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12. Other Resources

12.1 The Shop Manual

The shop manual, published by Suzuki, seems to be the only printed book available for the bike. None of the popular alternatives (Clymer, Haynes, etc) has seen fit to do a volume for the VX. The good news is that the Suzuki manual is quite good, and has good diagrams and pictures, if you can find them -- they tend to be a bit scattered, and there's no index. It also seems to leave out the really basic stuff that it assumes you can figure out or have done before. The bad news is the cost: the official manual costs something like $40, and you still have to put it into your own binder -- it comes as loose punched pages. In general, the only reliable source for the manual seems to be a Suzuki dealer, though you may be able to beat the price by a bit with a mail-order parts place.

Some folks have ordered one from AZ Motorsports ($46.55 including US shipping in late '99): http://www3.viaweb.com/azmotorsports/suzserman.html

12.2 Net-based and Owner Web Sites

The following list does not pretend to be complete. The editor would appreciate hearing about any broken links or omitted sites.

12.3 Reviews

The most comprehensive early review that I've seen of the VX was in the July '90 issue of Cycle magazine. You can get reprints of VX information from Ian Smith Information -- they advertise in a lot of places.

Ian Johnson OCR'ed some articles from the british press. The text is available here: http://www.foxharp.boston.ma.us/bikes/vx800FAQ/brit_vx_articles.txt

The Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly web-based newletter reviewed the VX too: http://motorbyte.com/mmm/pages/reviews/vx8004_97.htm

12.4 Owners club

There seems to be some sort of VX owners club starting up. Drop a line to roliynyk@cyberlink.bc.ca for more info. 

        Roland T. Oliynyk            Tel: (250) 426-4150 message 

        612 15th Street South        Tel: (250) 426-2063          

        Cranbrook, BC V1C 4N5        Fax: (250) 426-4150

There may even be a newsletter.

12.5 Suzuki itself

It has been reported that the Suzuki Customer Satisfaction line phone number is (714)996-7040 ext 380. Please, if this is incorrect, let me know!!

12.6 Suzuki Marketing

Ever wonder what Suzuki thought would make us buy the VX? Craig Fitzgerald transcribed these paragraphs from a brochure for the '92 model year:

"We designed the VX800 for do-it-all fun beginning with the engine. Here, the heart of the VX beats with a familiar rhythm: the traditional, distinctive throb of a 45-degree V-twin. But don't worry; this 805cc powerplant is no throwback to stone-age engineering. Instead, we brought to bear all the technological resources you've come to expect from Suzuki in the '90s: Overhead camshafts actuating four valves per cylinder. A Suzuki Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber (TSCC) head for efficient burning an maximum power production. Liquid cooling for maximum reliability. Mainenance free, solid state electronic ignition."
"Innovative engineering isn't confined to just the engine department; proper chassis design requires plenty of forethought, and that's why our team poured so much effort into fine-tuning the VX's rolling chassis. For starters, the wheelbase spans a luxurious 61.6 inches - so you'll have plenty of room. Next, we carefully laid out the VX seating positions so you and your passenger will both stay comfortable over the course of a long day's ride."
"Beginning with the inherantly narrow nature of a V-twin engine, our engineers went on to produce an entire motorcycle that is delightfully agile. They used innovative designs such as a driveshaft running outboard of the frame members to keep the rear section of the chassis unusually narrow, and then they carefully tucked the radiator between the two front downtubes."
"Yet there's plenty more. Like a burly 41mm front fork and twin rear shocks adjustable for rebound damping and spring preload. A disc brake at each end, including a twin-piston caliper up front. Plus premium grade tires front and rear. The Suzuki VX800. The new versatile standard against which all other special-niche motorcycles may be judged. Or as Cycle magazine so fittingly stated, the VX is a bike that can do 'JUST ABOUT ANYTHING, ANYWHERE.'"

Sold! I'll take one! ;-)

12.7 Generational Cross Appeal

Ms. Rachel Martin of LearningHaven.com emailed me earlier this year explaining, in her words:

"My name is Rachel and I volunteer in a crafts program with a fun scale model building program for 8-10 year old children. The kids and I have been building models and we have been having a lot of fun learning about all types of vehicles! While looking up information about each of our models, we came across your page.

One of my students, Kyle, has chosen to build a motorcycle as his model and he was so excited as he was calling me over to show me your website. He also showed me this page about some of his favorite kinds of motorcycles. He couldn't sit still while showing me! - Types of Motorcycles"

Well, I filed her email meaning to put this on the VX800 FAQ then promptly forgot anout it ... until today, half a year later.

Ms Martin, I hope it's not too late for me to thank Kyle (and you) for finding the joy so many of us have found in the VX800 and how it fits in the pantheon of classic motorcycyles.

Kyle, when you're old enough to pilot your own motorcycle, ride safe and smile, so the bugs can get caught in your teeth.

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