I am 315 and the C50 was an awesome bike. It was the first bike I owned. I upgraded for a number of reasons. One of them was that it felt it reved high while going 75mph on the highway and I would check if there was a 6th gear. Don't get me wrong, the bike is designed that way.

The C90 has cast wheels (tubeless tires), which is good if you have a blowout. C50 has tube tires because the spoked rims are not sealed. In addition, you have two disk brakes in the front tire vs one for the C50. And the C50 has rear drum breaks vs disk brakes for the C90. Also, the clutch on the C90 is hydraulic.

The bad thing about the C90 is it is air/oil cooled while the C50 is liquid cooled (radiator).

I would highly recommend the C50 for a beginner, but if you got some experience then you should go with the C90. In addition, what are your needs. If you do a lot of street/town riding then a C50 is the better of the two, but if a majority of your riding is on the Hwy than a C90 is a better fit.

Regardless of your selection, both bikes are great. Hope this helps.

 

The c50 will not leave the 883 in the dust in fact it would have a
hard time keeping up to it, but it really does out style it by
a long shot.
The c90 has a lot more snap but its still a Cruiser.

 

C50 about 50 hp at the crank C90 68 hp at the crank plus 125 lbs heavier and almost 4k more wasn't worth it to me and I do believe mine will hold its own against an 883

 

I am sorry but I'd go bigger. I am not saying you should but I know I would....and I'd go Kawasaki

CG

 

what about 2 up riding on either bike? I'm about 230, and my girlfriend is close to that. She refuses to ride with me on my 30 year old honda, But she says she'd feel more comfortable ridin on the back of a bigger/newer bike.

 

The c50 will not leave the 883 in the dust in fact it would have a
hard time keeping up to it, but it really does out style it by
a long shot.
The c90 has a lot more snap but its still a Cruiser.

I beg your pardon.....I owned an 883 Sportster for 4 years and now a C50T......there is NO WAY that 883 will outrun ANYTHING!.....a 250 metric sport bike DUSTED me when I raced him.........DOG SLOW!!!

 

C90 has it all over the C50 on the highway. Talk to Ecks about the major differences, as He's owned one for a while now.

Personally, I wish that I had opted for the C90 instead.

 

I have a C90T and love it. Looked long and hard at both,...both are great bikes, I opted for the C90 because I got such a unbelieveable deal on it.
Took a little getting used to for I had never ridden anything bigger than a 750.
You can't go wrong either way! IMO there is one negative for each bike.
C50...needs a 6th gear.... for the highway.
C90...small gas tank...3.7 gallons.

Hope this helps....which ever you decide on you will have a great bike :wink:

 

I gotta weigh in on this... if your buddy is running a basically stock 883 custom, a stock c50 will run with it just fine, if not walk away. If you do the pipes/power commander/intake, he's not going to have fun keeping up with you. Tables turn again if he decides to drop a few grand and do the 1200 kit for the 883, then he's gotcha, but unless all you guys do is whack it to throttle stop all day you aren't going to feel intimidated or 'left behind' even riding with ultra 88's. To be quite honest, the wife and I (combined weight over 450) used to cruise with all my hot-dog harley friends packin double on her 650 V-star, STOCK. About the only 2 reasons to go to a C90 over a C50 I can personally get behind is 1) you do a LOT of highway cruisin over 75 and 2) you pack double most of the time and the 2 of you add up to over 400+. The C50 will handle both with aplomb, but the C90 is better suited. Other than that, the C50 is just a better overall bike IMHO. By that I mean more bang for the buck/fun etc. NO flames please.

 

Do you want an 800cc class bike or a 1500cc class bike? I would decide that first and then look at the different options in those classes - not restricting yourself to Suzuki. There's a lot of good bikes out there.

 

I am looking to up grade to the C90 after awhile. Alot of my driving is on the highway and like the others I feel that the c50 revs too high and I am looking for that elusive sixth gear. Maybe next year. But I still love my C50. Maybe I will convince the wife to drive the C50 when I get a 90.

 

I agree with tlw. Decide which class you want. Then do your shopping. If you are in the 800 cc class, the C50\Volusia has been consistently rated as best in class and is probably the best option available for the money, etc.

However, if you are looking in the 1400 cc class, I don't think the C90 is necessarily best in class. That doesn't make it a good bike and it doesn't mean you won't love it. I haven't looked at the options available in the 1400 cc class so I can't really say what would be best.

I know I love the looks of the C90, because it is just about identical to the C50. I prefer the wheels on the C90, though. The major drawback, in my opinion to the C90 is the size of the gas tank. I think this could be a seriously limiting factor and might a reason I, personally, wouldn't buy it. My Intruder 800 had a 3.2 gallon tank and I found it was only good for about 100 miles. I wonder what kind of range you get on the C90 before the fuel light comes on.

At any rate, good luck with your search. Whatever you choose, ride safe and have fun!

