[roysclockgun]

I began riding in 1959. I still love the feel of the old 650 Triumphs blasting through curves on back roads. Over the years I had a number of bikes to include Harley dressers. The 83 Suzuki GS550 that I owned, was a fine bike and mostly trouble free. As of Jan, this year, I had not been on a bike for 10 years, when I decided to get back up. I read a fair amount, regarding the vast changes that have taken place in the motorcycle world. The main thing that I learned is that there are bikes sold for every taste, but one needs to learn what one wants before buying. After a number of test rides, I settled on the Suzuki S50 Boulevard. This bike is as close as I can get to the weight and feel of the old 650 Triumphs AND still have the reliability of shaft drive and a water cooled engine. The bike corners as if on rails and has plenty power away from the traffic light. Open road cruising is a joy with the S50 and the bike handles very well in heavy traffic in town. With two up, I feel very little loss in acceleration and/or handling ease. The optional Suzuki Sissy Bar is a must if you want your passenger to feel secure on the pillion. I have just gone past the first 1000 miles on this bike. I had it in Daytona for Bike Week and got a number of appreciative stares from fellow bikers who could not figure out what the S50 was, with the new custom look that the flat handle bars give. My only complaint is with the green flasher that indicates that the directional signals are still on. I would make the light amber, so that it would be easier to see in daylight. Over nearly 50 years of riding motorcycles, ranging from 90cc Hondas to "land barge" Harley dressers, I can highly recommend the Suzuki S50 to anyone who has a purist bent and just wants to enjoy the feel of a real naked motorcycle that is both fun to ride and easy to handle. The price tag makes the S50 a bargain too!
Steve

 

[Louis]

Congrats!!!

and :welcomes:

 

[SuzukiGirl1]

Awesome!! Welcome to the forum!!!

I think we all can appreciate the feelings that you were talking about...many of us can't wait until our motorcycle season begins again so that we can enjoy it too!!

 

[stp1971]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!! I too looked at that bike and was just a pen stroke away from buying it until the dealer offered me too good of a deal on my 1500. You should send that letter to Suzuki,, they might use it in a comercial. Welcome to this forum,, I think you will like it. Everyone has been VERY helpful to me and you can't ask for a better group of folks to chat with!!!!

 

[Pinhy]

welcome and good choice in bikes....

are you in FL? what part? Tampa here. We rode over to daytona for a couple days and are going to Leesburg on April 22/23. If you arent too far you should head over.

 

[roysclockgun]

S50 a winner

Pinhy asked: "are you in FL? what part?"

I am semi-retired and still have issues of business holding me here in Maryland. However, I own my Dad's house in DeLand, FL. so I split my time between Maryland and Florida. A part of the reason that I bought the S50 was to have wheels down there when I fly in. After putting the first 900 miles on the Boulevard S50, during Bike Week, I could not think about leaving the bike in Florida, so I loaded it up on the pick-up and toted it home to Md. This week has been fairly nippy weather, but I did manage to drive to my Clock Shop business, 20 miles from home. With gasoline being over two bucks a gallon the S50 is already paying for itself!
A few minutes ago, my son Kirk, left with my old '82 KZ750E Kawasaki. I really regret not keeping the bike for myself, but Kirk has had some hard times recently and needed the second set of wheels in the family. The KZ is still a great ride and smoother then the new S50. Those in line fours do not give the buzz to the butt and hands, as the V-twin do.
I have been able to see a huge change in motorcycles over the past 40 years. No doubt about the quality that the Japanese manufacturers injected into the world of motorcycles. Wires being "shorted" by vibration causing loss of headlights, due to "Lucas, Prince of Darkness" electronics, is nearly a thing of the past. Carrying a serious tool kit, in order to wire up various and sundry parts left on the hi-way, behind Harleys, is a dim memory. Today's cyclist can operate with confidence, just as today's motorists, given well cared for vehicles. Simply turn the key and go, with only the regular, scheduled trips to the dealer to keep the vehicle in top condition. Compare that to the solid mounted, vibrating motorcycle engines of the 1960s, that had to wrenched on a daily basis and there is no comparison. We are living in the best of days, right now, when it comes to high quality, affordable motorcycles.
While I was new bike shopping, I really did like the Kawasaki 750 that is close in looks to the Boulevard S50. It was only my memory of the Suzuki GS550 four that swung me over the getting another Suzuki.
I appreciate all of the kind replies to my first post.
Ride safe,
Steve

 

[axel_2078]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. :biker:

 

[YellowJacket]

I Agree With Steve!

