[tchsvy]

So, it was my turn to visit a Suzuki showroom today and to test ride the SX. I have visited the Midas Suzuki showroom at Malakpet here in Hyderabad and surprisingly I was the first one to check the bike out. Anyway, took the bike for a short spin, first thing I have noticed is the seating triangle, I am 5'11", tip the scale at 87 KGs and I was at home! It is a very comfortable bike to ride. Coming from a CBR250, the SX isn't eager to move swiftly, it takes its sweet time. I was looking to replace my CBR with a Honda CB350, but for some reason, my family is against the CB! So I was searching for alternatives. I am looking for a bike that is comfortable in the city and can do occasional long rides without breaking a sweat. SX fits the bill but the lack of grunt is pulling me back, will try to take the bike for a long test ride on monday and will decide.

[GeeTee TSI]

As someone who never rode (rather owned) a motorcycle, I was on the look out to upgrade to an Aerox (which incidentally was never offered under a test drive). Something about the 250 SX (being discussed in this forum) appealed to me and I casually visited Advaith Suzuki in Basavangudi. I found the dealership very warm and friendly despite being a busy one

I was offered a test drive right away and there was this lovely, tall, orange machine. The staff politely explained about the controls (I had mentioned I was a newbie) and off I went along the busy South End road.

Beautifully balanced with controls falling in place, I was quite confident in traffic (even did a couple of U turns easily). Upright ergonomics was comfortable and objects at close range need to be gauged through the visor. Courtesy the refined engine, slick gear box and absorbent suspension - I was sold! Well, I noticed the point about the foot pegs and they will definitely be a problem when the bike is being reversed out of a spot (ouch!), however the short ride in traffic did not pose an issue

Now it is more of a when and the choice of colour

[neil.jericho]

If there is was one unintended benefit of the VStrom 250 launch, its that a lot of riders are also test riding Suzuki's other products when they are in the showroom. This is something that they may not have otherwise done.

After the VStrom 250 got struck off my list, my friends suggested that I try the Gixxer SF250 as well. I took a test ride the other day and I really liked the bike! The engine is tractable and fun. The seating position is good. The mirrors are excellent. The brakes are good. The light weight is a welcome change!

My only three gripes are
- It feels like it is 9/10 sized, as compared to say an Apache 310RR. I can live with it.
- The flyscreen looks pointless.
- The handlebar seems a size smaller than what Im used to. It was the same with the VStrom 250 as well. I will have to use a handlebar grip.

The on road price is Rs 2.3L. Im planning to take another test ride soon. Right now, it looks as though Suzuki is only making the matte black bikes. One dealership here is offering company discounts of Rs 10K for 2022 stocks. There are some leftover 2021 bikes in the blue and silver 100th Anniversary edition, which should get you juicier discounts. The other dealership hasnt uttered a word on discounts yet.

From what I can gather, Suzuki is all gung-ho on the the VStrom 250 and currently isnt focussing a lot on their other two 250s. The coming months will be a good time to check them out and talk to your local dealers to negotiate on pricing.

[AnAntinspired]

Originally Posted by AnAntinspired

the Gixxer SF250 put such a huge smile on my face after the frowns from the VStrom that i just diverted my advance booking towards purchase of the baby Gixxer right away!

Just what happened with me, Neil Jericho! Not just changed my choice after a test ride of the SF on the day I was actually to collect the Vstrom 250, but also got a sweet deal on the last Anniversary special Blue'n'Silver edition. It saved me a packet from the 2022 current on road Bangalore price of 2.5 on road of the SF! Currently otherwise this 250 is just available in matt black or all blue Moto GP edition.

The Vstrom does still pull at the heart for its good looks and substantial size, but the anniversary SF is a looker + what a handler! What finally undid the Vstrom is that in Bangalore it's price on-road is 2.73. That was almost 75k more than the SF, and even the 2022 naked Gixxer 250 at 2.3 on road suddenly looked more attractive given the best bits are completely in common with the Vstrom.

Some Suzuki dealers seem to have Intruders as well, and now that it's discontinued, offering a supremely tractable, comfortable handler at throwaway prices. For those who don't judge a book by it's cover, go test one when sampling the Vstrom. Not for nothing was the same previous gen Gixxer 155 engine considered superb for calm touring...

[stewie]

Bike looks lovely! Congratulations!

Originally Posted by Sebring

BTW, I designed a GPS mount today and got it fabricated

Could you post a bit more in detail about the GPS mount? A friend of mine is hooked to your posts and is hoping this can be adapted for a phone mount.

If you are ok with it, would the fabricator be ready to make one more paid copy? Please PM me if it's alright.

