[Slick]

Originally Posted by JithinR

He did mention about the windblast towards the end of his post..

Hey, Thanks for pointing that out.

Does leaning forward not make any difference? Also, your helmet might play a part in this if you are having neck pain.

It does help to a certain extent but the foot-pegs are not that rear set, neither are the handlebars low for that position. (not that I am complaining)
So the lowest tucked in position is not natural for me. A little tucking-in is fun, no doubt and I do it from time to time.

I did not get neck pain, thankfully. But the wind blast hits your chest and neck. It was more accentuated before I bought my riding jacket. I can skip it but no harm in addressing.

As a comparison the CBR windshield position and size is perfect, Love it. My riding buddy is a CBR250 so I get to compare.

If I want to make it more committed the handle bar position cannot be modified either, like it can be in the CBR250.

Hopefully I will change the windshield shortly and then update.

Overall a brilliant all round bike, super easy in traffic and handles well on the highways and ghats alike. I am happy with the experience.

If I want to nitpick and make some changes to the bike -
1. Wingshield
2. Slightly better brakes (may be sintered pads will improve performance)

- Slick

[IshaanIan]

Congratulations on your bike and on getting such a fancy looking colorway

How would you compare it to the CBR250 from Honda? The both look similar (in pictures atleast) with their sport touring stances. Which would you say is roomier? I felt the CBR250 was a bit cramped back when I rode one in 2016.

[adityak7]

Congrats Gaurav on the Gixxer SF250. I had seriously considered buying the same before I finalized on the Honda CB300R.
We also seem to have similar trajectories of owning a Bajaj Pulsar, Enfield and currently a Jap bike.

Can you let me know how to get in touch with the TeamBHP Bangalore bikers group? I have recently shifted to Bangalore and am looking for riding company

[VijayAnand1]

A worthy contender after the wonderful CBR250R, congratulations. Lightweight, agile and sharp, and this new Ecstar livery just adds to the vibe. The bike has a great riding posture, similar to that of the CBR, is what I felt when comparing my CBR to this. The engine does feel stressed out after 7k and being an oil cooled unit handles heat surprisingly well.

The engine does love to be revved, there is a Duke-ish feeling which keeps asking for more RPM, but after 7k it does feel a wee bit stressed, or at least that's why I experienced when compared to my CBR. Nevertheless, those were some nitpicks. Overall a fantastic package, nice fit and finish, lovely engine and stunning looks and a decent sports tourer.

Regarding the front fork dive, I'd recommend you use 20w fork oil, it being a thicker oil helps is compression damping. I've done the same mod on my CBR which has 10w from factory and switching to 20w fork oil has reduced the fork dive to a great extent. I'd recommend this mod. Good luck and ride safe.

Cheers!
VJ

[SoumenD]

Congratulations on the new ride Gaurav. SF250 sure is one of the rare bikes on road, so enjoy the exclusivity as well

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on the run-in part. If I end up buying a new bike in 2021, will surely keep this in mind.

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

My heart said buy Apache 310, my mind said buy Gixxer and my wallet suggested Apache 200

This totally resonated with my current state. Heart says BMW 310GS, Mind/wallet suggests XPULSE200

[gauravanekar]

Originally Posted by aargee

Would suggest changing the engine oil filter in addition as well as quite good chance the metal wastes are accumulated at the filter as well.

Additionally, if Suzuki recommends using FS oil, would strongly suggest using the FS oil as modern engines love FS over mineral oil. But yes, initial usage of mineral oil is recommended for bedding though.

PS - You've a beautiful little Son, brought back on the thoughts of my Son at that age when I had bought C250R

Thanks @aargee, will consider your advice and follow.

Originally Posted by saikarthik

And for the tires: I used Michelin Pilot street radials for quite some time on my CBR 250R and they had good grip (even in wet) and decent life. I recently got the Michelin road 5 and it is phenomenal in grip (as in - I squeezed the front while travelling @ 50kmph on a partially wet strip, it came to a stop without any drama and my bike doesn't even have ABS). They cost a bomb, but worth it.

