Faults:

The bike had a difficult to diagnose ignition misfire.

Replacement of the stator / pickup assembly cured it.

The starter had a worn output bearing and worn brushes.

I replaced the igniter module, coil and plug cap in trying to fix the misfire.

The carburetor needed to be replaced due to severe old gas blockage.

General Comments:

The bike was a 'basement find', which I bought to fix and resell. I replaced the chain, tires and carburetor after repairing the starter myself. It took a while to find the bronze replacement bearing for the starter, but that has performed well.

The stator replacement was the last item to replace; it did not test out-of-limits per the repair manual.

I've been getting over 75mpg with the bike, even with the misfire. I look forward to seeing the fuel mileage now that it's making full power.

I've been able to get the bike up to 70mph (indicated), but that was with a tailwind. 63-65mph is typical, maximum. I don't ride it on any roads posted for over 55, and recommend keeping it mostly on routes labeled for 50 and under. There's no real acceleration available above 50mph.

The bike is a little small and light for me, but its speed range and fuel mileage make it a useful nice-day commuter. I'm glad to have helped save this little classic and keep it on the road.

Faults:

Mostly normal wear and tear...

- Clutch cable broke at 7000 km.

- Transmission chain replaced at 11000 km.

- Rear brake pads worn at 12000 km.

- Rear tire (Sakura, completely worn) replaced at 22000 km.

- Rear wheel mudguard almost broke right under the seat at 23500 km (welded back together, a friend of mine had the same problem with his GN)

- Speedometer cable broke at 24000 km.

General Comments:

The little Suzuki GN125H (version sold in South America I think) is a nice little bike, with cheap spare parts available, quite simple to repair (I service it myself)

It's also very good on fuel consumption, runs about 270 km with its 10 liter tank at full.

Very reliable, never lets me down. I have gone to the beach, the mountains, and go to work every day on it.

Great bike for starters, with low and comfortable seat, 5 speed gear indicator, and good handling.

However it lacks a fuel gauge, it's a slow bike, and engine vibrates a little at high revs...

Chassis black paint has peeled in a few places.

Faults:

The seat has ripped on the top outer edges, and I can't find a good condition one anywhere, so it must be a common problem.

The brake light bulb keeps blowing.

General Comments:

Great economy, I get 560 kilometers per 10 litre tank.

Very comfortable upright riding position.

A lot of parts from the more common GN250 will fit on the GN125.

It's not for the open road, my bike will do 80 kilometers an hour at 8000 revs per minute, and I weigh 70 kilos.

Faults:

A little bit of rust is appearing here and there. It rains a lot in Wellington NZ.

Indicator light for 3rd gear recently burnt out.

Some previous owner took off the pillion passenger handle bar, around the bottom edge of the seat (probably to fit a luggage rack), and never put it back (after removing that luggage rack).

General Comments:

Tries to look bigger than it is (i.e. just like its more popular big brother GN250), and it does this without slowing it down or weighing it down too much.

They've even done something with the muffler, to make it sound bigger than it is, without being noisier.

Extremely reliable and pleasant so far.

Gotten it up to 120km/hr (75mi/hr) once, on a good flat stretch of road with no headwinds, and it just started to red line in top gear.

Slow to accelerate, and easily hampered in headwinds or up inclines.

Handles well for city commutes and tight traffic.

Never had a passenger on it, but it will probably be pretty gutless when I do. Better than a moped or scooter, I guess.

Used about half a litre (1/2 quart) of oil over the last 1000km (625mi).

Too bad they discontinued it altogether in NZ a few years ago. Too bad they reintroduced the GN250 from China, with its attendant quality control and finish problems (see elsewhere).

I'm 185cm (6'2") myself and wouldn't recommend it to anyone above average height... unless you don't care what you look like on it, and don't mind sitting on the passenger seat when on the open road.