. Personally, I quit worrying about trying to look cool on my bike. Over the past month, I've known of three guys go down on their bikes and the helmet saved them from serious injury. Last night, a girl in our city was killed when she flew off the back of a sport bike. Wasn't wearing a helmet. Probably would have just been bunged up if she'd been wearing one. Bottom line, wear a helmet.

 

[wsharp]

I ride a 1500LC, windshield, bags, HK 3" Big Straight pipes, whitewall tires. Definately a cruiser.

I also ALWAYS wear an HJC full face helmet, white with smoked shield. It is over 90 degrees almost half the year year in Tucson so I chose white over black.

As for clothing, when it is over 90-95 degrees I usually wear only riding gloves, a shirt, slacks or jeans and boots. When it is between 65-90 degrees I wear a mesh textile armoured jacket and in the winter I wear a leather jacket. Ideally I would wear the textile no matter the temp, but man, I have gotten a little light headed sitting in traffic without air movement even with the mesh jacket.

I find that around here a lot of cruiser guys are wearing full-face helmets, and most wear some kind a helmet even though we are a right-to-choose state. Over the last month, though, we lost one really good guy. He hit an elk and was not wearing a helmet. Severe head trauma, basically died on the scene. A couple weeks later we almost lost another really nice guy. Cresting a hill in the afternoon got blinded by the low sun, missed a curve and hit a tree. Severe head trauma, no helmet. He may regain all of his faculties... the jury is still out on that one.

3 weeks after that my best friend and his daughter were run off the road by some jerk driving a beat up RV. Long story short he was able to stay on the road and avoid the embankment but slid 180 feet before the bike flipped with him still stuck on it (left foot trapped between floorboard and shifter) and slid to a stop. His 10 year old daughter dismounted early in the slide and tumbled to a stop. Both full face helmets were scarred pieces of junk when it was over but both people walked away with amazingly minor injuries, considering.

So, yeah, for me motorcycling/quads = full face helmet.

 

[tlwisner]

Good job getting your C50 at Lee's, they're great. I just got my C50's 600 mile service done there, total out the door was $50. I had Lee's put on the OEM windshield, backrest and luggage rack - and I'm very happy with them. The OEM windshield is a very sturdy accessory and Lee's gave me a very good price on the accessories too.

I haven't had any problems with Bell's Suzuki in Lexington, just that they add on fees on top of their prices, and the prices are higher than Lee's prices. I live in Versailles, so either dealership is about the same distance for me.

As far as helmet choice goes, get what you want. One thing to check out though, I found out, is that wearing my HJC CL-14 full face helmet on my C50 results in having to tilt my head down to see my speedo. So, I ususally wear my Vega 3/4 open face helmet on my C50, while I wear my CL-14 on my Concours ZG1000. Lots of people choose to wear no helmet, that's their choice, I'll choose my helmet. Anybody who wants to criticize my helmet choices can kiss my butt. I wear a jacket too, either mesh or leather depending on the temperature - and solid boots. Gloves too.

Don't worry about looking cool, look toward comfort and protection - the only person you need to impress is yourself. I hope you have gone through the MSF Beginning Rider Course, it's great and will make you a better rider. The C50 is a pretty hefty bike for a first ride.

Also, be sure to check out www.volusiaowners.com 8)

Congrats on the great ride, I sure do love mine:

http://home.adelphia.net/~tlwisner/C50/index.html

 

[md2lgyk]

Check out the OEM windshield before you buy it. I have a new Marauder 800, and had the dealer install the OEM shield without checking it out first. Turned out it was way too short and I had to take it off.

 

[shumanrog]

Helmet

I have a flip up full face helmet. I love it. I see others with no helmet all the time. I also have a half-helmet. My sons laugh at me for wearing the full face one but I feel much more confortable wearing it... I know I have a hard head but it is still not as hard as concrete or asphault.. I'm also not fond of the idea of having wire brushes scrape the gravel and dirt out of my face if I do a header and land face first on the road with a half-helmet on.