Will get into tyre change in few months or so, will consider your feedback at the time of selection. Thanks.

Originally Posted by saikishor

1. At what RPM does 100 and 110kmph come up?
2. What about spare part availability?
3. Are the mirror stalks( those rods ) too wide for city traffic?

To answer your questions:
1. 6500~6750 rpm (least count is 250 rpm)
2. No idea
3.Yes I found it to be more difficult to lanesplit compared to R15.

Originally Posted by Slick

Congratulations! on your new ride Gaurav,

Great Review , Your bike looks stunning in the new BS6 livery.

I bought a BS4 SF250 in March 2020, finally good to see a fellow SF owner on Team BHP.

Your oil change tip will be greatly useful.

What is your experience with the wind blast ? I am looking for a solution to install an aftermarket windshield. I did Mumbai - Pune - Mumbai recently and on our way back faced heavy wind blast and that made the journey all the more tiring.

Some pictures of my bike

Your bike looks stunning as well. I would connect with you separately with you if I need to share some notes, hope you don't mind.

Honestly, I am not able to make up mind, for now I have decided to live with it. I have not been able to do any long ride (>15km of highway at a time).

More than anything it is dangerous to open any of the body panels for modifications.
Today I visited Suzuki showroom to get the mirrors tightened in place as it was not staying in place. To tighten a simple nut, the base of the mirror had to be removed, I noticed that while putting it back the holes were not aligning, they had to pull and align. Doing it again and again may ruin the threads. This kind of minor misalignment is common in this kind of elaborate body works. Hence I will not be getting after market visor fitted until windblast become completely unbearable.

[gauravanekar]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

21. Compared to AS200, performance wise Gixxer 250 is better. But the margin is very small, the biggest improvement is in the feel of the engine, ease of the engine while delivering the same performance.
22. Post 115kmph engine performance starts dulling (perhaps I’d like to revisit on this comment when I get back to you after my first long ride).

I stand corrected on these points, as the engine is opened up more and more and kilometers are piled on, I can feel improvement in performance post 115kmph, the performance of Gixxer 250 is noticeable a notch above the performance of Pulsar 200s

[Slick]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

Your bike looks stunning as well. I would connect with you separately with you if I need to share some notes, hope you don't mind.

Honestly, I am not able to make up mind, for now I have decided to live with it. I have not been able to do any long ride (>15km of highway at a time).

More than anything it is dangerous to open any of the body panels for modifications...

Hey Thanks,
Sure, it would be fun to connect, looking forward to it.

I did change the windshield to the one available on Amazon (it has exact same setup as the stock and is a like for like match. )

JB RACING GIXXER SF 250 and 150 2020 Visor (Black)

I will update on the review post riding for sometime. My initial feeling is it is not a big upgrade.

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

I stand corrected on these points, as the engine is opened up more and more and kilometers are piled on, I can feel improvement in performance post 115kmph, the performance of Gixxer 250 is noticeable a notch above the performance of Pulsar 200s

Yes, it has no issues accelerating. Youtube reviews suggest a topspeed of 155KMPH.

I have observed that the gears are short till 5th and the real surge comes in 6th. from 80 -120 it accelerates like a train.

- Slick

[ManneAtWheelz]

Congratulations! Wish you many happy (s)miles on your new found love

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

I visited TVS showroom first. they did not have a registered test ride bike and they were willing to offer a unregistered bike for a short ride around the showroom. I demanded registered insured dedicated test ride bike as I do not want to test ride a bike which will be sold to an unsuspecting buyer. I gave them my piece of my mind and refused test ride.

I visited Yamaha Showroom once again, they also did not have FZS25 test ride bike. This time I politely refused test ride and didnt bother to sermon them again. I had almost finalized this bike as it seemed good choice as a commuter.

