BIG news flash for the naysayers on Intruder 800 handling: It's Good! First of all watch the video, the bike handled just fine on that twisty road. I've been riding 49 years, kept around 10 bikes at a time. Now that I'm retired I have a couple of dozen. I'm not into fully faired street legal track bikes any more. I do have sporty bikes like SV650, Bandit 600S and 1200S, Nighthawk S, Thunderbird Sport 900, and Hornet 919 to name a few. But about four years ago I started buying testing cruisers on twisty mountain roads around the Blue Ridge mountains where I live. Including Skyline Drive which is similar to the road in the video. Many, many cruiser's handling is fair to poor. I would include many of the cruisers in the last couple of decades, and before, including Harleys (poor to fair), 2nd gen and newer Shadows (poor to fair), first gen Shadows were better, Viragos and Magnas (passable to fair), newer cruisers with heavy front forks, and just plain heavy, etc. (mostly poor). Even the Suzuki Intruder 1400 (poor) and the Kawasaki 1500 (almost fair). BUT! The first gen Vulcan VN750 (solid good handling) and this Suzuki Intruder 800 (fun and good handling) are an exception to the rule. Yes, they are very good at cruising, but they are a joy on twisty mountain two lane roads. I hate to give out my secrets, but I already have a couple of VS800's and three VN750's. They're great, especially if you're not too tall. So if you're a shorty like me, or you're looking for a smaller lighter cruiser for the wife these are two great options. They'll even keep up with standards, but not with my sporty bikes.
