johna's automotive blog

My Suzuki SV650S

2025-04-27T12:00:00+10:00

I bought this Suzuki SV650S on April 2009 from a private seller in Sydney for $4,000. It had done around 60,000km.

At the time I was commuting 90-minutes to work and thought a motorcycle might improve on this time.

Although it did save on a little time, it was not without problems.

The first problem was an accident. In April 2010 I was riding down the breakdown lane of the M2 motorway alongside stationary traffic and another motorcycle pulled out between the cars into the breakdown lane at 90 degrees to me. His front wheel hit the side of my bike, and my foot.

I somehow stayed on my bike, but he fell off his. We both had minor damage and went our own ways. Although I think it was technically his fault, he was a bit "shifty", already had a story for the police or insurance company, and I didn't particularly want to give him my personal information. The damage to my bike was just a broken foot rest and cracked plastic clutch cover and I continued on but stopped when I realised it had caused an oil leak so I had to trailer the bike home.

Ironically, around a month later when I resumed riding again after repairing the bike and after my foot healed, I got pulled over by police in almost exactly the same location for riding in the breakdown lane.

Another problem was when the bike developed a charging fault which was hard to rectify. I broke down and had to push start the bike multiple times and eventually made it close to home, where my father-in-law brought me a charged battery to make it the rest of the way.

I did some research and there was a common problem with the charging system in this model and the recommended fix was to replace the rectifier/regulator model with one from a different bike (FH008?) and upgrade the wiring. Fortunately this solved the problem.

I really enjoyed the power and engine characteristics of the vee twin, and 650cc is plenty of power, particularly after only having previously ridden a 250cc bike.

I added a small panel with lights to tell me when it was in first or second gear (the only gears that already had sensors) and with a switch to turn on the cooling fan manually. I also fitted an aftermarket centre stand kit.

After a couple of years I no longer need the bike for commuting to work, and with the birth of my child, I decided to sell the bike in early 2012 with around 67,500km on the clock.

Over my ownership, the bike averaged 5.3 l/100km fuel consumption. I replaced the rear tyre once and changed the oil twice.

Suzuki GF250 oil and filter change

2001-09-05T12:00:00+10:00

Replacing the oil and oil filter on the GF250 is nice and easy. You can buy a genuine Suzuki filter or an after market brand filter such as the HIFLOFILTRO HF 133 I have used here.

There is a drain plug on the bottom of the sump. You will need a 17mm socket or spanner and something in which to drain the 2+ litres of oil into.

To remove the oil filter you do not need to remove the exhaust (although the headers will be covered in oil).
Three 10mm nuts hold the filter cover in place. You may need to use a ring spanner to remove one of the nuts as a socket is impossible to fit behind the exhaust headers.

Your new filter should include a new rubber ring to fit around the filter housing.

Install the new rubber ring on to the filter cover. I recommend you use some gasket compound or silicon to hold it in place otherwise it will probably come off when you try and fit the cover.

Slide the new filter into the housing and install the cover.

Install the sump plug. Fill with required amount of oil. Start engine and check that the oil pressure warning light goes out within a few seconds. Run the engine for a few moments to ensure that the oil circulates throughout the engine and filter. Switch off the motor and check the oil level on level ground and top up if necessary.

My 1987 Suzuki GF250S

2001-04-06T12:00:00+10:00

I bought my Suzuki GF250S back in early 199? with 27,000km on the clock. It was my first bike and it cost me AUD$1950. It has now travelled over 50,000km and has been mostly very reiliable.

I chose a GF beacuse of the styling and the high tech specification. Even now that I have a full motorcycle license and can legally ride anything, even a 300km/h+ Hayabusa, I have no plans to replace the GF.

The GF is powerful enough for me and out accelerates most cars. It's a little slow to take off, unless you want to be aggressive with the revs/clutch, but once over 7,000rpm it flies. At highway speeds (110km/h), it is doing about 7,000rpm in top, which gives good acceleration. You do need to go back a gear or two, though, if you are going up a hill and the wind is in the wrong direction. Speaking of highway riding, it is a great thrill to be in fifth gear doing about 10,000rpm and 140km/h and being able to accelerate very quickly in and out of traffic!

Around town the GF is good fun. Just cruising around at 60km/h in fifth gear requires a tiny amount of throttle. Regardless of the type of riding I can usually do 240km before hitting reserve.

I have done a bit of touring on the GF, twice from Sydney to the Philip Island Superbike races - about a 2,300km trip. The bike was fairly comfortable and reliable, although at the end of the last trip it was looking a little worse for wear, with oil weeping from the fork seal and a fairly bad engine oil leak.

I have had to change the left hand fork seal a few times now, probable due to the chrome coming off that fork leg. I also had an oil leak from the timing chain tensioner which was fairly easily fixed, although time consuming as to access that part the carbs need to be removed - a big job. Whilst fixing this I noticed that the tensioner was at the end of its adjustment meaning that the chain was well worn. There was also a fair amount of chain noise.

I ordered a timing chain which took a month or so as it had to come from Suzuki Japan. Fitting the chain was a bit of a chore, mainly as the carbs have to come out again, and it is difficult to put them back in again. Also, I lost the cam timing and had to redo the job a second time after testing the bike and discovering it had no power (it was remarkably quiet though). Fortunately the chain didn't need to be split to adjust the timing and everything was right the second time, and much quieter.

