Tuesday shootout (Part 1)
Having a few days off work (technically I am currently unemployed), a nice day and time to play, I took up crasherfromwayback’s kind offer and rolled in to Wellington Motorcycles to have a play on some of their precious metal.
All four of today’s rides got the same general itinerary (Hitcher’s test circuit), with a couple of additions for two.
Ride 1: Suzuki Boulevard M109R.
Other KB members have reviewed this bike, so I won’t give it a detailed review, just my impressions of it.
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ighlight=m109r
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ighlight=m109r
This bike was on my list of “must rides”, so I can now tick off that task.
I liked it. A lot. Even parked it looks brooding and malevolent (especially in black). The chrome-work is impressive and extensive, accentuated by the black pearl paintwork. Mr Suzuki has done a nice job with the attention-to-detail and finish. The nacelle nose looks good and completes many of this bike’s lines and curves. I think it would look silly with just a standard cruiser headlight. The M109R has a delightfully curvaceous arse.
Clutch lever in (it is a Suzuki, after all), blip the starter and the big V-twin bursts easily into life. I was surprised to see a cable clutch on a bike of this size, but it was light and responsive. Clunk, into first and away.
One thing I didn’t like from the get-go and never got happy with was the stretch for the bars. I would have preferred to have had these about 50mm closer.
Once rolling, the weight of the bike disappears. The suspension has been well thought out and sorted to suit most road conditions. The gearbox was a bit notchy, but OK. The brakes are terrific (radial-mounted Tokikos on the front, with a disc rear). There was no discernable “shaft effect” while cornering. I was surprised how easy it was to steer with such a large rear wheel (240mm width).
The engine is a joy. It burbles along nicely until about 4,000rpm, where it becomes a completely different beast, decidedly smooth with a delicious howl. It would be nice to be able to follow along behind and listen to it sing, which could well be achieved by being a bit aggressive with the throttle! This thing has more tow than a roman sandal. I shudder to think what its 0-100km figure is, but it feels like a sub-four second time would be doable.
I scraped my boot heals a couple of times but the bike was well canted over to get to that point.
Points for:
– That engine!
– Build and finish.
– Mirrors, good rearward view and little vibration distortion.
– Good wind protection from the nacelle.
Points against:
– The handlebars – a bit too much of reach required.
– The sidestand – a real stretch required from the left leg to fully extend it.
– Pillion ride and comfort. This is definitely a “bimbo” rather than a “significant other” set-up.
Overall ride rating: 7.5 out of 10.
Ride 2: Suzuki GSR600.
From one extreme to the other, after the M109R. My first thought on riding away from WMC was “Where’s the bike gone?”
I loved this bike. I had the most fun in just over an hour on the GSR600 than I had had on a motorcycle for quite some time.
Suzuki has put a lot of thought into this model. The ergonomics are great, even for a larger rider like my fair self, build quality excellent and I think it also looks really stylish, particularly in red (the colour of the test bike). The instrument panel is information-rich and easily scannable. The tacho is analogue and all other displays are digital. Two trip meters, a gear position indicator (a great idea on a six-speed), engine temperature in degrees C (a bar graph would be easier to understand), fuel level indicator and clock. Unlike some digital displays, the GSR’s LCD panel was easily read through Polaroid sunnies.
The inline four has a deliciously rorty exhaust note through its twin under-seat pipes. It is nicely responsive to the throttle, without being excessively so. The mid-range is great to a point where most gears feel the same (another good reason to have a gear selection indicator). Roll-on in top was good – I didn’t feel any need to change out of 6th when overtaking at 100kmh, and it rolled on acceptably to about 120kmh. It should be noted that most other riders are lighter than me and could experience even better acceleration in such conditions.
The OEM rubber was Bridgestone Battlax 014s. The GSR handled like it had a keel. Cornering was magnificent and trouble-free – even at that “Shit, what happened to the camber?” point on the Paramata roundabout.
Brakes? Terrific. Lots of stop with good feel.
Wind protection? If travelling long distances on the highway a small-to-mid-sized Givi screen would make things more comfortable for the rider.
Pillion rider provisions appeared adequate, with a rear grab-rail and heat shields over the underseat exhausts.
Points for:
– Styling and ergonomics.
– The engine/gearbox pairing. Just lovely.
– Brakes
– The instrument cluster.
Points against:
– The mirrors. Tits on a bull. Not wide enough to see around the rider (I’m big, but not THAT big), and vibration at speeds over 50kmh reduced the world behind to an indiscernible blur. They would pass a WOF but are woefully inadequate for the purpose for which they are intended. Given the noticeable care and attention Suzuki has given to the rest of the GSR600, the mirrors were real bargain-basement material.
Overall ride rating: 8.5 out of 10.
Part 2 (Harley Davidson FXD Superglide & Buell Ulysses) and wrap-up to follow... http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...023#post918023
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Wasp
just for the record change that small rear 240 for the 280 and yes it does fit on the std rim, know ride this beast it a rocket ship for a machine that over 300kg dry
Bookmarks