I bought this bike six years ago as my first bike, and it only had ~22,000kms on it, not bad for a 35 year old (at the time) bike.
Its been my bike that I have learned on, not just rising, but hard lessons in general. Some of these include:
- Do not tarp your bike as soon as you are done riding, the tarp will melt on the exhaust pipes.
- Check your clutch cable regularly to see if its wearing out so it doesn’t snap on you in the middle of traffic (and also the day before your road test).
- It is very hard to find a clutch cable on short notice on a Saturday evening.
- Oil changes require a crush washer, or you will leak oil. A lot of oil.
- On that note, it is recommended that oil changes take place a little more frequently than once every five years.
- You should bring your bike in for a tire change while the tires can still hold air for longer than 2 hours.
- Bring your battery inside in the winter so water inside doesn’t freeze, and you wont have to boost your battery every 2 weeks.
- Also read the battery instructions carefully and don’t overfill it, causing the battery juice to leak out onto your pipes and rusting them up.
Despite all my lack of awareness in maintenance and general care, this this is still going strong. So far all I’ve had to replace is the clutch cable (mentioned above), a headlamp, and a fuse. It is a testament to how well these old UJM bikes were built that its still running despite my less than regular maintenance schedule.
This is funny. I love your list of lessons. I keep thinking I want an older UJM cruiser, but I already have a modern harley. How does yours handle?
Handles fine. Being a 400cc bike makes it pretty light and easy to control.
That being said, its only a 400, so it doesn’t push much past 100-115km/h, and thats in ideal conditions with the throttle pinned. I’d like to get a bigger bike in the next few years, just so I’m not always cruising in 6th with the throttle full on.
For city driving, though, I find its the perfect size.
Ahhh that’s good! I always imagine older bike to handle like a cruise ship for some reason. Lol
My current bike is so heavy sometimes I can’t even walk it backwards if there’s a tony incline.
This was a great era for Suzuki and a good engine, it should serve you well for a long time.
