Suzuki M109R
10 000km Review – Suzuki M109R
I purchased my M109R about 6 months ago, and with great expectations I took ownership of what I thought was going to be the dream bike for me. 10 000kms later I can confirm that all the research and planning that went into selecting this bike actually paid off.
Physical presence
This bike is huge, make no mistake about it. From the 240 tire out back, all the way through the massive petrol tank and through the fat upside down forks, there is nothing small about any part
of this motorcycle. Obviously this has certain implications, so make sure you have the physical abilities to handle this monster through traffic if you plan on using it as your daily commute. Being a pretty big guy I have absolutely no problem using this bike as my daily commute, which I try and do as much as possible.
On the long open road the 320 kg bulk makes for an extremely solid and pleasant riding experience, and the suspension system really add to this in a positive manner.
Aesthetics
The headlight design has made this bike fall into the “love it or hate it” category as far as looks goes, but I can honestly say that I have not yet had a single day of riding where somebody will not comment on the design or the look or some other part of this bike. It grabs attention wherever you go, and I’ve had hundreds of comments about the bike, from the flowing lines of all the pieces on the bike, to the fat rear tire, to the headlight nacelle – this bike is a real looker.
All those shiny chrome bits do require a certain level of attention to keep looking good, but this bike really does pop when it’s clean, and all your hard work on cleaning day is rewarded tenfold.
Performance
This bike has apparently the biggest pistons on anything smaller than a truck, and with a 112mm bore they sure are big. Suzuki has done a magnificent job with this motor though. You would expect the performance to be rough and the gearbox clunky on something this big, but the motor delivers smooth power all the way through the rev range, and the gearbox, albeit heavy (as expected) cooperates well with the motor to provide a smooth riding experience under both hard acceleration and laid back cruising conditions.
The 166nm of torque at 3500 rpm really lays down so much power through the massive rear wheel that you will have to hang on as the motor shoots through the rev range all the way to the 7500 rpm rev limiter, and although this bike won’t beat any super bikes in the quarter mile does it provide an exhilarating feeling as you accelerate hard with this 320 kg behemoth down the road.
Fuel economy is also pleasantly surprising on something this big. Park the needle at 120 km/h on the open road and you will easily see figures of over 18 km /L (5.5 L / 100 km). Pushing it harder at 140 km/h and you will see your consumption go down to about 14 km / L (7.14 L / 100 km). Riding this bike like a hooligan from robot to robot will damage your consumption figures further, but that is to be expected.
Reliability
I just completed a 4000 km road trip over 8 days of riding, to almost reach 10 000 km on my M109R, and I have not had a single glitch with this bike whatsoever. It starts first time after standing in the cold and rain overnight (not my choice) and gets back to business once you let the motor idle for a minute or two just to warm things up again.
Conclusion
If you are in the market for a big cruiser then I will most definitely recommend that you go down to your local Suzuki dealer and take one of these for a test drive, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised – just remember that your car will probably end up sleeping outside as you cant just squeeze one of these into your garage as you can with most bikes.
I think Suzuki did one hell of a job when they built this bike, with the only complaint that many M109R owners have being that the clear coat layer on the paint is just way too soft to be durable at all – adding an extra layer of clear coat solves this problem, although I would expect something better after forking out R120 000 for a bike.
My main reason for owning a bike is to experience the open road and freedom that goes with having a bike, and the M109R delivers on this in all aspects. It provides a comfortable riding experience straight out the box, and with the motor feeling smooth and bullet-proof the overall package delivers a really enjoyable and rewarding riding experience, which has inspired me to many open roads and led to many smiles each time I get off this monster…
