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Back in the Suzuki "fold".

Last Friday night I sold my 1986 Kawasaki ZL600 Eliminator. Saturday morning I purchased

a 2015 Suzuki Boulevard C/50/T with 1070 miles and 7 months left on the factory warranty.

When I started riding again as an adult, my first bike was the GZ 250. Since then I've

owned a Kawasaki Vulcan 500, 750, 900, and recently the ZL600.

All great bikes, lots of fun to ride and very reliable transportation. The ZL600 was without

a doubt the most responsive and adrenaline inducing ride of them all but it wasn't very

comfy for my old bones and it just wouldn't carry anything but me without a lot of

modifications for bags and such.

The new ride is really nice. Big and plush by comparison with the ZL. No where near as

fast or responsive but very easy to ride, very comfortable and the most stable of all the

bikes I've had. It came with some nice saddle bags and a big seat for me and passenger

backrest for anybody crazy enough to ride with me. :)

We've had unusually warm dry weather here in Georgia this Fall, so I'm still riding most days

with just a leather jacket and some gloves. I haven't broken out the heated gear yet but

it's nearly that time of year for me. It was in the low 30's this morning, the coldest we've

had so far, but it hit mid 60's by mid day. I will probably wire in my heated gear outlet

this weekend.

Congrats.....Nice ride......I too came back to Suzuki after a Kawasaki 454,Honda 800 shadow & a 1100 Yamaha...........I went this past spring & bought a 05 Suzuki S83 1400 Boulevard.

Both are really nice bikes. A little jealous, I admit. Still like my little GZ thumper for now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegas Street Rider (Post 86638)

Both are really nice bikes. A little jealous, I admit. Still like my little GZ thumper for now.

I rode my GZ for 2 1/2 seasons & clocked just about 49000 trouble free K or her......Rode her all over the Maritime provinces & the Cabot Trail.. :)

I managed to get the heated gear outlet and a battery tender plug wired in today. I also installed a nice coffee mug holder on the handlebars. I plan to ride up to Chattanooga in the morning and back tomorrow evening. Probably about 120 miles round trip. That will be my first trip of any distance, other than commuting to work, on this bike.

Quote:

Originally Posted by burkbuilds (Post 86640)

Don't forget pics!! :)

Sorry, I did forget to take pics. Ended the day with over 150 miles traveled. It was really

smokey out today. Lots of fires in the region. We haven't had any significant rain in 3+

months here in parts of the South. When I saw my sister today she showed me pictures

from their home on Signal Mountain,TN. of some of the forest fires burning near their home.

I rode back roads today but my wife drove on I-75 and said at one point she could see

three separate fires burning near Dalton, Georgia.

I checked my fuel mileage and got 49 mpg today. Not bad for an 800 cc bike with a 240lb

rider. I've been getting about six mpg less around town just commuting to work and such.

Nothing near what I used to get on the GZ though. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by burkbuilds (Post 86631)

Congrats on the new bike. I almost bought one of the C-50 models a few years back. They are comfy and feel good without being really big engine wise. I actually did really consider one again a year ago but bought the Honda CTX700 with the added safety of ABS brakes. That said, when I rode Lynda's M-50 Suzuki I was more than impressed with the 805cc V-twin. It was just right. :tup:

WW, yes, I think it's just right for me at this time. I am enjoying it. I have to admit that the

ZL600 was exhilarating to ride but the Boulevard fits my 6'1" -240 lb body a lot better. I

was surprised at the handling difference between those two bikes, the ZL almost seemed

to read my mind, just a little body lean and it responded so fast I sometimes just thought it

was doing it on it's own. With the Boulevard I found myself swinging way out in the curves

and I had to adjust a lot. It will ride the turns but I have to put a lot more effort and

weight into it to get it to lean over. It really wants to come back up to the top if I don't

put lean heavily into it, which is nice when you just want a relaxing ride but it does take

more effort in the S-turns.

Nice ride. I think the C50 is the more modern version of my VZ800. Sadly, my VZ800 has a hole in the engine case and I am not sure it will ever run again. I have yet to unmount the engine and pull it apart to see what happened in there. Such a pretty bike, I really miss riding it. Hmmmm...maybe a C50...