boulavard m50

[astronaut]

hello everyone. I just bought a 2008 suzuki boulavard M50. I pick it up on tuesday. I was wondering if anyone has an M50 and what your likes and dislikes about the bike are. I did'nt do much research on the bike before buying, I just fell in love it in the store. I'm upgrading from the 250cc Honda Rebel.

[HarveyCreek]

I own a C50, basically the same bike with though my speedometer is on the tank, and my fenders cover more of the tire. It was a friend's M50 that convinced me on the C50. I don't think I could have gotten a better bike for myself in this price category.

One of my major complaints of the bike is not an issue on your M50, the C50 has a heel-toe shifter that was not designed for a foot the size of mine. I hack sawed off the heel shifter side so its just a toe shifter. At freeway speeds I wish there was a sixth gear, as it feels a little buzzy, though I notice it but its not an issue. Everyone else who has a bike in this size range seems to feel the same about theirs as well.
I've been averaging 47 mph on most trips, and have gotten up to 55 on one trip, and the gas gauge is fairly accurate, though I've found the speedometer to be about 7% fast compared to my Garmin GPS.
While I've never done any overnight trips, I've done quite a few all day ones, and it has been a very comfortable bike.

[astronaut]

Thank you for your input. This will be my first 'brand new' bike. I have been researching the "break in" period. I'm torn on what to do. It seems alot of people are saying to 'ride it like you stole it' and the other half are saying 'baby it'. mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
How reliable is this guy's information?... Can anyone give me some solid, sound advice on how to go about breaking in this bike. My first trip from the dealership to home is about 30 miles.

ugh... what to do?