My first bike was a 2002 Suzuki VZ-800 Marauder. As a brand-new biker in 2002, my challenge: to find a bike that would serve as both a learning machine, and also have sufficient Value that I'd want to keep it for more than six months, with the intention of moving to another ride in 3-5 years.

I bought my Marauder at the very end of the model year, on September 28th 2002, following a six-month period of assessing bikes and budget. I had never ridden before (aside from minibikes), and I had been unable to get into MSF because of the popularity of the class. Over the summer of 2002, I had sat on innumerable bikes at many dealers, probably making them absolutely NUTS... but I had set some very high expectations. I also was aware that I would NOT be able to test-ride one, because I didn't have a license: I had a Learner's Permit, but that was it. I would be relying on my own Good Sense plus the experience and opinion of my buddy, Mike.

In retrospect, the expectations I had were higher than I actually realized - but here's what I was after:
  1. The bike had to have a relatively upright seating position. Preferably a cruiser, or UJM, but I didn't rule anything out entirely except hard-core sportbikes. I do not like the sound of high-revving engines - a personal choice - so that, plus the seating position, rules sportbikes out.
  2. The bike must be comfortable!
  3. The bike must have the ability to carry stuff. I never leave the house without stuff - cell phone, palm pilot, camera, notebooks, work documents, a laptop computer, etc. While there's a certain Romantic Ethos in the thought of "taking off with only a wallet and a pair of sunglasses", you mist admit that puts a practicality limit on the usefulness of a motorcycle! :)
  4. The bike must be well-suited to commuting. Because I had no frame of reference to use as a comparison, this essentially meant any bike was a "good commuting bike" unless I found something which specifically ruled it out. It had to be highway-capable.
  5. The bike could not be too powerful. Sure - if you've never ridden, how on earth do you know where to draw the line? I talked it over with Mike, and we agreed 750cc should be an upper limit, and 450 a lower limit - based on my size, weight, and average road speeds in the area: zero to 80+.
  6. The bike had to be aesthetically pleasing. A very subjective requirement, based on my own gut reaction and opinions. For example, I don't like spoked wheels, "tiller" or "wheelbarrow" handlebars, forward controls, wiiiide gas tanks, etc. I prefer body panels to miscellaneous unidentified machinery: if it's not engine, I don't want to see it. Color is good. Chrome is nice, but I don't salivate over it. If the bike doesn't look like every other bike, that's a deal-winner for me.
  7. The bike had to be suited to Northern VA road conditions. Practically, this meant WATER-COOLED (sit in our traffic and you'll agree!), easy to moderate clutch pull, and wind protection.
  8. The bike had to be insurable. Funny story about that - I kept looking at brands other than HD, Honda, Kaw, and Suzuki - and I'd call Geico, and they’d say they didn't cover whatever model I was looking at. Finally, I got a supervisor on the phone, who looked at my driving record and history with Geico, and said "you call us and tell us what you buy. As long as it's a production bike (versus a custom-build), we'll write you a policy." Now, THAT'S Customer Service! :)
  9. The bike had to be affordable. I had 8 grand ready to spend, and while I could finance for a higher amount, I really didn't want to. I wanted to write a check and be done with the "payment" issue.
  10. The bike had to be new. From a dealer. I did not have sufficient experience as a rider to deal with the vagaries that come along with a used bike. Nor do I have the time / tools / environment / aptitude to do my own hardcore wrenching. I'm not a RUB, but I'm not a mechanic either, and I have no garage.
The Selection and Buying Process
Am I a persnickety SOB, or what?! :)

So, after sitting on many, many bikes, I had narrowed my options, and the final contenders were (in order):

Something was wrong, though - none of the bikes "spoke" to me. The VLX whispered a little, but that was it. So, I planned to spend one last weekend looking, and then maybe go buy the VLX.

