I have to say that it's not horrible. I'm not a big fan of the Cruiser style as I just don't "See" myself on one. But those years of Intruder were kinda less Cruiser-like. Still not for me though.

 

No you are not nuts....I am finding the same feelings except for a 02 yamaha warrior I saw th other day...pretty cool. and now that I have a sk1K.....I am considering trading my 02 sv650s for a warrior....if I could find the other party. i wonder if anyone reading this would be that person>>>>

 

I think 3 motorcycles would do me fine... 1 for commuting/canyon carving, hell raising.... 1 for commuting or long straight cruising... and 1 for road touring/fire road/ light offroad riding..

Which do I need more... hmmmm big screen TV or another motorcycle... hmmmmm ah well maybe I'll work on that one later... I don't really neeeed any 2nd bike.. even though it would be nice...

But then I think.. it would be cool to have a 1950's triumph or harley too.... maybe I should steal my dad's 54-57 (forget which year his is but I am pretty sure it was a 56) Triumph Tiger 110 that has been sitting in storage for about 36 years... and restore it

This one looks pretty close to his but he had a greenish one (think he had repainted it in the 60's)

 

I hear you. Here's my old bike, a Suzuki M50:

I loved the look and the feel of cruising it down the highway. But I found that after an hour or more on it, my lower back would start to hurt. Seating position sucked for me. Also, I discovered a love for twisties that the cruiser just couldn't satisfy. Had to make a choice, and glad I went with the SV. Still, I do miss the old gal.

 

Nice... that modle is a bit newer than I'd go for as I like them to look a little more like a Japanese cruiser than the harley style... but that is a nice looking one... I think the seat design is what probably did it for ya... a bit more of a steeper step and almost bucket like dip in it would probably work a bit better (I loved the old viragos for some of the seats they had).. but any cruiser is going to put stress on the lower back just from the position you are in.... unless you get the big padded seats or have some sort of hemroid cushion thing going on

I drove one of the 89 intruders and it was comfortable... the back could get tired on a long ride.. but all you need is a passenger.. or a pack on the seat and it's nice... then again I lay down on the tank of my bike on long roads and it is fine too... harder on the neck but easy on the wrists and back 500km of highway in a single day on my 99 SV650s was about all I wanted to do.

I hear you. Here's my old bike, a Suzuki M50:




I loved the look and the feel of cruising it down the highway. But I found that after an hour or more on it, my lower back would start to hurt. Seating position sucked for me. Also, I discovered a love for twisties that the cruiser just couldn't satisfy. Had to make a choice, and glad I went with the SV. Still, I do miss the old gal.

 

Not at all. I owned one that looks just like the top pic, had it for three(?) years or so. Same sorry looking saddlebags, too. LOL I had a Cobra exhaust, some extra chrome bits here 'n' there, even a custom backrest for the rider, as the seating position hurt my back. (Ultimately the biggest reason I'm glad I sold it).

Great bike. Easy to maintain & wrench on, reliable, cheap and fun. In retrospect, the only things I didn't like so much were the spoked wheels / tube tires, and the lack of a tachometer. Other than that, shaft drive was a plus, and the sound that the Cobra's put out was nice... definitely a good bike. If you find one for relatively cheap, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

Yeah it wouldn't be my daily driver that's for sure... but the spoked wheels are one thing I liked about it.... I was never a fan of the mag wheel look... however... I know from just cleaning my old bmx bicycle when I was a kid... cleaning spokes and the rims is a major pain in the A$$... still they look nice...

I don't really care too much about the tach... I never look at it much... I use my hearing and feel of the bike ... I'm generally within 500rpm of the optimal shifting times anyway... it's nice to have but all I need is the speedo

I think the sound and the feeling of an intruder 750 or 1200 I forget which I drove... when I was considering selling my maxim it felt like it had a lot more power... I never did care too much for the 80's kawasakis and hondas though when it came to the cruisers.. but the intruder and probably their advertisements looked cool compared to the rest of the bikes out there at the time..

