S50 reviews / chat

[oneyunguy]

Hello all,

I am looking into buying possibly a 07 or 09 Suzuki S50. I would love to hear and see all that people have to offer in the way of reviews, knowledge and experience with this bike?

Let the fun begin!

Mike

[Sarris]

I used to own a 1996 VS 1400 (S83?) 4 speed model and it was a wonderful bike.

Like Musicman said, the battery and air filters are a bitch to get to, but otherwise it's a bulletproof machine. It's a great step up.

http://s1.postimage.org/vicTJ.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gxvicTJ)

I did do some minor mods to mine. PM me if you need some source info.

:roll: :lol:

[Easy Rider]

I am looking into buying possibly a 07 or 09 Suzuki S50. I would love to hear and see all that people have to offer in the way of reviews, knowledge and experience with this bike?

Have a look here:

http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/forum/

Tell DrBob I sent you !! :)

J/K.....Lots of good info. there about all kinds of Zuki's; mostly M50.

[mrlmd1]

Look at my answer to your other recent post and MY other post under "other bikes", my new ride (2 posts in July 2009). Dr. Bob on the other M-J forum had 2, one with 139,000 miles which would still be going if it wasn't wrecked, and his second with 75,000 + miles.

[oneyunguy]

I must say, I really like how the Honda American Classic Edition (ace) looks!

[mrlmd1]

Then why don't you ask:

"I am looking into buying possibly a 07 or 09 Honda ACE. I would love to hear and see all that people have to offer in the way of reviews, knowledge and experience with this bike?"

instead of Suzuki S50?

[oneyunguy]

Well, I said I like the way they LOOK, not anything about quality or reliability. I prefer Suzuki in many ways over Honda. Just because I think something LOOKS good, doesn't mean I want it. If I wanted reviews on Honda, I would probably go to a Honda forum and ask there.

I haven't done much research or spent much time looking into Honda so I don't know about their reliability or quality. I have read much on the M50 and S50 though and seen alot about the bullet-proofness of these bikes.

The only things I know about Honda is how much trouble I had with my 554's many years ago. I also had alot of trouble with Yamaha. It's Suzuki's turn now even though I have had a couple problems with the GZ.

[oneyunguy]

Sarris : That's a sweet lookin Intruder! I didn't think suzuki's could have that much rake!

[Easy Rider]

The only things I know about Honda is how much trouble I had with my 554's many years ago.

OK, so what's a 554 ?? Dirt bike.......racer......ATV.....???

Honda has probably the best reliability reputation across the whole industry......but they all make a "dog" now and then.

The conclusion you have drawn from your one isolated experience is invalid........like most conclusions arrived at that way. :biggrin:

[Water Warrior 2]

Well, I said I like the way they LOOK, not anything about quality or reliability. I prefer Suzuki in many ways over Honda. Just because I think something LOOKS good, doesn't mean I want it. If I wanted reviews on Honda, I would probably go to a Honda forum and ask there.

I haven't done much research or spent much time looking into Honda so I don't know about their reliability or quality. I have read much on the M50 and S50 though and seen alot about the bullet-proofness of these bikes.

The only things I know about Honda is how much trouble I had with my 554's many years ago. I also had alot of trouble with Yamaha. It's Suzuki's turn now even though I have had a couple problems with the GZ.
Never owned a Honda but they are a good product. Their 750 V-twins have proven to be very popular over the years. Aftermarket support is probably as good as it gets too. As for the S-50 and M-50 they are similar but not really the same in some cases. The S-50 is more of an around town bike compared to the M-50. The M comes with FI, a larger tank, a larger seat, different forks, cast wheels, tubless tires, different bars, different exhaust pipes and more weight overall. It is also the best handling(I have read) of the 50 series bikes. What it comes down to is the actual uses you have planned for your ride. Any of these 750/800 V-twins will haul you anywhere with reliability. Appearance, comfort level, equipment level, maintenance costs, insurance costs and what really tugs at your heart strings should be considered.

[oneyunguy]

The Honda CB 500 (four): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_CB550

I agree with you Easy, conclusions are only good after experience. I also know I cannot make any decisions on Honda reliability or quality based on one experience.

