Back in the Suzuki "fold".

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

WW, yes, I think it's just right for me at this time. I am enjoying it. I have to admit that the

ZL600 was exhilarating to ride but the Boulevard fits my 6'1" -240 lb body a lot better. I

was surprised at the handling difference between those two bikes, the ZL almost seemed

to read my mind, just a little body lean and it responded so fast I sometimes just thought it

was doing it on it's own. With the Boulevard I found myself swinging way out in the curves

and I had to adjust a lot. It will ride the turns but I have to put a lot more effort and

weight into it to get it to lean over. It really wants to come back up to the top if I don't

put lean heavily into it, which is nice when you just want a relaxing ride but it does take

more effort in the S-turns.

Have you tried raising the fork tubes half an inch? This will quicken up the steering a bit. That and running the tire pressures a couple lbs more than 2 up specs.

The M-50 has different forks than the C-50 and handles very sweet in the twisties. The C050 is a little more of a relaxed touring bike with a bigger seat, floorboards and different bars too. The one I test rode a few years ago had the heel toe shifter and felt just right after 5 minutes of riding.
I think a lot of riders overlook the C-50 in their search for a new ride because it is only 805cc's. It's HP to Weight ratio is pretty good too.
Speaking of weight. Crash bars are pretty much a must have item if you drop it. I dropped Lynda's M-50 twice with the crash bars on it and it litterly rolled back up to vertical with little effort. The bike was stationary both times doing an oil change. Then I bought a bike lift after escaping any damage or scratches.

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by Maggie

Nice ride. I think the C50 is the more modern version of my VZ800. Sadly, my VZ800 has a hole in the engine case and I am not sure it will ever run again. I have yet to unmount the engine and pull it apart to see what happened in there. Such a pretty bike, I really miss riding it. Hmmmm...maybe a C50...

The aftermarket also supports the C-50 very well. No real maintenance issues to speak of and they are a pretty good bang for your buck.

[burkbuilds]

Maggie, sorry to hear about your bike. If you decide to move on to another ride the C50T is a

very nice bike and would be similar in size to what you were riding.

WW, yes, my bike has the engine guards on it. I hope I never need them,

The riding position is nice with the floor boards and larger seat. I installed a drivers

backrest last night and rode it around a bit today and it helped with my comfort level. I've

decided to add Barons Handlebar risers (Model# BA-7410-00)to move the handles up

1-3/4" and back 1-1/2", which should be just about right for me and not enough to require

replacing any of the cables. Since Beth won't ride with me, I think I'll pull the passenger

seat and install the trunk I once had mounted on my Vulcan 500. I will have to fabricate

some mounting hardware but that shouldn't be a big deal since I've set up my son in law

with a machine shop in a building behind my house. He loves to do custom work for

people's bikes, and he'll help me make anything I need.

[Water Warrior 2]

WOW! A machine shop in your back yard. Awesome.

[burkbuilds]

Yes, it's nice to have all those machines available and a son-in-law who's really good at using them.

I decided to order a seat from Russell Day Long in California. It's supposed to be finished and back to me in February.

I copied Russell's basic design years ago for my Vulcan 500 seat and although I couldn't

compete with their stylish looks, the shape was super comfortable and I even rode it over 7

hours one day and reached my destination, helped unload my wife's car and went back out

for another hour long ride.

I hope the one I've ordered is equally comfortable.

[Water Warrior 2]

BB, I remember the 500 you had. It did serve you well.

[burkbuilds]

WW, yes, I actually regret selling it after the wreck. I restored it and sold it while I was still

in a wheelchair and bought a Vulcan 900 to replace it but I was never as pleased with the

900 as I was with the 500. I thought about going out and finding a 500 with low miles again

but they stopped making them in 2009 so it would already be an 8 year old bike and I was

tired of fooling with the chain and the choke in the Winter so I decided on the Suzuki with

the shaft drive and fuel injection. I love that it starts right up even on cold days and I don't

have to spend my time messing with the chain adjustments and cleaning and lube.

So far I am very happy with the Suzuki C50T. But the seat was still just a factory seat and

I've yet to find a factory seat that was designed for rider comfort. They are all designed

to look good, period. Hopefully the one I've ordered will be comfortable and look good.

[Water Warrior 2]

FI and a shaft were a major concern for Lynda when she moved up to her M-50. She really disliked the GZ manual choke/enrichener and the shaft allowed her to go on a long trip without me to be there for chain maintenance. I do regret not keeping the M-50 for myself when Lynda hung up her helmet for the last time. The OEM seat was not to my liking but everything else was just peachy when I rode it.

[Water Warrior 2]

BB. Any updates on the new bike?

I have to say the C-50 was on the short list before I bought the Honda CTX700 but it lost out due to no ABS and a much larger price tag. I really thought ABS would be a wonderful feature after some coffee buds mentioned that ABS saved there bacon during some onroad issues in traffic and really bad weather.
The CTX has been in my living room all winter waiting for upgrades to make it mine. At the present time my project is to wire up my LED driving lights to work as designed. The main feature is the dimable circut that cuts the full power to as much as 90% less to also operate with lo-beam. The wiring is as follows.

[Vegas Street Rider]

Good luck with that!