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New to me Suzuki Boulevard 1400

2K views 24 replies 7 participants last post by  S83 
Rims on an S83 Boulevard are chromed not polished. I don't even think they're aluminum. I have the 03 when it was still called the Intruder. Same exact bike. Very torquey, and a very affordable 88" Dyna or maybe 1200 Sporty clone. If it has aftermarket pipes, check the jet sizes when you tear down for cleaning and make sure they've been upgraded.

Berryman's Chem Dip is my GO TO for carbs that have been sitting for an extended period. Do a FULL disassembly. Do NOT dip any plastic or rubber bits. Leave the parts in overnight and they'll be nearly perfect the next day. Depending on how gnarly, you might just go ahead and replace the jets in general, even with the same size. Jets are cheap, and don't always clean out after sitting for a decade (especially pilot/slow speed jets). You'll have to research what size is stock so you'll know what size to upgrade to (or if they have been already), mine came w/ V&H pipes and already jetted up, so I haven't had my carbs out yet thankfully.

I put a slipstreamer Enterprise II windshield on mine, thinking about doing panniers/saddlebags and an aux fuel tank. The stock tank is only ~3 to 3.5 gallons depending on how brave you are after switching to reserve. Mine goes 100 to 110 miles before needing to switch over.
 
The rear hub in particular on mine is definitely aluminum. The rims themselves are chromed on mine. I don't know if they changed it for '05 when they switched the name. They are also pretty heavy for aluminum, but I haven't tried to stick a magnet on 'em either.

You can probably find OEM exhaust for it for cheap on Ebay, or I found the V&H equivalent to what I have for ~$230 in nice looking shape. Engine/chassis-wise that bike hasn't changed much (or at all) since 1986/7 (whatever year it was introduced). They just switched to a 5 speed transmission (from a 4) in 1996. So outside of the gearbox pretty much all the parts interchange.

From sitting so long you'll want to make sure the fuel pump still works correctly. It should have a "prime" function; put it in neutral, turn the key on but do NOT grab the clutch lever. When you hit the starter button you should hear the fuel pump try to fill the carbs, but the engine shouldn't turn over. It's when you grab the clutch lever is when the engine should kick over.

There isn't a lot of ground clearance, especially at the battery box. there's a weird floor joint in my parking garage that I have to make sure I'm going straight over because it will scrape if I'm leaned at all. I know my '03 does NOT have a slipper clutch. Nothing says the PO didn't add one, but I don't think it's factory equipped that way. My guess is that everything is kinda sticky from sitting that long and it's just not fully engaging. Get some heat/fresh oil in that crankcase and I bet it acts better.

Speaking of fresh oil, I would definitely get that changed before running the engine very long at all. The front cylinder is air cooled, but the rear is oil cooled. 10+ year old oil of unknown providence is going to be dodgy at best...
 
I can check on the behavior of the driveline on mine once I get it to my new house (moved ~3 weeks ago and the bike is still at my old neighbor's place - wife's grandparents). Once I get back to it I can check if my driveline has the same behavior, but I don't think so. If the engine is off the rear wheel on mine will not move in either direction beyond a little bit of gear lash.
 
I did finally 1: get my bike to my new house
AND
2: check the whole "roll it backward" thing. And I don't know how hard you're pushing it, but it will NOT roll backward in gear. I get ~4ish inches of overall movement due to gear/driveline lash, and then hard stop.
Mine is a 2003 1400, still called "Intruder" for reference.

The P.O. did a few mods like V&H pipes and carb jets. I do not know if I have the original clutch springs or not (beefier clutch springs are a popular mod) - but I would be surprised if they are not as it has < 20k miles still.

Was able to ride to work the last 2 days finally, so yay me!
 
A slipper clutch is generally considered a "fancy" feature, so it would make sense the older ones might not have it. I bet it changed over when the switched to the Boulevard name. Heck, if you have a pre-96 (i think?) it would be a 4 speed not a 5!

So, while the overall design didn't change (and a TON of parts interchange all the way back to 1987 or so), there were a few changes as they were producing it.

Also, you *should* be able to push the engine over with the wheel (might not be easy on these long strokes), but you might have to use one of the higher gears. I haven't tried on this one, but usually if I have to help someone push-start a bike i have them put it in at least 3rd. Might have to get the wheel in the air and try it myself...

The good thing with this particular model, (and it's little brother, really the whole Suzi v-twin famliy) is that good running examples are pretty reasonable. I only paid ~$2000 for mine last year and it looks/runs great.

If you're looking to get something to ride while you do this one up, you might look at the Maurader 800/Boulevard M50 (same name change as the Intruder 1400 to Boulie S83 in '05/06) because that will get you mag wheels instead of spokes. I like my Intruder, but it has soured me on wire wheels. Too much hassle and too easy for even a shop to mess them up, and not many shops will true them, or they'll charge you a lot for it. And the age of some of these bikes will lead to rust issue in the spokes to where they can't be adjusted.
 
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