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Did a hill station ride on my Suzuki Gixxer SF 250: Key observations

28th November 2022, 13:01 by Dev Shah

While this short hill station ride was great, a couple of things about the Gixxer SF 250, weren't. For one, it had a tough time dealing with high altitudes.

BHPian neil.jericho recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Recently, I did a solo ride to the hill stations of Munnar and Kodaikanal. My plans of riding on to Yercaud were thwarted by the predictions of rains (stop snickering!!!). I took the Kochi - Muvattupuzha - Pothanicad - Oonukal - Adimali - Munnar route. The ride from Munnar to Mattupetty Dam was so brilliant that I did it again on the following morning. Unfortunately, Top Station was all misted out.

I followed the usual Theni route to get to Kodaikanal. It certainly was cold! The time that I spent at the Mannavanur lake was unforgettable. There wasnt a speck of trash anywhere! Terrible mist ruined the possibility of too much sightseeing at Kodaikanal's more popular locations.

The return to Cochin was through the Palani - Udumalaipettai - Pollachi - Vadakkencherry route. The Palani Ghat road is something else! It is narrow (1.75 lane rather than a narrow 2 lane) and constantly has you on going from side to side. In the last 8 odd kilometers, the road becomes akin to what you expect to find on a mainstream ghat road but everything before that is special. A hidden gem of a road.

While this short hill station ride was great, a couple of things about the Gixxer SF 250, weren't. For one, it had a tough time dealing with high altitudes. I checked with fellow Gixxer SF 250 and VStrom 250 owners. They confirmed that the motorcycle loses a bit of its crisp acceleration at high altitudes. It isnt the end of the world but yes, it is noticeable.

Secondly, the engine has become rather vibey from the mid-range onwards. I was rarely relying on the front and rear brakes, focusing instead on engine braking everywhere. The moment I dropped a gear, the engine would get buzzy until the revs settled down. A fellow Gixxer SF 250 owner mentioned that his bike also has vibrations and buzziness after 6,000 RPM, which get more pronounced after 8,000 RPM. His feedback matches my experience, down to the T. I need to drop into Aluva Suzuki to get the foundation bolts checked.

The other issue that I faced last week was with an unexpected oil leak on the side. It turned out to be a slightly displaced O-ring. The matter was sorted out in 5 minutes.

Now that the bike has crossed 7,000 kms, Ill put up a detailed breakdown of the ownership experience, in a few days time.