story by COSTA MOUZOURIS photos by DIDIER

PRESS LAUNCH
2013 SUZUKI C90T BOULEVARD
Midnight
Express
story by COSTA MOUZOURIS
photos by DIDIER CONSTANT
& COSTA MOUZOURIS
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MOTORCYCLE MOJO
24-29 Mojo May 2013.indd 24
MAY 2013
2013-03-27 2:45 PM
Thanks to the lack of navigational
tools, a previously unknown road
proves how well Suzuki’s new touring
cruiser handles the rough stuff.
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24-29 Mojo May 2013.indd 25
It had been a long time since I’d left
home for a ride without taking a map
or my GPS, and I have to say, I should
do it more often. The opportunity to do
so came late last autumn, when Suzuki
invited Motorcycle Mojo to Mont-­
Tremblant, Quebec, to ride the 2013
Boulevard C90T.
No route had been planned, just
access to the bike and hundreds of
kilometres of winding, if somewhat
bumpy country roads through the
Laurentians, located about an hour
north of Montreal. Being familiar with
the region after years of exploring it, I
had deliberately left behind my navi-­
gational aids.
The Boulevard C90T is being
re-­introduced in 2013 after a four-­
year absence from Suzuki’s touring
cruiser line-­up. Although the C90T
looks similar to the 2009 model, it is,
in fact, an entirely new machine from
the ground up. At 1462 cc, it is now
also the biggest touring cruiser Suzuki
has available, an accolade previously
claimed by the 805 cc C50T, so it’s
better poised to compete with other
big-­bore, tour-­oriented cruisers, like
the Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Nomad and
the Yamaha V-­Star 1300 Tourer.
The biggest change is at the heart
of the machine, which uses an all-­new,
liquid-­cooled V-­twin that shares only
bore and stroke dimensions with the
older, air-­cooled engine. The new mill
uses a 54-­degree V angle, whereas the
old one had a 45-­degree split between
the cylinders.
Wheel sizes have also been
changed, from the 16/15-­inch front/
rear combination of the previous
model to a 17/16-­inch front/rear
combo. Touring amenities include
new moulded-­plastic saddlebags (cov-­
ered in textured vinyl to match the
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windshield.
My test bike is all black, includ-­
ing the engine cases, exhaust system,
wheels, fork tubes – everything. This
blackout treatment is both sinister look-­
ing and elegant, and it’s an eye catcher.
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couple of sloppy styling faux pas, like
the visible aluminum heat-­resistant tape
that protects the right-­hand side cover
from the rear exhaust pipe’s heat, and
MOTORCYCLE MOJO
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2013-03-27 2:45 PM
PRESS LAUNCH
2013 SUZUKI C90T BOULEVARD
the less than elegant-­looking stamped
steel windshield brackets. But these are
minor gripes about a bike that is other-­
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and the lack of chrome overwhelming,
there are also red and black or white
and grey versions available with a more
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abundant chrome trim. Regardless of
which model you choose, the price is the
same at $13,999. Worthy of mention: the
retail price of the 2013 model is $1,000
less than it was in 2009.
Climbing onto the C90T, you’ll
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and accommodating riding position.
It’s a relaxed reach to the swept-­back
handlebar, but the buckhorn bend is
very wide, which makes taking U-­turns
a bit awkward. With the fork turned to
full lock, you’ve got to lean forward
if you don’t want to lose your grasp
on the outside handgrip. The wide
handlebar also emphasizes the bike’s
substantial girth. It’s a wide motorcy-­
cle with a broad, 18-­litre fuel tank that
spreads your legs a bit. It has gained a
few kilos, now claiming a curb weight
of 363 kg (800 lb.), an increase of 18 kg
over the air-­cooled model. It’s a heavy
machine that imparts a substantial
presence, but the centre of gravity is
low, so once you get moving, it is easy
to manage the weight.
The clutch is cable operated and
moderate in effort, though it engages
smoothly. Click the heel/toe shifter
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MOTORCYCLE MOJO
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gear with an audible clunk. Shifting
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you get both aural and tactile feedback
with each swing of the gearshift lever.
I pull out of the hotel parking lot
and head south for a few kilometres
to join Highway 327, one of my favou-­
rite stretches of single-­lane tarmac in
the area. It winds its way south for
about 90 km towards Lachute, and a
large portion of it has been recently
repaved. The road begins with long,
wide sweepers, and the C90T feels
right at home, maintaining a solid,
planted line through the curves. It
accelerates with authority regardless
of which gear is selected. As I’m on the
lazy side, I sometimes choose to leave
it in top gear, even when slowing to 50
km/h as I pass through a town, and the
bike does not protest; it just accelerates
smoothly back up to speed when the
speed limit allows me to. Fuel injection
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The sculpted seat hugs my back-­
side comfortably, though its curved
shape limits movement. As mentioned
earlier, the riding position is rather
accommodating, so there’s no real need
to change position on these back roads,
but it’s an option I’d probably appre-­
ciate during long stretches of divided
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me to move my feet fore and aft, which
is helpful. If this were my bike, how-­
ever, I’d remove the rear portion of the
heel/toe shifter to allow me to move
my feet freely; otherwise, left foot
movement is somewhat limited.
