Honda Shadow Spirit 750 vs Suzuki M50

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atom · #11 Unread post by **atom** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:49 am

Apparently Honda decided a single-carb setup is best suited to the US market and a 2-carb setup is best for the Canadian market.

US site

click "Specifications"

Anybody have insight into the engineering tradeoffs in the two setups?

atom · #12 Unread post by **atom** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 5:04 am

2007

Upon closer inspection the Canadian version of the VT750C2 has a single carb and VT750D which is not available in the US has 2.

MotoF150 · Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:48 am

I purchaced one of the first in production M50's in April 2005, maybe I got a bad one, its my fault, I should have known better to purchace the first new production model. This bike has been a nightmare since I owned it. But to be fair I won't get into and complain about the problems I had with my M50 cause to be fair my M50 is a lemon. I have 9000 miles experience on the M50 and I believe I have the know-how and the right to judge it. First of all the M50 is a tough bike to ride what I mean is you have to fight the bike, its bad at handling, its uncomfortable, its unstable at high speeds, it will never hold a straight line on the road, the lean forward riding postion is uncomfortable after a long ride you are physicially worn out. Next its underpowered, the only way to get above 70mph outta it is to downshift to 4th gear and scream the engine, its faster than the Honda 750 and the Yamaha V Star 650 but not by much. The bottom line is the M50 is a good bike for short trips around town and its a bad bike for longer road trips on a high speed highway, also its a bike for an experienced rider cause its a hard bike to ride and control.

WARainMan · Sat Dec 02, 2006 7:20 pm

MotoF150, I am sorry you've had such a bad experience with the M50. For the most part, my experience has been just the opposite. The saddle gets uncomfortable after a while and I wish it had a 6th gear. But other than that, it's been smooth, easy to manuever, peppy, and fun to ride. I do agree that it's not the best touring bike, but it's not meant to be. But for commuting and weekend jaunts, it's perfect. That's what I bought it for.

I expect I will upgrade in a couple of years, though.

basshole · #15 Unread post by **basshole** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 5:45 am

Boy you sure ride a bike you hate an awful lot. What does that say about the 2 other phantom bikes you "supposedly" own?

MotoF150 wrote:I purchaced one of the first in production M50's in April 2005, maybe I got a bad one, its my fault, I should have known better to purchace the first new production model. This bike has been a nightmare since I owned it. But to be fair I won't get into and complain about the problems I had with my M50 cause to be fair my M50 is a lemon. I have 9000 miles experience on the M50 and I believe I have the know-how and the right to judge it. First of all the M50 is a tough bike to ride what I mean is you have to fight the bike, its bad at handling, its uncomfortable, its unstable at high speeds, it will never hold a straight line on the road, the lean forward riding postion is uncomfortable after a long ride you are physicially worn out. Next its underpowered, the only way to get above 70mph outta it is to downshift to 4th gear and scream the engine, its faster than the Honda 750 and the Yamaha V Star 650 but not by much. The bottom line is the M50 is a good bike for short trips around town and its a bad bike for longer road trips on a high speed highway, also its a bike for an experienced rider cause its a hard bike to ride and control.

MotoF150 · #16 Unread post by **MotoF150** » Sun Dec 03, 2006 9:31 am

I own one other bike its a Honda CRF450, and I own an ATV its a 06 Suzuki Eiger, no problems with either one.

WyoRider · #17 Unread post by **WyoRider** » Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:58 pm

GreedyMonkey wrote:Motorcycle.com performed a comparison test of four mid-size cruisers: 2007 Harley Davidson Sportster 883 Custom, 2007 Honda Shadow 750 Aero, 2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic, and the 2006 Suzuki Boulevard M50.

I cannot do the report justice in this quick reply. I can get you a copy of their report if you want to read it. But suffice it to say: the winner was the M50.

I like mine alot.

He who pays the most in advertising dollars wins. Sorry to say, that is how it works most of the time with web sites and magazines.

WARainMan · Mon Dec 04, 2006 7:36 pm

WyoRider wrote:He who pays the most in advertising dollars wins. Sorry to say, that is how it works most of the time with web sites and magazines.

Yes, I agree. You have to stroke the hand that feeds you. I am not naive about that. Nor do I categorically disregard all such reviews because of their advertisers. They still contain good information one can use to base his/her decisions.

MotoF150 · Mon Dec 04, 2006 10:05 pm

The best way to find out what bike you want is to ride it. During the summer when I ride with friends we end up trading and riding each others bike then we are very honest and compare what bike is better and everybody that rode my M50 hated it, the one major thing they all say about it is its hard to steer, they said you have to force the steering and you have to lean forward to hold on to the handlebars like you can't relax riding the bike, they say acceleration from a dead stop is good but past 40 mph the speed increase is very slow, they are all in agreement thats its a heavy bike feel with an underpowered engine. All of the bikes I have been riding the one I like is the Yamaha V Star 650, is only slightly slower than the M50 but its a easy and very comfortable bike to ride, thats just my personal opnion.

basshole · #20 Unread post by **basshole** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:01 am

Aw come on now MotoF150. Do you really honestly think we're gonna believe you have friends?

MotoF150 wrote:The best way to find out what bike you want is to ride it. During the summer when I ride with friends we end up trading and riding each others bike then we are very honest and compare what bike is better and everybody that rode my M50 hated it, the one major thing they all say about it is its hard to steer, they said you have to force the steering and you have to lean forward to hold on to the handlebars like you can't relax riding the bike, they say acceleration from a dead stop is good but past 40 mph the speed increase is very slow, they are all in agreement thats its a heavy bike feel with an underpowered engine. All of the bikes I have been riding the one I like is the Yamaha V Star 650, is only slightly slower than the M50 but its a easy and very comfortable bike to ride, thats just my personal opnion.