Suzuki Volusia 800 and Triumph Bonneville America

You could be forgiven for being blissfully unaware of it up until now, but there's a particularly vicious little battle going on in a corner of the bike market that doesn't often get the light shone on it? Sports bikes? NupTourers? Nup, Trailies? Nup Cruisers? Close, but no cigar.

You see there's a strong middleweight cruiser market - where engine capacities are 750-883cc. As a breed they're a good stepping stone from a 250, providing reasonable performance without being anywhere near as intimidating as the up-to-1800cc monsters at the seriously weird end of the market.

It's the pricing that's a real knockout, with Harley's basic Sportster commanding a mere $10,500, and several models available at not a hell of a lot more. No, it won't Kostya... Sorry.

We got our sticky paws on two of the latest entries: Suzuki's Volusia 800 and Triumph's Bonneville America. Let's do a quick walk through the spec sheet first.

Volusia
Somewhat ironically, given its mild performance, the Volusia is named after the US county that hosts the famous Daytona Speed Week.

At the heart is an 805cc, 45-degree V-twin, running liquid-cooling that has been fitted in various forms to previous Suzis. Most recent was the Maraudercruiser, while by far its liveliest incarnation was in the grossly under-rated VX800 streetbike from the early nineties.

There's no indication on the power output, as specs for this model are in frustratingly short supply. Fuel metering is via a single 34mm carb, while the transmission is a five-speed matched to a shaft final drive.

The basis of the chassis is a conventional steel twin-downtube frame. There's a single disc worked by a twin-piston caliper up front and a humble mechanical drum out back. Suspension is telescopic fork with no adjustment and monoshock with variable preload. Fuel capacity is 16 litres and there's a tank-mounted dial, which is a speedo. Overall it's a significant rework of the Marauder - you should regard it as a new bike.

America
This is Triumph's second variation on the Bonneville theme, which itself was only released last year. The air-cooled vertical twin claims 61PS, and in this guise runs a 270-degree rather than 360-degree crank-throw. Why? The theory is that it gives the engine an offbeat thump more suited to a cruiser. I think they could have saved themselves the trouble.

Fuel is fed via twin 36mm carbs. There's five gears and chain final drive.

Like the Suzuki, it runs a twin-loop steel frame, a single front disc with twin-pot caliper and a similar set-up on the rear. The 41mm front forks have no adjustment, while the twin rear shocks have preload.

Fuel capacity is a claimed 16.6 litres, while the single instrument pod (speedo, again) sits on the handlebar clamps.

Together
Both toys present as surprisingly substantial machines. The Triumph, for example, looks much bigger and longer than its 'plain' Bonnie sibling. Meanwhile the Suzuki looks as though it must have a 1500 powerplant lurking somewhere in there.

Of the two, it's the British iron that's running the more rangy dimensions: 1655mm wheelbase compared to 1645, 153mm of trail compared to 141, and 33.3 degrees of rake versus 33. Enough to make the Trumpet a substantially slower steerer.

Since we've delved into the realm of steering, this is easily Suzuki's best cruiser effort to date and is right up there with the best of them. Despite the balloon-like tyres, it's sharp and entirely predictable, nudging out the Triumph (itself very good) in this area.

The only let-down with the Volusia is the limited cornering clearance - you end up scraping the footpegs a long way before the bike, tyres, or rider are ready to give up. On the other hand the Brit iron has generous clearance for its class, enabling you to punt it along at a pretty respectable pace on windy roads.

Braking on both machines is fine, if nothing to write home about. The Triumph has a little too much travel in the front lever, while the Suzuki requires a bigger squeeze to achieve the same result.

Seating is quite different. The Suzuki's rider perch is super-low (700mm versus 720 for the Triumph), which in part explains why the footpegs are similarly low-slung. The position is reasonably 'natural' with the pegs forward but not overly so. On the other hand the Triumph has the pegs a fair way forward. You get used to it, but it's not ideal.

You'll find the Volusia running out of suspension travel fairly quickly on rough roads, as does the Briton at the rear - the front has a little more to spare.

Cruisin'
So what about about the performance, then? No need to reach for the G-suit and oxygen mask just yet. Both machines run out of puff just over the old ton (160kph) in stock form. No doubt you can extract more by freeing up the breathing in both cases. In fact Triumph will cheerfully sell you the pipes, which alone are worth a very substantial gain. As for the Suzi, you'll need to hunt down an aftermarket supplier such as Cobra.

Acceleration is respectable - enough to see off most things at the lights - with plenty in reserve for travelling at anywhere within cooee of the speed limit. Both brands make very quick sports bikes, if that's your issue.

Fuel consumption is about what you'd expect, which is 14-17km/lt depending on use.

Maintenance will be a mixed bag. The Triumph is potentially easier to do the valve lash on, but has a chain compared to the Suzi's shaft. Adding a Scottoiler would do a lot to even up that race. Both bikes feature wire spoke wheels, which makes me wonder how many folk out there remember what a spoke spanner looks like, let alone how to use one? In any case, it will become a maintenance issue once they reach a decent age.

The Triumph wins when it comes to presentation. Panel fit is a little better and there's a lot more metal - many of the Suzuki's parts, including the guards, are plastic. The Trumpet also has access to a big range of bolt-on customising gear ex-factory, and the only cosmetic let-down is the rough-cast lower triple tree.

Price evens up the fight. Throw $14,490 into the wallet for the Briton, or $11,490 for the Suzi. The Pom has a name that carries more street-cred, better cornering clearance and choice of accessories, though you have to say the $3000 price gap is a hell of an argument in the Suzuki's direction.

Like I said, there's a vicious battle going on in this class - feel free to step into the ring...

The Suzuki handles sweetlly and that came as a pleasant surpise after an interesting week on its bigger brother, the VL 1500. Enough said on that bike I reckon...

I found the Suz very well-mannered, nicely put together (although it does look built to a price) and a generally pleasant thing. It has no significant vices. In fact, give the Volusia a little more ground clearance and it represents a very well-rounded package. And that price is a very, very big plus.

The Triumph is more refined and there's no getting past the street-cred of that badge. I like the engine and the clearance is spot-on but it needs pipes.

So, which wins? Triumph if you've got the extra brass, Suzuki if you want to cruise and still be able to afford the lattes with the lassies... Greg Leech