2009 Suzuki reviews

After my teenager days on a Vespa three years ago I decided to go back into the motorcycle fun. I got myself a Honda Shadow Aero. It was a great bike for two years, but the sitting position was not ideal for me. Someone suggested me to switch to the on/off-road style, because it supports the natural curve of the spine. I looked around, BMW and Moto Guzzi were my first choices but they were expensive. A BMW rider suggested to me the V-Strom. I loved the style and look right away, did some online research, chatted with a few eurodudes who use the V-Strom for commute and long rides. I opted for it. Since May, 2010 I have a gorgeous orange V-Strom 650, new for $6,450.00. After almost 18k miles in one year and three months here is my opinion. Keep in mind I'm not the most experienced biker, I know the Vespa and Honda Aero. I'm fully satisfied with the V-Strom and the 650 engine. My sitting position is great, no lower back issues at all, throttle and torque responds good in town and on highways . Actually this can be a very reactive bike, plenty of torque and 6-speed gear, so use good judgment. Personally I never squeeze the gears or allow the rpm. to high. The CG is high, so I needed to get used to a tall bike. Fuel consumption on the highway riding around 60-65 mph. is around 57 mpg. I've been riding on I-44 between Oklahoma City and Lawton. The V-Strom holds the 75 mph. limit easy, with 5800 rpm and around 48 mpg. The rear tire lasted 14k miles, the front tire 17k. I do occasionally have a passenger. We made a trip from Lawton, OK to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas with no problems at all, including baggage. Our average speed on Texas farm roads and highways was 50 mph. The passenger seat is very comfortable. I lube the chain every 200-300 miles. The original windshield is useless. I added GIVI crash bars, MRA vario wind screen (this is a +++), Motech center stand (a must to ease your lube job), handle bar covers and the Air Hawk 2 cushion seat (this is a +++) and a KAOKO throttle lock. I may add some additional lights from PIAA. Again, I'm very happy with the V-Strom. I don't see a personal need to have the 1000cc engine. I bring it in for maintenance every 3,500-4,000 miles, religiously check my tires for proper pressure and use a bright green vest most of the time. On July 9, I was involved in an accident against a Chevy truck, riding 25 mph. The crash bars did an excellent job and my Nolan 42 helmet did an excellent job. Show less

First: Kudos to the dealership on the preparation of the bike. There was absolutely nothing that was not assembled correctly. This bike has worked perfectly, every time all the time. Reports are, and my experience indicates, that the TU has an extended break-in period. At 2,000 miles I can tell the bike is still getting better and better. It will run an indicated 70 to 75 mph. all day, if you ask it. This is closer to a real 68-72. This is the perfect bike for a road like the Blue Ridge Parkway. The bike is really well mannered and predictable. It is a light bike, but I do not feel I am being blown around when passing or being passed by trucks on the 65 mph. by-pass. The torque curve is so flat that it is hard to find yourself in a gear that does not work. This is a very forgiving bike, very easy to ride. While this is a great first bike for anyone, I have been riding for 25 years, and think this bike is great fun. You can push this bike to the limits and not get a ticket. The fuel injection is great!! No choke, no turning gas on and off. There is really no warm-up. So far, from 55F to 100F it is just start and go. 2,000 foot change in elevation? No difference in performance. This bike is a keeper. I will want something else if I want to travel on the Interstate. The TU can just barely do Interstate speed and there is not much reserve. But anything else in the USA that is paved, the TU can handle. I might go to different tires if I decide to ride much more on gravel roads. (I've done maybe 25 miles on gravel just to see how it would be). This is not an off road bike. But, it can do anything that qualifies as a road. To date, my longest day was 200 miles. At the end of the day I was glad to get off the bike, but I was not sore then, or the next day. I really believe I will get accustomed to this bike and will be able to do long days on it. The stock seat is really pretty good. If I were going to ride across the country I would not hesitate to use the TU to do it, so long as I stay off the Interstates. The other night at a gas stop a fellow asked me what year the TU was. He thought I had just restored a classic. People are surprised when I tell them it's a 250. If I pulled the stickers off I could tell them it was a 500 - that's what some people guess that it is. The head light is great, and far, far better than anything stock on my old bikes. I've only done one short ride 2 up. But, other than a slight lag on acceleration, and some more effort on the brakes, the TU did fine. After five months I only have 2,000 miles on the bike. But that is because I am tied to the office, away on business, etc. I look for excuses to go someplace on the TU. Show less