Honda makes great cars, and they made good bikes way back then. Just don't know about today.

[oneyunguy]

Water Warrior - What i am looking for is something to cruise around town in, but also go for trips, not super long ones, but maybe on a couple occasions like the okanagan/kootenays/sunshine coast. In ohter words, something that will handle a trip, but also good for around town. I am sure the S50 would do for that. I am not sure if I want to deal with FI. the guy at the dealer really wants me to sit and test ride an M50 though. I will test both for sure.

I took my GZ to kelowna, can you believe it? From Van to Princeton, then north to the connector, and on to Kelowna. The hills killed me and my bike. But at least I tried and did make it. NEVER again! lol
800 cc's should work just fine for trips. I am not the speedy rider when it comes to trips either. Take my time and enjoy the ride.

I also ran out of gas kinda in the middle of nowhere because of the full throttle alot of the time. Thankfully someone came down the road and drove me to the gas station 50km's away and back.

[Easy Rider]

I am not sure if I want to deal with FI.

You DO have some .....interesting....ideas. :roll:

Why would you say that about FI ??

Pretty near EVERY new car now has it. It is far superior to a carb. LOTS of new bikes have it too.

[Water Warrior 2]

Don't let FI scare you. I doubt I will ever own another bike with a carb. FI is trouble free compared to gummed up carbs and the need to play with a choke/enrichener on a cold engine. Which dealer is offering you a test ride ?

[oneyunguy]

I guess I just think / find it easier to fix and repair carbs. done it before. never touched FI so I wouldn't know what I was getting into.

Water : Richmond Motorsports (I work right behind them so I get to see bikes all day when i am at the office, they also crank out alot of canam spyders which are neat to see)

[Easy Rider]

I guess I just think / find it easier to fix and repair carbs. done it before. never touched FI so I wouldn't know what I was getting into.

That's true, for the most part. No different than a lot of the modern electronic stuff on vehicles now. The good part is: It almost never breaks. The bad part: If you are one of the few unlucky enough to have one go bad, you just need to resign yourself to the fact that you will NOT be able to fix it yourself.

It's a whole different ballgame from carbs and manual chokes and ignitions with points. :cool:

[music man]

Ignitions with points :puke: :puke: :puke: . If I never see another set of points it will be too soon. I just gutted the ignition system on my beetle to get rid of that very thing, there is a lot of modern gadgets they have added to engines over the years that make them harder to work on, electronic ignitions were not one of them.

[Water Warrior 2]

FI is neat. It has a memory if something goes a little astray. You can read the onboard puter on many bikes without going to a dealer. I had an FI fault come up whenever the Vstrom sat for a couple days. Plugged in a bent paper clip in the right place to discover there was a hang up in the secondary something or others. A fault code comes up in the dash. Changed gas brands and thing cleared up. The gas I had been using was not top tier as I expected. FI and puters in bikes are pretty much fool proof if you let them do their job.

[burkbuilds]

I've never had a fuel injected bike, but I've had a lot of fuel injected vehicles, and yes, when they are working correctly, which is most of the time, they can't be beat, however, when they stop working correctly, which has happened to me twice, you can spend a fortune on them and not resolve the problem. I spent over $1200 on a truck trying to get the fuel injection working properly. I took it to the Ford dealer, lots of money, no solution, I went to Goodyear, same, a couple of specialty automotive electronic shops and a general repair mechanic. Everyone was able to able to make it run right, for a few hours, until the computer had time to adjust itself (and yes, the computer got replaced once too), then it would stall every time you took your foot off the gas. Final solution, I ripped the entire top end off that engine, put an aftermarket intake manifold and a four barrel on it and the problem stopped!

Having said all of that, I understand why you might want to stick with a carb. Yeah, they are more trouble in general, but at least they are simple, problems are obvious and a competent mechanic can rebuild one himself using basic tools.