I was tempted, but common sense told me not to make the Speed Four my first bike. Somehow, I got the sense that I'd get into Really Big Trouble on this sleek little bird.
Mike and I met on a Saturday, and went to Coleman in Falls Church, then a place in Herndon. Same thing... lots of very nice machinery, but nothing speaking to me. Next, we drove out to Loudoun Motorsports, and started sitting on the final contenders once more, while I debated waiting another year for a new model to enter the market. At one point, almost disgusted, I heaved a sigh and sat down (side-saddle) on the nearest bike to ruminate on just how damn fussy I was.

The saddle was sure comfy, so I stood up and threw a leg over, and sat down the right way. "Click!" There it was. From the moment I reached out and grabbed the handlebars, the bike just screamed "ride me, Dad!" It was a Marauder.

A funny thing - I had been looking through the 2002 Buyer's Guide for months without ever giving the Marauder a second glance. In retrospect, I think it was the paint - the way last the 2001 paint scheme looked in print did absolutely nothing for me. In black and white, it looked like some wretched 70's throwback. In person, though, it was really kinda pretty... but the one I was sitting on was black, and while I specifically did not want a black Japanese Cruiser (and the attendant ribbing about being a "wannabee" from the 10-percenters); I had to admit the bike was nice looking.
An ugly duckling in B/W halftone, you need to see one in person.

Some of the things that caught my eye were:

After that, it was an easy sell. I liked it a lot, and even though the motor - at 805cc - was above my 750 limit, we agreed it was controllable. I spent an enjoyable 40 minutes convincing the dealer to knock a grand off the $5999 sticker price, picked out a helmet and windshield, wrote a check, and walked out the door...

...straight to my car, which I drove home as I followed Mike on the brand new bike!

Arriving at the Riedl Country Estate on the brand-new bike (with me following), Barkin'B pulled off his helmet with a huge grin, and said "what a sweet bike!" In the year since, I have had no occasion to disagree with that assessment.

The bike was a perfect fit for me (at 6'2"). Seating position was either the typical "cruiser slouch" or "sit up and beg", depending on my preference at the moment. Begging, however, gradually gave way to slouching again because of the angle of the stock seat. I rode her from 2002 until summer 2005 and with the exception of a marathon 600-mile day, I never gave serious thought to an aftermarket seat. BEWARE, however - Suzuki changed the seat in the 2002 model year, and previous model seats were notorious for being awful.

Rider accommodations were scanty in the instrumentation department - a far cry from my Electra Glide. You got a speedometer with integrated odometer and trip meter... and that's all, aside from the obligatory warning lights. Compounding the problem, the speedo was lit by just one bulb, so at night you could see how fast you're going, but the trip meter is in compete darkness and cannot be seen at all. You'd better know where that reserve petcock was! Control placement was good, and the switch boxes could be rotated just by loosening the retaining bolts. The levers were a nice design, and had adjustment cams to control where the lever rests in relation to your hand.
Back at home with Miss M.
Seat height was 27.6 inches, meaning a long-legged guy like me had absolutely no problem... and neither did anyone else who has sat on it, including some of the neighborhood kids. :) The pegs were a smidge further forward than I'd like, but I got used to it in a hurry. Most people talk of forward controls, which are available for the Marauder, but I don't personally like that posture. I found the footpegs to be a little stubby, and my size-twelves kept slipping off. The brake pedal is waaay too small.

Power? Yeah, and lots of it - too much for a beginner, not enough for a daredevil. As a beginner, I found 805cc to be a slight challenge, but I'm pretty conservative and didn't get into any stupid scenarios as a result. Stock, on the road, I found myself always searching for a sixth gear that isn't there. Remember, I don't like the sound of high revving engines, so I do tend to shift a little on the short side - but even so, another gear would have been great. The stock bike was certainly capable of doing 80, but sounds like it's bashing itself to death when doing so. Other riders have reported squeezing just over 100MPH out of it with a windshield; I have no need to try to go that fast on a bike, thanks.

Handling was something I didn't have any ready opinion on at the end of my first month of riding, because I had no point of comparison at all - subjective or objective.

So, in total, after my first month of ownership, I loved the bike, and the only negatives I had were these:

Long-Term Evaluation

When I upgraded to the 'Glide, I still loved the Marauder as much as the day I bought it. Miss M was a good bike; she served me well, and we had a lot of fun together.