I also liked the old VX800 not a cruiser but a standard... it was kind of like taking the engine from the intruder and putting it in a standard bike... perhaps inspiration for the SV later on

Not at all. I owned one that looks just like the top pic, had it for three(?) years or so. Same sorry looking saddlebags, too. LOL I had a Cobra exhaust, some extra chrome bits here 'n' there, even a custom backrest for the rider, as the seating position hurt my back. (Ultimately the biggest reason I'm glad I sold it).

Great bike. Easy to maintain & wrench on, reliable, cheap and fun. In retrospect, the only things I didn't like so much were the spoked wheels / tube tires, and the lack of a tachometer. Other than that, shaft drive was a plus, and the sound that the Cobra's put out was nice... definitely a good bike. If you find one for relatively cheap, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

I spent a day on one and really enjoyed it. That one was the maroon and silver color that looked pretty good together. Lots of torque in that big old 1400.

 

Can't begin to tell you how many zillions of hours I spent cleaning those dam ned wheels! Many a happy night out in my folks garage polishing away on all the chrome. Ahh, good times.

Yeah, the tach thing wasn't that big a deal. Still kind of nice to have one, IMHO.

Oh, I had an 800... the 1400 was a little too much $$$ at the time.

 

Back in late 1992 I purchased a new 92 1400 Intruder. Liked it..sort of. Took some getting used to though. Hated the seat position, and ended up having the original seat cover removed and extra padding installed. Helped quite a bit. In fact, my back was really hurting prior to raising the position..too much pressure on the spine. Power was good, but I find my current SV 650 just as strong. The Intruder suffered at 65MPH+ due to having only 4 speeds. Geared too low. Later models (95 on I think) they added a fifth gear. Purchased around $6K new. Lots of chrome to take care of. Did enjoy it, once I got the ergonomics correct..much the same with the SV. Somehow, Suzuki never quites fits me like Hondas. Sold the Intruder after a few years. Battery maintenance is quite a pain. If you get one, get the 1400..I think the 800 was just too small and the rear brake was shoe, not disk. The 1400 is air/oil cooled..no fluid.
Back in 92 or 93 I went to Daytona and did all day Harley rides (demos). Getting on my Intruder 1400 at the end on the day I remember saying to myself..."now this is a nice bike!!".

 

my friend has an older intruder. i think it is a 600 or 800
he loves it. he has gone on a couple long trips with it

i can't remember the year though

i just can't wrap my head around a cruiser. it is the feel of them i guess.

 

Cruisers aren't all that bad. For me, the seating position was just too uncomfortable for more than 45 minutes. Feet splayed out far ahead with pull-back handlebars is NOT good for your lower back on a 500 mile trip. The SV is one hell of a lot better choice... but that is 100% my opinion!

 

That was exactly my problem. I could've tried the big seat like Z. suggested, but I didn't want to look like I was riding a recliner. The reason I chose the naked SV was the handlebar. I figured I could add a 1" riser and have a very upright seating position. Actually, it came down to SV or FZ6, but I figured the v-twin would be a more natural progression, coming from a cruiser.

If you compare it to riding a horse, the natural thing is to have your legs beneath you, which is how we're sitting on the SV. A cruiser is like hanging the stirrups up around the horse's neck and sticking your feet into them. Not natural, and too much pressure on my lower back. I had issues there that not everyone has to deal with, though, so not everyone is going to feel uncomfortable that way. Plenty don't, apparently.

On the other hand, I knew plenty of cruiser guys who had issues, but all they wanted to do was change seats, add floorboards, add forward controls, add backrests, etc. I never had any luck convincing a single one that the problem was the bike itself, not the seat. Oh well.

 

Am I nuts for wanting a late 80's/early 90's Suzuki Intruder to keep my SV company... (Come to think of it I'd almost like to get a VStrom or similar crossover type more offroad style bike too)

My SV is the daily driver... and my bike for adrenaline riding... but I do kind of miss the more laid back, easy chair-cruiser style sometimes too...

I've always kind of liked the look of the late Viragos and Intruders before they tried too hard to look like the Harleys....

and there are the times when I just want to cruise the highway rather than hit the twisties...

