It’s the holiday season and luckily, the month and year has ended with long holidays gracing our calendars. There’s something about long weekends and road trips; the extra day giving you ample time to spend on the highways winding out of crowded cities towards verdant countrysides.
So when Christmas day fell on a Monday this week, we put on our helmet and riding boots and decided to give some highway time to the Suzuki Intruder. You’ll recall Suzuki’s decision to bring the iconic Intruder brand to the masses with a much smaller displacement — 150 cc.
Now, for the purists, this was nothing short of blasphemy; for the Intruder evoked memories of Suzuki’s rough-hewn, powerful cruiser that is right up there along with the other big, bad boys like the Indian and Harley. But for those looking at getting something premium within a budget, this offering could well tick the right boxes.
Out of Chennai’s chaos and on to the East Coast Road, the Intruder 150 did turn heads as it hummed its way towards the tourist township of Mahabalipuram and beyond. The smooth road, which is being widened to accommodate rising traffic, stretches all the way from south Chennai to Pondicherry with quite a bit of history along the way. Mahabalipuram and its temples, the Sadras Fort built by the Dutch, the ruins of the Alamparai Fort, built in the 1700s and later handed over to the French are some of the historical attractions that dot the picturesque highway.
Apart from the tourist hotspots, beautiful casuarina tree clusters and clean beaches stretch out to your left as you ride towards Pondicherry. Fishing hamlets, towns, and educational institutions make up the scenery on the right.
Of course, the Intruder added some Kodak moments on the highway, thanks to its looks, which it borrows heavily from the bigger Intruder. The sculpted fuel tank extends to the sides and front thanks to the shrouds that flank it, adding more meat to the motorcycle and giving it the looks of a heavy cruiser. The shrouds also add width to the Intruder when viewed from the front and blend in well with the overall look of the motorcycle. The ‘Intruder’ badge is on both sides of the fuel tank.
However, the rear of the motorcycle looks oddly scooter-like, thanks to the mudguard extending out from below the tail lamp and the indicator positioning. The exhaust unit is very stylish, a double exhaust topped with chrome.
The rideThe engine is also the same 155 cc mill that is on the Gixxer, and frankly, for a cruiser of these looks and feel, is a tad underpowered. It makes 14.8 PS of power at 8,000 rpm and 14 Nm of Torque at 6,000 rpm. Getting out of the city, the engine felt at home at speeds that are regular fare on traffic-infested roads, where it is really the torque that matters more. Since higher torque kicked in mostly after 4,000 rpm, overtaking in the city means downshifting to second or third gears.
On the highway, one can easily settle into the fifth gear at speeds around 45 kmph and cruise for long. The East Coast Road is mostly new — freshly laid out smooth tarmac with highlights and cat-eye blinkers along it and apart from a few rough patches, is very comfortable to ride on for long stretches. To be honest, the engine is most comfortable at middling speeds and vibrations and noise are pronounced on higher speeds. Suspension is firm and taking speedbreakers and potholes on slow speeds is a good idea.
BottomlineWhat we understood from the long jaunt on the highway and city riding is that this cruiser is a lot more suited for daily commute than for those long rides. If this was a bigger engine, say in the 250 cc to 300 cc class, it could’ve filled a gap in the quarter-litre cruiser segment and also gobbled up those curving miles on the coastal road in much less time. But at 150 cc, it’s a stylish and premium looking city motorcycle with some weekend leisure riding at best. It is available for an ex-showroom (Delhi) price of around ₹98,000.