First Impression : Suzuki Intruder M1800R : Earth to Earth Missile
Text & Photos: Sundeep Gajjar/ Sunny
Although I am extrovertly a naked streebike and superbike fanboy, in the back of my mind lurked a machine which I had set my eyes some months back in Australia. It was a cruiser and the strange bit was that I was attracted to it. Nevertheless, in a bid to be faithful to my superbiker fraternity I consciously ignored it and gave it a pass. Some weeks later I again spotted it in a magazine and again gave it a cursory glance, recording the incredible features and charisma it had but refused to acknowledge it to myself again.
The Australian ride was finished; I started with the New Zealand tour. I again spotted the same cruiser which was refusing to go off my visual radar and was repeatedly questioning the sportsbiker in me. This time I could not resist the incredibly inviting Blue and White combination and I did take two photos making sure they did not come out too good. This was the Limited Edition Blue with White stripes Suzuki Boulevard M109R, as it is called cheekily in some countries. In Europe it is known as the Intruder M1800R, which sounds more to the point. This bike is very well capable of intruding a high speed run of supersports bikes on the highway. (1783CC = 109 Cubic Inches ).
Fast forward to today and I finally gave in and asked my friend Gaurav to bring out his new Intruder. I had the pleasure to be on a shortish ride on my Blackbird with Gaurav in 2006 when he also had the Blackbird (maroon) as his first bike.
There it was a huge mass standing in the feeble dawn light at India Gate. The rear tyre almost looked like a huge tree stump instead of something more real to be used a locomotion enabler. I parked my wimp of a motorcycle, the Karizma and gaped at the motorcycle, threatening it to steal it away. I had forgotten all the superbikes that I had seen so far. The huge mass reminded me of the Rocket III, the shaft reminded me of the Concours 14, the massive headlight hood reminded me of a wizard with his head draped in a dark cloth and unthinkable wizardry lurking beneath that uneasy calm.
The Intruder combines the best of sportsbikes and cruisers in a form of a handsome and macho machine which guarantees the rider a second glance for all sections of the society. It is one bike which you can consider going to a five star hotel part and gracefully climb down with your madame and into a raving or sophisticated party as the case may be. The attendant being able to handle the beast and finding the ignition slot is another matter altogether.
The M1800R rose to cult status in less than a year from when it was launched in 2006, that itself speaks volume about the capability of the bike to cultivate massive emotions of jealousy of viewership and pride of ownership.
The best part in the shoot was obviously when I took the bike for a small spin. My arms literally stretched into the league of the Fantastic 4 on accelerating. I have never ridden such a torquey machine before . A quick comparison below shows that it even shreds the famed Mt-01 in torque and power!
Torque
Kawasaki Concours 14 100.30Nm @6200rpm
Yamaha Mt-01 150.3Nm @3750rpm
Suzuki Intruder 160Nm @3200rom (more torque than the Mt01 at lower rpm!)
Hero Honda Karizma 18.40 Nm @6000rpm
Power
Kawasaki Concours 155 Hp @8800rpm
Yamaha Mt-01 88.77 Hp @4750rpm
Suzuki Intruder 125Hp @6200rpm
Hero Honda Karizma 17Hp Nm @7000rpm
CC
Kawasaki Concours 1352 CC
Yamaha Mt-01 1670 CC
Suzuki Intruder 1783 CC
Hero Honda Karizma 223 CC
The bike will have no second thoughts if you tell it to be in a tug of war with a bus. I rode it for around 3kms and it the response was fantastic, the gear shifts precise. The bike being shaft driven, had its nuances in the form of a slight jerk when you suddenly demand power with a twist or when you put it into a gear. When pondering on this, the Concours 14’s tetra lever shaft came indeed engineering art by Kawasaki. The exhaust note also exudes power and a sense of new founded superpower threatens to consume the sanity in you.
