Life with my Suzuki V-Strom 250 SX: How its going at 23,000 km

The engine has become much more smooth and refined in a noticeable manner after the last service.

BHPian ramubwoyy recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

23,000 KM Update with Stormy

Ah it feels like only yesterday that I got the bike and began regular weekend rides. Life has changed a lot since then and I now have the bike with me in Hyderabad for over 6 months.

Shifting the Bike:

I had initially thought of getting the bike shipped through a courier service or by train. But seeing how there were many mixed experiences that people had with these services, I finally decided to ride it to Hyderabad with a one-night layover in Bangalore. I could have one-shotted it, but decided not to do it as I did not want ride after sundown and also could take a more relaxed pace to the journey.

The bike had been sitting for a bit at my home in Kochi, with occasional short 10-15 km rides thanks to my dad. It could also go for an additional 3K km's before servicing was needed. But I decided to get it fully serviced and also got the chain and sprocket replaced at 19,000 KM. The service bill was heft and came out to roughly 8K since a lot of parts had been replaced. Didn't mind it that much if it meant that it would keep my machine running in tip-top condition. Moreover, I was unsure of what the servicing experience would be in Hyderabad, so I wanted to ideally utilize the entire 5K service interval to do a bit more research at my options here.

The ride itself:

I set off from Kochi in the early morning hours and the bike performed flawlessly till I reached Hyderabad. I am also grateful that I stopped experimenting with the lemon Exide battery and shifted to Amaron fully. Hopefully the Amaron will stay with me for quite sometime before I have to make a change again.

Getting it serviced:

So some research immediately revealed that a major part of Suzuki SVC's in and around Hyderabad had highly mixed reviews. I could have taken the plunge, but considering how far I would be travelling for getting it serviced, going to and from the SVC wasn't really an option.

So I decided to go with a third-party service for the first time and Yellow Motorsports Garage emerged as a viable option. Although I was a bit concerned, they did a bang-up job of servicing and I was quite happy with their response, would highly recommend to others too.

Observations I have so far:

1. The bike is not very pillion friendly: Since I am attending college here, I do use the bike to commute to college (barely a km) and go around with my friends in the surrounding areas. Many of my friends have grunted and complained as they hoisted themselves up on my bike. Some of them outright do not get on if they can help it. With that being said, there are others who like the height and have even complemented the comfort of the rear seat.

2. The engine has become much more refined: Since the last service at Yellow Motorsports Garage, the engine has become much more smooth and refined in a noticeable manner. Not that it had any major vibration issues; just the typical amount of vibes you would expect from a Japanese high-revving single cylinder engine. taking it beyond 120 can be done but still cannot be done effortlessly and you certainly cannot hold it for long periods of time.

3. Suzuki Oil Cooling System (SOCS): I went to visit Charminar and was quite disappointed once I reached there as there was not really much to see. What did put a smile on my face is how the engine rarely put out excessive heat even in peak traffic conditions with a pillion! I see many people saying that this bike is overpriced and instead go for other liquid-cooled options. I honestly think this patented system of Suzuki's is infinitely better and also makes maintenance a little bit easier. You just have to ensure same grade of oil for the bike and don't have to bother with coolant or coolant/oil mixing.

Even when I would go for early morning rides, which have been few, I tend to push the bike and even then it simply does not get uncomfortably hot. Throughout this ownership it has always been me getting tired. This bike is ready to go the distance for however long you want it to. I cannot emphasize how underrated this nifty little feature is and it stands out especially when I ride other bikes which have any other kind of cooling (or no cooling at all) and I realize how efficient SOCS is. In fact, it's the only reason I continue to use the fully synthetic grade oil in my bike.

4. SEP (Suzuki Eco Performance): Yet again another feature that most reviews will not highlight. When I initially got the bike I was still working and earning, so mileage was a priority but not as much as it is now being a student. If you don't accelerate too hard and just ride normally, you can easily get mileage figures above 40 KMPL with this machine. And if you're really careful with it, you can even make it touch 50 KMPL.

5. Suspension: Suspension was an important part to me, but not necessarily for off-roading, more just general touring comfort. The thing is the bike was relatively stiff when I started riding, however, over time it has reached a sweet spot. You will still feel it in your bum a bit if you continuously ride through bad roads. It can tackle offbeat paths, but this bike is not a true off-roader.

6. Fuel Tank: Now that I have toured quite extensively I can confidently say that the fuel tank is just adequate. But if you are tearing through highways on triple digit speeds, you will occasionally feel like Suzuki could have given maybe a 15L tank. Not a huge issue, but just being very candid here.

7. Headlights: The headlight situation is not very good, in fact, to me its one of the sore points of the bike. It is only barely usable and has completely restricted me from touring late night. Looked into aux light options, but opted out considering I had already done some drama with the battery and didn't want trouble from authorities in other states.

Concluding Thoughts:

The bike is a real gem. It's really a jack of all trades while being master at a few. The engine is exciting and fun. Build quality is also quite solid. Considering the competition and the price, I would not necessarily say its a VFM bike. I would instead say its got all the right bells, whistles and most importantly reliability that you would want in a touring bike that you can also use for commutes. I did test the Himmy 450 and Scrambler 400 and while those bikes did have their appeal, I just cannot get over how much this machine has stepped into my heart. Hoping for many more rides and memories to be made. To anybody looking to get one, I would wholeheartedly recommend this machine, an absolute gem by Suzuki.

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