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Need some opinions

13K views 218 replies 17 participants last post by  beezer 
#1 ·
I'm looking at upgrading from my C50 to a larger bike. Came across a 2008 C109R with a little over 17,xxx on the clock. Good shape. Definitely bigger than mine and even bigger feeling than a C90. How were these bikes in reliability and handling? Any common problems with them? I know the 805cc's tended to have issues with the timing chain guides. Same for the larger bikes?
 
#5 ·
As Beezer said they grind going into 2nd. They fixed the problem in 2010. I got a 2008 new and it had the problem the day I picked it up. The dealer said it had to break in. (BS) I finally got it rebuilt under warranty at 7000 miles. Suzuki got away without having a recall. They are extremely fast but very heavy.
 
#6 ·
Unfortunately I don't have any experience with the C109. Wish I did. My local Harley Dealer will not put any used bikes on the sales floor from other manufacturers, but they made an exception for the C109. It's the only one I've seen in person and it's freaking huge!
 
#8 ·
The C90 is a mixed bag. It definitely accomplishes your goal of getting on a larger more powerful bike but different years have different issues. Some guys love them and some hate them. The Indian Scout IMO is a better bike all the way around, but it's also an around town bike. I don't know how big you are but at 6'1" I couldn't see touring on it. I'm sure smaller framed guys would not have an issue. It's Indian's (AKA Polaris Industries) response to the Harley Davidson Sportster. It's generally considered to be a better bike than the Sportster.
 
#9 ·
You are thinking big bike on a budget. If you are cost sensitive, might I suggest you take a look at the Star 1300? It ticks all the right boxes for size, power, weight and price. Suzuki bikes are good for what they are, but when you move up in class, there are much better.
 
#10 ·
I agree with Skrap. It sounds like you're trying to stay with Suzuki. The C50 is a great starter bike, but the 90 and 109 are a bit lackluster. Yamaha and Kawasaki have better mid to large size cruisers if you're on a budget. Just my opinion of course, but since you asked.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I agree with you and Skrap. I was sticking to what the OP tossed out there. In this situation, a Star or Vulcan would be my pick. Honestly, I thought John's Vulcan 900 performed pretty well on the road. It didn't keep up with my Harley but it was overall a solid bike and wasn't a sitting duck on the Interstate like the C50. It's a step or two up from the C50 and a whole lot better bike.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the input. I've looked at the Kawasaki's and Honda's in the past but I didn't like how they felt. Felt too big for me. I'm not a big fella but not small either at 5'9" and 175lbs. I know Yamaha's are great bikes (the wife has a Roadliner) but finding a nice one used around here is hard. I went to the local Indian dealer yesterday to sit on one of their bikes that has the reduced reach controls (just like the one I'm looking at in VA) and it felt comfortable. Actually, both bikes felt comfortable to me. Hell, if I could afford both I'd buy both. lol One for around town and going to work, the other for long distance cruising. I hate making adult decisions sometimes...
 
#15 ·
I don't know if it's just me or what, but that Indian Scout is one of the ugliest motorcycles I've seen in a long time. My neighbor has one, and I went over and took a good long look at it, thinking maybe they looked better in person............nope.....even uglier "in the flesh". Of course I didn't tell him that, but man........did I say it was UGLY?? I know I COULD NOT own one of those.......EVER!! :(
 
#17 ·
I don't know if it's just me or what, but that Indian Scout is one of the ugliest motorcycles I've seen in a long time. My neighbor has one, and I went over and took a good long look at it, thinking maybe they looked better in person............nope.....even uglier "in the flesh". Of course I didn't tell him that, but man........did I say it was UGLY?? I know I COULD NOT own one of those.......EVER!!
No it is just you. The bar and shield poisoned your sense of taste and style.
 
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#18 ·
Good gawd no. Triumph universally has the worst reliability in the industry. My local dealer gave up selling them because of maintenance, warranty, and reliability problems. They are cool bikes but reliability is not a word I would use with Triumph.
 
#19 ·
Or BMW...
 
#22 ·
The new scout is all that and a bag of chips. They are so far better than the Harley offerings that Harley got the AMA to hamstring the Indians just to make their bikes more competitive. Lol. Rather than improving their product, the pressured the sanctioning body to make the competition worse...
 
#23 · (Edited)
Well I wouldn't go that far John. I don't think the Scout is any danger to the Sportster. It competes in the same market segment and in every way is a more modern bike. And arguably a better bike, but like it or not America rides Harley and the Sportster remains the entry bike into the world of Harley. That said, I wouldn't mind having a Scout in my garage.

And by the way that happens in every form of racing. Have you seen the Ford GTs winning lately? Nope, IMSA tied their hands and limited the cars with BOP rulings.

All that said I think Polaris did a great job on the Scout and one just may land in my garage as an around town bike.
 
#38 ·
I was at the dealer yesterday getting my 500 mile service on the Roadmaster, and was looking at a Scout Bobber "special edition" they have out. I'd love to have that as an "around town" bike, simple but fun for sure. I hope you enjoy your Scout!
 
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#40 ·
Not only was the XR750 purpose built, it enjoyed years of dominance the race circuit as there were no real serious competitors. Along comes Indian who outclassed the MoCo badly, so the rules committee had to change the specifications to restrict the performance of the Scout. Even then Harley still isn't competitive.
 
#42 · (Edited)
To each his own.That's why they make a lot of different motorcycles! :) To me, the Scout is ugly. I really like the rest of the Indian lineup, they're good looking, but I just don't like the looks of the Scout. Just my personal opinion, not any better or worse than anybody else's. I have some friends who think my batwing Harley is ugly as sin, doesn't bother me. As far as flat track, I LOVE the Indian 750! THAT is a very good looking motorcycle! And they are dominating the flat track series. Jared Mees is my favorite rider, been following him since watching him as a young 14 year old coming up through the ranks. Harley's factory riders, Sammy Halbert and Jared Vanderkoii, are VERY good, so it's not the rider's fault, the new XG replacement for the XR is a DOG. Harley had no say in the new rules, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Ducati, and several other teams complained about Indian's domination. Fans were getting tired of seeing Indian dominate at every race. So the governing body of AFT changed the rules on their own, Harley didn't ask for it, or have any input. Like I said before, the AMA has nothing to do with the series anymore, so Harley doesn't have the "pull" it had when the AMA ran things. Bryan Smith went back to Kawasaki this year, which is based on a production engine, so some say the new rules are for HIS benefit.
 
#43 ·
Anymore, Harley doesn't have any pull on the track either....
 
#46 ·
You know how this place goes Beez. Harley still sells more bikes than all other brands combined in the U.S. It's the bike most likely to be touring the country or be in your neighbor's garage. And it's the brand window lickers love to bash.
 
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