Description
The Intruder Volusia VL 800 cruiser is as hot as the city of Volusia, Florida, for which it is named. After all, it is in this city, where biker festivals throughout America are held annually, that true biker traditions are forged and the grace of the world of cruisers is demonstrated. Once you visit a motorcycle showroom, you will finally be convinced of the true attractiveness and perfection of the Intruder Volusia VL 800. In addition to the abundance of sparkling chrome parts, the metal surface of the Intruder Volusia VL 800 is covered with four layers of paint and one layer of varnish. The result is a sleeker look and durability. So, ride the powerful Intruder Volusia VL 800 - the perfect combination of classic design and modern technology.
My dream of buying a motorcycle has come true. Last Thursday I became the proud owner of a handsome man named Bruce - a 2002 Suzuki VL800 Intruder Volusia, gray. In this post I want to tell readers a short story about choosing the first motorcycle, a very short story about getting to know it, and show photographs.
So, I decided to switch from my maxi-scooter SYM GTS300i (my Simon) to a motorcycle. There are many reasons for this, but it’s easier to say about the reason for buying Semyon - the lack of financial resources at the beginning of the season (that’s right, unfortunately) for a motorcycle convenient for two (or for two motorcycles). Therefore, a compromise was made - not expensive, convenient for the passenger, but a CVT and all the associated advantages and disadvantages. But my heart was given to growling cruisers (or snorting parquet enduros).
It was these two classes of motorcycles that I considered as possible first-borns, however, again not getting into the financial framework, I decided to stick to cruisers. But at the same time, in addition to an acceptable cost, I certainly wanted to see on my device a driveshaft, low classic wings, an injector (yes, but finance said “no” and that’s it!) and a relatively large engine.
I looked at a lot of photographs, read a lot of articles, and in my review there was a model from Suzuki with a good volume of 800 cc, relatively light weight and excellent appearance. You can say that I fell in love with him at first sight. And, of course, the reasonable price, which became so due to the off-season, played an important role.
Day one: shopping, trip around Moscow. The choice was made and on Thursday, October 18th, in a light rain, in our gear, my husband and I went to buy me a motorcycle. My Suzuki VL800 arrived this summer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA), but its first owner never drove it, and, accordingly, never registered it. But, thanks to the innovations of our legislators, it is now possible to buy and register a vehicle, even if it was not registered in the name of the first owner. Thanks to this, according to the documents, I turned out to be the first owner of my Bruce. Registration was completed quite quickly and now - in front of me was my beautiful big bull, the Third Transport Ring and the road home. I must say that I was a little confused, because... The last time I drove a manual one was in May of this year, when I took the YBR exam. And here is such a huge motorcycle, and there are many, many cars around, and everything must be done precisely.
But I quickly pulled myself together, put my husband in the back, and moved along the Third Transport Ring, then quickly drove off the roundabout, because... At that moment it seemed to me that it would be faster to get home through the center. The plans also included a visit to a motorcycle store to buy a cover and a spider, and then a traditional photo shoot on the Mountain.
I honestly admit that I became deaf twice during this trip. Yes, I'm a hat, but in the first hour it was a little difficult for me. Nevertheless, in the center I did not refuse the opportunity to drive along the aisle, and managed to see the difference between Bruce and Semyon: Bruce is better seen (or heard?). His stock mufflers are tuned perfectly at the factory, and produce a bassy, fairly loud and pleasant sound, so Bruce can be heard well in the aisles. And a large, bright, high-mounted headlight allows Bruce to be even more noticeable.
Having quickly reached Frunzenskaya and bought a case at a local store (which, as it turned out, was too small for Bruce) and an excellent quality “spider”, we moved towards the Mountain to take photographs. The weather turned out to be the worst, but I did not despair and was very pleased with the purchase.
The next day I had to travel outside the city (about 100 km to the region to the south). This is where our dacha is located, and it is 50 km from the dacha. there is a city where we have a warm garage, in which Bruce was destined to lie down for hibernation on Sunday.
Day two: Bruce on the track. We set out slowly in the afternoon and, as usual, got stuck in a traffic jam of those who also wanted to get to the dacha on Friday not too late. I was no longer at all afraid to ride between the rows, and I must say, Bruce feels quite at ease there. Of course, I never dared to drive between cars - what if the door opens? , and then moved), or even folds the mirrors in advance. I rarely noticed such an attitude in Semyon. Maybe these are the notorious “days of politeness” in connection with the end of the season, or maybe not...