[Sebring]

Thank you. Please pardon me for not sharing more details. Stuff I have fabricated for this bike, the Aerox and the CB 350, they're all hobby projects at the moment. These actually cost me a lot of money and time. I see some future going forward

Originally Posted by stewie

Could you post a bit more in detail about the GPS mount? A friend of mine is hooked to your posts and is hoping this can be adapted for a phone mount

[stewie]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Thank you. Please pardon me for not sharing more details. Stuff I have fabricated for this bike, the Aerox and the CB 350, they're all hobby projects at the moment. These actually cost me a lot of money and time. I see some future going forward

Fair enough. Like I said, happy to pay for one.
Please let me know if/when you decide to crank out a few.

[saikishor]

Had some time to spare on one evening, so decided to take a test ride of the baby Vstrom. If I had to compare this bike with a car from the Indian automobile scene, it would be the Toyota Yaris i.e, jack of all trades but master of none.

Upon entering the showroom, there was this Yellow Vstrom under the lights. And I have to admit, this yellow is a never before seen kind of a color. The one on the older Karizma's is a little different than this yellow. If you're getting a Vstrom, I would urge you to pick the Yellow!





I went closer to the bike and had a good look at it. The build quality is top notch, everything feels solidly put together and built to last. After spending 5 minutes with it inside the showroom, I asked the SA for a test ride. Had to wait for 2-3 minutes as he was busy with some scooter booking and the other staff at the showroom were minding their own business.

Another guy comes and gives me the key after I ask the SA again. I told him I wanted to go solo, to which he agreed after a slight hesitation. Took the keys, slotted them in position and hopped on to the bike in typical Adventure bike style. The seat felt lower than my Duke and the weight was way less than my Duke. This was something that I instantly felt once I hopped on to the motorcycle.

Started the bike, and it felt familiar. I have faint memories of the Gixxer SF 250, and I remember how smooth the engine was back then. The smoothness hasn't changed one bit. Slotted the gear into position, left the clutch and I immediately notice how much low end grunt this bike has. Might be lower than the Himalayan, but my Duke feels dead compared to the Vstrom. Clutch is very slightly heavy but not an issue at all. I hit the main road and then start to work with the gears. This 250 engine was a gem on the SF250 and that hasn't changed here. It is smooth through out the powerband, and delivers power in a very very linear fashion. This is that kind lf engine in which it will impress you, but will not excite you(remember the Toyota Yaris reference I used in the beginning?). You can do 100-110 all day long without breaking a sweat. However I feel 120 will be a bit of a stretch with little reserve power left for overtakes. 100-110 should be the ideal comfortable speed on this motorcycle. Seating position is nice and upright. Should be supremely comfortable for long distance mile munching. Brakes were decent, but a little more stopping power would have been appreciated. I remember the bike had a little nose dive when I was braking. I guess this is normal for a bike with a little more suspension travel. Gearbox is smooth and slick shifting, just like the one on the SF250. No complaints here. I will not comment on the grip provided by the tyres, as I hardly got any chance to cut through corners. Wind protection offered by the windscreen was adequate. I had touched 80 and there was little to no wind hitting my helmet.
Took some pictures on the side of the road and went back to the showroom to return the bike.







Overall, I feel this is a good bike, but not a great bike. Before I bought my 390 Duke, I did take a test ride of the SF250. Back then the bike felt the same: good but not great or impressive but not exciting. Remember that was when I had no idea of how electric the 390's acceleration can get. Now after close to 3 months of ownership of the Duke 390, I am fully used to the addictive acceleration of the 390. Now when I took a test ride of the Vstrom with the same engine as the SF250, I felt it to be boring. Boring would be a bit harsh, it just doesn't excite. This bike or rather this engine itself isn't for youngsters. It is more suited for a middle aged person or a person who has a very mature riding style. This bike is for the person who likes to cruise along highways effortlessly at a calm speed and not for the person who wants to aggressively accelerate at every traffic signal with a drag scene in mind.
I doubt if this will sell in good numbers, as Suzuki's marketing team will doze off after a couple of months and this engine itself isn't very exciting. Couple that with Suzuki's horrible aftersales, I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone. I will only recommend this if you are really after smooth bikes with linear and predictable power delivery.

Signing off with a picture of my prized posession and the Toyota Yaris of motorcycles in one frame.

Thanks for reading,
Saikishor

[SoumenD]

Just came across this vlog on SX250. Lowered seat apparently is hard and the navigation system doesn’t work if you lock your phone? Switch to 5:25 of the video for navigation issue.

https://youtu.be/zt2Jgm22sEg

While the seat being hard is understandable as they would have removed 35mm foam but navigation being active only if fone is unlocked makes the whole point of the feature moot. Can owners confirm?

Hope Suzuki sorts this with a software update.

