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Opinions on a Suzuki vx800

timebombprod

timebombprod

Forum Sage
Seen one for sale on the marketplace, not that I'm buying it or anything but it was a pretty cool looking bike, anyways I was just curious how have people who rode them liked them? Maybe it's something I'd entertain in the future.
 
no i didnt search, unfortunately it hasnt done the best for when i have used it, but also fresh minded opinions were the idea!
 
Thanks for linking to my summary, Rich!

That assessment all still stands. As I mentioned, the rarity of these bikes in North America is the biggest challenge, and more and more of a challenge as time goes on. The engine and carbs were used on decades of very popular cruisers, but getting other parts can be impossible or difficult. (The VX800 was pretty successful in Europe).

The valve checks are screw and locknut, and reaching the valves is actually much easier than it looks, given how tightly packed everything is. Oil changes are easy...

Other than that, bring your mechanical A-game. It's a very challenging bike to work on.

If the airboxes are missing or monkeyed with, it'll probably never run right. All the bits and pieces and tubes and clamps and snorkels MUST in place, sealed, and oriented exactly right. The OEM air filters are no longer available. I never got aftermarket filters to work right, and I don't even know whether they're still available. There were some experiments with using OEM filter bases and gluing on foam or paper elements, but I don't know if those went anywhere.

Another specific issue, especially if the bike has been sitting, is that there's a vacuum operated fuel pump to feed the front carb; below about half a tank, the front carb can't gravity feed. You can get replacement vacuum operated pumps intended for ATVs, but they're configured differently and it's challenging to mount and run the hoses, etc.

The electrics have the same weaknesses and fixes as the GS series, with the fun addition that the stock R/R location is doomed; it's roasting less than an inch above the exhaust crossover. On mine, I mounted the replacement under the side panel. If you find a VX that's still running, this may have already been moved or been replaced a few times.

On the VX and the cruisers (Intruder, Boulevard/C50, etc.) with this engine, the carbs can be a headache; they're two completely different carbs, for starters. The rear one is a more or less standard CV carb, the front is a downdraft carb. They're synced via a cable you can't reach without modifying a couple of wrenches, and the sync process is fairly strange. Access to the carbs and pretty much anything under the tank and bodywork is just about the tightest I've ever seen. Get it all right and they're fantastic. Get it just a little wrong and the bike is an unpleasant turd.

Pay close attention to things like cable and wire routing; everything only fits and works in one exact configuration.

Lastly, I'd say one of the more well-known weak points is that chopper rake to the front end. With decent fork springs, the bike actually handles perfectly fine via Suzuki chassis magic. However, the bushings are under a lot of stress, and fork seals never last long at all. They pretty much always leak a little. Just keep spare seals and bushings on hand. I also added neoprene fork tube protectors to soak up fork oil before it got to the brake pads.
 
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I had one few years ago, always wanted one, they look nice.The engine seem better than the same era intruder, other than replacing the swingarms bushing it was trouble free. The main reason of selling was the chopper front end and the worst seat know to mankind put on a motorcycle. I paid mine 1200$ canadian.
Marc
 
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Yeah, the stock VX800 seat is an incredibly horrible crotch clamp sort of thing. I've experienced some dreadful stock seats, but Suzuki really took this one down to the next level of hell. Not to get too graphic, but it doesn't just make your butt hurt; it manages to inflict pain on everything below the belt.

I totally re-sculpted mine with Super Cell foam from Sargent (not sure whether they still sell slabs of this foam, but it's great for this sort of thing) re-covered it in marine vinyl, and it was great.

Honestly, it would be surprising if a VX800 with many miles at all still had the stock seat. You just can't ride it very far in that state.

I'd also say that replacing the rear shocks is nearly mandatory; the originals are pretty terrible.

Here's a photo I dug up of my first VX800 showing the seat. Long story, but after a crash, I installed knobby-ish tires and went adventuring...

You can also see the neoprene boots on the forks to absorb the nearly constant fork oil leaks. It went down on this side, so there's a visible repair to the bodywork, and the left exhaust was rashed pretty good. I also had to modify the fender so I could raise it a bit to fit a knobbier front tire. It's a rear tire mounted backwards, and I have no idea whether it's even still available these days for the oddball 18" front.

vx800_lake.jpg
 
It's a V-Twin GSX1100G! I totally forgot about those. I like it (but I read the mechanical issues stuff too...).
 
bwringer said:
Yeah, the stock VX800 seat is an incredibly horrible crotch clamp sort of thing. I've experienced some dreadful stock seats, but Suzuki really took this one down to the next level of hell. Not to get too graphic, but it doesn't just make your butt hurt; it manages to inflict pain on everything below the belt.

I totally re-sculpted mine with Super Cell foam from Sargent (not sure whether they still sell slabs of this foam, but it's great for this sort of thing) re-covered it in marine vinyl, and it was great.

Honestly, it would be surprising if a VX800 with many miles at all still had the stock seat. You just can't ride it very far in that state.
Click to expand...

The Japanese are still getting even for losing the war and all associated with that... It's either addict us to really nice stuff, or once in a while punish us with bad M/C seats... Lol.

Seriously, I think some small part of their success might be not having to worry about national security so much (provided by the U.S. post-WWII), and getting on with concentrating efforts on civilian manufacturing stuff. I could be wrong though...
 
JMHJ said:
The Japanese are still getting even for losing the war and all associated with that... It's either addict us to really nice stuff, or once in a while punish us with bad M/C seats... Lol.

Seriously, I think some small part of their success might be not having to worry about national security so much (provided by the U.S. post-WWII), and getting on with concentrating efforts on civilian manufacturing stuff. I could be wrong though...
Click to expand...

The mind boggles.
 
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