Is my bike a "baby bike"?

Question

I have an 800 Suzuki Intruder, that I bought new several years ago. I have spent a great deal of money maintaining her and dressing her out. She fits me,as I am a woman of small stature, light, and low to the ground, easy to back up and manuever at an idle speed. She has been a good machine, never getting me in trouble in traffic...........

Recently, I have met some fellow riders of Harley's and bigger cc bikes, who tease me and call my ride a "baby bike". It is starting to get on my nerves........... what is a "baby bike" and what is a "big bike" or a "real bike".

Thanks to any and all who can honestly restore my faith in the machine I can afford.........

Wow! This is overwhelming, I am very pleasantly surprised at so many answers. I sincerly thank each responder. A "best answer" from this lot will be most difficult!

Answer 1

Guys make friends picking on each other and finding our place in the group. Too often we try and do the same thing with women and that is not how women make friends.
There is nothing wrong with your motorcycle. Just remember many of the people picking on you would also be the first people that would help you out.

Keep riding and stay safe!

Answer 2

Your Suzuki Intruder 800 is a medium-sized cruiser style. It is not a baby bike. It is a real bike. It is big enough for you and a passenger. Compared with full dresser Harley tourer, it is not a big bike -- so compare it with, say, a Ninja 250.

Ignore the guys who tease you. Remember, a 700 pound motorcycle is a LOT harder to pick up when it falls over than a 460 pound motorcycle. I've picked up both... and today I'm riding the lighter motorcycle. LOL.

Answer 3

I have a female friend I ride with, and she has a 650 Yamaha.She is a small person also, and I would never recommend her to get a bigger bike.I figure if and when the time comes, it will be her decision not one that was made for her by someone else.Stand your ground. Why should you go in debt to please someone else? I would think of a come back when those Harley riders tease you....like a hog riding a Hawg, a fat boy on his Fat Boy, or a guy that rides a Geezer Glide(usually one of the tour bikes).Or, tell them that is enough excitement between your legs.You're in the wind, Girlfriend, and that is what it is all about.Alot of men and women would love to have your bike.Ride proud.

Answer 4

My 1st bike was an Intruder 700 (1985). You have to ride what you feel comfortable on and not what harley riders think you should ride. I ride a Honda VTX 1800cc monster. I take NO **** from harley riders, maybe because their bikes are baby bikes in comparison. Sometimes they call it a Jap bike, but I never hear that at a stoplight or anywhere my bike will out perform theirs. There are asshole harley riders but there are also very nice ones. Everybody wants to ride a harley it seems like these days,because I guess it meant you were a rebel. Now it means you are a conformist in my book. Any Jap bike will give you better performance for your money. But you sacrafice the " mystique and history" of a harley. But when you are broke down on the side of the road mystique and history won't get you anywhere. Next time a harley rider calls your bike a baby bike tell them that you are thinking of upgrading to the Suzuki M109. Ask how that compares to their harley " baby bike wise".

Answer 5

They are teasing you, ignore it, and think about the fuel you are NOT buying like the Harley guys. Most of those think suck gas like a car! :) I hope the guys are doing this in a good natured way. If they are serious, I think you should find new folks to be around! Raggin' on folks is a guy thing, most of the time it is a friendly thing, guys usually just ignore people they don't like!

The only person you have to please is YOU, ride what you like and meets your needs.

I have three motorcycles, and three scooters, I ride my super mod-ed 50cc more than all the rest put together! Fast, cheap to run, and as agile as a mongoose after a cobra. Your ride can do things to elude and avoid trouble, where a big ole Harley just can't jink at all, you are the Porche compared to the 18 wheel Kenworth!

Enjoy the ride!

Answer 6

Anything but a Harley is a 'Baby Bike" to a certain group of Harley people. They have huge egos to defend. You have a great bike, as many have already said. The situation is that Harley are more of a cult thing, than a biker thing. True, Harleys are much better now, than just a few years back, but overall, cost per mile of riding, they are very bad. They ride good, straight down the road, but not all roads are straight, an smooth. Most bikes are better than Harleys in every way but one, and that is riding in a group, straight down the road, on open highway, at a reasonable speed. No curves, rough roads, and a lot of folks to stare and admire the chrome. And a lot of Jap and European bikes are just as good at this.