Learning to ride on a machine of this size was rather a challenge to a guy like me - having learned the simple maxim that "pain hurts". A younger person, confident in their own immortality, would find it somewhat easier. The big challenge in learning to ride on the Marauder is in low-speed maneuvering. At the MSF class, I rode a 125cc machine, which was agile at any speed. On the Marauder, the agility began anywhere over about 7MPH, but below that the bike is prone to flop into turns if you're not ready. Colloquial Wisdom says this is a function of the relatively high rake angle coupled with the fat front tire, and that seems logical enough to believe.

Now, contrast these statements with my Electra Glide - when I bought the H-D, it was like trying to learn to ride all over again!

Me, Miss M, and a buddy, prepping for a Halloween Ride.

The Marauder's handling above 7MPH was just fine. The bike wasn't "flickable" like that little 125 I rode, but she got around. On the straights, she was very stable, with the exception of some significant buffeting starting at about 65 or so with the 21" Fats windshield on. In the turns she was okay, although I noticed a slight tendency to skitter when leaning hard - it wasn'ta big thing, but I realized it was there. I believe playing with the preload settings would have cured it, but I never tried. Also, I hadspoken with a few other owners who said that the OEM Dunlops are a factor, and that replacing the tires with Metzler 880's would cure the problem and make the bike handle "like it's on rails". They were right. In the spring of 2005 I put M-880's on her, and all her little handling quirks went away.

As a beginner, the power delivery was fine - as I said, there was just enough. Late in the game, with some experience under my belt, I occasionally found myself wishing for a smidge more. There were aftermarket pipe and jet mods that would pull another 10-15 HP out of the motor, but I despise loud pipes, so I never made any engine mods. Overall, I was happy with the power - it was only when the Devil was on my shoulder (or my puppy egging me on) that I found myself yearning for more.

All the folks on the Marauder / Intruder Group Forum say that aftermarket pipes and a Stage I or II jet kit will significantly boost the bike's power, especially when coupled with the removal of the "PAIR" valve (which is the chrome box that sits where an air filter would on an H-D). However, I liked the sound (or rather, the lack thereof) from the bike in its stock form. Plus, re-jetting the bike means removing the tank and diving into the innards, which, as a neophyte to bike repair, I didn't really want to do. As it is, the stock pipes looked nice enough, and were quiet enough to keep the HOA off my butt - and believe me, I caught them one in the woods across the parking lot with a sound meter, checking! :o In sum, the bike was powerful enough as it is, so why mess with a good thing?

With the stock pipes, the bike was pretty quiet until you whack her - at which point you can hear the motor "digging in" and blatting out a very fraptuous and happy noise. Around town, though, you're not passing out apologies at every stoplight.

Me, Miss M, and Monterey the Bear (look right behind me - he's the little fella sitting on top of my pack), on Skyline Drive, October 5th, 2002. Wearing my gear, like a Good Boy, and a good thing too: ten minutes after this picture was taken, I went down at about 40MPH.My mistake - target fixation.

Live and learn: but do both like you really mean it.

The transmission was okay. It was clunky, demanding a very positive throw of the foot to migrate through the gears, and occasionally it locked into Neutral when downshifting - the only way back to 1st was to confirm the Neutral light was on, (carefully) release the clutch, pull it back in, and downshift. She'd miss second every now and then when upshifting. At low speed, in first, there is some ferocious driveline snatch, and you can expect a jerky ride until you get used to it.

Realize that this bike was built at a price point - for the $5K I paid, I have no beef with the tranny... and all debts were paid with the clutch - it is absolutely the nicest clutch I've ever experienced, in a car or elsewhere. The pull was very light, and it had a nice progressive engagement. The acid test, of course, was the ride home from work (at the time) - 10 solid miles of bumper-to-bumper gridlocked mayhem, thanks to Virginia's sub-par road planning and crooked politics. Even though I arrived home with chest pains due to barely-suppressed rage, by left hand wasn't sore, thanks to that clutch.