Originally Posted by saikishor

I doubt if this will sell in good numbers, as Suzuki's marketing team will doze off after a couple of months and this engine itself isn't very exciting. Couple that with Suzuki's horrible aftersales, I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone. I will only recommend this if you are really after smooth bikes with linear and predictable power delivery.

What would you recommend someone who isn’t comfortable with the height of adventure series of KTMs or the overweight Himalayan?

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

What would you recommend someone who isn’t comfortable with the height of adventure series of KTMs or the overweight Himalayan?

Hero Xpulse 200. Hero has far better aftersales. I am not aware of the seat height but the Xpulse weighs much lesser than the Himalayan. And the 4 valve version supposedly has better top end performance.

[Sebring]

The lowered seat is hard for sure. For navigation, I'm using the phone screen as the turn signal arrows are very 'off-putting'. Yet to get used to the fat font but not a deal breaker. My dealership has sold out all the 8 vehicles I heard. The yellow is like a massive 'highlighter pen on wheels', you cant miss it

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Just came across this vlog on SX250. Lowered seat apparently is hard and the navigation system doesn’t work if you lock your phone?

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by saikishor

Hero Xpulse 200. Hero has far better aftersales. I am not aware of the seat height but the Xpulse weighs much lesser than the Himalayan. And the 4 valve version supposedly has better top end performance.

Yeah and with all that the engine is underpowered, good for cruising at 80ish at best, the reason why most of owners of this SX250 are going towards it. I personally love the Xpulse 200 4v for its excellent ride quality and have test ridden it multiple times but would have liked some more poke from the engine. Till the time that happens SX250 would be my recommendation for long distance touring if one isn’t as tall & heavy to tame a KTM 250 adv or Himalayan

Originally Posted by Sebring

The lowered seat is hard for sure. For navigation, I'm using the phone screen as the turn signal arrows are very 'off-putting'. Yet to get used to the fat font but not a deal breaker. My dealership has sold out all the 8 vehicles I heard. The yellow is like a massive 'highlighter pen on wheels', you cant miss it

Of course not a dealbreaker. I have done 22000kms of touring across India at a time when navigation system on a bike was unheard of but since Suzuki marketed the feature which is literally unusable in current format is sad.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

I personally love the Xpulse 200 4v for its excellent ride quality and have test ridden it multiple times but would have liked some more poke from the engine.

Everyone except Hero motor can see that! A 250-300cc engine and no one would have even looked anywhere else. Wonder why Hero never did what even one dealer also started doing with the Impulse- plonk the Karizma engine and be done with it.

Hope they finally come through, now that this segment is hotting up. And hope they don't overcook it though with all fancy fairing. Unlike most on this thread, I don't like the 'beak' and yellow bits on the 250SX. An Xpulse with a bigger engine is all I ask! Wake up Hero!

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by am1m

Everyone except Hero motor can see that! A 250-300cc engine and no one would have even looked anywhere else. Wonder why Hero never did what even a couple of dealers also started doing- plonk the Karizma engine and be done with it.

Hope they finally come through, now that this segment is hotting up. And hope they don't overcook it though with all fancy fairing. Unlike most on this thread, I don't like the 'beak' and yellow bits on the 250SX. An Xpulse with a bigger engine is all I ask! Wake up Hero!

They don't have an engine, plain and simple. Even this 200 is a derivative of the Honda they used to build.

If you notice, Indian two wheeler manufacturers do not have the ability to build anything beyond the 200cc series. Even TVS had to rope in BMW to get access to the 310 series of engines for their further development. The same with Bajaj and KTM.

Hero needs a global partner, much like Honda to take engine development into the fast lane - quite literally. Almost all indian manufacturers are caught up with the sales figures that are driven by mass market commuters which in turn drive their stock market valuations.

[neil.jericho]

The local dealerships tell me that there is a lot of interest in the VStrom 250. This is despite Suzuki's lackluster marketing efforts. Most people who have test ridden it, ended up coming away impressed by the bike. However, not everyone is booking the VStrom 250. One factor is the price. Its a few thousand away from the Scram 411 and the Himalayan 411.

As I mentioned before, this footfall is translating into test rides and bookings of other Suzuki motorcycles. Given the discounts on the other 250s (I know of up to Rs 30K here in Kerala, its more in other states), the price gap between the VStrom and the Gixxer / SF, becomes too hard to ignore. So, that is a win for Suzuki's dealers.

That said, the dealers do have more bookings for the VStrom 250, than what I predicted that they would get. As more bikes get seen on public roads, things might change.

Hopefully a comprehensive ownership thread from TBHPians like Sebring, will sway the fence sitters and get them to plonk down their money on this very capable 250.