Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The Intruder's engine is styled and chromed to the hilt. Note upturned carburetor manifold located between the cylinders , T here are no logo s or names ca st in th e engine covers. Suzuki enginee rs wanted a very narrow fra me a t th e seat; so they put the swing ar m legs o u tside the fram e pivo t. T he goa l was a very low sea t (the Int ru der's is 2i in ch es from Ihe grou nd) ; so th e battery is mounted o n the fra me , below th e swin ga rm pi vot , just a hea d o f the rea r tire. T he whee ls are tra ditio na l spoked (2. 15 x 19 front , 3.00 x 15 rear), with 60 spokes eac h to emphasize th a t fact, Ha nd leba rs are l -in ch in d ia me ter, rubber mo u n ted in the u pper tripl e clamp, a nd come in two styles - pullba ck or fla t. T he ign iti on key is o n the frame, j us t a hea d of th e left side pa ne l, facing for ward . . And the Intruder ca rries a full dose of chrome. Chrome cam covers. Ch rome engi ne sidccovers , Ch ro me p ipes. Ch ro me foo tpeg mounts a nd end caps. Chrome control lever s. C hrome water p ump cover. Chrome gas tank petcock a nd cap. C hrome regula tor. Chrome headl ight, mirrors, turn signa ls, horn, starte r cover, rear brak e ro ds a nd rear brake rod pivot cover, rear brak e a rm, tai lli g h t h o using , licen se plate bracket a nd light ho using, right-side swi ngarrn pivo t plug (the re isn ' t one on th e left side), asso rted bolts a nd covers a nd brackets. T he s h oc ks a n d sp rin g s are chromed , a nd th e shock springs ha ve a nar rower-then-usual pi tch so there a re more wind in g s - and more chromed sur face. If that 's no t eno ugh chrome for a n Int ru der owne r, th e front fender, rad ia to r cover, side panels and rea r fen der a re a ll made o f painted met a l - j ust . so they ca n be ch ro med. Desp ite th e use o f ch ro ma ble metal in stead of more typical. plast ic Suzuki en gineers made a co nsci ous effort to a vo id p la stic - the Intruder is relativel y light: claimed dry wei ght is 406 pounds for the low-ba r model a nd 4 10 pounds for the p ullback-bars mode l, co m pa red to th e Virago's cla imed 465 pounds a nd the Shadow's claimed 465.3 pou nds . Several things stood OUI about i 50cc versions of the Intruderduring a brief test ride o n the Suzuki Motor Co . Ltd. Ryu yo test track near Hammarnatsu, J apa n. The sea t seems even lower th an it s 2i -in ch height because th e Suzuki is so narrow - people with sho rt legs won't have any problem -to uch ing the grou n d o n th e Intruder. And it' s easy to beli eve Suzuki's cla im th at head- to-head testin g o f prototype Intruders aga ins t Honda Shadow i 50s showed th e Intruder to be superior in performance. T he Int ruder mak es good pow er a nd has a n o u tsta nd ing powerba n d, a nd will · ch ug a lo ng at 15 m ph in to p gear, th en acce lera te from th ere. The hi ghest speed I sa w indicat ed on th e bik es - wh ich a ll had speedometers in kilometers per hou r - wa s 160 kph , abo ut 100 mph. T he seating position o n th e flatbar mod el is rea lly exce p tio nal for a cruiser-sty led bike -the rider is com fortab le a t a ll speeds . Wh ich is a good th in g , because it's ea rl y im possi ble to tuck in , th anks to the com bi na tio n o f seat height, ba r height a nd di stance between sea t a n d ba rs. It 's a lill ie easier to a lmost tu ck