Faults:

Spokes broke on the rear wheel for no apparent reason. Suzuki refused to pay for the repair. Cost me 160 bucks. This I wasn't happy about.

Signal indicator bulbs have had to be replaced.

Rear tire had to be replaced due to a large nail. No fault of bike.

Chrome plating isn't of high quality. Prone to tarnishing and rust.

General Comments:

Keep the bike indoors when not in use. Your chrome plating will thank you for it.

Overall, this bike is amazing for being a 250. I am 5 feet 11, 190 lbs and my wife is of average build. (never tell a womans weight to anyone). We ride everywhere together and the bike moves us along adequately.

Gas mileage ranges from 58-70 mpg. 58 at 70mph and 70 at 55mph.

Comfort wise, it's good for a 30-40 minute constant ride and then it's time to get off for a stretch and rest break.

What's great about this bike is it's size. I feel that it can comfortably handle someone up to 6 feet tall, maybe 6ft1", which is a lot more than I can say about the other manufacturers offerings in this class size.

I purchased the bike used. It was one year old with 300 miles on it and in mint condition for 2300 dollars in 2007. Bought it at a Suzuki dealer in Everett Washington. They were great.

I do all of my own general bike maintenance. Everything is easy to access.

Keep in mind, the bikes real world top end is around 75mph with 2 people on it on a flat grad. We ride on the interstate and have no problem maintaining a general speed of 65. The bikes sweet spot is 52-55 though. Great for county road/rural access cruising, but that being said, it can handle the interstate sufficiently.

Faults:

The only problems I've had were from the dealer.

50 dollars for dealer preparation, and when I got it home I had to adjust the chain, it was almost flopping.

And on my get acquainted rides, since it had been years since I had ridden, the rod from the shifter to the trans fell off; it was not tightened properly.

General Comments:

It does exactly as advertised, and is great for what I bought it for.. It will cruise OK at 60 mph, but really prefers and runs best at 55 mph.

The seat does break down a bit on longer rides, and gets a little uncomfortable, but this is really the only thing I've found wrong with it.

I ride every day rain or shine to work, 16 miles one way.

My average mpg has been around 63 mpg.

It will get 70 if I can keep it down at the 55 mph range..

But the road I ride has a 60 limit, and there are times with traffic I keep it at 60 just to keep from getting ran over on the 2 lane..

It will handle 60 just fine, but for hills you better give it a little goose up to about 65 before you get there, so you aren't crawling by the top.

Faults:

It consumes oil.

I found that its performance drops off during the last half of the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval. Changing oil at the halfway point is beneficial.

General Comments:

The GZ250 is a perfect first bike or a dirt cheap commuter. If you are riding in town or on lower speed limit roads, you'll have few complaints about this bike. You will find that this 250 does best at the upper half of it's RPM range. Low end torque is lacking.

I was little impressed with it's ability to maintain speed at speeds over 55mph. At 65mph the bike is OK flat out with no head wind. Introduce a slight uphill grade and add a head wind, and I've seen this bike lose speed even to the point where I had to pull off to the shoulder to let traffic get by. Embarrassing.

I've had no luck finding anything available to tweak the GZ250's performance. The answer is always the same... "It's a 250, what did you expect?".

I don't care for the tires on this bike. They are typical of what you get on any new cruiser bike. My personal preference is aggressive treaded all weather skins like the British bikes had. The weather in England requires tires that stick to the road in rain, black frost and even slush. Unless you live in a desert state, you'll want these, I'd think.

The saddle could be more comfortable. One's bum could go to sleep on longer trips. Mine has.

Higher speeds are not recommended on windy days. The little Suzi is slightly more than 300 lbs with a full tank of gas. 200 lbs of me plus 300 lbs of bike is not enough in a hefty crosswind.

All that being said, This remains a very good little bike. As with any vehicle, If you stay within the parameters of its limitations, you'll be quite pleased.

Faults:

Seat cushion button tear in the vinyl.

General Comments:

This class of motorcycle is always presented at the dealerships as "not enough bike". The sales people say this, but that is false.

This bike gets the best fuel economy of any bike I know about, while being able to carry 2 people on the highways at 65-70 mph. It gets 75 mpg when I only ride it, and,62 mpg with me and my wife on it (250 lbs for me, 145 lbs my wife).

Compared to other 250 cc bikes, it is king. It has the largest saddle for both riders, and beefiest tires of all comparable 250's. I have rode the 250 class bikes many times, and found always I would put on crazy accessories to make the bike look/feel larger than it was. This bike has the girth of a larger bike stock. It gets mistaken for much larger class cc bikes when people ask me about it.

The acceleration is good as well. It never leaves me wishing for more motor, and I have owned many big cc bikes before.

Reliability is good, maintenance cost is near nothing compared to other bikes I've had. It's commuter heaven.