Anyone here ever have one of those old Intruders... did you note any annoying habits they had? (like some of the honda sabers and the problem with oil starvation to the top end or some of the electrical issues with the early viragos)

The early Intruders I kind of liked, back around '84-'85. Probably the only cruiser I actually liked the looks of. They were 700cc originally, and for the first year or two you could get them with a drag bar instead of the ape hangers. Cool bike. My brother worked at a Suzuki dealership at the time, I got to ride one a fair amount. Lots of fun around town.

 

I like the VX800...they are kinda rare

 

dude, not crazy. i miss my old honda and i am lookin to rock one o them intruders in the next few years here. i know a few ppl with them and they are pretty sweet. not to mention dirt cheap compared to harleys. eh good times. rock it out

 

Alright, I owned both the 800 and the 1400. Here are my experiences with them:

At 17, I bought the '93 800 as my first street bike. Back then I loved it. Looking back, that was only because I was completely ignorant.

The seat sucks ass and balls. The bike, ergonomically, is too short. And I'm only 5'7". It's zippy, as far as smallish cruisers go.

In three months I logged over 8k miles on it. Then I got hit by a car riding to school one morning. Reduced the bike to rubble, in several pieces. I somehow was able to crawl away from the wreck.

Skip forward a year. I bought a '94 1400.

A bit better bike, but still smallish. Tall riders will be cramped.

For the day, it had crazy acceleration (by cruiser standards). The four speed gearbox allows for great launching, but leaves you searching for fifth gear on the slab. The bike maneuvered well, but is still a cruiser.

I rode it with pride until I bought my SV in '01. Then I realized what a real bike is--smooth, nimble, turnable, and stopable. I don't miss either of those bikes in the least now. I wish, instead of the 800, I had bought an FZR400 or something similar.


(edit)

I did ride the 1400 from Pensacola, FL to Compton, CA back in December of '95. I don't remember it sucking per se, but that's probably because it was so friggin' cold that I didn't notice the pain in my ass and back. I did have a windshield, though, so I'm sure that helped. When you're 19 you don't usually have the ability to judge things like comfort and real-world-useability...

 

I rode it with pride until I bought my SV in '01. Then I realized what a real bike is--smooth, nimble, turnable, and stopable. I don't miss either of those bikes in the least now. I wish, instead of the 800, I had bought an FZR400 or something similar.

Definitely, although I do sometimes miss the M50 (successor to Marauder 800). When I got the SV, it was like a different world. Everything was easier: turning, stopping, accelerating, parking, etc. I could never go back to a cruiser. I've wanted to let a few of my riding buddies try my bike on a group ride, but I so can't stand the thought of having to ride one of their cruisers that I always find the offer getting stuck in my throat.

 

You can make the argument that wanting any motorcycle is "nuts." Once you're past that point, it's all just preferences and satisfaction.
Ride well and be happy.

 

I've owned two Intruders, the 800 like your pictures and the 1400. They are decent bikes, they performed best at about 45mph. Much faster than that and the rake would cause the bike to handle uhm.. poorly. They eat batteries for breakfast. The battery sits in front of the rear tire about 4-inches off the ground. They get cooked down there. They are prone to a myriad of electrical gremlins and the fuel valves are known to fail without warning, leaving you stranded without any gas.

Other than that, they look good, for the money, they look better than most Cruisers IMHO. But if I were going to go the Cruiser route, I'd do it right and get a little 883 Sportster.

dp

 

I think I'm nuts because I want an old cafe racer but IDC I want it and it will make me happy so Ima get one

 

Thinking of my dad's old Triumph Tiger 110 he said it ran fine but then needed a magneto which was basicaly why he never got it back on the road as parts were harder to come by until recent years with the internet and stuff...

I'd imagine a 50+ year old bike would need a full teardown and rebuild with every seal and gasket swapped out and all the grease replaced as well... I wonder what a 50;s Tiger would sell for these days... not that it would be something I'd ever sell if I had it restored... it'd be interesting to see how that bike feels compared to more modern bikes...

That's a tempting one too... Maybe I should start on my own Jay Lenno-ish type collection of bikes...