Think about disturbing the peace of a barren highway astride a big V-twin motorcycle. Ah, it’s the stuff motorhead dreams are made of! Now think about what your first choice of ride would be – Harley, Victory, maybe even a Triumph – but Suzuki?! Almost never, right?
I suggest you think again. The all new Suzuki Boulevard M109R stakes a beefy 1800cc claim among these big bikes that frankly, is pretty hard to ignore. Suzuki’s gladiator in the power cruiser arena is a motorcycle that brings heavy artillery to the battle.
Even before you get on this bike, it makes its massive presence felt, with its menacing low-slung stance and a brawny front end. It’s big and muscular – measuring 97.6 inches in length and weighing in just shy of 350kgs, dry. But I found out from the moment I swung a leg over it, that it was built for riding pleasure.
Firstly, the seat is fairly close to the ground, at just 28 inches above it. This means that the M109R (also known as the Suzuki VZR 1800) has a low centre of gravity and great balance, helping you to manoeuvre it like a dream despite its sheer bulk. It also has the fattest rear tyre of any production motorcycle – a whopping 8.5 inch number, adding to its strongman looks and a smooth cruising feel.
The 1783cc beast has 127 horses, just straining at the reigns to be released with a flick of the throttle. Lightly stabbing the starter whirs the big beast from its slumber with a snarl. Gear engagement is smooth though there is a sense of some unsprung pressure at the end of the gear levers travel which makes it engage with an emphatic thunk. I love that feeling of sharp, clunky engagement. Amateur riders beware – the M109R springs into action instantly and the feel is a bit jerky.
While it might be an uncomfortable feeling in the beginning, I love that instant response from the engine with the slightest throttle release. The 146.4nm of torque on this thing is insane and it feels like it could pull a small trailer with ease.
I know this because the bike gets off from a standstill even in second gear. That torque is amazing at slowing you down too because this thing is fast! The engine braking is second to none and makes for great confidence even when you’re doing short city blasts down Sheikh Zayed road.
The Boulevard has the largest pistons of any other motorcycle in its class – huge fist sized 112mm aluminium alloy numbers that go through a very short stroke of only 90mm to give you an engine that feels sublime. Suzuki have spent a lot of time perfecting the feel of the engine and it really comes through: it reverberates perfectly and seems to echo right through your fleshy regions and up to your chest.
The stock ‘2-into-1-into-2’ blacked out exhaust system features Suzuki’s digitally controlled SET (Suzuki Exhaust Tuning) system for optimum performance and a powerful V-Twin sound. The beat of the engine is just great – a low throaty snarl at idle that turns into a rumbling symphony past third gear. I love that Suzuki did not give in to temptation and overdo the thump on such a big bike. Something the competition could learn from.
I found that despite being huge, the Boulevard doesn’t throw its weight around. Its rodeo bull looks are deceptive because the Boulevard actually handles very well.
The blacked out beach bars make for a relaxed wide riding stance and the low seating position makes its balance great, even at slow speeds. Cornering is also a lot of fun as I found out on a long blast down to Kalba.
The fat rear tyre fights you in the twisties, to stand the bike up but once you get past that feeling, throwing it into bends comes almost naturally. The only snag I hit after an hour’s riding was that the foot-pegs are placed a little too forward for my liking. When you’re on the taller side, this means that you’re seated in a clam-shell like posture that plays havoc on your back.
Although, the saddle is very cushy and gives you room to sink in, it doesn’t give you a lot of space to slide back, owing to its lower back support which in my opinion, would be better flatter.
But the Boulevard redeems itself in its race bike drawn 46 mm inverted front forks. With 5.1 inches of travel, they reduce the unsprung weight of the fork components better than traditional forks.
This makes for a smooth ride and reduces wheel bounce, especially in the corners where you really need it. The rear suspension uses a cast aluminium swing-arm that soaks up 4.7 inches of bumps. It’s preload adjustable too and I loved that as I do a fair bit of two-up riding. I could only ground the pegs with a little bit of effort – a great thing when you want to hit the twisties on a beautiful day.
The high-tensile double cradle steel frame handles all that torque and power quite well. Although from this suspension, I’d call the overall ride more solid than plush.
The Boulevard looks the business of a true power cruiser and I loved that everything on the M109R is blacked out. This includes the rearview mirrors, handlebars, clutch and brake levers, front fork outer tubes, steering stem head, the tank cover, cylinder head covers, the side covers, mufflers, and brake callipers. The LED taillight is neatly integrated into the rear-seat fender unit. The digital tach is a cool touch and placed ergonomically up front.
I did get annoyed with the placement of the speedometer on the tank, as sometimes on a bike this powerful, you can’t believe how fast you’re going and might want to do a double take. This involves taking your eyes off the road to look at the speedometer, which I wasn’t very fond of. The twin-disc front brakes are amazing and manage to contain the insane power of this motorcycle very well. The rear discs leave something to be desired though.
To sum up, the Suzuki Boulevard M 109R (VZR 1800) is a superlative motorcycle and it’s completely at ease, standing shoulder to shoulder with the big boy V-twins from the West that spawned motorcycling legacy. I say ‘standing’ because once you smack it in gear and twist your wrist; it leaves those big boys behind in a cloud of dust, faster than you can say ‘damnthisthingsfast’.
And it does this with a lot of style and aplomb, looking every bit the business with its brawny stance and blacked out bits. So, cruiser or cruise missile? Definitely the latter!