Next turn was with Platinum Suzuki, Ajmer road. They had both naked and SF variant of gixxer 250 test bikes. Appreciated them for keeping dedicated test ride bike. To be honest the test ride was not impressive as the route was trafficky and with the pillion (dealer staff). However on one fine saturday night I made up my mind to buy Gixxer SF 250.

While I fully appreciate your stance on not doing test ride on a vehicle which will be some one else's property, skipping the bike selection process on a whole is some thing which I don't feel correct. You almost finalized FZS25 but dropped it due to non availability of test bike. May be you could have gone a bit further and done the test ride at other dealerships, who knows what's in for you really. This process reminded me of what the GTO quoted "never skip a car of your choice just because of some bad dealership experience"

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

The 30km ride from dealership to home was the first opportunity for me to observe the engine and transmission in detail. I kept the engine rpm under 5k.

Following were the observations:
1. Gearshifts were hard and loud (takk noise)
2. Prominent vibrations between 4k-5k rpm
3. The engine was not tractable at lower rpms at all

Again I see that you are more prominent into doing a test ride to finalize your vehicle, which is not at all wrong in any angle, should have done this prolonged test ride to understand these things even before purchasing your vehicle. Who knows, your mind would have not accepted to finalize this bike with these observations on test bike.

This is all my personal feeling and to each their own thinking process and I absolutely respect that.

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

The very next day my father went to a nearby suzuki showroom

He is looking a gem of a star on the bike.

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

A short note on running in:

However it is indeed true that all the machined parts, seals, cast surfaces will always carry some impurities at the time of engine assembly and these gets mixed up with engine oil and may act as abrasive material between moving parts. Thus it is advisable to run the engine at slow speeds to minimize the effect of bad oil on moving parts.

Thats why I practice engine oil replacement @ 50km ODO

A very good point you shared to the fellow BHPians, loved this process and I'm sure I can follow this in future to my vehicles.

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

The bike looks more expensive than it actually is.

It indeed is but super cool looking too.

[Slick]

For those interested in buying the Gixxer, Sagar Sheldekar has reviewed the bike.

Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 BS6 Review: The best 250cc single? : Sagar Sheldekar Official

As always, beautiful cinematography!

[gauravanekar]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

At the time of delivery I did a thorough inspection of painted surface and all the mountings of the fairings, found everything to be fine except for the fact that there was some minor scratches on clutch lever. Since it was getting late on a sunday I was requested to get it changed during first service free of cost. I took the same in writing from them and left for home.



13. Headlight beam orientation seems a tad bit higher, but I need to ride some more to determine whether it is ok or needs adjustment.


16. This time I’m not measuring the fuel economy, will start measurement from the next full tank fill.



18. Seating ergonomics is not perfect I feel that the angle of rider seat upper surface is a little messed up.

Today I visited Suzuki to get the clutch lever replaced

This is my son looking at the replacement with interest


The mechanic damaged the plastic cover on the clutch cable end "cyl. cast"


The more and more I see the state of work skills in general in India, ASS in particular I feel going DIY is only way to ensure at least minimum care and quality.

It seems I was wrong and the headlight throw alignment needs no adjustment. It is just that LED lights are inferior, no amount of alignment will help.

Meanwhile I measured fuel efficiency using Full tank to full tank method.

Meanwhile, I measured the fuel efficiency through Full tank to full tank method. I got 31.85 kmpl which I feel is par for the course. I have spared no expense to keep my daily commute entertained .

I find seating ergonomics for my commutes, no problem there too.

[gauravanekar]

At 650km ODO, I got the first service done, I received tool kit & owner's manual as well as I had not received it at the time of delivery.

Snaps of some important information in the manual:

Technical Specification of the bike


Specification of the sparkplug


Important Torque specification


Fuses


Recommended engine oil and the alternatives


Correct method of engine oil level check


Engine Break in procedure


Took the bike for first service at 650km ODO, the reason for early first service is that I am eyeing a longish ride on Republic Day.

I had leftover 700ml Mineral oil with me, hence I asked the ASS to use 1L of semi syth Ecstar oil and use 300ml of mineral oil.

