The Suzuki Intruder is a family of cruiser motorcycles with four-stroke V-twin engines that Suzuki built from 1985 to 2005. After that the range was renamed Boulevard, although the Intruder name has stayed in use in Europe.
Suzuki Intruder at a glance
| Production | 1985–2005 |
|---|---|
| Type | cruiser with V-twin engine |
| First models | Intruder 700 and Intruder 1400 |
| VS750 | 747 cc, 55 hp, 1985–1991 |
| VS800 | 805 cc, 50 hp, 1992–2004 |
| VS1400 | 1,360 cc, 72 hp |
| Smaller models | VL125 and VL250, chain drive |
| Big tourer | VL1500 LC |
| Final drive | shaft on VS models, chain on VL125 and VL250 |
| Renamed | Boulevard S50 and S83 in 2005 |
History of the Suzuki Intruder
Tariff dodging and Harley hunting
The Intruder line began in North America with the Intruder 700 and the Intruder 1400, which was really a 1,360 cc machine. The smaller bike was sized to slip under a projected 45 percent American import tariff, while the larger one was aimed at Harley-Davidson’s 1,340 cc Evolution models and the Kawasaki Vulcan 1500. When the tariff was actually set at 750 cc rather than 700, Suzuki enlarged the small Intruder to a 750, which it built until 1991.
Growing to 800
For 1992 the small Intruder became an 805 cc VS800, with a larger engine, radiator and forks; it ran to 2004, the only notable change being a black-painted engine from 1999. The lineup spread across liquid-cooled VS400, VS600, VS700, VS750 and VS800 models, plus the air-cooled VL125, VL250 and VL1500 LC and the big VS1400. Most Intruders drove the rear wheel through a shaft and a four- or five-speed gearbox; the VS1400 got a five-speed in Europe from 1991, in Canada from 1996 and in the United States from 1997. The VL125 and VL250 used chain drive.
Becoming Boulevard
For 2005 Suzuki relaunched its cruisers under the Boulevard name, hoping to sound less off-putting to conservative American buyers. The VS800 Intruder became the Boulevard S50 and the VS1400 the Boulevard S83, with names taken from engine size in cubic inches. The changes were mostly cosmetic — straighter bars, four-way flashers, a one-piece seat, smaller indicators, no sissy bar and a plastic fake air cleaner holding the tool kit — and mechanically the S50 and Intruder 800 parts interchange.
Design and features
- V-twin cruisers: four-stroke V-twins from 125 to 1,500 cc.
- Shaft drive: standard on the VS models.
- A tariff story: the first Intruder was sized around American import rules.
- Boulevard ancestry: the S50 and S83 are the same bikes under new names.
Suzuki Intruder versions
- Intruder 700/750 (1985–1991): the tariff-driven small cruiser.
- VS800 (1992–2004): 805 cc and 50 hp.
- VS1400: 1,360 cc and 72 hp, the big V-twin.
- VL125 and VL250: small air-cooled cruisers with chain drive.
- VL1500 LC: the large touring cruiser.
The Intruder line led to the Boulevard M109R, and the small cruisers continued as the Boulevard S40. More Suzukis are in the Suzuki collection.
Video: Lovely Suzuki Intruder 1400 – 2° Trasformation Bobber
Video by marzio manfredini on YouTube.
Sources
- Suzuki Intruder, English Wikipedia: models, engines, tariffs, Boulevard switch
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