I have memories of the ad about Suzuki Samurai, which had a bunch of Japanese in it. It was sold with the " No Problem Bike " tag and indeed it is. I had bought a second hand suzuki samurai around 3 years back.To be honest I haven’t had problems at all with the bike specially the engine performance.but yes when I had bought the bike I had to spend a little bit on it since it was not in a running state for a long time.
Suzuki Samurai’s are rare but not an extinct species. You can still find them and its siblings zooming on the roads till today.
My Bike is 10 years old but it still has the raw youthfulness and power in engine performance especially in pick up to challenge any bike.
As everything and anything, this bike also has its negatives - I’ll start with this first
1) Bike’s body specially the fiber parts hardly stays good as you might have noticed with all the samurai’s
2) Bike’s shock absorbers specially the back one’s goes bad soon
3) Bike is light weight so so its does not give the confidence to ride at high speed and on rainy days
4) Starting is a big problem specially during cold weather.every single time after the bike has been off for a long time one will have to use the choke or else will have a hard time.People who are not used to this bike will have much more tough time starting it.
5) Electrical wiring wears out soon and does not stay good even if you change it, for some reason.
6) Break Shoes let it be front or back, both wears out soon
To be honest these are all external factors that might disappoint you but believe me the engine wont let u down even if it is in the worst condition possible.
The sound of the bike is different from any other bike available, if you race it hard its not difficult to find out its a samurai or its sibling cause of the uniqueness of the sound just like old yamaha’s.
+ves
1) Pick up is really good since its a 2 stroke engine
2) The mileage might not be excellent but its decent when you consider the age of the bike and compare it with many other bikes.I get around 40-45 km-pl with the normal unleaded petrol
Note - If one uses high end petrol like speed, xtra premium, you would find a major boost in the performance and mileage
3) Maneuvering in the busy city traffic is extremely easy cause of the weight and slimness of the bike with adequate pick up
4) If the brake shoes are good, braking is also good though at times you might skid, again cause of the less weight.
5) There is no vibration in the engine if it does not have a bore or a crank problem
6) The bikes basic build quality is really good cause it can take up any amount and no of beating easily( Not talking about the exterior build but the basic foundation)
7) The bike has a never say die attitude
This review is based on a bike which is 10 years old and gone through the test of time.
This bike has never got me stuck anywhere and has been a good service for the last 3 years.But its time for me to move on get a new bike since its legacy will now be taken over by my brother.
Kudos to Suzuki and Japanese Engineering for making such an engineering marvel.
In true words this bike can be considered a GEM and a LEGEND in Indian Biking history.