It was decided to take the toll section of the M4. Fortunately, this route is the most direct route to the dacha. There was a long line at the entrance to the ticket office. What is the point of this toll road if, in order to get onto it, the car driver has to stand in line for 30-40 minutes to get to the barrier? Of course, I’m back in the aisle and at the checkout in 10 minutes. And then... And then a concreted section 20 km long, with three lanes in each direction and a speed limit of 110 km/h. Those who want to drive faster are offered the purchase of a certain T-pass, which gives the right to travel along dedicated green lanes (the presence of which was not detected on the highway) at a higher speed.
The toll section was passed in a few minutes. I received unspeakable pleasure. I wanted to sing or take a deep breath and shout “Ya-hoo” or “Banzai.” Little Bruce is amazing on the track. At that moment I realized how much the right choice I had made. It is powerful, heavy, comfortable. It holds its trajectory perfectly and is not blown away by the wind or air currents from trucks. It swallows potholes and bumps very well. Longitudinal cracks in the asphalt, ruts and other road surprises are not scary for him. The cruising speed is 120 km/h, but it’s an honest 120 km/h, and I felt it. On the toll section, we managed to accelerate the baby to 160 km/h, but I don’t think this is useful for him. When overtaking it behaves just fine: from 100 to 140 km/h. acceleration is very decent. In a word, the impressions are only positive. I wanted to drive it much more than the planned 100 km. But, alas, we were driving to the dacha, and here was the familiar dirt road to the site. This time she was completely wet. And then Bruce behaved well again... It was cold in the house, they lit the stove, ate stew with pasta and shared their impressions of Bruce.
Day three: rides. The places we have there are nothing special, but now there is a certain mixture of styles reigning there: on the one hand there are sad trees that have lost their leaves, on the other there are those trees that are still standing dressed in yellow robes. Looks quite fun, especially on a sunny day. This Saturday was such a day, so we decided to take a little ride along the local paths.
Day four: wintering. And now the saddest Sunday of this year has arrived. We headed towards our garage. It's 50 km. along the familiar highway running between fields and forestry. Bruce is packed for the winter, covered with a dust cover. It will stay warm, so it was decided not to remove the battery. The garage has everything needed to service Bruce. We plan to come to it in a month, start it, warm it up and take care of it. So, here are some of my impressions of Bruce, organized into a table.
Specifications: Engine capacity: 805 cc. see, liquid cooling. Power system: one carburetor. Drive: cardan shaft. Weight: dry – 240 kg, loaded – 266 kg. Length: 250 cm. Width: 90 cm.
Advantages. 1. Excellent torque of the engine, especially at low speeds. 2. The large weight allows the motorcycle to have excellent directional stability and not react to gusts of wind on the highway. 3. Suspension travel (front: 140 mm, rear: 104 mm) in combination with the weight of the device allows you to pass uneven sections of roads without any inconvenience for the driver. The passenger, of course, reacts to this all completely differently. 4. Excellent sound from stock mufflers. 5. Appearance (of course, this is all purely personal preference). Graceful fenders, long mufflers, beautifully shaped tank. My motorcycle has a two-tone paint job - metallic gray, which is applied at the factory in three layers, plus one layer of varnish. 6. Comfortable wide steering wheel and soft seat. 7. Large tank of 17 liters. 8. Convenient location of the footrests - not too far forward. 9. The wind deflector installed by the American provides excellent wind protection and allows you to ride without any problems with your helmet visor slightly open. The edge of the windshield goes just below my eye level.
Flaws. About them subjectively, from the girl’s point of view. And about some objective ones. 1. Weight. Not the heaviest, but I find it difficult to reverse on inclines. 2. Far away clutch handle. It can probably be adjusted, but with this setting I can barely reach it with all my fingers. 3. Long wheelbase, large turning radius. 4. Hot right side. 5. Small mirrors. And they are also highly adjustable. I tightened it once with the key and that's it. If during the process you realize that you need to change the angle a little, then that’s it – tighten it again with the wrench.
That, in fact, is the whole story about my acquaintance with Bruce. As a first motorcycle, I think it's ideal. Yes, actually, he's just great. I think that I will use it for a very long time and plan to buy and install for it over the winter arches, running boards, slightly different mirrors (larger), grips, and all sorts of chrome mules, for beauty.
Key Features
Compact V-shaped engine with a volume of 805 cc. cm with eight valves and liquid cooling, specially tuned for good traction at mid-range speeds, maximum torque at only 2500 rpm.
