Well it seems there are a lot of guides about the motorcycle scams, but precious few about actual bikes. (There are also a number of them that are written by the scammers to try to get you to go look at their bikes.)

I would like to post a guide about Suzuki's wonderful Boulevard lineup. To give you some background, I grew up trashing trail bikes in the fields by my house, and didn't get on a street bike until my early 20's. My first one was an old beat up Honda V45 Magna. That was a lot of bike for a beginner bike, but I never laid it down. Unfortunately those bikes are notorious for the timing chain getting loose. I didn't keep that long.

I eventually made my way to wanting a newer bike with less maintenance needed. I had the bug and was ready to buy. I was looking for something in the 750-800cc range. As with most, I immediately went and looked at the Honda Shadow lineup. They are some decent looking bikes. I also looked at Yamaha, but the 650 seemed just too small. I was about ready to buy a Honda when I asked the dealer what Suzuki had to compare. He took me over and showed me the Volusia (the C50 is the newer fuel injected version of the Volusia). He then started pointing out little often overlooked things that were just put together better with the Suzuki bikes. He also said that pretty much any Suzuki cruiser will outperform the comparable Honda. (S40 vs Shadow Spirit 650, Volusia / C50 vs. Shadow ACE, LC1500 / C90 vs. VTX 1300, etc). I ended up getting a 2001 Volusia and found what he said to be exactly true. Stock for stock the Hondas couldn't keep up. My friend bought an ACE. He couldn't keep up at all. I drove his around a bit and found the handling was much worse as well.

Now a few years have past. I put well over 20k miles on the Volusia without a single problem. Change oil, change tires, and it kept rolling down the road without a hitch. Since my Volusia rolled out Suzuki has made many improvements to their lineup. The new C50 is now fuel injected and has a bit better response time to the throttle. The C90 had similar upgrades, and Suzuki finally rolled out a beast to blow away the VTX 1800 with the new M109R (now also available in M109r2 and C109 for the classic cruiser look).

Here is a breakdown of the bikes I'm familiar with in the Boulevard lineup. I know there are a few others, but I don't have a lot of knowledge on them so I will omit them from my review and let someone else fill in that part.

• GZ250 - There are a lot of people out there that will immediately go for a Honda Rebel for a beginner bike. First, I would say that an average size adult would probably be happier starting out on a bit bigger bike, say a 650. However, if you are smaller, or really don't want to try bigger than a 250, this little machine does have a bit of pep and will easily outperform the Rebel. (both the Rebel and the Suzuki will easily outperform all those little Chinese / Korean 250 cruisers that are starting to pop up all over the place).
• S40 - In my opinion, this 650 machine is a great starter bike. It is light and nimble, easy to handle for a beginner rider. The center of gravity feels nice for a lighter weight rider, and it has a clean, nice 'chopper' look to it.
• There are also the 800cc and 1400cc in this chopper look, but I'm not as familiar with those, so I won't say much there. The reports I have seen state that the light weight lends itself to a lot of power and a fun ride.
• C50 / Volusia / C50T - I have already said a lot about this bike above. What a fun bike to ride! Additionally, the seating on this bike is very comfortable for a stock seat compared to other makes. You can make it even better with aftermarket seats. I rode my bike for hours at a time without complaint or problem from the bike. Most people mistake this for a much larger bike and it can easily get up and run with the 'big boys'. If you like the touring setup (windshield, saddle bags, backrest) go for the C50T. It's a good deal cheaper than what you would pay if you got the bike then purchased those items separately. The one drawback is that the color options for the T model are limited, though the '08 models do have some nice color schemes.
• C90 / LC1500 / C90T - This was Suzuki's big boy for a long time. A great dependable cruiser that would easily outdo the VTX 1300 and could run with the 1800. It has a long comfortable ride. Again, if you like the extras, go with the C90T. The one drawback I have heard from owners of this bike is the size of the gas tank. At around 3.2 gallons, you end up filling up a lot more often. With my 90 mile round trip commute I would be filling up daily. However, you can buy an aftermarket setup (around $500 I think) that will add a small secondary tank hidden in the frame. I was about to buy one of these bikes until I saw my dream bike....................
• M109R / M109R2 / C109 / C109T - Ok, though they are very different bikes, I had to lump them together. My fingers are getting tired. The M109R is a unique bike in every way. Though it is a cruiser (long, low V-twin, heavy bike) the look of it is very modern. It has a sport styled headlight and tail light, a huge 240 rear tire comes stock (I'm upgrading to 250 and I've seen 300's on it), the brakes are straight from the GSXR and work better than any cruiser brakes I've seen. This machine was made not to compete, but to blow away the competition in the heavy V-Twin market. Many heavily modified VTX 1800s have a hard time keeping up with a stock M109. Even the new Kawasaki 2000cc bike can't keep up (way to heavy, and feels like it's lumbering down the road). The difference is in Suzuki's engineering. Instead of the traditional long stroke, they made it a short stroke piston that is extremely (over 4") wide. This short stroke gives it immediate torque. This, along with the valve setup, etc, etc, make this a machine that helps other riders really notice that back tire as you pass them by. I bought this machine after riding the Volusia for a few years. This beast almost threw me the first time I pulled the throttle. Now, 8000 miles later, the volusia feels like a scooter to me. :)  Many think that this would be lacking in handling with the size and the big tire. This beast handles much better than my Volusia did, and will out corner most other cruisers out there. The center of gravity also feels much lower than the competition. People have been very impressed with how light the bike feels when standing it up and holding it up. The R2 version has a different headlight, but pretty much everything else is the same. The C109 is a traditional looking cruiser cosmetically, but it sits on the same frame and drivetrain as the M109. Mechanically it is the same machine. The C109T is the touring version with windshield, backrest, and luggage.

All in all, I have done a LOT of comparing each time I have looked to upgrade my bike. I keep my mind open to other manufacturers. For example, Kawasaki has a couple of really nice looking bikes. However, I have to keep coming back to Suzuki for the performance I'm now used to, and the reliability I have found with my experience on these bikes.