Suzuki Boulevard C50 reviews

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.

Would anybody consider trading a 2008 c50t with approx 30 000kms for a 1998 bmw r1100rt with approx 130000kms? I'm thinking it, but don't know if I'm completely nuts. What do you all think? Maintenence seems all up to date

Dealership was fairly misleading on this bike. Missing a few parts, dirty air filter. One front fork compression adjuster is frozen, can’t adjust it. Missing the front fork reflectors, these are needed to pass inspection. Engine has a ticking noise as well. Will need to take it to a local dealership to check out all of these issues. Very unimpressed with this dealer. In my opinion, all of these issues should have been addressed before selling the bike. Will not purchase from them again

I purchased a 2009 Ninja and I was very happy with my service. The next day I traded my other bike in for my wife and she got a new one without any problems. Thank you to the dealership for your service.

Mine's a C50C I turned into a C50CT. I bought this bike in '07 new. I had carburated bikes before but this is my first bike with the combination I wanted - fuel injection, water cooled, shaft drive and Mag rims/tubeless tires. The only problem I have ever had is a small brake issue after swapping to a new set of rubber and turn signal lenses coming apart. Both are small issues barely mentionable. This bike has never failed to start, never stalled on downshift, nothing. I also purchased it with intentions of moving up in a couple of years and since decided it's all I will need. The aftermarket Mustang seat will make my butt numb after a while but I am used to it now. I will get a tingle in my feet and hands after a while at 80 mph. but I'm used to that, also. There's plenty of power for me 2-up and fuel economy in the mid 40's. I love this bike's fuel injection and would not have a bike without it now. I trust it enough to make a cross country trip on it soon and not think twice. It is a great bike for the price - I'm satisfied.

This bike is one of the best. It has plenty of power, great handling and awesome gas mileage. I've ridden this bike throughout New England and western Washington. I love sport bikes but I have negotiated this thing through turns that stopped some sport bikes. It's a good thing the floorboards are on hinges because I've dragged them plenty. It has kept up with 1400cc Harleys until top end. The guy was really surprised. This is a great bike for beginners as well as experienced riders. Though if you have experience (real experience, not I've ridden a few times experience), I would recommend bumping up to the C90. The shaft drive and liquid cooling are phenomenal and reliable. I gave it a 4 for comfort because if you are taller than me (5'10") the riding position can get uncomfortable in the knees after about 2-3 hours. I would recommend some freeway pegs to combat this. My wife has recently discovered that she loves riding on this and now wants to learn to ride as well.

This is my first "real" bike, after riding a Suzuki s40 for 1000 miles. Even though it is a bigger cruiser, it was not a problem to get on this bike for the frist time as a newer, woman rider. I did a lot of research on this bike. It is fuel injected (comparably priced Honda is not, but the Honda is fuel injected for 2011 for mucho $$), it is shaft driven (Kawasaki Vulcan is not) and it is liquid cooled (H-D is not). Try riding an air cooled bike in the heat or in traffice and it is like being in an oven. I found the price to be very reasoble, negotiable. I am thrilled to have this fabulous bike that easily zips me 2.5 miles into town for work, or 2.5 hours on the highway cruising in northern NJ. Maybe I should have bought the C90, but for $3500 less in the $6k range, I am glad I bought the C50.

I wanted to get back into riding now that the kids are grown. I've had em all - choppers, dressers, touring, etc., Harleys and Hondas. I bought the C50 because of price and figured I'd ride it a year or so and "move up". After 3000 miles I've decided there's nothing to "move up" to that could provide me with any better ride or handling than I've already got. Sure, I could go to a bigger displacement bike but for the style of riding I now do, this one is fine, even two-up with my wife. I haven't had to downshift yet, even on back country hilly switchbacks. The only two things I would like to see changed would be the pass foot-pegs/floorboards relocated (which I did) and a more comfortable seat for the long haul which I haven't done, yet. It's strange, the seating and bars are the best I've felt on almost any bike initially, but after an hour or hour and a half your butt is hurting more than it should be - strange. If for some reason I would decide to move up in size it would definitely be to a Suzuki C90T or C109T.

I have had my '06 Boulevard for 4 years right from the show room floor. It has 18,000 miles on it. Wow what a bike!! Very sturdy and reliable. Just keep the oil clean and change the tires. I LOVE THIS BIKE!! Now onto the downside. I ride with my wife a lot and the only complain I would have to say is the footpegs for the passenger are way too close to the bags. Needs floorboards on the rear as well. The price for aftermarket floorboards for the passenger are way ridiculously priced. Back to the good side. Easy to clean and very very reliable. Those Hardly guys can have there Hardly's. While I'm ridin there workin (on their bikes.)

This is my first bike, and I had never ridden before. I use it to commute 25 miles roundtrip evey day, only missing 5 days each year on average. My wife and I have taken numerous trips of about 400 miles roundtrip on all kinds of roads from Route 95 to city streets. We ride this thing as much as possible, stopping for breaks every 50 minutes on average. We look for excuses to ride, even just to run to the grocery store for small loads. Unfortunately, Florida does not offer much opportunity to experience the joy of winding roads, but I have come across a few decent ones with my wife on-board and there is no problem. There is good clearance and I have been able to lean this bike over with no fear. With over 385 lbs between my wife and I, this bike has great acceleration from low-end to high-end. At 50 mpg all of this makes for an amazing experience. I can't tell you how much I love riding this bike. I often slalom ride with my wife in the passenger seat just to enjoy the feel. I have done my share of sitting in stop-and-go traffic and at stop lights in 90 degree Florida heat, and I am never in fear of the cooling system failing me, even at Daytona where I have seen other bikes pull off and park because they were overheating. I am thinking about my next bike, one that we can ride across the southern states, and I will be looking at the C90 as my first choice. The only thing I can say I regret about this bike is that it has so much chrome. don't get me wrong, it's beautiful, but I live within 1/2 mile of the ocean and keep my bike outdoors. That salt air combined with the wind-blown beach sand tears chrome up. The pipes, engine, headlight, handlbar, etc. that come on the bike hold up exceptionally well, but the Suzuki aftermarket chrome falls apart within weeks of installation. I should have had those things powder coated. Overall, the price, reliability, handling, and performance of this baby are all top notch.