Motorcycle.com

Two years ago at their dealer meeting in Las Vegas, with much fanfare, Suzuki announced that they were forming the Boulevard brand for their line of cruiser motorcycles to separate their cruisers from the Suzuki name, and to promote the Boulevard line to build brand awareness and a thematic identity. From that day forward all Boulevard models would receive alpha-numeric designations with the letters C, S, and M to designate Classic, Sport, and Muscle models, and the numeric portion would designate cubic inches of displacement to replace the cubic centimeters.

When they unveiled the actual motorcycles, however, they were little more than the old line-up of cruisers with minor styling tweaks and Boulevard tank badges in place of the Suzuki badges. The assembled dealers responded with tepid enthusiasm, similar to the response of a golf audience who has just seen their favorite player bogey the 18th hole on the last day of the tournament. The powers at Suzuki, however, promised that the product pipeline was filled with new models that would be rolled out in the coming years to replace the old models, and they would be something special.

Last year, Boulevard brought out the M-50 cruiser, or the muscle version of the C-50 and S-50 middleweight cruisers that used to be known as the Volusia. While the motor and performance was little changed from the C-50, the M model received blacked out engine and trim, abbreviated fender treatments, an inverted fork for better handling, and looked very mean. The model helped to propel the sales of all the C-50 models so that last year they were the top selling cruiser motorcycle, not only in its displacement class, but of any metric cruiser on the market. The M-50 only served to whet the appetite of the cruiser-buying public.

This year, Suzuki made good on their promise to dealers and to customers alike, with the launch of their all-new flagship model, the Boulevard M109R. (The R refers to Suzuki's racing heritage and GSX-R line of performances bikes). It's the largest displacement cruiser that has ever rolled off the Suzuki assembly line. This bike will have dealers and buyers from coast to coast high-fiving themselves. This new power cruiser features brutish power and torque, delivered in a civilized manner, and packaged in an elegantly styled wrapper.

Since Suzuki is famous for their race-winning performance sportbikes, they set out to build an all new V-twin that would incorporate all the technology they learned form their sport and race bike programs. The engineers designed a 54-degree, liquid-cooled, DOHC, four-valves-per-cylinder V-twin displacing 109 cubic inches (1,783 cc). A semi-dry sump handles the lubrication duties. With a 112 mm bore, and a 90.5mm stroke, the piston in this engine is the largest of any gasoline powered motor, motorcycle or car, on the planet. More impressive is that big piston is pushed up and down 7300 times per minute in this high revving motor, which produces 127 hp @ 6200 RPM, and 118 pounds feet of torque at just 3200 rpm.

The M109R uses twin spark plugs, each controlled by individual ignition maps, so under light load, the twin plugs fire at the same time, and under heavy load each plug will fire at its own optimum timing to reduce unburned hydrocarbon exhaust emissions. Camshafts are high strength cast-iron alloy, just as they are on their sport models and Suzuki's unique two-stage cam chain drive system contributes to keeping the engine lightweight and compact. The cylinders are

Fuel is metered out through Suzuki's Pulsed-AIR system, along with their Suzuki Dual Throttle Valve, and Suzuki Exhaust Tuning System. All combine to maximize fuel consumption efficiency, provide reliable starting in all weather, improve throttle response, and ensure smooth engine power characteristics. A powerful Electronic Control Module with a 32-bit CPU keeps everything running the way it should. Spent gasses are fed through a 2-into1-into 2 exhaust system with a large catalyzer which meets all of the E-3 emissions requirements.

While all of the technology sounds great on paper, the real test is how it works on the street. So I had the chance to travel to Austin, Texas for the World launch of the new M109R to see for myself what this new bike could do. All of the journalists were greeted at the Driskill Hotel by the head honchos from Suzuki of America, as well as the design team of Japanese engineers from the Home Office.

The first hint of the treat that was to await us came on a chilly Monday morning when 15 M109R's sat lined up on the street outside the Driskill Hotel. With each writer anxiously sitting astride their test bike, Kevin Schwantz, Suzuki's legendary 1993 World Championship Grand Prix racing star, and our guide for the day, signaled us to light up our mounts. As each bike fired up, we could immediately tell that this was going to be a special motorcycle. The aural sound of the powerful V-twin engines echoing off the concrete canyon walls was a deep, rich, basso profundo rumble. Louder than almost any stock motorcycle I can think of, the dual slash cut pipes barked out notice that each of us was sitting atop a machine that was ready to play with any of the big power cruisers on the market. Anyone who tries to replace these pipes with something from the aftermarket should be shot. Boulevard got this right the first time. And these pipes will satisfy the needs of any stop light cowboy who insists upon goosing the throttle while waiting for the light to change.

Seconds later we lined up to rumble through downtown Austin on our way west out of town for a ride in Texas' famous "Hill Country". As we reached the on-ramp to one of the urban expressways and merged into traffic, a quick twist of the wrist opened up a can of whup-ass, as the M109R shot forward in a rush of torque and horsepower. Acceleration was strong, and immediate. Unlike most cruisers, this one features an electronic tachometer sitting just above the massive headlight fairing positioned in the riders perfect line of sight to watch the needle spin up to the 7300 rpm redline. And as the revs increased, the engine which is smooth at idle, seemed to settle into an even calmer demeanor. And in the same tachometer nacelle, all the warning lights and turn signal indicators are easy to see at a glance.

Each up-shift thwhacked into gear with an authoritative, yet well damped thump. The hydraulic clutch effort was neither too light, nor too hard. Rowing thought the gearbox to 5th was easy, and at a cruising speed of 80 MPH, a quick glance at the tach showed the 109-inch motor was only turning a lazy 4500 rpm. In fact, that was nearly the last time I used 5th gear all day. When we turned off the highway to explore the two lane rural roads for the rest of the day, the M109R seemed happiest and most enjoyable playing in 3rd gear between 50 and 80 miles per hour with the tach showing 4500 to 6000 rpm. Once, I tickled triple digits just before shifting into 4th. Since the motor ran as smoothly at six grand as it did at three, and the throttle response in third gear was so immediate, higher cogs just didn't seem necessary. Cranking the throttle in 3rd was just too much fun as the torque-monster M109R would slap you back into the wide supportive seat when pulling out to pass slower traffic, or just powering out of a turn.