2007 Suzuki Boulevard C50T

How'd it stack up after 3,200 miles?

The C50T is the 800cc motorcycle with touring accessories as standard equipment. A comparable bike in its class is the Kawasaki Vulcan Classic LT, a 900cc bike with standard touring accessories.

Until now, my steeds have been tall dirt-and-pavement (dual sport) bikes with narrow hard seats and thumpy transmissions. I was so pleased with this Suzuki that I'm now wondering which motorcycle in my garage to sell so I can buy a cruiser.

The first thing I noticed about the C50T was how easy it is to maneuver at slow speeds. It took corners well in low gear and parked easily. One reason the C50T is so easy to handle is that the seat height is 27.6 inches, which allows 5-foot-6-inch me to be flat-footed with my knees bent. In this position, I can support the bike securely when stopped or backing up.

Perri demonstrates how she fits on the 27.6-inch seat height. Her knees are bent providing her plenty of leg length to comfortably manuever the bike in parking lots.

We rode every day for nearly three weeks through Montana, Idaho and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, giving me plenty of time to evaluate the Suzuki on comfort. Never once was my butt sore, even after 300-plus mile days on highways. The windshield kept me from being blown around at high speeds; I felt some vibration in the handlebars but nothing to complain about; and the leather seat curved nicely around my rear.

I had never used footboards before, and I was surprised by how much I liked them. Other bikes I ride have high ground clearances and foot pegs placed above them. When riding with my feet on the pegs, my legs are bent at a tight angle, causing pain in my arthritic right knee. But as a touring bike that isn't meant to be taken on gravel, the ground clearance on the C50T is only 5.5 inches and the footboards rest just above that. Consequently, I didn't need to bend my knees tightly -- or toss down Ibuprofen by the handful for knee pain. In fact, I didn't take a single pain pill for sore riding muscles while on this trip.

The C50T, like most other bikes in the middleweight class, still feature just five gears. Six gears is practically the norm now on larger 1100cc and over bikes. Instead of that sixth gear, the C50T has a higher gear ratio for fifth gear so highway cruising feels relaxed running at moderate rpms.

Besides the windshield, the tourer (that's what the T stands for) is equipped with two chrome-studded leather saddlebags and a passenger back rest. I could see over the top of the windshield as opposed to through it; its curves deflected the air nicely away from my helmet, so I didn't get the biker whiplash that I've experienced with other windshields. The rigid leather bags were roomy enough to hold a lot of gear. The attached covers snap tightly in three places, but the leather isn't waterproof. On rainy days on our trip, water soaked through my side bags from underneath wetting the bottom layer inside. (The simple solution is to put your items in plastic bags, which you then insert in the side bags.)

The bike's V-twin engine isn't overly noisy, but it does emit a throaty rumble when accelerating. Fuel injection derived from Suzuki's GSX-R sportbike line, kept the motor running smoothly. I never had a hiccup with the engine or trouble starting it. For a relatively heavy bike (567 pounds without gas in the tank), gas consumption was quite good, more than 40 mpg.

The 5-speed transmission operated smoothly, and I was able to shift through the gears and bring the bike up to highway cruising speeds quickly. In first gear, the cruiser has plenty of torque, but I also rode at slow speeds in second gear without stalling the bike.

The C50T has sufficient power for just about every situation and didn't strain when I took it up to 80 mph or higher speeds. But rolling on the throttle in 5th gear didn't give me the sudden acceleration I like when pulling out to pass cars in front of me. By downshifting to 4th, I gained the power I needed for passing. For those more familiar with a bike's displacement listed in cubic centimeters, this 50 cubic inch motor is equal to 819 cubic centimeters putting the C50 in the 800cc middleweight category.

I found the front hydraulic disc and back drum brakes very reliable during the trip. In a couple of potentially dicey traffic situations, I made several high-speed stops quickly and smoothly without the back tire locking. The suspension handled minor road bumps better than larger hurdles and holes, but again, I'm used to the more resilient dual-sport suspensions.

The C50T takes middleweight cruising to the next level offering accessories not normally found on an 800cc motorcycle.

The C50T's instrument dial has a digital indicator that provides time, mileage and two trip mileage calculators. The dial lights up at night and shows speed (in miles and kilometers, which was great for Canada), but I would have liked an tachometer (RPM) indicator as well.