I just sold my modern fuel injected Ford Ranger and bought a 1981 F-100 with a straight six and a single barrel carburetor, a three speed automatic C-6 transmission and a Ford 9" rear end. All very reliable mechanically, easy for the average home mechanic to maintain, and cheap to rebuild if necessary. :)

[oneyunguy]

I can't tell you guys how many times I have had alternators/carbs/water pumps on the kitchen table fixing them. A little bit of work, yes, but do-able. FI is lovely when it's working, I agree 100%!! Have heard alot of horror stories on FI when it doesn't work, but then again, I have heard a couple horror stories on carb rebuilds too.

POINTS - WHOAAAAA! now that's a blast from the past!!

[Water Warrior 2]

I guess I just think / find it easier to fix and repair carbs. done it before. never touched FI so I wouldn't know what I was getting into.

Water : Richmond Motorsports (I work right behind them so I get to see bikes all day when i am at the office, they also crank out alot of canam spyders which are neat to see)
Wonder if they would let me test ride a C-50 ? Maybe I will drop by sometime.

[oneyunguy]

Anything's possible, I guess?? Wouldn't do any harm as they just want to sell stuff.

They had an S50 listed that I saw and called them up and asked about it, that's when they told me it was sold (4,399.00). So we got to chatting and I told him I wanted to upgrade from GZ250 to the S50. He said to me, you should come in and sit on and M50 and take it for a test ride.

[Easy Rider]

He said to me, you should come in and sit on and M50 and take it for a test ride.

Go for it!!
You should at least do a test "sit" and lean it up off the stand.
Not quite as agile as an S but a lower profile and different look that a LOT of guys love....and a few girls too.

Keep all your options open.

[oneyunguy]

Well, I "sat" on an 09 boulevard today, it wasn't bad. Nowhere near as heavy as it looked. I sure would like to see them for real side by side tough and take each for a nice small spin.

[Easy Rider]

Well, I "sat" on an 09 boulevard today, it wasn't bad.

Zuki has played fast and loose with it's model names.
"Boulevard" might be just one specific bike now but at one time, it was a line of several different models. Kind of like "Maurader" and the GZ 250.

[Water Warrior 2]

Well, I "sat" on an 09 boulevard today, it wasn't bad. Nowhere near as heavy as it looked. I sure would like to see them for real side by side tough and take each for a nice small spin.

There are at least 5 800 CC Boulevards to choose from. S-50, M-50 and 3 or more C-50 models. Which one did you test sit ?

[dannylightning]

Anything's possible, I guess?? Wouldn't do any harm as they just want to sell stuff.

They had an S50 listed that I saw and called them up and asked about it, that's when they told me it was sold (4,399.00). So we got to chatting and I told him I wanted to upgrade from GZ250 to the S50. He said to me, you should come in and sit on and M50 and take it for a test ride.


the m50 is one of the best feeling bikes i have ever set on. this may sound strange but to me it felt just like setting on a larger gz250 not sure if it is just the way the bike was balanced or what but it did not feel much different. the limited edition orange and black m50 was super cool too. if it were not for the price i would have loved to get one. the fule injection is probably better, you also get much better gas milage. my volutia getss about 32 mpg and the newer version the c50 FI is rated around 50mpg if my memory serves me correct.

i would really like to get that suzuki m109r limited edition in white. when i first saw one i was like that bike is really cool but relly weird, when i saw a few of them go down the street i was like damn that bike is cool and now i think there killer. i think its too big for me tho, kind of hard to reach the handle bars and it is expensive.

[dannylightning]

Well, I "sat" on an 09 boulevard today, it wasn't bad. Nowhere near as heavy as it looked. I sure would like to see them for real side by side tough and take each for a nice small spin.

There are at least 5 800 CC Boulevards to choose from. S-50, M-50 and 3 or more C-50 models. Which one did you test sit ?


yeah witch one, every cruiser suzuki makes is a boulevard. in the mid priced suzuki bikes i would pick one of these 3, c-50-m50-s83. the s83 is fast 1400cc on that one, it might be a little much. the m50 and c50 should have just the right amount of power for any one who is not a speed demon, they speed up plenty quick and you can get it up over 100mph easily (not that you should ever do that) but you can. good bikes for around town and will hold up on a long trip. witch ever one is more comfortable to would probably be the one to go with.


i dont like the s50 but that is just me. i think it is weird looking and uncomfortable to set on. so that is my opinion.