As an S50 owner, I confess I am somewhat bias but I completely agree with roysclockgun. The S50 reminds me of my 1964 BSA Lighting Rocket. Its priced right and does everything I want. Congrats on your ride and welcome to the forum. :mrgreen:

 

[DrBob]

Welcome to the forum! I agree with you- the Intruder 800/ S50 is a great bike. I have two of them right now, one for daily driving and one turned into a chopper. My first VS800, which I bought new in 96, went 130,000 miles, so you can add 'durable' to your list of the bike's strong points.

 

[roysclockgun]

S50 is a winner

Funny thing, about my latest venture in the world of motorcycling, is how attitudes have changed, regarding what is a "heavy weight" motorcycle. Going all the way back to the 1960s, when 650cc British bikes were considered "heavy weight" and many were fitted out with saddle bags and wind screens, which in those days, then qualified the bike as a "touring motorcycle". I can remember reading any number of articles in motorcycle magazines, reporting coast to coast rides on those 650cc machines. Today, the 650cc machine is relegated to being one of the smaller "sport bikes" and certainly, when fitted out as a cruiser, is not viewed by the current bike fanciers, as a heavy weight tourer!
I am not convinced of why this phenomina has taken place, but today, a good segment of the cycling public believes that they must have 1500cc's or more, just to carry two up! I am not knocking anyones choice of what bike to buy and/or ride. I am simply muddling over this segue that seems to have come out of no where, during the last ten years, while I was not riding, nor paying any attention to the monthly cycle rags.
In my opinion, once a motorcycle is so big that it takes on the look of "land barge" and weighs nearly as much, it loses most of the positive aspects of being a motorcycle! The nimble feel of winging one's way through switch back curves on two lane black tops, while feeling as if one were a part of the machine and not merely a passenger, has to be one of my primary motivations for riding two wheels in the first place. Once I had "progressed" to owning and riding an 80 cu.in. Harley, I realized that I had, somewhere along the line, lost the sheer joy of "asphalt surfing"! Anything as heavy and unweildy as that 80 cu.in. Harley, could never give me the feeling that I'd always had, while cruising along windy back roads on the more nimble, lighter machines that I had ridden in my youth. And now, we have arrived at a point in motorcycle markenting, where we find that 80 cu.in. engines barely qualify the machine as a "mid weight" motorcycle, when stacked up against a Boss Hoss, sporting a Chevy V8 mill!
I am no motorcycle "John the Baptist", crying in the wilderness. Most riders who still enjoy the feel of asphalt surfing know of what I speak. The Super Heavy Weight fanciers SHOULD ride what they like and God bless them. For me, let me have the bike that still feels like a motorcycle and is quick enough to ride me out of trouble and nimble enough to get me through winding curves with a feel of being on rails. No wind screen or tour pack, just the naked motorcycle and the smile with a few bugs between the teeth!
Steve

 

[Trapper]

Well said. Did you hear that Pinhy?

 

[Pinhy]

i did more than "hear" it...i copied and pasted it into a word document and am keeping it to refer to every once in a while. im considering putting the entire thing in my sig (just kidding UB).

that is one of the most awesome posts i have read ever! thanks "roy"!

 

[trini0]

Well said. Did you hear that Pinhy?

+1

 

[Hunter]

let me have the bike that still feels like a motorcycle and is quick enough to ride me out of trouble and nimble enough to get me through winding curves with a feel of being on rails. No wind screen or tour pack, just the naked motorcycle and the smile with a few bugs between the teeth!
Steve

WOW, very well written. I love your outlook on the sport of riding.:bluethum:

 

[Hunter]

that is one of the most awesome posts i have read ever! thanks "roy"!

+1……With out a doubt. I have bought motorcycle magazines and have yet to read anything as good or well written as that. NICE JOB. Please keep posting.

