My $0.02 - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

ROCKMy50 · 04-25-2006, 07:06 PM

After a very frustrating wait I finally received my M50 last Friday. It came in the crate that it is shipped in from the Suzuki factory so I had to do the assembling myself. I don’t think I did too badly as I only ended up with 2 extra parts ha-ha, a small metal bracket and a little plastic clip. I have no idea where they go. The final cost of this bike for me is $11,000 American Dollars comprised as follows;

. Cost of the bike at the Dealer/Stealer in Miami
. Freight
. Customs Duty
. Value Added Tax
. Brokerage Charges
. Registration in Trinidad

I’ve put about 130 miles on it so far and I can say that I am very pleased with it. I had only seen pictures of the bike before I received it and I thought the bike would be smaller. My first thought when I opened the crate was “It’s big”. When I sat on it after putting it together and I lifted it off the side stand I was pleasantly surprised at how light it felt. After riding it these are my thoughts;

. As I said before this bikes feels light and so makes it easy to maneuver at low speeds and to reverse.
. This bike handles beautifully, corners effortlessly, tracks well and the front end does not flop at low speeds as some other cruisers do. Big marks for handling.
. Reasonable turning circle.
. I scraped the foot peg feelers once on each side while riding and was very happy with the cornering clearance. If I shift my bodyweight to the inside of the turn then I have clearance to spare.
. Approx 50 mpg so far. Great!
. This is a beautiful looking bike.
. The engine is still being broken in and so is not up to full power as yet but it feels strong and throttle response is fabulous, no flat spots so far and the idling is smooth. The speeds recommended for shifting in the Owners Manual feels too low however.
. Vibration is minimal so far.
. With this handlebar, foot peg and seat placement I can slouch, sit upright or go into a semi sport bike tuck all quite comfortably.
. The brakes both front and rear was poor initially but as they get broken in it is improving. It is now possible to lock up the back wheel with a firm press on the pedal. The front brake is not quite stoppie material as yet though LOL.
. The seats (both of them) are a little too hard I think but my butt will toughen up eventually.
. The only thing I have a problem with is the rear suspension. The spring seems a little too stiff and both compression and rebound damping are too high especially the rebound. I hope that with some use the suspension will soften because this combined with the hard seats makes for a bumpy ride. As it is it’s too harsh for my wife so I will have to make the pillion seat thicker and softer.

Well that’s what I think. I hope it made interesting reading.