This North American Intruder variant was Suzuki’s early cruiser answer to the mid-1980s V-twin boom. It shared the original slim, chopper-inspired styling language of Suzuki’s first Intruder-era cruiser, but used a 700 cc class engine for the U.S. and Canadian market instead of the larger-displacement version sold elsewhere. The model arrived in the 1986 model year and continued through 1987, giving Suzuki a short but important foothold in the shaft-drive cruiser segment.
The design was notable for being one of Suzuki’s first purpose-built cruiser platforms rather than a standard motorcycle adapted with cruiser trim. Its liquid-cooled V-twin, low-slung silhouette, and emphasis on easy road manners helped define the company’s early cruiser identity. The 700 nameplate was closely tied to the first wave of the Intruder family and is remembered by enthusiasts as a tariff-era, market-specific answer to the U.S. heavyweight cruiser market. After this brief run, Suzuki moved the Intruder line on to other displacements and later generations, but this early 700 cc version remains the foundational American-market Intruder variant.