After 18 days on the road, I was sad to return the Suzuki to Carl's Motorcycles, the Boise, Idaho, dealer that loaned me the bike. The cruiser had exceeded my expectations and possibly changed my preferred riding style forever.

The Specs at a Glance
2008 Suzuki Boulevard C50T and C50
Displacement: 819cc V Twin (50 cubic inches)
Seat Height: 27.6 inches
Fuel Capacity: 4.1 gallons
Dry Weight: C50T, 567 lbs.; C50, 542 lbs.
Colors: C50T model: Black, Red/White; C50, Blue/Silver; Black/Gray
Price: C50T, $7,999.00; C50, $6,899

WRN Recommendation
Equipped with windshield and saddlebags, the Suzuki C50T is an excellent bike to trade up to after spending several months or a year practicing on that 250cc or 500cc learner bike. You'll get a tour-ready bike at a decent price. More experienced riders can appreciate the top notch mechanical performance, easy handling and comfort, again, at a fair price. But for those who don't expect to ride long distances often, the nearly identical C50 could be a better choice for $1,100 less.

Reader Comments

I'm with Kristi! Please give me a 6th gear! I'd buy an aftermarket tranny if I could find one that would fit properly. If anyone knows where I can find a 6-speed tranny for a 2008 C50T please let me know. Thank You Michael McClain Brownsburg, IN Wednesday, May 05, 2010 Like the feedback. We bought a used 2006 Limited Edition C50 with 8,500 miles. It came with added windshield, saddlebags, OEM lights and exhaust. Got it for the wife, (5-feet-2) but she is not quite ready. Dropped it first try. After her initial "feel bad" stopped hurting, we rode home. She has been a trooper ever since and can't wait to hop on back. Riding course is set for May 1st. We are buying her a used 250 Virago (with custom flames on tank) this weekend. Confidence building trainer. Oh, we have put almost 1k on "Sally" already despite the cold and rain. (Bought it February 2010). Love the smooth power, good throttle, would like a sixth gear. Have faith that the wife will ride this yet. May get bigger crash bars. Meanwhile I am enjoying the heck out of "her" bike. Larry M. Agan Versailles, KY Wednesday, March 31, 2010 To all reading this article, I love this bike, but I have had nothing but problems with it as soon as I hit about 25k miles. I ended up taking it back to the dealer and all they told me was that I shouldn't be having the problems I have been having. It was smoking badly and cutting out constantly and adjusting the valves and the fuel injectors didn't help. Finally when I got the money I took it in to the dealer and told them I wanted it taken apart and fixed. What I found out was that the dealer told me that Suzuki manufactured the piston rings with faulty tolerances and were going to fail after 20 - 30k miles. I don't know if it is isolated to the 2006 C50T which is the one that I have. After they rebuilt the engine, the stator failed and shortly thereafter the clutch went out, although I am told I was lucky the clutch didn't fail at 40k. My bike now has almost 70k miles on it and the engine still needs to be rebuilt...again; the work wasn't done right the first time and I am still having problems and took it back to the dealer about a week after I got it back from them. I just now was able to convince the service manager he needed to rework the bike at their own expense, of course they are not going to want to redo the work. For my first motorcycle I have had a lot of good times with this bike and have learned how to ride on it, but I will never buy another Suzuki as long as I live. You should all be carefull of your engines right around 20 - 30k miles. If you start having problems, you'll know why. Clay Beach Beaumont, CA Tuesday, March 09, 2010 My last bike was a GSX-R 750 in 1986. I'm a bit older now and just bought a C50 with 28,000 km on it. Has all the accessories from the owner who spent about $2,000 -- foot plates, side bags, windscreen. I enjoy the torque and power and not having to jump between gears like a super bike, which is part of the reason I went this way. In my early days riding this bike I have already bumped the foot plates on a corner, which I felt I took moderately, so I have some concerns here. Just to need learn my leaning degrees. Otherwise it's smooth ,cool and fast enough for me. Stuart Sydney, Australia Saturday, February 06, 2010 Page 1 of 21 (82 items) [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 … 19 20 21 Loading…

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