in on th e pu llbackbars model , but rid in g a t high speeds is m uch less comforta ble. From th ere, th e Intruder has rea sonable cornering clearance; wh en thing s dr ag , hard parts tou ch down soo n after th e pe gs. On th e right th e foot pegs a nd wide, flat peg bracket drag. On th e left , the peg a nd bra cket an d sidesta nd base all drag. The front bra ke is good , both in power and feel. Because th e Intruder has soft sus pensi o n bia sed toward low-a nd moderat e-spe ed rid in g , it wa llows a bit in fa st, bumpy turns, the handl ebars osc illa ting back a nd forth a lill ie as the peg skims th e pavem ent and hits against th e bigger bumps. Fl yin g through bumpy sweepe rs at top speed without a twitch wa sn 't o ne of th e Intruder 's design goals; there are pl enty of sport bi kes wi th suspe nsio n tha t' s too rig id a nd rid es th at are too harsh at more norma l speeds. The Intru der is meant for cruising, for profiling, for doing wh at Shadows and Virago s do. And in stead of kno cking o u t - a co py of wha t's already a vaila ble, Suzuki engineers made th e Intruder different en o ug h to sta nd out. • Suzuki VS700GL Intruder Eng ine type Suzuki's Intruder comes in two versions, one with p ullback bars (above) and one w ith flat bars; both types are mounted on riser. 18 Water-cooled SOHC 45° V-twin Bore x stroke, . ... 80x69.6mm; 80x74.4mmt D isplacement • . 699cc;-747cct Compression ratio ,.. . . . . 10:1 Carburetion ... .. • . . . (2 ) 34mm Mikuni CV Horsepower, . • • 58 bhp @ 6500 rpm; 62 bhp @ 6600 rpmt Torque .. . . 47,7 lb.-ft. @ 5600 rpm; 61.3 lb .-ft. @ 5600 rpmt Valves per cylinder . _• . . . . . . . 4 Intake valve size _.30mm Exha ust valve size • .... . . 26mm Int ake lift _ 8 .5mm Exhaust lift ., 8 .5mm Included valve angle ... .. .• 54° Intake valve t iming , 27-66° Exhaust valve t iming 66-23° (measur ing pt. ) , •• 0 .45mm int.; 0.35mm ex. Igni tion • .. •.•. . • • , . , Elec tronic Lubricat ion . , . . .. . . • . Wet sump Redline .. ...... .. •.. 7000 rpm 4100 rpm rpm @ 60 mph Gear ratios Primary 71 /42; 1.690:1 Fina l .. 17/15x34/11 ;3.503:1 6th 23/27; 0 .862:1 25 /25; 1.000:1 4th , 3rd , , . . 27 /22; 1.227:1 2nd 31 /19; 1.632:1 1st 32/14; 2.286:1 Calculated speed in gears at radline 5th 102 mph 4th 86mph 3rd .. . . ... .. •... . _. • 71 mph 2nd • • , . • • " , ••• •• ••• 63 mph 1st • . ... • .. • •• . _. •• . . 38 mph Frame ... • • . Double-downtube. round steel tubing Rake • • • • , ., •••• ••••• • . . . 33° Tra il • .• • . •• • . •• • .•• .• . 6.63 in. Front suspension . .. Telescopic Forks Fork tube diameter • . . • . . 37mm Front w hee l travel . • , • . •• 6 .6 in. Rear suspension • • • • D ual -shock swingarm Rear whee' travel • •• . .• 3 .16 in. Front brake , • • ,., 11 .6-in . disc Rear brakes , . • , •• •7 .0-in . drum Front wheel .. •...•.. 60-spoke. 2 .15x19 in. Rear wheel . . ... . . . . • 60-spoke. 3 .00x15 in . Fron t t ire . . . .. • . . . 100/90-19 Bridgestone Excedra L309 Rear t ires .. .. • . • • . 14 0/90- 15 Bridgestone Excedra L308 Dry weigh t .. 406 Ibs.; 410 Ibs ." 60.8 in . Whee lbase 3 .2 gal. Fuel capacity 4 .9 in. Ground clearance , Seat height .... ... .. . . • 27 in . GVWR .. .• . . . . . . . . , . 950 Ibs . Colors ... . . . . • • Black; Maroon" Retail price .. . .. . . . . .• • $3199 t VS750 GL " With pUllback handlebars

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