[oneyunguy]

Hey guys,

It was an M50, a demo 2009 in black and white. It felt pretty darn good and fairly light too!

[dannylightning]

yeah that m50 does feel really light,

you decide on what to get yet.

[mrlmd1]

From the Suzuki site -
M50 = 584lbs. Not exactly light. Fuel injected 805cc twin
S50 = 478 lbs. 106 lbs. lighter. Carbureted 805cc twin

[patrick_777]

Weight has very little to do with how the bike "feels". My neighbor's R1 "feels" about 100lbs lighter than my Ninja 250, but it actually weighs over 150lbs more.

[Easy Rider]

Weight has very little to do with how the bike "feels". My neighbor's R1 "feels" about 100lbs lighter than my Ninja 250, but it actually weighs over 150lbs more.

I think your "feeler" is damaged !!! :shocked: :crackup

Once it's moving, maybe.
Just standing still.......doubtful.

[patrick_777]

Have you sat on one? I'm dead serious. The balance of the bike with the engine placement is nearly perfect. Picking it up off the side stand, I almost dumped it over the other side the first time because I was used to the weight of taking my 250r off its stand. Balance and center of gravity has more to do with how heavy the bike feels than gross weight.

Please don't call me a liar.

[Sarris]

You are correct. IMO, that's why the S50 feels lighter than the M50. I think the M feels wide and heavy.

Just my 2 cents worth.

:plus1:

[Easy Rider]

Please don't call me a liar.

Sorry. Was NOT meant that way at all.
You said "feels"; that is a perception.
Perceptions can be different with neither being "wrong".

Another bad joke gone awry. :cry:

[Easy Rider]

IMO, that's why the S50 feels lighter than the M50. I think the M feels wide and heavy.

Maybe the fact that the "S" really IS a little over 100 LBS lighter might have some bearing on it ??? :shocked: :biggrin:

[dannylightning]

to me, the M50 feels much lighter than the C50 and the S50, its all about the way the weight is distributed, if a bike is top heavy it is gong to feel way heavier than it actually is. there were some Yamaha's i set on that weighed less than my bike and were smaller than the m50 but they were top heavy, and it took a lot of effort just to get it off the kick stand. the m50 is probably the best feeling bike i have ever set on. after settiing on all those bikes at the dealer, pretty much every bike suzuki and yamaha made and than going back to set on the m50 again i was like yeah this is the best bike here. and the m50 was the first big bike i had ever set on and thought wow this bike feels great.

i hated every Yamaha i set on except for the 650. that one felt pretty good. those little bikes move along pretty well for a 650, i know a couple people that have one.

[alanmcorcoran]

The Strat has a low COG and doesn't feel that heavy, until it gets past about 20-25 degrees. I wouldn't say it comes off the kickstand as easily as the Geezer, but it's no big deal.

I think once you get used to the heavier weight, you really don't notice it much. (Unless, of course, you have to pick it up.)

One thing you should be aware of when you go up to a bigger bike - if it doesn't have reverse, don't park it heading in and facing downhill. There's a sort of brake/shove, release brake technique you can use to back up a heavy bike, but it requires a lot of muscle (and weight!) (and height!) itself. I always try to make sure I park the Strat so I can get out moving forward or it will roll easy backward. If you aren't tall or particularly buff, it's tough to back a 850 pound bike uphill.

[mrlmd1]

As an aside to AC's comments, try not to park a bike facing downhill. It can roll forward and collapse the kickstand rearward and fall over. even if you leave it in gear. You may try and prevent that by setting the right hand front brake lever with a piece of velcro or a tie, but it's easier to face the bike uphill if you can. Or you could bring along a wheel chock to prevent it from rolling, put it under the rear tire maybe.
All of this perceived weight of these bikes may be in the mind of the observer, but when push comes to shove, ie. backing the bike up, keeping it from falling over, picking it up, it's the absolute weight that counts, not the perceived weight. I don't think anyone would doubt it's easier to pick up the GZ compared to the Strat, regardless of how it "feels" when you sit on it. The same goes for the S50, M50, C50, or anything else you want to mention.

