first of all, hi. i'm new to the forum. i've been thinking real hard lately about getting rid of my 04 yamaha R6 and getting a M50. i was wondering if anyone whoes riden an M50 could give me some advice. i know the obvious stuff about power and responsivness etc. but i would like an honest opionion on the M50. with it only being a 800 is there enough power? how comfortable? how is it riding 2 up? i appriciate any advice i could get. thanks.

 

Gotta admit, I've never ridden an R6 or that style of bike. AT 6' and 300, I'm a cruiser guy all the way. I ride an 05 M50 and love it. I've got 10,000 mi on it and it's still going strong. It handles excelent for a cruiser, and its got enough power to my butt up the Washington mountain ranges with traffic at 85mph. I haven't had the wife on the back yet, but I've heard the 2nd seat isn't the most comfortable for longer rides. The next upgrade I plan on is new seats though. If my wife got into long weekend riding, I'd probably look at a big tourer, goldwing, victory, etc. But I would still keep my M50 as long as she runs because she's a blast to ride.

 

Funny thing...I just went through something like this myself. Just sold my '05 R6 and went to a M50 (though I will be picking it up next week). I will admit that I will miss the instant power and responsiveness (going from 108 ponies down to 56 is a paradigm shift), however I came to a personal point about what I wanted out of riding a motorcycle, especially after taking a couple of cruisers out on a demo day last summer. Here are my thoughts...for what they're worth.

The R6 is not an easy ride...even at slow speeds. It's very demanding, and you have to be thinking three turns ahead of the bike. It's expensive to insure, a cop magnet, and hard on wrists, ankles, and eyes. However, you get unmatched speed and turns that will scrape knees before pegs. Thrills aplenty. They guys I rode with had big bikes, bigger egos, and loved to go fast...and had the speeding tickets to back it up. 6 years ago, that was me all over (though I can proudly say I have dodged all speeding tickets...pure luck!)

After a few group rides with some cruiser buddies, I had found a different style of riding. At the risk of sounding like an old man (though I have lots of time to go before I hit my Harley years), it was a bit slower, but far more social and relaxed. Less ego, more fun. With the M50, you can still carve the corners (though not like the R6), and still crack the throttle far enough to scare yourself (though still not like the R6). However, you can relax on your ride. You don't have to be three turns ahead...just one turn ahead is enough. You don't feel every bump in the road, and it's more forgiving should you feel so inclined to make a mistake. The girlfriend can hop on the back (this time in relative comfort), and still have a bit of room to pack some stuff for a day trip.

I guess to make a short story long, it's all in what you want out of your riding experience. For now, I no longer ride to prove something...I ride to relax and be social. I don't want to get off a bike and feel like I just did a 13 km ruck march, I now prefer to enjoy the trip. It's all personal. Find what you want out of your riding experience and go for it! I have friends that own both styles of bikes and love it...perhaps I will later on. For now, it's the M50.

As for why I picked the M50, well there were a few reasons. Looking at all the options, the Shadow 750 and the Vulcan 900 were the only real competition (as for the V-Star bikes, the 650 was too small and the 1100 was too big...not to mention no fuel injection either ). It's big enough to cruise down the highway without breaking it's back, but light enough to snap around the city unlike some of the bigger V twins. It's the only one with inverted forks, it's a hardtail (unlike the Shadow), and the speedo is not mounted on the gas tank, which is personal preference. It's a comfy bike for my frame (6'1"), good on insurance (I could fully insure this bike for less than PL/PD/Fire/Theft on my R6 alone), extremely customizable, and the price point was gravy...

Hope this helps!
Good luck in your decision.

 

I just personally bought an 09 M50 myself. The only other bike that I considered prior to making my decision was the Honda Spirit 750. However, the styling of the suzuki pulled me in. And then I test drove one. It rides beautifully. Normally, I have some kind of buyers remorse when I spend 8 grand on anything... but not here. I love my bike. I got exactly what I wanted. I didn't need a 14 thousand dollar harley, or a used 2 grand Vulcan. This was the perfect bike for me and would recommend it to anyone. I know this doesn't give you many specifics, but I've written a full review of the 2009 Suzuki M50 here:

http://xtgo.net/2009/05/25/2009-suzuki-boulevard-m50-limited-review

Feel free to check it out.