Suzuki Marauder - first bike - any advice

[pgman]

Hello all.

My wife and I are considering a 2001 Suzuki Marauder VZ800 as our first motorcycle. It has 19,000 miles and is in excellent condition. My question - is this a good choice for a "first" bike? Will we outgrow it in a year or can this be a longer-term investment? The reason we like this bike is that it looks nice and it is light enough for both of us to handle (neither of us are large people). We plan to ride together sometimes, but mostly this will be a commuter vehicle for me. My commute is less than 15 miles one way. Also, are there any issues with the Marauder I should know about before buying? The seller is asking around $3000 for it which seems fairly reasonable, but then I am not up on what these things are worth.

Any opinions, comments or advice would be greatly appreciated. We hope to become riders soon and contribute to these forums as such.

Thanks.

[robertc729]

, as far as size is concerned, it would be a good bike to start on, as for the price, with 19,000 miles, you may be able to do better, I would also be concerned with the maintenance performed, ask for some documentation to show what has been done.

[SKTR]

Suggest you try to negotiate the price. I paid just over 3 for my 03 same bike, with windshield, saddlebags and that was fall of 05. Apart from that, I love mine, am 6'1" and 240, have ridden with 2 up quite a bit and it has plenty of spunk even 2 - up. I am a conservative rider, haven't had it over 85 even on the freeway, and it gets out of the hole pretty close to even up with my sons Intruder with double the cubes. Sweet handling. Only problem I had was seat comfort on long hauls, but have made a couple improvements and much happier in that dept now.. Enjoy yours as much as I do mine. Jim

Also suggest taking the time to fill out your profile. Pretty friendly bunch here that would like to hear about you and your bride and your ride when you get it. You will hear lots of requests for pictures too.

[SNAFU]

Maybe Trapper can help you out too.

Oh Trapper!! You're wisdom is needed!

[pgman]

Thank you for the input. We decided to go ahead with this purchase. The color was just what my wife wanted, and the size of the bike seemed just about right for the both of us so we made the leap - we are now motorcycle owners! The seller wouldn't move much on price, but I did get him to come down $200. He pointed out that he had a set of Vance Hines pipes put on it (along with a carburetor modification) not long after he bought it (he was the second owner) and had only ridden it 1000 miles since then. Maybe I paid a little too much but sometimes, when the fit is just right, it is worth a little more. I must admit it does sound pretty nice with the VH pipes. It is not real loud, but it has a nice bark. I will try to post some pictures soon.

So, now the thing is sitting because I haven't had time to get the registration done yet and we both have to go and get our permits, helmets, etc. We also feel like we should take the a rider safety course before we hit the road too much.

I suppose it may be time to divert this thread to another area, but I am going to ask for suggestions on helmets and insurance options. Florida does not require insurance on motorcycles, but I am going to get it anyway (liability).

[PhotoJoe]

Originally Posted by pgman

We also feel like we should take the a rider safety course before we hit the road too much.

Very wise you are! Congrats on the new toy. I'm jealous!

[pgman]

Very wise you are! Congrats on the new toy. I'm jealous!

Well, on a motorcycle, I figure you only get ONE chance to get it right. The other evening, I insisted that my wife try riding the thing SLOWLY across our yard. My neighbors (who are all experienced riders) thought I was a little crazy, but I figured if she fell (which she did twice) it would be less trauma on her (the bike suffered a lot less as well). After a couple spills, though, she got it. My neighbor told me that the hardest thing to do is ride a street bike slowly - especially in the front yard! I believe this is true, but now that we can both do that, the pavement surely will seem a lot easier. We will, however, wait until we are much more comfortable (and legal) before we hit the open road - and I think the rider course will help us with that. The point of buying this thing was to have fun and maybe meet some new people. I will NOT allow the excitement of something so cool to kill me (or someone else) and I know my wife thinks the same way.

[Clint]

You're 100% right about at least two things... riding slowly is an important and difficult skill, and doing so on a lawn is even harder.

[SKTR]

OK you were warned ! How bout some photos ? Echo the other guys, good move on the course and the practice. ENJOY !

[SVZuki]

congrats and welcome to the marauder family!

[pgman]

Here is one shot. I will have to get some others. I ordered a windshield kit today. Nobody groan too loudly - love bugs here in Florida do NOT taste good. At some point I may want to do bags or something - there is no place to keep any food or drink (for those long rides we will be taking).

[Trapper]

Blue Rodders are the fastest. Nice ride. You know, you can remove the pair valve on the right hand side and get rid of the chrome kleenex box and expose those beauty jugz. Check it out here.

[Madwrench73]

Good idea to get rid of the pair valve, especially with the V&H pipes. Ditto on the box. That truly is a beautiful motor once you get rid of the clutter. Did the same to my 96 model.