Springtime, 2003! In my hands, I hold the last of the winter snow. That winter, and the "Spring That Never Came", were particularly tough on me emotionally, having bought the bike so late in 2002. Between Jan 1 and July 1, 2003, there were EIGHT DAYS fit for riding!!
I still wished I had a tach, just for reference, but honestly, I don't think the $250+ for an aftermarket unit was ever worth the expense. Lack of a gas gauge was a bit tougher of a challenge... but I generally used 100 miles on the trip meter as my "low fuel" warning. The range without reserve was about 120 miles. I put some Kuryakyn ISO-wings on her, and some ISO-Grips on the bars, which really improved the comfort level. Lack of sixth gear proved to be an easy issue to fix. I bought a 17-tooth front sprocket from Sprocket Specialists, and replaced the stock 15-tooth cog. The result was a lot mellower ride at high speed. Total cost was about $25, including the 1.25" socket I had to buy to remove the nut. With this modification in place, the bike became the bike I thought it "could be", and in retrospect, there is no better single modification you can make to a Marauder than this one.

To me, a bike isn't useful transportation unless you can carry your Stuff. With this in mind, I bought a set of Nelson-Rigg textile saddlebags, which were the perfect blend of form and function. Understand, I was not after the traditional "cruiser look", so I didn't necessarily need leather everywhere - the NR Textile bags are expandable, but shrink down to a very slim profile when empty... and they cost $89, versus several hundred.

Maintenance? Not much... that 650-mile valve adjustment is a crucial item, but it was worth every penny . After the valves were adjusted, the bike just purred. Shaftie snobs will turn their noses up at you, but honestly, it takes about 10 minutes to clean and oil the chain once a month... 30 minutes in 28-degree weather. It wasn't really a bother, and besides, you needed an excuse to polish the chrome anyway, didn't you? The rest of it is routine stuff - oil, tires, light checks, etc.

Me, Miss M, and Maximus the pup, aboard White's Ferry. Max rides with me on 95% of my "non-commuting" outings, and it is one of the real joys in my life to be able to bring him along. We spend some readl "quality time" on the Road. He sits in a little pouch, strapped on to me. The bike is covered in tiger fur, following the accident with the van in late 2003.

Would I take this bike on a cross-country?

Hell, yes - in fact, I did! Read all about it here.

With the Memphis Fats 21" windshield affixed and the 17-tooth sprocket, the ride at 70 is relaxed enough that I don't have any fears on that score.

Over 70, the buffeting gets objectionable, although SAENG Stealth Edging would have fixed that if it had ever gotten me sufficiently pissed to actually spend the money. The edging was on 2005's "to-do" list, but my buying the Electra Glide superceded the edging project.

I noticed some hand tingling after about 90 minutes with the stock bars / grips, but all that went away when I put the Kury ISO-grips on her. That retrofit meant that my Vista-Cruise throttle lock had to be de-installed (the ISO's are too large for the throttle ring on the Vista Cruise), but the trade-off was wort it.

Overall, then... I loved that bike. I'm sure a good part of that infatuation was a result of it being my "first-ever" bike, plus the fact that I own it (versus having payments)... and let's not discount the 15000 happy miles I put on it whilst Adventuring. Between shopping for this bike (sitting on about 200 bikes) and the Dulles bike show (another 167 bikes) in 2002/2003; it remains the most comfortable ergonomic motorcycle I've ever found. The Suzuki V-Strom was close second. My new Electra Glide is the third.

Although I'm thrilled at getting the Electra Glide, I still find it hard to part with Miss M. I'll attemt to articulate some of my thinking here shortly.

Would I buy it again? In a heartbeat. If you're a new rider, it might prove to be a challenge to learn on one, given the size / weight / power / floppy low-speed handling, but if you're sober, practical, and conservative, there's no reason it wouldn't work well for you.

I'm available to answer any questions; just e-mail me here.

Me, Miss M, and Monterey the Travel Bear, taking a break at the Jolly Overlook - George Washington Parkway, north-bound out of DC.