What do u think abt this bike?

Greetings!

My friend is looking to buy a used bike. A guy has put up his 1997 Suzuki Intruder 800 for sale. He's asking for 3200$. The bike has done 15000 miles and after riding it, I can say that it's in good condition. What do u guys say? Is this a good deal? And what do u think abt the bike in general (maintenance, ownership costs)?

-Kid

Deal

It's a fair deal. It's not necessarily a good deal.

Link to Kelly Blue Book for Used Intruder

Howdy Kid,

Welcome to the site. As far as cost of ownership, it should be on par with any other bike. Change the oil, check the valves occasionally, etc,... Since it is a twin, it should be easy to do everything yourself unless your friend just has no mechanical ability

Is this your friend's first bike?

Adios,

Thanx for the info guys. Well, he has had experience riding 100cc - 250cc bikes. But, it is gonna be the first bike he's owned - is that ok? Or is it gonna be a case of too much for him? He's totally smitten by it and has been drooling over it ever since we checked it out!

As for me, I have a 2001 Suzuki GS500. Nice lil fun bike. Wanted to learn the ropes on a small bike bfr joining the 100hp league!

-Kid

Kid,

In all reality, he can learn just fine on the Intruder. However, I think he would have a LOT more fun on the GS even though it doesn't have quite the "cool" factor as the cruiser. There is a GS listed in our For Sale section right now that is a great deal that would be perfect. It has had all the good mods done to it already: upgraded suspension bits. It would be a great bike take out on the backroads and have a blast. It would also hold it's value well.

Adios,

The Intruder is an adequate motorcycle. However, I would have to recommend a motorcycle that would stop and handle better than the Intruder. The old adage goes: "You don't use a bike's power all the time, but you do use the bikes handling and braking all the time" - even though you could never accuse the Intruder of being "powerful" - it sorely lacks handling and stopping credentials. As noted in another post, the Suzuki GS 500 would be a much better choice for a novice. That's my two cents worth!

Found some more info on the bike. It gives a measly 70 miles to 3 gallons. That's around 23mpg - is that normal for such a bike???

My friend's is totally ga-ga over cruisers - he just wont even consider a GS...****.

-Kid

Howdy,

Most cruisers get less than 40 mpg unless driven real easy. It is also common for them to have small tanks (3-4 gallons). 23mpg seems exceptionally low. I would be concerned that the bike might have engine problems. Does it smoke when running (as in burning oil)?

Adios,

Thanx for the info Scot....yeah he's dropped the idea of buying it. Will be looking around for other options.

Scott, I am closely looking at participating in one of your Backroad Mototcycle Tours - would love to explore the great terrain and view offered. The only issue is time and money - I am just a poor old graduate student . And it's a pity that nothing is being planned for Spring Break week (March 15th - 22nd). Anyone planning any small trips around Austin during that period? And yeah - will the GS be adequate for these trips? After seeing the previous tour pics, u guys all have some heavy and serious touring machinery!

-Kid

Kid,

I won't be doing anything until the last weekend of March. It will be a run out into East Texas during Dogwood season. Late March is when stuff starts blooming and going green. The GS would be perfect for this ride. It is about 250 miles each day (Sat/Sun). If you can find someone to split a hotel room with, it is quite cheap. I generally don't charge much more than the cost of the hotel plus a little to cover my expenses. I'll be doing this same ride again the first weekend in April.

I will be doing two Hill Country rides in April. This is when all the Blue Bonnets and other wild flowers are blooming everywhere. Again, the GS would be fine for this kind of ride.

The only problem you might have with the GS is on really long tours. But even then, it would just be an issue of physical comfort. The bike has plenty of range on a tank of gas. A set of saddle bags and you would be set. For the Colorado and North Carolina tours I have planned, there will be a chase vehicle so you can leave luggage in the truck each day and not have to carry it on the bike.

Adios,

Hello Kid,

Welcome to the TWT family!!!! I got my GS in July and can't wait to go to Hodges. I guess I'd better sign up. I'm ready to rack up the miles on it. Hope you can hook up with us or take one of the tours. So are you from the Austin area?

Thanx for the warm welcome!! Yeah, I am in the Northwest Austin area. I go to UT (go Horns!).

For some informed opinion on the Intruder 800 motor, I was the proud owner of a VX800 from 1995 to 2002. This was a standard motorcycle which used the VS800 Intruder engine. It was one HECK of an engine.

Some things to know. First, the motor can take one **** of a lot of punishment, I know, because it took what I gave it... I put 30K miles on it. I also was on the VX800 mailing list for a while. One thing, the only thing I heard about the motor even half way bad was that it would wear out the cam chains every 80K miles. Woohoo, I've had bikes that didn't have a top end left after 30K miles, LOL! The only other thing about that bike and it would apply to the Intruder, too, is that whenever you pull the wheel for a tire, use Graphite/moly grease on the drive splines. Always keep those drive splines well lubricated. If you let 'em go dry, they'll wear and eventually strip.

That motor made about 60-65 ponies and pulled from idle to redline STRONG. I've never owned a motorcycle of any size that had more usable torque at every rpm. It made downshifting to pass a goofy thing to do. Once you get it in fifth, just leave it there... It would out roll on a lot of much bigger bikes in fifth, awesome motor.