Motorcycle Test: 1997 Suzuki Marauder 800

Not even the threat of snow and ice storms could keep us away. When Suzuki announced that it would hand over the keys for its new Marauder at a press introduction in Santa Fe, New Mexico, it didn't matter what the weather forecast was for the southern Rockies, we were on the way.

It's been a long dry spell for new cruisers from Suzuki. The firm introduced the 700 Intruder in 1986, followed up with the 1400 Intruder in 1987, and then, except for a couple of displacement increases for the smaller bike to eventually make it an 800, Suzuki rested on its considerable laurels. Original styling, immaculate detailing, strong performance and a reputation for durability have made Intruders popular for a decade, but even such a cruising icon didn't grab everyone's attention. So the broad hints of a new-for-1997 cruiser from Suzuki whetted our appetite. Stock photos released in time for our December '96 issue of Motorcycle Cruiser revealed that once again Suzuki had come up with a fresh take on cruiser style. But the proof is in the riding, and our throttle hands were twitching.

Riding the Marauder threatened to become a bit tricky. As Suzuki's introduction drew near, the national weather maps looked discouraging. Though you may think of Santa Fe as desert, it's actually located 7000 feet above sea level. It snowed the weekend before, and the Weather Channel forecast snow for both days of the event.

We called Suzuki. "Have you seen the forecast?" we asked anxiously. "Going to postpone it a few days?"

"We're going ahead anyway," came the reply on our voice mail. "We can still do the tech briefing and maybe you can find some nice settings for photos. You can ride it after we truck it back to the West Coast."

"Don't reserve a place for our bike on the truck," we responded. "If the roads are open, we'll ride it home. If they aren't, we'll wait until they are." We got in the plane and flew to New Mexico.

Heading to the early morning tech briefing, we scanned the skies for the promised storm. A few clouds popped over the mountains right on schedule. Maybe we would get some riding in before the storm arrived. But first, we had to sit through the tech briefing.

It seems the Marauder engine owes more than a little to the Intruder 800 mill. Though a different transmission and chain drive (instead of the Intruder's shaft final drive) has been grafted on the back of it, and new cosmetics were applied to its exterior, the engine is otherwise pure Intruder. Not that we're complaining, mind you. The Intruder engine, after all, is the butt-kickingest engine in the 800 class, but a little of that no-prisoners performance was given up to make the Marauder.

The most visible change from the Intruder to the Marauder is the switch from shaft to chain final drive. New cases and covers needed to be made, narrowing the engine to a more compact package. Both the clutch and magneto covers are new items designed for the trimmer bottom end. Oil capacity drops almost a quart to 2.6 quarts. Although the transmission retains five speeds, it has narrower shaft spacing, and the gear ratios have been changed to a slightly taller overall gearing, which translates into a barely perceptible lowering of the rpm at speed. Negotiating the exchange of power from the dual-crankpin crankshaft to the drivetrain is an all-new cable-operated clutch with a rack-and-pinion actuation mechanism. A back-torque limiter is built into the clutch hub and helps smooth downshifts by reducing clutch friction capacity by up to 70 percent when the direction of the forces is reversed.

The Marauder breathes through the same carburetors as the Intruder but with different jetting. The front carburetor is a downdraft model with a slightly smaller airbox than the rear sidedraft model. The different-size airboxes require that the two carbs have different jetting. Helping the Marauder meet EPA standards, Suzuki has added air injection to the exhaust system of all U.S. models to burn exhaust gases more completely. California versions of the Marauder will also have different cam timing and less power as a result. The cleaner-breathing engine exhales into headers that are connected in front of the mufflers for enhanced midrange power and sound. Suzuki claims the Intruder makes one to two more horsepower, but the Marauder makes more peak torque at lower rpm.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Let the Marauding begin. The Marauder performed nicely when moving from one photo location to another in and around Santa Fe's narrow downtown streets. Quick off the line, the Marauder was able to jump past befuddled tourists. Suzuki must have designed the torque curve with the boulevard in mind. Finally leaving the traffic and photographer behind, we sought two-lane twisties outside of town to let the Marauder kick up its heels.

Much to our surprise, the Marauder felt more like a distant cousin to the Intruder than a sibling. As the rpm increased, power built from down-low torque to the point where we would expect the top-end to kick in. Instead, the power dropped off. If we opened the throttle wider, the engine made more noise and vibration, but shifting was the only option for increased speed. While the Marauder could pull away from most cars in all situations, the Intruder provides a more exciting acceleration experience. The half-second, 7-mph difference in quarter-mile times can be felt from the saddle.

There was no joy in Mudville that night. Most of our evening conversation revolved around why the power would drop off so quickly. Was Santa Fe's 7000-foot-plus altitude the culprit? Could the low-mileage engines just be a bit tight? Many miles were in order to study the problem further.

Throughout our low-speed around-town riding, the new, smaller fan motor only switched on occasionally. Suzuki said it spent some time refining the smaller radiator to address the flow problems of air around the large front wheel. We couldn't help but wonder why the designers bothered to make the radiator smaller if they weren't planning on hiding it between the frame's downtubes. The smaller radiator, still riding Intruder-style in front of the downtubes, misses an opportunity to clear up one of the Intruder's few styling glitches.

Suzuki did, however, remedy one of the most pressing problems of the Intruder's chassis. In spirited cornering, the Marauder's folding footpegs are the first part to touch down, and they do so cleanly. You no longer need to fear levering your front tire off the ground with the peg mount as you do on the Intruder. Of course, if you place your feet on the pegs carelessly, you may drag your heels in tighter corners, but doing this once or twice will make you diligent in your foot placement.

Overall, the Marauder handles much better than the Intruder. At 64.8 inches, the wheelbase is 3.4 inches longer than the Intruder's. The 35 degrees of rake (compared to 33.25 on the Intruder) and the fat front tire, slow down the steering considerably. But with input, the bike steers steadily. Gone is the hinge-in-the-middle handling of the Intruder, thanks to the heavier, steel, double-cradle frame and inverted fork. The non-adjustable 41mm Showa fork and the preload-adjustable Kayaba shocks handle most common riding conditions competently. When you throw in some mid-corner bumps, however, the Marauder feels like it needs better suspension rates to live up to the nifty fork. Sharp bumps get directed to the tailbone with minimal absorption.