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 The
new Suzuki 500 is here and I finally got a chance to spend part of a
day test riding it. Let's start off with - WOW! What a quad! The first
thing you will notice is that it retains the Suzuki well built look
and solid feel. After you climb aboard, get in gear, and give the
throttle a blip, it's powerful engine will leave a lasting impression
that you won't forget. Now, it's too late, you are already addicted to
the Suzuki and your curiosity starts to grow. You start to wonder what
else this powerhouse of a machine has in store. Well, I got to find
out first hand.
Obviously,
I was so intrigued with the power, I had difficulty concentrating on
the rest of the features this quad has to offer. Soon enough, I was
quickly rewarded by the smooth suspension as we took off down the
trail, and as speeds started to pick up the Suzuki's manners truned
from plush to sporty. I was expecting this quad to handle like a big
heavy utility vehicle that bounces and behaves like it needs to be on
some flat ground. Instead, I found another pleasant surprize. Bends
and off cambers are fun! You are quickly rewarded with a very stable
suspension on the Suzuki. You don't get jarred from side to side when
going over obstacles that cross the trail. The quad link rear and
independant front suspensions work together as a team to protect you
from trail obsticles that are noted for wrenching your back and
tossing you around.
 Jumping
the beast is a mixed bag of tricks. I don't think it was intended to
be jumped very high. It can definately handle smaller jumps, bumps and
logs with ease, and the landings are soft and controlled. If you
happen to get the Suzuki more than a few feet in the air the front
suspension will bottom out and you will soon learn it's limitations.
Turning
the Suzuki 500 is a dream. This quad can turn tight! It is also one of
the shorter wheel based quads which even makes it a better woods
machine. Also, you can fit this quad inside of a short box pick-up.
Hunting and/or or milling around in the woods with this quad is great!
You don't have to try to "pick" or "plan" a route
through the woods. You can pretty much turn on a dime, so you just
turn around obstacles and go where you want.
Now,
I finally get to talk about the power. Hill climbs have to be one of
the strongest points for the big engined Suzuki. Having tons of low
end grunt, an even more powerful mid range, and what feels to be a
slight "powerband" at the upper RPMs, you have just met one
of the funnest machines to go hill climbing with. |
Now,
I finally get to talk about the power. Hill climbs have to be one of
the strongest points for the big engined Suzuki. Having tons of low
end grunt, an even more powerful mid range, and what feels to be a
slight "powerband" at the upper RPMs, you have just met one
of the funnest machines to go hill climbing with. I went up snow
covered, loose rock, and boulder strewn hills with ease. I just
couldn't wait to annihilate the next hill that came across my path. I
felt like an animal or something, just looking for prey. I would find
myself yelling, screaming and cheering as I just ripped right through,
or up any obstacle that came about. This is the quad for the power
hungry!!! Speaking of power, there's low range. I can't imagine where
you'd need to use low range with this much raw torque on hand. Maybe
plowing fields all day, or perhaps pulling school busses around would
be a good justification of the low range.
There
were a few things I would change if I were a Suzuki engineer. The
first would be to get the differential lock back! The current front
differential is fine in high range and you can keep enough momentum
where you shouldn't need a locker, mostly due to the awesome power.
Milling around on unfamiliar ground is another story. Maybe in low
range, allow the front differential to be locked. When you don't have
momentum, there's no substitute for traction. Secondly, my feet kept
coming off of the foot pegs around sharp turns where you like to add a
little body english. A larger lip on the outside of the footpeg would
have been nice.
Going
through deep water, I like to put my feet on the front fenders. Suzuki
took away those nice foot rests that are on some of their other
models. Now the plastic gets scratched up from your boots.
 Finally,
I thought the tires could have been more aggressive for the types of
riding I like to do. I'm sure others would be perfectly happy with the
stock tires. Where do you draw the line? Yes, I'm picky, but those
were the things I would change.
In
conclusion, this is easy, I want one!!! I'm still on a high from my
ride hours ago today, and I'm sure I'll be tossing and turning all
night long, just replaying the hill climbs in my mind. This is a
machine that can do a FULL day's work, and then go out and play hard
with the rest of the day! I don't want to call the Suzuki 500 a
utility machine, even though it is. It is just too fun to ride. You
don't want to stop riding it! I simply didn't want to give it back at
the end of the day. Actually, I was wishing the end of the day would
never come. I loved it!!! |
