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I am considering an around town bike.
I know this one should have plenty of power for my frame at 6'1" and 250.
How is the handling and reliability of this bike?
I searched the forum and did not find much.
Might want to google S40 or Suzuki Savage forums. I know there are some out there, but i'm not really all that familiar with the bike. In all honesty, it should be perfectly fine for around town, relaxed riding. I know it's billed as being a great first bike, and first cruiser for lots of new riders. At 6'1" and 250 lbs i'd wonder if it'll have enough power to really move you in and out of traffic. If you're simply going down the street you'll probably be fine, but if you're getting on the interstate and want to have enough power to outrun a tractor trailer, or other lunatic drivers you might want a slightly larger engine.
Well I owned on 650 before, a '68 Triumph Bonneville and this bike puts out more power than I remember it having and it had plenty, for the time.
I am just looking for it around town is all too.
Yeh, you should be fine. I currently own 3 motorcycles, have only owned 4 in my seven years of riding. The first Honda 400 had enough get up to get me on the highway, and cruise at about 75-80 mph, albeit it was doing 80% of it's total RPM to maintain those speeds. Bike number two was a 650 V-twin (Suzuki, SV 650) but that engine is significantly different than the 650's found in the cruiser market place (i.e. 80hp, 6 gears, and a 10,000 rpm redline). The bike is pretty quick, not super fast, but has no issues on interstates, back roads, or race tracks (less it's competing against supersports and the straight away is long). I also own a 85 Nighthawk 650. It's a great little sport cruiser, will confidently do highway speeds, and take the backroads great. If you're wanting speed, you have to work the little inline-4 but it's rewarding to do, and the bike really sings in the upper RPM's. My newest bike is a Magna 750, V4, about 80 hp, and a 10,000 rpm redline. For a cruiser, it's a fast bike, plenty of torque down low to act like it's a V-twin, but still has so much power in the upper RPM's to remind you she's not. She's slowly turning into my favorite "do all" bike, and will be replacing the Nighthawk soon as my cruiser.
All in all, i'm sure the S40 will be plenty of bike for your around town errands, i just wouldn't want a whole lot more than that. If you need more, might check out the S50. If you're not picky about the styling, may want to check out the Shadow line as well. 750 shadows are pretty affordable, while 600 shadows have a very similar "retro/custom" cruiser look to them that the larger 750/1100 shadow's don't have. I'd also say the 600cc shadows, and vintage 80's 1100cc shadows have the stylized cruiser looks similar to the S40 suzuki's. Potentially at a fraction of the price.
I rode it and I am changing bikes to something bigger.
I also rode a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT that I really liked
I am trying to work out details now on it to buy it.
Somewhat off-topic, but I really like the M50 as cruisers go. Hardware is decent, riding position is not too extreme, handling feels relatively neutral, power is adequate for one-up riding.
Well, after discussing the matter with the wife, and realizing that she rarely rides with me anyway and then only short distances in town, I decided I really did not need the Vulcan for around town.
I went down and picked up the S40.
This one lunger has some get up and go and rolls right along. Very nimble at it's 381#. Heavy enough for winds for it's size (and my weight on it too) but light enough to handle very well.
Not even working hard to pull a decent grade at 50-55 MPH.
This will suit my purposes just fine.
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