Being a Legend,Suzuki Boulevard VZ1800
Visit one of Queensland's popular "Shootouts" held at Willowbank dragway, and you will most likely spot a long low cruiser, reeling off times that aren't far off some of the brightly coloured sportsbikes.
Garry "Ozzy" Lowe's beautiful black beast started life as a standard Suzuki Boulevard M109R in 2006. After a stint on a Harley Dyna wide Glide,Garry saw the new Suzuki cruiser as a ideal basis for the street hot rod it is now.
The Boulevard, officially known as the VZR1800, is an 1783cc fuel injected, 4 valve, double overhead cam v-twin. Sporting a football field long 1710mm (67”) wheelbase, the big twin weighs in at over 320kg standard.
Since its release, the VZR has quickly gained a cult following, with most bikes seeing some level of modification or customising. Motoaus has sampled a new M109R, and can report that they offer arm stretching torque combined with decent brakes and handling.
Appearance wise, Garry's big VZ was debadged and had a clean-up around the rear guard to better frame the massive 240/40 rear tyre. It was then lowered to an appropriate cruising height with a set of custom suspension links.
A little later he added the distinctive orange stripes, and started in on a few performance mods to get the big black beast rolling a bit faster.
Performance Mods:
First up the standard air cleaners were given the heave, the free breathing resulted in the quarter mile times dropping from the standard 12.2, into the high 11 second zone.
Not content with this, Garry then fabricated his own custom exhaust using standard headers and an after market muffler.
The combination of the cleaners and pipes required a Power Commander to keep the fuelling under control, and once completed, the performance increase dropped the et's to 11.7. On the dragstrip a front end tie down strap is used to get the bike lower, helping with the launches.
Since then Garry has chalked up a best of 11.46 at 118mph, very impressive for a motorcycle that weighs over 300 kg. It also hasn't stopped him from racking up around 15 thousand kilometres around the Southern Queensland roads, all with out any problems.
Future plans call for the fitment of a dry Nitrous oxide system utilising the standard airbox as an injection source. A planned "wet" kit has been shelved due to complexity and potential reliability issues.
Further appearance mods have so far been limited to a nifty black with chequered graphic design applied to the wheels, but somehow we don't think he's finished yet.
Ozzy's beautiful ride is a great example of how a little individuality goes a long way.
With an eye for what looks "right", and a minimal amount of dollars, he has created a bike which rivals many full custom built machines in both looks and performance.
The Boulevard, officially known as the VZR1800, is an 1783cc fuel injected, 4 valve, double overhead cam v-twin. Sporting a football field long 1710mm (67”) wheelbase, the big twin weighs in at over 320kg standard.
Since its release, the VZR has quickly gained a cult following, with most bikes seeing some level of modification or customising. Motoaus has sampled a new M109R, and can report that they offer arm stretching torque combined with decent brakes and handling.
Appearance wise, Garry's big VZ was debadged and had a clean-up around the rear guard to better frame the massive 240/40 rear tyre. It was then lowered to an appropriate cruising height with a set of custom suspension links.
A little later he added the distinctive orange stripes, and started in on a few performance mods to get the big black beast rolling a bit faster.
Performance Mods:
First up the standard air cleaners were given the heave, the free breathing resulted in the quarter mile times dropping from the standard 12.2, into the high 11 second zone.
Not content with this, Garry then fabricated his own custom exhaust using standard headers and an after market muffler.
The combination of the cleaners and pipes required a Power Commander to keep the fuelling under control, and once completed, the performance increase dropped the et's to 11.7. On the dragstrip a front end tie down strap is used to get the bike lower, helping with the launches.
Since then Garry has chalked up a best of 11.46 at 118mph, very impressive for a motorcycle that weighs over 300 kg. It also hasn't stopped him from racking up around 15 thousand kilometres around the Southern Queensland roads, all with out any problems.
Future plans call for the fitment of a dry Nitrous oxide system utilising the standard airbox as an injection source. A planned "wet" kit has been shelved due to complexity and potential reliability issues.
Further appearance mods have so far been limited to a nifty black with chequered graphic design applied to the wheels, but somehow we don't think he's finished yet.
Ozzy's beautiful ride is a great example of how a little individuality goes a long way.
With an eye for what looks "right", and a minimal amount of dollars, he has created a bike which rivals many full custom built machines in both looks and performance.
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