The bike was getting washed, I was waiting in the lobby reading through the owner's manual. When I entered service area after 15 minutes the mechanic remarked that the service is complete and ready to go.

Intuitively I felt something was wrong. I asked him "How did you replace the oil filter so fast?, one needs to remove fairing for that". He said that no need to remove the fairing only one bolt needs to be removed to accesses the oil filter cover.
Then I asked him to show the removed oil filter, he couldn't find it in the oil pan, got the oil filter cover opened again, found that the oil filter had not been replaced.

I am disheartened by the dishonesty, sheer incompetence of mechanics employed by ASS. I would have carried out the first service by DIY but decided to visit showroom to maintain service record. I have made a mental note to stand vigil at all times in future.

I got the saree guard removed as well, got a Suzuki key chain complementarily (because I asked for it).

This is how the bike looks without saree guard.

[gauravanekar]

Happy Republic Day Folks,

Today myself and my wife decided to visit Sambar lake which is approx 100km from home. This route has a stretch of 50km of GQ highway each way. This is my first “longish” ride and also it is first ride for my wife in this bike.

Now that the official first service is over with both oil and oil filter replaced, I was longing for a fast run on the highway, to observe the ride on the highway and see how would the bike perform during a long highway stint. In short I am fully impressed.

Engine

Picks up speed with no fuss, no pesky peaky torque curve, not much vibration as well. The party starts after hitting the ton. I can confidently say that the bike can hold 15 to 20 kmph over hundred all day long without break. At 100, the engine is silent and running at just over 6500rpm, it sounds and feels like the engine is unhappy to go slow and keeps asking for more. If someone wants silent and most relaxed ride he can cruise a 100. Someone like me who enjoys a little bit of engagement with the motor would like to hold 115 to 117. Also it’s perfectly within the capability of this motor to hold on to 125~130 for 15- 20kms at a stretch (Bangalore-Hyderabad highway comes to my mind).

Suspension

I weight 63kg and my wife who was sitting in pillion seat is lighter than me. We didn’t have much luggage save for about 2L of water. At cruising speeds the suspension felt like in a premium European cars. There is always a constant suggestion from the bike that the suspension is stiff but at cruising speeds any undulation or bumps are rounded off nicely such that it never becomes uncomfortable. Like we have seen in cars many times this suspension proves to you that the springs need not be cushy and wallowy to be comfortable. I would give 9/10 for highways and 7/10 for rural roads. I have still not been able to do proper cornering.

Wind protection
Honestly, I was not conscious of wind blast until I started writing this post. That makes it clear to me that the windblast, even at such high speeds does not bother me in this bike. Your mileage may vary.

Brakes
During normal highway riding condition, the brakes did not stick out in its experience, felt just normal. However in rural roads, I felt brakes are weak. If I spotted any humps later than I should have it can be taken for granted that I’d not be able to shed enough speeds. I need few thousands of km to decide if it’s really a problem worth resolution or it’s something adaptable.

https://youtu.be/2iE1zHH4bCo

[ManneAtWheelz]

Awesome bike, looking more cool at the location. Doesn't look like a 250 bike at all with it's bulky sports avatar

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by gauravanekar

Intuitively I felt something was wrong. I asked him "How did you replace the oil filter so fast?, one needs to remove fairing for that". He said that no need to remove the fairing only one bolt needs to be removed to accesses the oil filter cover.
Then I asked him to show the removed oil filter, he couldn't find it in the oil pan, got the oil filter cover opened again, found that the oil filter had not been replaced.
I am disheartened by the dishonesty, sheer incompetence of mechanics employed by ASS.

Man, the sheer dishonesty of people. On one side we have thread of Kia dealer replacing the infotainment system of customer and caught due to dashcam. On the other side, your ordeal.

Tasks which can be done as DIY should definitely be done as DIY just to protect our vehicles, warranty complications notwithstanding. Not sure how many parts would have been replaced in our vehicles during the course of car/bike ownerships when we send them for service/repair.