My Suzuki Gixxer 250: First long ride to Munnar after my injury

The engine is very flexible and happy doing slow speeds or 80-100 cruising speeds. I do the same speeds I used to do on the D390 and it only misses out on the outright punch after 6-7K.

BHPian b16h22 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hijacking BHPian Neil's thread again as I don't want to create a separate thread for this

My pre-owned Gixxer 250 is about two years into the ownership. Clocked over 6k so far with just local commuting, which is more than I expected with my health condition. ODO stands at around 21k now. The O2 sensor is still unplugged and the Gixxer has been pretty reliable after the malfunctioning O2 sensor diagnosis and 'fix' back in 2023.

Did two rides after the Jan 2024 update. As I'm still recovering from a tail-bone injury, long rides are still not comfortable as it used to be. But I'm trying to expand the tolerance levels gradually. 3 weeks ago I decided to ride to the Munnar Gap road which was on my bucket list for quite a long time. It was about 360+kms to-and-fro and I haven't really ridden more than 150kms after the injury back in 2022. It was a gamble but I decided to give it a go anyway. I've made up my mind to ride back if the pain became unbearable at some point.

Roads up to Munnar town was in good enough condition which helped reduce the strain. There was a lot of construction work on the sides. Since it was off-season, the traffic was bearable and after two breaks, I reached the town in about 3.5hours. The gap road didn't disappoint It was somewhat of a huge achievement for me personally as I have made peace with the fact that I might not ride for the rest of my life, back in 2022

Some observations on the Gixxer after the first decent long ride.

• The engine is very flexible and happy doing slow speeds or 80-100 cruising speeds. 110 is doable but wind buffeting and buzz makes it harder than necessary. A bigger front sprocket might help here. But you can still devour distances without stress. I do the same speeds I used to do on the D390 and it only misses out on the outright punch after 6-7K.
• Suspension is well judged and my preload and oil height mods worked well enough. But I'm thinking of dropping the oil height to stock as I've lost about 16kgs in a year. Need a little more weight transfer to the front.
• Fun handler without being twitchy. Strong front-end feel. Maxxis tyres worked well so far and no complaints. Feedback from multi-compound rear is not perfect but front end grip makes up for it.
• Brakes are so-so. Bite is okay but the lever travel is a lot. I've bled the brakes twice back in 2024. It is somewhat like an on/off switch and triggers ABS way too often. Need a master cylinder upgrade.
• The seat for me is a torture device. The padding is perfect but the shape is really bad and not made for long hauls. The significant rake locks you onto the tank and your delicate parts really do take a beating. This is the single most thing that stops the bike from being an accomplished tourer. Which is a shame since the 250 platform eats miles. The SF gets lower clipons and a more natural riding stance because this platform was designed as a faired sports bike but Suzuki forgot to flatten out the seat on the naked. VStrom must be a big upgrade in this aspect.
• Gearshifts are very sensitive to the clutch cable tension. The right tension is rewarded significantly with decently slick shifts. Still not a typical Japanese box.
• Excellent fuel economy. Gets around 36-37kmpl when touring.

Overall, the ownership experience has been trouble-free after the initial problems. I would say the Gixxer is a fun and capable 250 but it lacks a bit of outright fun and character. It does what it says on the tin perfectly but it is probably not a bike that you fall in love with. IMO, VStrom is the best evolution of this platform.

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