While Suzuki cruiser design has evoked pretty much the yawn reflex, that all changed when preliminary images of Suzuki’s Boulevard M109R muscle cruiser were first released. Public response was instantaneous. It walked the walked and talked the talk. No more namby pamby, take the wife to the hootenanny, don’t rock-the-boat-bike with this one. Here was a “cruiser” whose GSX-R genetically linked 1783cc (almost 112-inches) fuel injected, water-cooled powerplant boasted 127 horsepower generated from the largest cylinder bores of any road bike, or in fact, car, in production. Two cylinders, 1783 cc, generated 119 ft-lb. of tire melting torque. And what was that huge slab of rubber rolling behind the shaft drive on the bike wheel? A 240-series tire?
As for the “Boulevard” nomenclature, that’s the signage Suzuki adopted last year somewhat along the lines of Yamaha’s sport bikes now under the “Star” banner. To carry that tune a bit longer, while Yamaha knocked the socks off the cruiser world with its Star Roadliner, its flagship cruiser, now so does Suzuki with his Boulevard M109R, its flagship. But while the Roadliner has an elegant tuxedo personality, the Suzuki gets the worn leather jacket profile.
Whatever the name game, the M109R’s at home on the boulevard, the backroads, the sideroads, the uproads. This rider/writer recently piloted one through a mix of topographies that included congested urban environs, up and over corkscrew mountain passes, across high desert roadways, down deserted country lanes, and onto Grandma’s house. Grandma ran screaming from the place. This was no politically correct motorcycle. It went back tothe badboy roots of biking…drag bars, gnarly throttle response, a snarly sound signature. And yet its aero svelte bodywork and slipstream mini-headlamp nacelle/fairing bespoke of Batman’s garage.
In the batch of 2006 OEM power-cruisers, brought out for test riding, it got passed by some who thought the way wide rear tire was more for straight line pub to pub profiling, while others thought the “straight” bars were at odds with the more relaxed, wide buckhorn bars usually associated with cruisers, while still others thought the styling was too acute. I jumped on it as fast as I could even with warnings about a throttle response that was “hurky jerky.” Despite all the caveats, or perhaps because of them, I wanted a go at the beast.
Suzuki set out to establish top bragging rights for the most powerful V-Twin cruiser available to the public. They mixed all the right pieces…a 54-degree splay of 112 mm forged aluminum slipper pistons, chrome-nitride coated oil scarper rings, chrome-moly conrods, staggered crankpins for balance plus a counterbalancer and rubber-mounting to smooth the vibes (but leaving in the adrenaline pulses) to the 44 lb. steel frame. Now the bike is no dainty thing, tipping the scales at 695 pounds, dry. But the sensation of weight flies out the door once you leave a stationary position.
As far as visceral response, walk up behind the bike and you have a new understanding of the phrase “a nice piece of tail.” You could say the bike has voluptuous lines that seem to undulate from the rear and then restated in the gas tank (5 gallons), finally set off by the straight-ish bars and minimalist and very retro-sleek instrument pod (analog speedo, LCD twin tripmeters and gas gauge). As far as ergonomics, this rider was never a fan of the sit-up-and-beg doggy style encountered in many “cruiser” bikes. With the M109R you lean a bit forward, the bars meeting your arms and hands in a natural angle and grip. Again it’s a matter of personal preference and personal dimensions, but for me at 6-feet it was tailormade.
As for handling, it seems to effect a bit of Mr. Spock mind and body melding. Chalk it up to a combination of the ergonomics and the 67.3-inch wheelbase and 31.15 degree steering rake. Taking the M around town in stop and go traffic found it nimble, docile at low speeds but, with a crack of the throttle, literally ready to burn rubber when you needed to make the transition from onramp to freeway, snickering nicely through the 5-speed gear box. In fact, you could pull away in about any gear at about any RPM range. Flexible powerband, they call it.
There was a personality “glitch” with the throttle. There was a bit of “input sensitive response,” a somewhat careful modulation of the throttle grip required to prevent some sudden, though certainly not traumatic blips of acceleration/deceleration aka the “hurky jerky” they warned me about. This I configured under “aspects of personality” and quickly adjusted to its tendencies. It was something like a spirited horse telling you to watch the reins, but if you need to slap leather, it had all you needed. In other words, the bike was no milquetoast.
It also got spectator attention as well by way of its high visual impact, one that sets it apart from the sometimes grayish styling found in cruisers. Basically, the badboy is back in town, and they call it the M109R.
Colors: Black, Silver, Violet Blue
Yeahs –
Powerplant – smooth yet gnarly
Styling – I dig the Batman/dragster look
Rear Tire – bigger is better in this case
Nays-
Give me mid-mount controls
How much is that rear tire to replace?
What, no cupholders?
