2008 Suzuki GZ250

Summary:

The bike delivers what it promises, and does it with style

Faults:

Absolutely no problems at all. It's the little engine that can.

General Comments:

Bought the bike for the 7 mile commute to work, simply to save $$ on gas. It has turned into my guilty little pleasure, and I find myself sneaking out for quick jaunts and 50+ mile rides.

I stand 6'3" and run about 240, and while it may not be the perfect fit, I can handle a few hours in the saddle without too many problems. Small enough that my wife (5'3" and 110) likes to jump on and take it for a spin.

Is it a long distance cruiser? No. Will it get you quickly and comfortably from point A to point B? Absolutely.

Nice torque curve from the single, gas mileage has been in the mid 60s, and it handles like a dream.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th July, 2008

17th Feb 2009, 13:15

An add on to this post. Have now hit 1800 miles, broke it out for it's first ride on a 50 degree February day. Didn't have battery on a trickle charger, still had solid charge. Turned gas petcock to on, bike fired up with about 30 seconds of cranking. Still the little beauty it was last year. Still makes me grin.

12th Jul 2009, 15:18

The fuel petcock on these bikes is always on. There is either on, reserve, or pri for when the bike sits. Unlike the bikes of the 70s, fuel does not fill the carburetor with the petcock in the on position, only when the motor is turned over will gas enter.

Just wanted to point out that there is no "off" position. The bike will start regardless of which position it's in, unless of course it has sat for a very long period of time in which case moving to "pri" helps it start faster.

1st Aug 2009, 01:22

Thank you so much for the semantics lesson. Basically trying to say that there was no dealing with trickle chargers, dead batteries or any other fun killing activities. Flip gas cock to prime to get fuel flowing and fire it up. Try that with anything from Wisconsin.

The bike has now hit 2500 miles, been a bad weather year in Chicago for riding, and it just keeps getting better and better. Engine has really opened up, midrange power seems to be much stronger, and it gets up to 60 or so a lot quicker than I seem to remember. Also seems to have lost some of the buzz at higher speeds. I can actually use the mirrors at speed. Keep riding all.

29th May 2010, 17:02

Full break-in period for the engine is listed as 1000 miles, but I have read many reports of the engine achieving best performance at more miles than that, as much as 5000 miles! Then the MPG and performance go up, and oil consumption goes down.

10th Jul 2010, 18:06

OK, well if you turned the petcock to on, what did you have it on before? Reserve? LOL.

2008 Suzuki GZ250

Summary:

I love the style and look of this bike, and my overall rating of this bike would be 8/10

Faults:

Brand new bike, at this point with 400 miles on it nothing has gone wrong with the unit to my knowledge.

General Comments:

Bike acceleration is good. Does seem to be a very short pause at start up.

Drivers seat is not too bad, but could use a little more padding.

Passenger seat is too small and needs a lot more padding.

At 400 miles I have used 2 tanks of gas, and the MPG is way off from the 82 MPG claimed by Suzuki. 54 MPG on first tank and 49 on second tank.

Would you buy another motorcycle from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st June, 2008

26th Jul 2008, 11:27

Perhaps after the bike is broken in, you will achieve better gas mileage. Most 250cc bikes should get AT LEAST 60 mpg. People that I know who have your same model of bike get around 70 mpg.

7th Aug 2008, 12:35

With small gas tanks, you can figure mileage wrong too. With a car it is easiest to just fill it to the automatic shutoff and call that a full tank. With a small gas tank, you could be off a lot by doing this. If you keep on keeping track of the mileage with a running total of gallons used and miles driven, I think you'll find you get better mileage. I get 70 mpg with my 2007 GZ250 with in-town and secondary road riding. I also keep the speed at 50 or lower.

When you consider I get 33mpg with my Toyota Corolla, 70 is not that good, but compared to bikes that get 40 mpg it certainly is. If the companies tried, they could get mileage up.

I also own a 2009 V star 250 and it gets 70 mpg too, so far on 3 tanks of gas. Dan.

4th Sep 2008, 21:32

I have a 2008 GZ250, and I have measured the mileage at the same station, with my motorcycle parked in the same spot at the same angle each time, very carefully noting the full line. I have measured as low as 72mpg and as high as 82mpg, but I am averaging 76mpg. I rarely exceed 50mph and drive fairly conservatively shifting at fairly low RPM. I live in Dallas where there are few hills.

10th Jul 2010, 18:03

I get right at 50mpg with this bike myself.

In reply to 4th Sep 2008, 21:32

6th Sep 2016, 15:20

I live in Dallas also and always work across town. I like everything about my 2008 GZ250 with the exception of highway driving. Cars drive fast here, some well exceeding 85mph, so I'm uncomfortable with my top speed, which most of the time cannot keep up with regular traffic.

In reply to 6th Sep 2016, 15:20

12th Mar 2018, 05:28

I have a 2000 GZ250. It's my second one. I use to get 70 MPG on my 06 GZ @ 65 MPH max. The 2000 gets 62-ish. My commute is 60 miles round trip and I'm in the Bay Area of CA, speeds on I-680 of 70-to just under 80 mph are the typical speeds I go. I threw a digital tach on the 2000. At 65 she's around 6900, around 70 it's about 7300 and around 80 ish, it's around 8200 RPM. It's only got 4k on the odometer. I'm surprised at how she seems to consume oil. My first one never really needed topped off. This one needs to be checked weekly. It uses oil although it doesn't smoke or leak...