 

I had a 2002 volusia for 3 years and now I got a LC1500 wich is the same as C-90. The difference is more on the highways...runs like a cadillac

 

I wonder what kind of range you get on the C90 before the fuel light comes on.

What fuel light On the C90, the last bar (out of 5) on the fuel guage blinks when you are getting close to E.

Getting about 130 miles before I fill her up with 3.2 gal of gas. 40.6 MPG.

 

I agree with tlw. Decide which class you want. Then do your shopping. If you are in the 800 cc class, the C50\Volusia has been consistently rated as best in class and is probably the best option available for the money, etc.

However, if you are looking in the 1400 cc class, I don't think the C90 is necessarily best in class. That doesn't make it a good bike and it doesn't mean you won't love it. I haven't looked at the options available in the 1400 cc class so I can't really say what would be best.

I know I love the looks of the C90, because it is just about identical to the C50. I prefer the wheels on the C90, though. The major drawback, in my opinion to the C90 is the size of the gas tank. I think this could be a seriously limiting factor and might a reason I, personally, wouldn't buy it. My Intruder 800 had a 3.2 gallon tank and I found it was only good for about 100 miles. I wonder what kind of range you get on the C90 before the fuel light comes on.

At any rate, good luck with your search. Whatever you choose, ride safe and have fun!

I agree. From the research I've done on the 1400+ CC bikes I wouldn't go with Suzuki. I'd go with Kawasaki, and probably a Nomad since I like baggers and true duals.

 

One more factor to consider---how long before your buddy trades in his 883 for a bigger Harley? :wink: Seems like that's what I see a lot of Sportster guys do. Totally agree w/prior posts of looking at different bikes in the C90 class IF you want a bigger bike. If you're a newer rider the C50 would be perfect.

Personally had the VOl for 2 years now & love it. Would I like a bigger bike? Yeah, but don't really want to shell out that much more jack. Vol/C50 = great bang for the buck.

 

I wonder what kind of range you get on the C90 before the fuel light comes on.

What fuel light On the C90, the last bar (out of 5) on the fuel guage blinks when you are getting close to E.

Getting about 130 miles before I fill her up with 3.2 gal of gas. 40.6 MPG.

I thought it only had a 3.1 gallon tank. How can you be putting in 3.2 gallons of gas unless you are overfilling the tank?

 

C90 has a 3.7 gallon tank!

 

C90 has a 3.7 gallon tank!

But if you add a 2.5 aux gtank you have 6.2 gallons :shock: 8) :evil: :twisted:

http://www.gmanindustries.com/

 

I wonder what kind of range you get on the C90 before the fuel light comes on.

What fuel light On the C90, the last bar (out of 5) on the fuel guage blinks when you are getting close to E.

Getting about 130 miles before I fill her up with 3.2 gal of gas. 40.6 MPG.

That's exactly what my fuel milage is. I ride 80 miles every day. I don't understand why everyone is hung up on the 3.7 gallon capacity. that's 130-140 miles between stops. Most people need a break by then anyway.

I had a Volusia, loved it.
I have a C90, love it.
2 bikes, same styling, different classes.
Both bikes are a great bang for the buck!

 

C90 has it all over the C50 on the highway. Talk to Ecks about the major differences, as He's owned one for a while now.

Personally, I wish that I had opted for the C90 instead.

Same here.

 

That's exactly what my fuel milage is. I ride 80 miles every day. I don't understand why everyone is hung up on the 3.7 gallon capacity. that's 130-140 miles between stops. Most people need a break by then anyway.

Tell me about it. Rode 100 miles yesterday. I think my next buy is a driver's backrest. Can't afford a Mustant seat right now.

 

I never really considered looking at other bikes in the same class as the c90, but i'm thinkin that the c50 might be the way to go. Anything would be a huge improvement over my current ride. But the thing is, I do plan on going on a few trips, mostly over into arkansas for some of the great roads I hear about over there, but my cruisin speed probably wouldn't be over 70.

Money is the main issue, and I know the c50 is a great value from what i've read. I was just wondering if the great value was still there on the c90 or if there were some better options in the same price range.

 

I never really considered looking at other bikes in the same class as the c90, but i'm thinkin that the c50 might be the way to go. Anything would be a huge improvement over my current ride. But the thing is, I do plan on going on a few trips, mostly over into arkansas for some of the great roads I hear about over there, but my cruisin speed probably wouldn't be over 70.

Money is the main issue, and I know the c50 is a great value from what i've read. I was just wondering if the great value was still there on the c90 or if there were some better options in the same price range.

The C50 is a great bike for the money. Maybe consider the C50C, it has cast wheels so you can run tubeless tires, much better for long trips.

 

I looked at both before i bought as well, the C50se just suited my budget and my needs a lot better and now that i have it i am glad i made that choice. Even with my wife on the back it has plenty of get up and go and a great ride. I found the larger bike just did not handle as well either a lot more weight to move around.

Will i want a larger bike ? i am sure i will at some point but for now this is more than enough bike for this man.

Cheers
8)