 

[roysclockgun]

S50 is a winner

Gosh, after all the nice compliments, you folks have me blushing.........Can't get to swell headed as there is, most likely, someone out there with an opposing view, waiting to shoot me down.
As soon as I bought the S50, I tried on my old tan leather riding jacket. Somehow, over the past 10 years, the leather and liner shrunk several sizes and I realized that I would have to get another, larger leather jacket. Being in Daytona one week before Bike Week, any number of motorcycle accessory sellers were in town, all trying to sell the same stuff. In that situation, I realized that I was in a buyer's market and haggled a decent price on a black (what else) motorcycle jacket with zippers to vent front and rear. I rode with the jacket unadorned for a few days, until I began to feel left out. Everyone else had something on their jacket. For years I have looked with scorn upon "No Fear", emblazoned on pick-up truck rear windows and elsewhere. To me, anyone who says that they have no fear is either a fool or a candidate to be fitted for a coffin very soon. Thinking of this, I had a silver gray gargoyle patch sewn on the back of my jacket, above which was, written in large letters, "REASONABLE FEAR!" I have received a number of "thumbs up" from other riders who see my jacket and comprehend the meaning of the message.
While the 805cc engine of the S50 is not as likely to get me into trouble as would one of the super quick and powerful crotch rockets, the S50 has more speed and acceleration then I care to fully use. My mantra, "Reasonable Fear" is branded upon my brain each time I throw a leg over the seat of my bike. This is especially true when approaching intersections where four wheelers are likely to pull out and have me T-bone into them, unless I am driving defensively and am prepared for their simple minded moves. No amount of bright clothing, motorcycle lights or horns will stop someone bent on killing me, if I allow them to do so. This is perhaps the primary reason that we cherish cruising on two lane blacktop and back roads that have few intersections. On those favored by-ways, animals in the roadway become the primary hazard and our guard can be dropped just a tad, in order to enjoy the 360 degree skyline and the changing scenery sliding by our peripheral vision, as various smells are picked up and identified. Four wheel folk, with their windows up and air conditioners blasting realize none, or little of their surroundings. On a motorcycle we are not driving through the country, we are one with it.
Oh yeah, I have noticed an increase of the number of bikers who wave back, provided I wave far enough in advance, so that some of them have an opportunity to respond. Not waving is, perhaps, a consequence of what I have come to call the "East Coast Crowded Rat Syndrome." Too many folk seem too bent on arriving at their destination and miss the joy of experiencing the journey. Maybe we are doing something worthy, in rekindling the habit of waving to each other. Motorcycle riders feel bonded to other riders in a way that four wheel operators cannot. Even though motorcycling is worldwide, there is something uniquely American that has molded many of the current motorcycle models into their present state of developement. Maybe it sounds corny, but the spirit of the rugged individualist is alive in the heart of all who choose motorcycling as a means of transportation. No other verhicle puts it's imprint upon the persona as does the motorcycle.
Ride safe,
Steve

 

[Gixxerdale]

I'm late on this, but just read all the posts! Great perspective! Now I feel like a rookie! I didn't start riding until 1972, so I'm just a novice by comparison. I can relate to the ideas of years ago though. Things have changed dramatically in motorcycling.

I've been through many versions of bike and motor styles. My little lightweight Gixxer is the ticket for me. It sure gets funny reactions when I'm in Arizona or Nevada and a guy on a sport tourer or big cruiser asks"where did you ride that from?" When I tell them "I left LA this morning and will be home tonight" They think I'm nuts and they are probably right, but it's my kind of riding. I have a thing for long rides on less traveled roads these days.

We have the same crowded rat syndrome here in LA, but it actually seems to be improving!

And welcome to the forum!

 

[stp1971]

My best friend has a 1982 Honda Nighthawk cb450,, and my dad just picked up a 1986 Honda Nighthawk cb650 with a front fairing and windshield. I am amazed at all the reactions from everyone that those two bikes get. Mostly that they are still on the road and that they are collector items. I NEVER would've guessed that they would've recieved such positive reactions. So that just goes to show you bigger isn't always better. Those two bikes sure are alot more agile than my 1500LC.

 

[Pinhy]

wow..chapter 2 in the "roy's great posts" book...

keep it up!