 

[Bluejeans]

Check out the OEM windshield before you buy it. I have a new Marauder 800, and had the dealer install the OEM shield without checking it out first. Turned out it was way too short and I had to take it off.

I have a question about that. What height should the windshield be? My bike came with a windshield already on it and I wouldn't know if it was right or not.

 

[bhamon]

I have heard that the height should be just high enough to see over it. I'm sure there is a more precise description somewhere.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Windshield should be maybe two or three inches below your line of sight.

You do not want to be looking through it because for one it is not optically correct ( distorts ) and should it get dirty there are no wipers to clear it. If your problem is that the shield is too high it can be cut down.

It can be lower but so many variables have to be taken into account, winshield will create a pocket where there is little or no wind and at the same time, outside this comfort zone the displaced air will create turbulence that is worse than normal wind buffeting.

So depending on windshield height, your height, distance from winshield to rider, angle of the windshield this quiet zone will vary. Adjustable windshields are nice but experience says that raising it will allow more air to pass under it and up and over the tank.

I have the oem windshield on my Volusia and it is not as tall as I would really like ( even ajusted to the highest position ) on the other hand since I've switched to a full face helmet the wind bothers me much less and I worry that adding a taller ( bigger, more surface area ) will make the bike more sensitive to the wind since a windshield attached to the front forks will transmit the force to the front wheel more readily than a fairing mounted windshield.

 

[bhamon]

Windshield should be maybe two or three inches below your line of sight.

You do not want to be looking through it because for one it is not optically correct ( distorts ) and should it get dirty there are no wipers to clear it. If your problem is that the shield is too high it can be cut down.

It can be lower but so many variables have to be taken into account, winshield will create a pocket where there is little or no wind and at the same time, outside this comfort zone the displaced air will create turbulence that is worse than normal wind buffeting.

So depending on windshield height, your height, distance from winshield to rider, angle of the windshield this quiet zone will vary. Adjustable windshields are nice but experience says that raising it will allow more air to pass under it and up and over the tank.

I have the oem windshield on my Volusia and it is not as tall as I would really like ( even ajusted to the highest position ) on the other hand since I've switched to a full face helmet the wind bothers me much less and I worry that adding a taller ( bigger, more surface area ) will make the bike more sensitive to the wind since a windshield attached to the front forks will transmit the force to the front wheel more readily than a fairing mounted windshield.

I may need to raise my windshield up some then. Right now the wind beats the crap out of my head at 55+. I think mine is about 4-5" below my line of site.

 

[c50tiger]

Love the C50, and really love mine Around town and short hops I wear a 'shorty' helmet, but out on the road I wear a 3/4 open face with a flip-down shield. I wear contacts, and even with wrap-around Oakleys my eyes dry out too bad from side gusts of wind wearing the shorty helmet at speed. Besides, it is safer. But in traffic riding in town (or more accurately, sitting at stop lights in town) the closed helmet is a sweat box.

Hot weather: half-finger leather gloves, jeans, and a pair of Tony LLama's with a Vibram sole or a pair of moc's I have that have proven to have a very slip-resistant sole.

Cooler weather: add textile jacket. Cold weather: leather.

As to the windshield, mine is oem installed by the dealer and on the bike when I bought it. Adjusted it a fraction, and I was still thinking it might be a tad low until reading Uncle Bob's post (many thanks). The ride I went on yesterday, which I actually didn't finish until this afternoon, pretty well proves his point. It's a might breezy round here today and yesterday, and as much as I could occasionally feel it transmitted to the forks, I wouldn't want to make that any worse.

 

[Va bene]

...What height should the windshield be? My bike came with a windshield already on it and I wouldn't know if it was right or not.

According to Memphis Shades (I have a Memphis Slims windshield on my Savage), the windshield should "hit/be in line with" between the tip and middle of your nose. My lines up with the middle of my nose and I can see over it just fine and I have no helmet buffeting.