Engine torque is provided by a single 34 mm carburetor, a specially tuned exhaust system. The crankshaft is equipped with a compensating crankpin to reduce engine vibration.
The starting system is equipped with a digital processor and a throttle position sensor for instant engine starting.
The secondary air injection system forces air into the insufficiently burned fuel mixture for further use, thereby reducing the emission of harmful particles.
The link-type rear suspension is equipped with a shock absorber with seven levels of stiffness settings.
Classic spoked, chrome-plated wheels shod with wide 130/90-16 front and 170/80-15 rear tires.
Safety is ensured by a 300mm front disc brake and a 180mm rear drum brake.
Review of the Suzuki Intruder 800 (VS, VL, VZ, C800, M800, C50, M50, S50) motorcycle
Suzuki VS800 Intruder. At first, the Intruder seemed so big and very heavy, due to the low ground clearance, the bottom scraped curbs several times, which is why I really regretted not buying a city enduro - but the days passed and the kilometers clicked by, all the dry weekends in the saddle, every day work -home-work... In general, I got used to the small ground clearance very quickly, and it’s not that small - it doesn’t bother me at all, and the lowest point - the horizontal frame pipes - won’t get scratched too much. It didn’t take me long to get used to the weight of the motorcycle, because I’m not small myself. And the dimensions of the motorcycle now seem compact.
The power and controllability pleased me initially, and over time I am just learning to realize them to a greater and greater extent, and there is still a lot of room for growth. 50 horsepower in the engine and 7 kg max. traction gives sufficient dynamics in the city and a reserve of power on the highway, including when driving with a passenger.
Comfortable speed on the highway is 100 km/h for one person and 90 for two people. Many will say: “Not enough!!!” But I don’t drive very far, I’m almost never in a hurry, and in general, “You don’t need to drive faster than your guardian angel flies” - and at 110-120 mph there is still a very good reserve of traction, but the headwind stubbornly begins to pull out the steering wheel is out of your hands, and this is not always pleasant. Many times, when accelerating slowly on the highway, I tried to switch to sixth gear at 80-90 km/h - but no, there are only five of them. True, there are enough of them; in fact, at cruising speed in direct gear, the engine operates in the middle of the speed range (unfortunately, there is no tachometer) and overtaking takes place quickly and clearly without clicking the gearbox.
About the pleasant things: V-shaped engine! The previous owner (a funny guy, by the way, the owner of a tattoo parlor) installed direct-flow fish mufflers, the sound is good, especially if you give it coke. Lots of chrome - it turns out I got an EL series Intruder, with chrome plated frame covers, chrome hubs and something else. When washed, it shines no worse than a Christmas tree. By the way, the configuration of the engine allows you not only to accelerate happily, but also to almost not use the brakes on mountain serpentines, only to slow down with the engine. Water cooling - I'm looking forward to summer and not afraid of it. Cardan drive - I changed the oil and went for a ride. The halogen headlight (55/60W) shines perfectly where needed. The bike starts up easily at plus temperatures (there have been no minuses yet), worthy of a real Japanese, warms up quickly, and is always ready to go! The mirrors, even with my non-Japanese dimensions, look wider than the shoulders, although the dead zone is also quite large.
About the unpleasant thing: the rear shock absorbers are very soft (too soft). Until the preload was turned to maximum, it was almost impossible to ride with a passenger; riding alone also became more enjoyable. By the way, the front fork (pah-pah) does not cause any complaints. The rear drum brake is sufficient and not bad. The front single-disc non-ventilated one is soft! As a young and inexperienced rider, this is a bit of a plus for me. In the rain, it sharply loses efficiency, you have to regularly dry it, slow down and always brake with both hands and feet, gee-gee. Engine vibrations do occur, and they are not weak in almost the entire speed range above idle - but not to such an extent that you can complain about them.
About the passenger (i.e. passenger): My other half is very pleased with the presence of a small backrest, the convenient location of the footrests, and even the fact that her helmet rarely hits mine. In general, everything is OK with the passenger. Although no, it’s not ideal: you need to put a mudguard behind the rear wheel, otherwise each specific puddle will partially settle on its (the passenger’s) back...
Upgrades/repairs/breakdowns: as I already said, the motorcycle is far from new, but 17 years and 40 megameters of road have not broken it. In addition to replacing all the fluids, filters and spark plugs (by the way, everything is relatively cheap), I just patched the headlight that was broken before me with epoxy, fixed the loose mount of the muffler to the pipes and soldered a couple of wires. The cardan oil seal leaks a little, and then only when the oil warms up during active driving - but the level does not decrease until I am going to fix it. Well, that’s probably all. The only upgrade so far is to attach a small electronic clock with large numbers. I have already ordered a tank bag and am waiting.