Wind protection is adequate –
about as good as one would expect
with such a broad, un-­streamlined
windshield, which protects the head
and chest from a direct windblast, but
not the legs. It is not height adjustable,
and although I can see clearly above it
(I’m six feet tall), a shorter rider will be
forced to look through it, not desirable
during rain or at night. It also produces
measurable turbulence at helmet level.
MAY 2013
2013-03-27 2:45 PM
Now, it’s not as bad as I’ve experienced
on some other bikes I have ridden with
this kind of windshield. All in all, I
prefer keeping the windshield (it’s not
a quick-­release type, so removing it
would require some tools), as tempera-­
tures during my late-­fall ride never rise
above the single digits.
Like the windscreen, the saddle-­
bags are removable only with tools, so
that stripped-­down look is more than
MAY 2013
24-29 Mojo May 2013.indd 27
just a few minutes away. The bags have
a wide opening, but they are not deep,
so you might want to look into acces-­
sory luggage options if you plan to hit
the road for an extended ride.
Still southbound, I reach Arundel,
located about halfway between Mont-­
Tremblant and Lachute. It’s a tiny
village with one gas station, a post
office and an elementary school,
whose sparse population resides along
Highway 327. It’s here that I turn
westward onto Highway 364 towards
Huberdeau, a larger town just west of
the Rouge River.
Although I’ve ridden extensively
in this area in the past, I usually stay
on numbered roads that appeared as
thicker lines on a map. This time, I
instinctively turn north onto Chemin
du Lac à la Loutre, which eventually
leads back to the hotel. It’s a much
MOTORCYCLE MOJO
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2013-03-27 2:45 PM
PRESS LAUNCH
2013 SUZUKI C90T BOULEVARD
shortest reach, it’s still too far from the
handlebar for a comfortable grip.
I return to the hotel and turn in the
keys for what turns out, alas, to be my
last ride of the season, and just as rain
begins to sprinkle down. The weather
turns for the worse in the next few
days, and never really offers another
opportunity to ride. It was worthy of
a season closer, anyhow, as I had little
interest in maintaining a sporting pace,
mostly due to the autumnal road con-­
ditions, but also because I just wanted
to take my time to enjoy the ride. And
because I had no map or GPS, I discov-­
ered a road that will probably be one of
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The new Boulevard C90T proved
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introduce anything new in its seg-­
ment, it is competitively priced, and is
competent enough to merit a gander if
a full-­sized touring cruiser is in your
crosshairs. MMM
For additional photos,
scan this code with
your smart phone or visit
http://goo.gl/n0vIQ
tighter and bumpier stretch of road,
lined on either side by trees stripped of
their leaves by the shorter autumn days
and cool winds. It twists and turns
about in a serpentine fashion, and is a
pleasant surprise, making its way into
my repertoire of worthy roads. Here,
too, the C90T surprises.
The non-­adjustable suspension is
quite yielding, absorbing most bumps
without fuss or bother. It’s only on
bigger frost heaves that it reveals its
limitations, bottoming and bucking
me out of the seat. For the most part,
however, the suspension is refreshingly
compliant.
If the bike is ridden respectably
– as designed – cornering clearance
is adequate, and only on a couple of
occasions, while negotiating decreas-­
ing radius turns, do I manage to scrape
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brake lever to slow the C90T down
from speed, and although the lever is
adjustable, even when it’s set for the
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2013 SUZUKI C90T BOULEVARD
THE BASICS
LIST PRICE
WARRANTY
COMPANY URL
THE DRIVETRAIN
ENGINE TYPE
DISPLACEMENT
POWER (CLAIMED)
TORQUE (CLAIMED)
BORE AND STROKE
COMPRESSION RATIO
FUEL DELIVERY
TRANSMISSION
THE ESSENTIALS
FINAL DRIVE TYPE
FRONT SUSPENSION
REAR SUSPENSION
WHEEL TRAVEL
BRAKES
WHEELBASE
RAKE AND TRAIL
TIRES
WEIGHT (WET)
SEAT HEIGHT
FUEL CAPACITY
FUEL ECONOMY (OBSERVED)
FUEL RANGE (ESTIMATED)
$13,999
1 year, unlimited mileage
www.suzuki.ca
Liquid-cooled, 54-degree V-twin
1462 cc
78 hp (58 kW) at 4800 rpm
96.6 ft-lb (130.8 N-m) at 2600 rpm
96.0 x 101.0 mm
9.5:1
Electronic fuel injection with 42 mm throttle bodies
5-speed
Shaft
45 mm telescopic fork, non-adjustable
Single shock, non-adjustable
Front: 130 mm (5.1 in.); Rear: 110 mm (4.3 in.)
Front: single 330 mm disc with two-piston caliper;
Rear: 275 mm disc with two-piston caliper
1675 mm (65.9 in.)
N/A
Front: 130/80-17, Rear: 200/60-16
363 kg (800 lb.)
720 (28.3 in.)
18.0 L
N/A
N/A
MAY 2013
2013-03-28 12:39 PM