2008 Suzuki Boulevard M50 review from Australia

Nothing has gone wrong.

I have previously owned/ridden a Suzuki RGV250, a Suzuki 400 Bandit, a CBR125R and a BMW R80. I recently dumped the 400 Bandit due to long running Carb issues (but seriously it's an '89 model, so I was doing pretty good) and picked up an M50.

Despite my misgivings, having never ridden a cruiser before, the M50 handles much better than it has any right to. It is stable at low and high speeds and in corners and under braking.

The finish and build quality are immaculate.

I find the engine to be responsive, nice and torquey, not much shaft interference when slowing or engine braking, and the fueling is perfect.

I have some issues with my height and the position of the handle bars, but the bar position is more comfortable than everything I've ridden bar the BMW and the seat is also on par with the Beemer. Which when you think about the price premium on the Beemer, is saying a lot. Of course I'm going to just roll the handlebars back and fix that problem anyway.

And of course the only other issue with the M50, as highlighted in most magazine reviews, is the rear drum brake. But them's the breaks; when you get so much for your money there's going to be one or two little niggles.

The day I rode it home from the dealership I had two blokes in a ute honking at me and shouting through the window to find out what type of bike it was - I pulled up next to them in traffic and told them; the driver (a Harley Sportster owner) said he'd never seen one before but was going to go test ride one that weekend. :)