I have had my Wee-Strom for three weeks now, and have put about 300 miles on it. I have had several bikes over the years, and can honestly say that this is the bike I should have bought a long time ago. It has plenty of power (more than enough to get me in real trouble), good ergonomics (even for my troublesome knee), handles very well, is light (much lighter than any of the cruisers I have had in the past) and makes me smile whenever I ride it. My only complaint is that the seat is kind of marginal, but that should be an easy fix. All in all, this is the best bike I have ever had and plan on keeping it for a long, long time. Show less

It looks like a Gixxer, but rides like a standard; very torquey and smooth from low in the RPM's all the way to the top. It's probably the most under-rated bike I've ever ridden, and easily the smoothest. It's a great bike. Show less

I've logged over 37,000 miles on this bike in 2.6 years. I ride it daily to work and on the weekends for enjoyment. Trips of over 200 miles on Saturday and Sunday are common. It's fast and quick when needed but will eat up the miles when you need to. I've made a few mods, *Handlebar Rises 1"* and Bandit seat so I can raise the seat height an additional inch. It's good on gas, about 45 miles a gallon, if I keep the speed under 80. I love this bike. I've owned Honda's, and Yamaha's and this is the most fun I've have in years. I've been riding over 45 years. Show less

My friend and I just took our 2007 & 2009 C-50's on an 1,191-mile ride around central, eastern, valley, & metro Oregon. During the ride I kept track of our miles between fill ups, & then I figured (with a calculator) our mpg. From the Salem area to Bend we were at 47 mpg, which was the lowest mpg. during the entire ride. Our next lowest mpg. was 51, which was from Redmond to Estacada. Everything in between was 56 mpg. all the way up to 73 mph. (which was from Burns to John Day.) Most of the time we were ranging in the mid to high 60's & lower 70's for mpg. I was also very impressed with the comfort of my 2009. We were riding nearly 10 hour days, and I never cramped up. During the 10 hours of riding we made several stops, although very brief (2 to 15 minutes), except for a 45 minute to 1 hour lunch. My tailbone started to hurt after about 9.5 hours. Furthermore this bike also had plenty of power to move me up the steepest mountain passes, even while fully loaded for a week's worth of camping. I've owned much larger bikes (Yamaha Roadliner 1900, Kawasaki Concours 1400, Kawasaki VN900 Vulcan, and I have ridden the Honda ST1300, and the Goldwing 1200) and I must say that this bike is more nimble, comfortable, and gets much better fuel economy. I have also found that in the type of riding that I normally do, I don't need a big bike, it's just overkill. As a side note, the insurance is also lower if you have less than 1000cc's. The only downfall that I have found with this bike thus far is that it is not a great freeway bike. It will run at speeds greater then 65 for long periods of time, but I really don't think that this bike was designed for that. This bike is the perfect bike for the city, county back roads and state highways. In addition, the speedometer is off by a percentage. I figure its off by 5 to 9 mph at speeds greater then 65 mph, in our favor. If you are looking for a great bike that is easy to handle, is out of the "Box" comfortable, looks good, and gets good mpg., and your ego dosen't get in the way, then this is the bike to own. Show less

If you can get by it's funky styling, it's a great bike. Suzuki styled this bike more for the market in Europe. So it's not too hot here in America. But it has a nice smooth power delivery and handles great. It's a great bike if your looking to get back into riding and has plenty of power for interstate speeds. Show less

I grew up riding the hills of West Virginia on dirt bikes. The hills here are not for the weak of heart. I've had a few street bikes but my dirt roots seemed to always resurface; especially when riding past all of those dirt roads in West Virginia. So I traded in my Yamaha Tour Deluxe for this DR650. I felt like the DR650 was the best all-around bike for me when comparing it to the KLR650 and the XR650. I absolutely love it. It reminds of the old thumpers we used to use for hill climbing back in the days of the Yamaha TT500. It probably doesn't have as much low end torgue, but after some modifications, it still has plenty. For road use, it doesn't have too much vibration which makes it uncomfortable for those longer rides. I can pretty much stay in the saddle for a couple of hours at a time, even with the stock seat. I may upgrade to a more comfortable seat one of these days. However, I still love riding in the dirt and doing a little hill climbing from time to time, and I like the narrowness of the stock seat for this purpose. Show less

Although it's down on power next to the BMW and the ZX10, she will turn with the best of them. Get rid of the bulky exhaust and it's one of the best looking bikes around. Show less

When I decided to start riding again after a 15-year hiatus, I wanted a bike that would keep up with the "Big Boys" but classic enough for a man approaching his 50's. The C109RT is exactly that bike. It is the true classic cruiser, comfortable, powerful, a constant eye catcher. My wife rides with me and finds the bike very comfortable. I like the 5-gallon tank, wide profile and awesome braking system. I did find myself really pressing against that big rear tire at first, but that is no longer an issue. Show less