1987 Suzuki Intruder 700 Service Manual

Working on an Intruder 700 in 1987 and needing real information, not guesswork

The 1987 Suzuki Intruder 700 came with a shaft drive, a 696cc V-twin, and Suzuki's own reputation for building simple, durable motorcycles that just needed the right service schedule to stay reliable. If you are pulling one out of storage or trying to keep it running, the service manual matters more than you might expect. Not because the bike is complicated, but because Suzuki packed a lot of model-specific tolerances into it that generic references do not cover. The original factory manual is still the gold standard for this bike. It covers everything from valve clearance checks to final drive oil changes, and it includes the torque specs that actually match what Suzuki intended. You can locate it through a few different channels. The most straightforward option is to order a reprint through Haynes or similar publishers, though those tend to be more general than factory-level. If you want the real thing, look for PDF versions that were digitized from the original manual. Sites like sv650.org and various Suzuki enthusiast forums sometimes host them. There are also paid services on eBay and Amazon that sell scanned copies. I usually prefer the scanned PDF because the diagrams are in color and the page layout matches the original, which matters when you are trying to read a small tolerance spec in low garage light. Be careful about file size. Some of the free downloads are heavily compressed to the point where the wiring diagram becomes unreadable. That happened to me last winter when I was tracking down a parasitic drain on an Intruder that sat for three years. The PDF I found had the schematics so pixelated that the wire colors blurred together. I ended up borrowing my brother's original manual from his basement, which took twenty minutes to locate but saved me about six hours of squinting at a screen. If you download a copy and the text looks soft or the images don't crisp up when you zoom in past 200 percent, it is probably a low-quality scan. Do not bother with it.

What the manual actually contains and how to use it

The factory manual is organized by system rather than by job, which initially feels backwards if you are used to quick reference guides. You will find a section on the engine, another on the transmission, one on the electrical system, and so on. Within each section, the information flows from general description to adjustment procedures to teardown notes. This structure makes sense once you get used to it because the Intruder 700 shares a lot of components across systems. The same cylinder head gasket procedure appears in the engine section, but the valve adjustment that follows it references the same head bolts you just torqued. Having both procedures in one place means you do not flip between sections and forget which torque sequence you used. Engine specs you need to know before you start anything The 696cc V-twin uses a pushrod valvetrain, which is unusual for a middleweight motorcycle of that era. Most bikes in this category went with DOHC by the late eighties. The pushrod setup means less complexity but also means you have to adjust the valves manually rather than relying on hydraulic lifters. The manual specifies valve clearances, and if you skip checking them, you will notice performance degradation before you notice anything else. Compression ratio sits around 8.5 to 1, which is modest and reflects the torque-oriented tuning Suzuki used for this cruiser. Peak torque comes in low, which is exactly what you want for a street bike that spends most of its time at partial throttle.

One thing the manual does not always make obvious is the order of operations when removing the tank. On the Intruder 700, the fuel petcock lines are routed under the tank in a way that makes disconnecting them before lifting the tank almost impossible without straining the lines. I learned this the hard way when a rubber hose cracked during a routine carburetor cleaning. The replacement cost about eight dollars for the hose, but the labor cost was an hour of frustration. Always disconnect the fuel lines first, then the battery, then the tank bolts, then lift straight up. Do not tilt it sideways to gain clearance. The frame rails will block you, and you will find yourself in a worse position.

Common maintenance items and what the manual says versus what actually happens

Let us talk about the final drive. The shaft drive on this bike uses hypoid gears, and Suzuki specifies a particular oil type. The manual recommends SAE 80W-90 gear oil with API GL-5 classification. That is straightforward enough. What the manual does not emphasize is how often you should change it. The official interval is generous, probably based on optimistic riding conditions. In practice, if you ride this bike regularly, especially in dusty or humid environments, changing the final drive oil every six months or six thousand miles prevents the kind of gear wear that shows up as a whining noise at highway speeds. That whine is not something you fix cheaply. Rebuilding the final drive is a two-hour job minimum, and replacing the gears is not inexpensive. Brake maintenance is another area where the manual is useful but incomplete The Intruder 700 uses disc brakes up front and a drum brake in the rear. The front pads wear evenly, which is good, but the rear drum tends to collect brake dust and moisture over time. The manual covers adjusting the rear brake shoe clearance, but it does not warn you about the tendency of the drum to develop a glazed surface if you ride mostly short trips. Glazed drums reduce braking performance significantly, and sanding them lightly with fine grit paper restores contact. I did this on a friend's bike that had been stored for a season. The front brakes felt fine, but the rear grabbed weakly. Once we addressed the drum glaze, stopping distance improved noticeably without any new parts.

