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1 year & 15,000 km with my Suzuki Gixxer SF250: 400 km meet-up ride

28th March 2023, 12:44 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

I explored the off-roading capability of the motorcycle and I am happy to report that it's doable!

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Hey Everybody!

I have completed a year of ownership with the SF250 and decided it was the right time to stock up and change a few parts on the bike. So one fine weekend decided to drop by APCO Suzuki, Calicut and got my hands on the following parts:

Clutch Cable
Throttle Cables
Chain and Sprocket
Air Filter
Oil Filter

The Prices and Part numbers are as follows:

The drive chain started to get stuck links after covering 15000km on the odometer and decided to get it replaced at APCO Suzuki, Kalpetta. Even though the sprockets were in good condition, decided to replace them as well along with the chain as a set.

The Oil and Filter changes were done by me as a DIY at home and this time too, I used Castrol Power One Ultimate 10w40 Fully synthetic engine oil.

Ride To Vattavada

After the requisite part changes, decided to ride to Vattavada, Idukki for fellow bikers meetup. The destination was 400km away for me from Wayanad and the route I took was Kalpetta-Mannarkkad-Palakkad-Pollachi-Munnar-Vattavada. I started early to beat the afternoon heat and the roads were in excellent condition with only very few bad sections. There are a few offroad trails that can be explored in Vattavada and many of my friends brought in their offroaders to test their skills and machines.

Smooth New Roads

Vattavada Checkpost

The Big Squad

The View

I too took this opportunity to explore the offroading capability of the SF250 and I am happy to report that it's doable. The engine is very tractable and if you are careful and know where to place your vehicle, you can get by without scrapping the underbelly. That being said, I did end up getting stuck in a few places thanks to my almost bald front tyre which slipped the front from the line I picked, followed closely by my questionable offroading skills. The lower seat height and well-placed footpegs made it easy to flat foot, even at weird angles and it was a fun experience.

Post-Ride Observations of the SF250

The vibrations are still present and are weirdly more noticeable after the oil change. I have been noting this in the past oil changes as well. When new engine oil is used, the vibration is more noticeable and the vibrations seem to slightly reduce as the oil ages with km.

Heat management is very good. The return leg of the ride was subjected to intense summer heat and the bike pushed on without skipping a beat.
Front tyre is almost at its end of life.
No rattles or damages to any parts of the bike after the offroading session.
Got an average fuel efficiency of 33kmpl.
Powerful headlight does a great job with illumination.

Hope to be back with more updates. Until then Cheerio!