[dannylightning]

backing up a heavy bike is a pain in the butt. my bike weighs around 600 lbs and it's not easy to back up a hill at all, even a little bit of a hill. when i park it i make sure the weight is working with the kick stand and not against it, the kick stand can come down quite easily as i have found out already when i was putting on my new pipes. after setting there for a min looking at it on the ground scared to pick it up and see the damage i finally went to pick it up and surprisingly the bike was very easy to pick up after it fell over, there was a little scratch on the front fender and that was about it. i was quite lucky,

a bike that is really top heavy would not have been so easy to pick up. take a dolly lay it down on its back and put 4 boxes on it, the box on the bottom weighs 100 lbs and the rest of the boxes weigh 10 lbs, now try to lift it up, its gonna lift up quite easily due to the weight placement and leverage now put that 100 lb box on top of the other boxes and try to pick up that dolly. it is going to be hard to pick up,

[mrlmd1]

Not to belabor this, but from the Suzuki site again---

S50 ground clearance 4.9" seat height 27.6" fuel tank capacity 3.2 gal weight 478 lbs.
M50 5.5" 27.6" 4.1 gal 584 lbs.
C50 5.5" 27.6" 4.1 gal 611 lbs.

The S50 is closer to the ground than either the M50 or C50, has the same seat height, basically the same size/weight engine, a smaller gas tank, and if anything, the S50 has a lower center of gravity (being lower and with a smaller tank) So by your reasoning, the S50 should be a lot easier to pick up from a drop, and it also weighs 106 - 133 lbs. less than either of those. I have no idea what you think you are feeling when you say the M50 "feels lighter than the S50, it's all about weight distribution", because if anything the M50 has more weight and more of it higher up, has a higher center of gravity than the S50 does. And the C50 is worse.

[oneyunguy]

so has anyone spent a bit of time on both of these bikes riding them? I would love hear the comparisons of ride quality.

[mrlmd1]

I can only attest to the S50, never having ridden an M50. Obviously the S50 is a lot quicker than either of the other two. According to reports on the other M-J site, in one description by an M50 owner when he and his friend on an S50 left from a standing stop at a light, the S50 took off from the M50 as if the M50 were tied to a tree. The S50 rides and handles a lot like my previous GZ but is a lot more solid on the road, although it does blow around a little more in a heavy wind because it is a lot lighter than the M or C50. Other than acceleration and this little quirk, I would imagine they would have similar rides, with the S50 being more responsive in power and more nimble in handling. I'm quite sure the S50 would be easier to duck walk forward or backwards and be easier to pick up.

[dannylightning]

well there are 3 bikes mentioned here, not sure witch 2 you want to hear about but

i have a C50/volusia. same bike changed the name a few years down the road and added fuel injection.

i love my bike, it has plenty of power in my opinion, if you really get on it you can get up to 60mph in what feels like no time, the gears never seem to end, i have had it up to 50-60 mph in second gear a few times when i was seeing what the bike could do. you can cruz down the highway at 80 mph all day long if you want to, it will hit 100+ mph easily and be able to continue going at those speeds, fastest i have gone on my bike was 110 mph when i was out on a ride with a bunch of guys and imp pretty sure it had some more mph to go before it topped out.

i think it is very comfortable, it rides great, it handles quite well for its size, i can take most really sharp turns about 20mph easily ( example: turning on to a side street) the first week i had the bike i went on a long cruz with some friends, there were some extremely curvy roads that we ran across on our trip i remember halving to take those curves kind of on the slow side. i would have to say this bike is made for comfort and cruzing not flying around corners like a mad man. it has covered forks, and that is good because your fork seals are not out in the open and collect less dust and dirt, there forth they should last longer than a bike that does not have covered forks. it has a drive shaft witch is way better than a chain drive in my opinion. one con about the bike is that there is no storage compartment except for the little spot that fits your tool bag and that is about the only con i can think of.

a few cool features my bike has, 3 tripometers, a clock, a gas gauge, all of witch are digital, only thing missing would be a gear indicator and a tachometer.if you are into custom parts there are a lot of custom parts you can get, there is tons of chrome available and ever thing else available for this bike. even a few super cool fenders like the gangster fenders that are made by one company i cant remember off hand, loads of chrome parts and any thing you could ever need to make it into some kind of show bike, i put a new set of cobra street rod pipes on it and besides that and the possible addition of a corbin young guns seat im not going to change any thing else on the bike.



my over all opinion on this bike is....... plenty quick, plenty comfortable, handles well, enjoyable and fun to ride, easy to customize if you are in to that kind of thing. and i would recommend one of these bikes to any one.

