Suzuki Boulevard S40

[tcreeley]

Has anyone ridden one of these "Suzuki Boulevard S40"- I notice the review is not too great on them. 650cc
I ride a GN400- kickstart single cyl now and I like it- but I want something with a bit more power at 70 mph + steadyness. I mostly ride where the speed limit is posted at 45- on rurual roads. I ride for the fun of it and to get to work. This is Harly country up here- nothing less or you're not really riding (maybe a Goldwing is ok!).
So my GN400 doesn't cut it anyway- but I'm doing the riding. I had thought of a Suzuki S50 -850cc. But it costs more- and I am wondering if the weight is a pain to deal with. Big bikes look great- but I wonder if they are a pain at every intersection or stop sign. Are they?

Thanks for the help?

[Sev]

I owned the LS650, formerly the S40 (thanks zoo) and I can tell you that it'll do highway speeds aptly, even with a passenger. However you will get a lot of vibration as a result of that one soup can sized cylinder humping up and down.

You'll notice a pretty substantial power drop off after about 105km/h (to lazy to convert) after all that one cylinder can only pump so fast. But I have hit 140 two up. Of course that was with the wind behind me.

It's obviously a very light bike, so if you aren't paying attention you will get blown around on the highway. But if you keep your eyes open and change lane position when passing big trucks you won't even notice them.

Because of the light weight and short wheelbase you can handle yourself a lot better in the city, it turns easier and you generate a lot of torque for the size. It will outpull a mustang pretty easily up to about 75 or 80, afterwhich you'll get passed and become a dot pretty quickly, but it's $6000 Canadian compared to $35000 it's a tradeoff I supose.

I'm at a loss, anything else you want to know?

[ZooTech]

Big bikes look great- but I wonder if they are a pain at every intersection or stop sign. Are they?

That depends. My Mean Streak out-weighs my buddy's Sportster 883 by roughly 200lbs, but my Meanie has a much shorter seat height and is better balanced. It really is a bike-to-bike thing. For instance, the GoldWing looks mighty intimidating to anyone with a fear of large bikes, but would you believe it is one of the best balanced bikes on the market? With that sweet 1800cc flat six cylinder engine mounted as close to the axle line as possible, it's a real sweetheart on the road. In contrast, the '78 CX500 I started out on was a V-twin mounted the same as the Moto Guzzi Breva, and it was top-heavy as could be. If you put your foot down on loose gravel or anything similar the CX500 would try its best to wrestle you to the pavement...and it weighed roughly half as much as a GoldWing.

[bikeguy joe]

This is Harly country up here- nothing less or you're not really riding (maybe a Goldwing is ok!).

That mindset is SUCH A LOAD OF CRAP!!!!! Don't worry about what you ride, just ride.

I had thought of a Suzuki S50 -850cc. (It's really 805cc, but who's counting?) I am wondering if the weight is a pain to deal with. NO!Big bikes look great- but I wonder if they are a pain at every intersection or stop sign. Are they? NOPE- easy to handle even at parking lot speeds.
Thanks for the help?

[vtecsol]

i just got the s50 and i love it its very light and handels great.. well this is my first bike so i have no other comparison but i love it and it out runs my buddys o5 883 custom like nothing