Ah, well, of course that’s not all! I also regularly filled it with benzine, started it up and drove around! The tank volume, according to some sources, is 12 liters. In reality, from the neck to the reserve there are only a little more than 9 liters - that is, when going on a Sunday trip, be sure to plan to refuel... Fuel consumption is from 5 liters per 100 km on the highway, and up to 7.5 in the city. I always filled it with unleaded 95. The motorcycle signals that it has run out of gas by missing traction and running on one cylinder - the reserve tap is located on the left under the tank, and it’s easy to find and switch while driving.
I don't remember a time when my bike let me down. In general, an excellent motorcycle, worthy of the highest rating, it gives me everything I need from it, completely.
Suzuki VS800 Intruder . Great bike! I've ridden it for about 30 thousand and never had any troubles. It easily and effortlessly climbs through traffic jams; on the road, the comfortable landing allows you to relax. The engine is enough. The light is at the level, but fogs will not be superfluous. Of the minuses, there is no convenience for the second room, the seating is not enough. It is especially inconvenient if the backrest is removed.
There are two air filters there, and they are completely different, they cost - the first is 26.5 $ and the second is 34.5 $, oil filters are not at all a problem to find in Moscow. NGK candles are 80 rubles apiece, buy a special spark plug for the Intruder right away, you won’t give a damn to others. Pour good oil and you will have simple biker HAPPINESS!
I bought myself a 1994 VS800, I’ve been dreaming about an Intruder for a long time, partly because of the appearance (I like the big heart of the engine, the smart look and nothing extra), but mostly because of the amazing sound.
Before that I drove a Honda VTR1000F , so my first impressions are that it doesn’t run biggrin.gif However, it’s fine for urban conditions, and on the highway it accelerates quickly enough to overtake cars. The only thing is that the 6th gear is really missing so that at a speed of 120-130 you don’t rape your eardrums, and even the engine.
It accelerates briskly to 140, reluctantly to 150, and slowly to 160. But this, however, is a lyric, because the speeds are for sports tourists. For chopper movement - 110-120 - just right!
You can say a lot about sound, or you can say nothing. But it’s a fact: you will have the most visible and loudest motorcycle in the area cool.gif
I drove around the region at speeds of 100-140, the average consumption was about 7 liters per hundred. The tank is a little small (10 liters of reserve), so you will have to refuel often. By the way, no fuel level lights: the motorcycle starts to stall - switch the tap to reserve tongue.gif
In general, a hefty piece of real chop-chop-chop at a very reasonable price (my Violator cost 130 grand).
Suzuki VL800 Volusia . Advantages.
1. Excellent torque of the engine, especially at low speeds.
2. The large weight allows the motorcycle to have excellent directional stability and not react to gusts of wind on the highway.
3. Suspension travel (front: 140 mm, rear: 104 mm) in combination with the weight of the device allows you to pass uneven sections of roads without any inconvenience for the driver. The passenger, of course, reacts to this all completely differently.
4. Excellent sound from stock mufflers.
5. Appearance (of course, this is all purely personal preference). Graceful fenders, long mufflers, beautifully shaped tank. My motorcycle has a two-tone paint job - metallic gray, which is applied at the factory in three layers, plus one layer of varnish.
6. Comfortable wide steering wheel and soft seat.
7. Large tank of 17 liters.
8. Convenient location of the footrests - not too far forward.
9. The wind deflector installed by the American provides excellent wind protection and allows you to ride without any problems with your helmet visor slightly open. The edge of the windshield goes just below my eye level.
Flaws. About them subjectively, from the girl’s point of view. And about some objective ones.
1. Weight. Not the heaviest, but I find it difficult to reverse on inclines.
2. Far away clutch handle. It can probably be adjusted, but with this setting I can barely reach it with all my fingers.
3. Long wheelbase, large turning radius.
4. Hot right side.
5. Small mirrors. And they are also highly adjustable. I tightened it once with the key and that's it. If during the process you realize that you need to change the angle a little, then that’s it – tighten it again with the wrench.
Suzuki VL800 Volusia . I had a motorcycle like this.
A good mid-size cruiser. Wide saddle, glove compartment for small tools on the key. For 2 years there was not a single breakdown. It rides well, confidently, you can lean on the footpegs in turns