[oneyunguy]

Well, I am mainly interested in hearing about the S50 and M50. BUT, hearing about all the bikes from good ole 'Zuki in the 800cc range is all good.

I just went for a ride tonight with a guy I work with. He rides a an 06 C50T. Pretty nice with a few mods. Too much for me to keep clean!

[Water Warrior 2]

Just keep the important parts clean. A bottle of Windex and paper towels for the lights and instruments. The rest is all fluff.

[dannylightning]

bike are easy to keep clean, once a week i spend about 15-20 min wiping it all down, or i wash it and spend about 45 min. depends on how much time you have, some kind of cleaner, some wax and a good bottle of chrome polish and that thing is gonna look great all the time.

you can also spend about 5 min after every ride giving it a quick wipe down, just find a dirt spot and wipe, your bike will stay alot cleaner than you think unless you are riding threw watter or mud, mine mainly collects dust and splattered bugs.

[alantf]

bike are easy to keep clean,

Yes, but you LIKE cleaning things. :lol: :lol: :lol: You even wanna make a living out of it :lol: :lol: :lol:

[oneyunguy]

I just couldn't only keep the 'important' parts clean. I like a nice shiny , "so clean you could eat off it" ride.

I have a hard time when someones oogling the ride and it's not too clean! ha ha.

[dannylightning]

bike are easy to keep clean,

Yes, but you LIKE cleaning things. :lol: :lol: :lol: You even wanna make a living out of it :lol: :lol: :lol:

lol, cleaning is easy work and does not cost a lot of money to get your business started compared to a lot of other things, i do like cleaning except for the part where you got to pick stuff up and put it away haha. vacuuming floors, wiping down counters, pressure washing is kind of relaxing to me, i do enjoy cleaning my bike and making it gleam but i hate washing cars and i hate putting laundry away, that is the worst haha.

[alanmcorcoran]

I rarely clean mine (cars or bikes.) I do like a clean windshield though. And face guard.

[dannylightning]

I rarely clean mine (cars or bikes.) I do like a clean windshield though. And face guard.

i rarely cleaned my gz but the new bike has lots of chrome and a super shiny paint job. i feel its worth the time to ride around on a shiny machine.

[mrlmd1]

Don't polish or Armorall the seat unless you want to slide all over the place.

[dannylightning]

Don't polish or Armorall the seat unless you want to slide all over the place.

lol, i use bick 4 leather conditioner, no slipping and sliding around but if you set on it any time soon after you put it on there you might get some of it on your pants and that stuff does not smell good at all. no one wants to walk around with s stinky butt all day haha but once its all dry it makes the seat look great.

[Sarris]

Leather conditioner on a vinyl seat???

:retard: :retard:

[bonehead]

Leather conditioner on a vinyl seat???

:retard: :retard:
Works great.

[dannylightning]

it cleans it quite nicely.

[patrick_777]

Agreed. It's a lot better than Armor-all, which will slide your ass right off the bike (literally) with the first quick turn or fast stop.

[mrlmd1]

I just checked the gas mileage on my S50 again - went 118mi., filled it up to the filler neck as I always do, took 2.1 gal = 56 mpg, which is what I have consistently gotten with all the different types of riding I do - mostly shorter trips of 15-30 miles, some in town traffic, some more open roads. Occasionally I've gotten 58 mpg. So I'm pretty happy with that. :)

[oneyunguy]

Well, Instead of a Suzuki, I am going to a 2006 Yamaha 650 V-Star Custom. Very nice looking bike with only 2,200 km's on it. No rust, no dings or dents.
http://s3.postimage.org/pCdn9.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqpCdn9)