Four stroke, 45°V-twin, SOHC,
4 valves per cylinder
Capacity
805 cc / 49.1 cu in
Bore x Stroke
83 x 74.4 mm
Compression Ratio
10.0:1
Cooling System
Liquid cooled
Induction
Mikuni BDS36 carburetor
Ignition
Digital transistorized
Starting
Electric
Max Power
36.4 kW / 50 hp @ 6500 rpm
Max Torque
65 Nm / 6.63 kgf-m / 47.9 ft.lb @ 5000 rpm
Transmission
5 Speed
Final Drive
Chain
Front Suspension
Inverted telescopic,
coil spring, oil-damped
Rear Suspension
Swingarm, oil-damped,
5-way adjustable spring preload
Front Brakes
Single Ø310 mm discs, 2 piston caliper
Rear Brakes
Single drum
Front Tyre
130/90-16
Rear Tyre
150/90-15
Dry Weight
207 kg / 456 lbs
Fuel Capacity
19 L / 5.0 US gal / 4.2 Imp gal
Consumption Average
6.2 L/100 km / 16.2 km/l / 38 US mpg / 45.6 Imp mpg
Standing
¼ Mile
14.1 sec / 148 km/h / 92 mph
Top Speed
164 km/h / 102 mph
You're shopping for a new bike. You want something cool, but aren't interested
in the efficient sterility of a standard. Something you can ride slowly and
just not care. In fact, the slower you can go and still have fun the better.
Something with character, a rumbling V-twin, and gobs of torque. The ride is to
be your destination. "That'll be 14,000 dollars, sir," advises the showroom
salesman.
Whoa! You didn't quite want it that bad. How about a
middleweight? More along the line of eight thousand dollars, you think to
yourself.
A middleweight cruiser is somewhat of an oxymoron. How to
achieve that hefty cruiser feel, yet downsize the weight, displacement, and
more importantly, price? To explore this enigma we gathered five of the finest
little big bikes available: existing iron like Harley-Davidson's 883 Sportster,
Kawasaki's Vulcan 800 Classic and Yamaha's Virago 750, along with Honda's
all-new American Classic Edition 750 and Suzuki's new Marauder 800. Each one has
its own answer to the middleweight dilemma.
Speaking of dilemmas, what the heck do you do to properly
compare cruisers for a shootout? You can't just call up a racetrack and say,
"Put us down for Tuesday, we're bringing up a bunch of cruisers to test!" They'd
laugh us right off the phone. And when we called up our resident fast-guys Shawn
Higbee and Chuck Graves to see if they wanted to help evaluate the assembled
equipment, through barely stifled yawns they told us that they, um, oh yeah,
they had to wash their dogs today. Clearly it takes a slightly more laid-back
attitude toward life to truly appreciate the cruiser. So we decided to do the
typical cruiser thing -- we followed the crowds. We motored up and down one of
the world's most popular boulevards, the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, along
with a mandatory jaunt up through the canyons to the Rock Store. We rode around
town, down long stretches of freeway, and even took them on a several hundred
mile trip. All the while looking for that perfect nothing, the transcendence
from the physical, the ultimate vibe, and all that other metaphysical stuff.
So kick back, relax, and throw back a cold one. This time
we'll do all the riding.
1997 Suzuki Marauder
800
With much hoopla and fanfare Suzuki introduced four new models for their '97
model year -- GSX-R600, 1200 Bandit, TL1000 and the Marauder 800. Suzuki's
Marauder screams winner with its inverted forks, gobs of chrome, an 800cc motor,
and, best of all, a $6000 price tag. It seems you could have it all.
With motorcycles, as with life, things are not all that they
seem. While it's true that the Marauder boasts some very cool features, its
total package is in need of further refinement.
The Marauder is based loosely on Suzuki's Intruder 800, albeit
with some important differences such as a switch to chain drive over the
Intruder's shaft, for smoother power delivery. While switching to a chain Suzuki
also made room
for a fifth gear (the old Intruder having a four-speed box). They equipped the
Marauder with an inverted front end, presumably for a beefy appearance, but
these forks are really not much better than any of our other bikes in this test.
Most of the other differences between this model and the Intruder are cosmetic,
and we approve. Its long, lean look is a welcome replacement for the
slightly-dated chopper look of the Intruder. Mag wheels and miles of chrome mean
lots of shine on the boulevard, as the Marauder exudes a style all its own. The
Suzuki is Japanese and proud of it. Like Honda's ACE, it pays homage to the
American original without plagiarizing. In fact it was second only to the Honda
in the number of compliments it received.
If only it was any fun to ride.
Starting with a wedge-shaped seat that begins to irritate in
under five minutes and ending with the worst carburation of any bike we've
recently tested, riding the Marauder is a bit of a trial. Its ergonomics are all
wrong for a rider of even average size, with the drag-style bars too pulled back
and the pegs not quite far enough forward. If you're tall, forget it. The flat, riserless handlebars gave poor feedback and lousy control when traveling down
twisty roads. Ground clearance is a bit on the meager side too, although not as
limiting as the Vulcan. Have we mentioned the seat sucks?
A quick twist of the throttle and you can tell this beast has
nuts. Then you hit that stumble. You figure you can gas your way through it, but
by the time it clears up you're already at the end of its powerband. What could
be the best engine in this test is castrated by poor carburetion. Any first year
engineering student could tell you that exhaust pipes of vastly different
lengths are a tuner's nightmare, and such is the case with Suzuki's Marauder.
Its left pipe wraps all the way over to the right to give an appearance of
staggered dual pipes. Probably not helping any of this is the fact that its
exhaust crossover tube is about one inch in diameter, bound to wreak all kinds
of havoc with exhaust throughout.
What we're telling you is that with a little tinkering (new
seat, bars, control extenders, pipes and a jet kit) this could be a nice
motorcycle. However, this being the Marauder's first year in production,
aftermarket support is not yet in existence, so it may be a while until you can
upgrade this machine. If you've fallen in love with the Maurader's looks, try
waiting around outside your Suzuki dealer for someone to trade one in -- we
don't think you'll have to wait long.