The carburetors on this model are Keihin CV types, which are generally reliable but sensitive to fuel quality. The manual includes synchronization procedures, and if you have never synced carbs before, it is worth studying those steps carefully. The process involves connecting a manometer to each cylinder and adjusting the idle speed screws until the vacuum readings match within a specified range. Missing this step by even a small margin can cause the engine to run roughly at part throttle, which you might blame on a spark plug issue if you do not check the carb sync first. I once spent an afternoon swapping plugs and checking ignition timing before realizing the problem was a half-turn difference on one of the idle screws. Two minutes to fix once I knew where to look.

Troubleshooting notes that the manual leaves out

The factory manual is excellent for stated procedures, but it does not cover every edge case you will encounter with a thirty-eight-year-old motorcycle. Here are a few things I have learned through experience that the manual assumes you already know or simply does not address. Electrical gremlins are common The wiring harness on the Intruder 700 uses a relatively simple design, but the connectors are older plastic that becomes brittle over time. The main connector near the battery is a frequent failure point. The terminals can loosen, causing intermittent no-start conditions that are difficult to diagnose. If your bike dies randomly while riding or refuses to crank after sitting for a few days, check that connector first. Clean the terminals with contact cleaner and apply a small amount of dielectric grease. It takes five minutes and prevents a lot of unnecessary parts purchases.

Oil leaks from the camshaft cover The camshaft cover gasket is a common leak source. The gasket material ages and hardens, allowing oil to seep out around the cover edges. This is not a critical problem unless you ignore it long enough for oil to drip onto the exhaust, which creates smoke and a burning smell. Replacement is straightforward, but you need to remove the airbox to access the cover bolts properly. The manual shows the removal steps, but it does not emphasize that the bolts are different lengths. Keep track of which bolt goes where, or you will strip a thread trying to put a long bolt into a shallow hole. Fuel petcock failure

The petcock on this model has a mechanical lever that controls flow. Over time, the internal diaphragm can degrade, causing fuel to leak past the closed position. If you notice fuel dripping from the petcock outlet when the switch is off, replace it immediately. Running the engine with a leaking petcock can flood the crankcase with fuel, which dilutes the oil and increases engine wear. I replaced mine with an aftermarket unit because the original Suzuki part is no longer produced new. The aftermarket version works fine, though you should verify that the mounting flange matches the original. A mismatched flange will cause a leak at the gasket surface.

What to do when the manual is unclear

Sometimes the diagrams in the manual are simplified to the point where they do not match the actual layout on the bike. This happens with older manuals, especially when Suzuki revised internal component arrangements without updating the printed documentation. When this occurs, you have a few options. The best approach is to consult a photo manual or a digital archive of the actual service bulletin from that era. These documents sometimes show revisions that were not included in the retail manual. Another useful resource is the owner's manual for the same model year. While it does not contain the same level of detail, it often includes information about components that the service manual treats as obvious. I have found that cross-referencing the two documents resolves more questions than searching online forums, which are full of opinions rather than verified information. If you are working on the bike and the manual does not answer your question, take a photo of the component and compare it to diagrams in the manual. Many discrepancies turn out to be minor labeling differences rather than actual design changes. The Intruder 700 had very few year-to-year changes, so a manual from 1986 or 1988 may still apply with small adjustments.

Final thoughts on using the manual effectively

The 1987 Suzuki Intruder 700 Service Manual is a practical document, not a reading pleasure. It is dense with specifications and procedures, and it assumes a certain level of mechanical competence. If you are new to motorcycle maintenance, pair it with a beginner-friendly guide that explains the basics of tools, safety, and diagnostic logic. The manual will not teach you how to use a torque wrench correctly, but it will tell you what torque values to apply once you know how. The biggest mistake people make with this manual is treating it as a step-by-step recipe book. It is not. It is a reference that requires you to understand the underlying principles of each procedure. Read the entire section before you start disassembling anything. The notes about sequence and caution are placed where they matter, and skipping them leads to stripped bolts, damaged gaskets, and wasted time. I wish I had done that more consistently early in my career, but experience is the only teacher that works for this kind of thing. Download or purchase a copy if you own or plan to restore this motorcycle. It will pay for itself the first time you need to look up a torque spec or a wiring diagram. The effort to find a clean, readable version is worth it. A blurry PDF is barely better than no manual at all, and you will regret the shortcut when you are holding a socket in one hand and squinting at a screen with the other.