Don't talk to me about cam chains !!!!!! Last week Jan's daughter's Renault was in for repair, so she borrowed our Citroen c3. It's 14 years old, but it's only done 122000 km (around 76000 miles) (small island) She was driving down the autopista (freeway?) when the timing belt decided to shatter. Luckily she managed to get across to the shoulder, and got the recovery to get her to the Citroen dealer. It's just cost me €975 (just over $1100) to get the engine rebuilt. >:(

Ouch.....Most cars with a timing belt recommend replacement at 100000 Km.....Most cars today are a close interference engine.....Meaning that if a belt breaks the valves hit the pistons & you have heavy damage.....There are a few that are not "Close interference" engines.......Dodge being one......Kia 2.4 have two timing belts on them that cost just about $750.00....I have a Honda civic that I just had replaced at 190000 Km.......Total cost.....$240.00

Shame on Suzuki. It may be that a stepping stone bike will be a different brand of the same size. A lot of riders don't want or need a larger bike. A lot of folks can't afford to trade up to a costlier bike. Older folks on a fixed income will not be able to purchase new wheels to ride just to get something without factory warts built in during the design stage.

Oh my. Sounds like an age related failure. The belt just got too old to be flexible. Sort of like tires getting old and the rubber gets hard and cracks.
It is sad that a low km vehicle with 14 years on it is likely worth less than the repair. It is the same with my Ranger with a 4.0 liter v6. With only 80,000 km on it after 10 years an engine replacement or rebuild is worth more than the truck.

Your right WW.....I love the size & feel of the bike.....I just can't get past the design flaw.I'm getting older & at my weight (150 lbs) the bike fits me perfectly.

You might want to check out and research what Kawasaki has to offer in the same size bike and displacement.
The c90 and m90 are a very nice bike and I actually looked at them closely a while back. They also need crash bars like the 50 series so you can drop them and roll them back up on 2 wheels with little effort. Enterprise makes a nice bar that does a great job of rolling the bike upright with old guy strength and effort. I tested the bars 2 times by accident while doing oil changes on Lynda's bike. I put the bars on the bike for Lynda and she never did drop it.

Traded my M50 for a 06 Honda VTX 1300......A much nicer/more reliable bike IMO.....3500 kms........Spring can't come quick enough now,

That's a good looking machine Blaine. I have had a Honda ST1300 since last October. It is so smooth and powerful. Looking forward to doing some long distance touring on it.

That is a nice looking ride. A bit big for my taste but that doesn't really matter.

If Suzuki had the forethought to put ABS on a C-50 I would likely have one even with the engine issue. I test rode one a few years back and liked it even more than the M-50 that Lynda had. It was more comfy for me and has a lot more aftermarket support for stuff you may want. The M-50 is a bit more of a hot rod and handles better due to the different forks.

Patiently waiting for Spring and better temps. Should be interesting to see how well the Honda starts after sleeping all winter.