Ride Safe, Ride long, Enjoy. Keep your mind and eyes on the road, remember, we are invisible to car drivers. I say act like you are as big as the biggest semi-truck, be be prepared to act like a motorcycle is the safest riding style, as more will see you, but be prepared to take care of yourself if they do not.

Tomcotexas

Answer 7

u have only 83cc's from matching an 883, but even hd riders razz the 883 as a 'girl's bike'.....but when that 883/1200 leaves them at the red light by 2 truck lengths, then they dont call it a girls' bike anymore.

there's a couple of sportster owners on harleychatgroup that have told the dresser/geezer glide riders that on a twisty road, they'll have time to buy their beer and have it poured by the time they catch up with them.....and ur bike will do the same thing; leave them hangin. dont worry bout these candyass's that are actually envious of: how quick ur bike will react in the twisties, how it sips gas for having a 'small' tank, and how quick it accelerates compared to the usual geezer glide.

if u really wanna irrate em that they just got their a.ss handed to em by a 'girls' bike', do the stage 1 then drop in some different cam's that are designed for high torque. then they'll have to pick their jaw up after they see u about 1/4 mile ahead of them before they can even get past 1st gear.

Answer 8

a baby bike would me the ninja 250. I think anything under 650ccs is a baby bike. Yours sounds great. As a Woman who owns a Harley, I would never be so mean to anyone that has a bike. I would ride next to you with no problems. My Harley is an 883 and some people call it a baby bike.

Answer 9

Size has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with how good a bike is. The aprilia RS250 (250cc 2stroke) puts out the same power as a 1600cc Harley 65 horsepower each. Any of the Japanese 600cc supersport or standards make upwards of 120 horsepower and will easily outrun anything Harley makes and most other big cruisers as well. See you ride a Japanese bike which means you have a much more high tech and efficient engine than a Harley so you only need about half (of less) the displacement to get the same effect. Most Harley and other big cruiser people are ignorant as hell and don't realise this. Though your bike has less engine size and a far cheaper price you acctually have MORE power and less wieght which makes your bike a superior machine.

Answer 10

The only people who make fun of others because of the size of an engine, are those with inadequacy issues. I don't know what type of relationship you have with these other riders, but if they aren't that important to you then I would find a new set of people to ride with. Otherwise, next time they make fun of your bike, just respond with "yeah 800cc is sufficient for me because I'm not trying to compensate for the lack of something else." Or "I don't need anything bigger because I don't suffer from little guys syndrome." Both of those should give them a taste of their own medicine and if they get ticked off and can' take some friendly jabbing in return...then they shouldn't dish out what they themselves can't handle.

As for your bike...if you like it, then it's a good bike, period.

Answer 11

First off, No your bike is not a baby or girl bike.

Second, You are the victim of "Wanna Be Bikers" the group who thinks that by buying a Harley they become bikers and that anything that is not a Big Twin, is a baby bike. These are the same people who cannot change their own oil as they want to hang out at the dealership telling nonexistent stories of rides that they trailered their bikes to. I used to own a Sportster, and I would listen to this crap all the time. Funny thing was my baby bike would outrun their big twins, leave them eating dust. This baby bike crap got so bad I sold the Harley and bought a scooter because I realized that I am a motorcyclist, not a biker with 10 miles on the odometer.

Get away from this group, or just get used to the abuse because it is going to get worse for you. They will hound you all the time about this until you purchase a Harley. Then heaven forbid you buy the wrong Harley (Sportster) as the abuse starts again.

If you love your Intruder, which is a fabulous Bike! Look for fellow Suzuki riders or non-manufacturers groups to ride with.
These riders who are teasing you are jerks who are envious of your bike which refuses to break down.

Keep the rubber side down and ignore the HD crowd!