But what I didn't realise at the time was that the valve cover gasket had not aligned properly and was letting oil out of the engine. It took some time to find this as the cause of the problem but it was eventually fixed by replacing the gasket.

From the time I bought the bike, if I left it for a week or so, it would be very difficult to start. It wasn't until I had the carbs tuned by a local workshop that this problem has been virtually solved. They also replaced the broken choke cable. As seems to be the case with some other types of bikes that friends own, if you run the GF out of fuel or forget to turn the fuel on, it takes a long time to start again.

I have replaced the front tyre once and the rear tyre twice. I am still on the same set of brake pads that came with the bike.

I have had one 'incident' aboard the GF. A 50km/h lowside probably caused by poor road surface, front tyre and, of course, me! The good thing about the GF for a learner is that it doesn't have an expensive full fairing. After my accident all that had happened was a broken clutch lever, a damaged front indicator and some scratches on the engine cover. A call to a friend, brought a new clutch lever, straightened the gear lever and I was away again (but in a bit of discomfort for the next week).

Pre-loved or pre-abused?

2000-12-01T12:00:00+10:00

Reproduced from Your First Motorcycle (a Two Wheels publication) 4th edition. Excerpts relating to the Suzuki GF250 from an article about buying a first bike.

Now flick to Yamaha - don't let your eyes pause of the GF250 Suzuki. Oh, all right, if you must. It wasn't a good move on Suzuki's part. The company though a four-cylinder, liquid-cooled 250 would be all the rage, but it wan't. It revved high, but performed like an asthmatic. Complex, too. The newer Across 250/4 does the trick, but with a completely different motor and several years of furious Japanese-market competition development.

Anthony Seymour

The Great 250 Escape

2000-12-01T12:00:00+10:00

Reproduced from Australian Motorcycle News Vol 38 No 7, September 16 to 29, 1988. Excerpts relating to the GF250 from an article comparing seven 250cc bikes.

Suzuki's GF250 (last tested Vol 37 No 18) raised more than its share of "oohs" and "aahs" on looks alone. The reason? Suzuki's answer to the Swiss watch, that miniscule four-cylinder powerplant.

The basics are as follows: liquid-cooled, sixteen-valve, DOHC, four-stroke transverse four. Another high revver, the GF claims 45ps at 13,000rpm, with maximum torque at 10,500rpm. External appearance of the powerplant is a work of art in alloy, and it wouldn't be hard to see the bike making it collectible status in years to come on that basis alone, in addition to its curiosity value.

Holding the bits together is a square-section, twin-loop frame tied to forks fitted with the company's adjustable anti-dive, and a rear Full-Floater monoshock with adjustable preload. Wheel sizes are 16-inch front and 18-inch rear matched to three "Deca Piston" disc brakes.

Like the VT, this can be a surprising little powerhouse when wound up, unfussed by the addition of a pillion. The catch is that it has to be revved pretty hard - beyond 7000 if you want serious power. Below that figure there's wonderful GSX-R superbike wail from the four-into-one exhaust, but not a hell of a lot of action.

Handling is nothing short of excellent, likewise the brakes, making the whole plot very quick in the tight stuff if you keep the tacho needle pointing east.

The GF's best point, its powerplant, is also potentially its worst. There's a lot of bits in there, and while access seems to be good anything more involved than regular tuning coould be pricey.

Price? Around $3590 (plus ORC), making it surprisngly cheap compared to the other luxuriously-appointed models in this market.

(Thanks to Mark at Peter Stevens - 03-870 0222 - for the test bike)

Guy Allen

As for the others, the Suzi gives the sensation of sitting astride a sewing machine with an exhaust note that transplants you to a superbike grid. Great handler and fun to ride too.

Ken "Wobbler" Wootton

Suzuki: what a juewel! This little 250 is unbelievable. A four-cylinder 250, you got to be joking. I first thought that the little four would be a total waste of time. Wrong! What a gem. The size is good with most things fitting the human frame well.

This thing is like a miniature superbike. The howl from the exhaust is unreal. It's like being in your own private superbike race, all the time. The brakes worked well and the frame felt really good. Putting a four into such a small and light package could have been a disaster. Luckily for Suzuki, it worked very well. The instruments were good and clear, and the finish excellent. I tried it two-up and it coped very well too. No 250 likes a pillion much so I didn't expect too much - it didn't seem to make a lot of difference.

Bob Rosenthal

All Revved Up!

2000-12-01T12:00:00+10:00

Reproduced from Australian Motorcycle News Vol 37 No 18, Mar 4 to Mar 17, 1988.

What's this? A mini version of the GSX-R 750/1100? Suzuki Australia has taken the gamble to import one of those 250cc, four-stroke screamers which are so popular in Japan. After throwing his leg over the GF250J, Rob van Driesum reckons it might not have been such a crazy move...

"Wow! This crazy Suzuki is quick," I kept thinking as it carved its way through the Reefton Spur. The only bike I could remember which ever felt quicker through there was the TZR.

The Reefton Spur, for the benefit of non-Melbournians, is one of the twistiest bits of tar in Australia: 19 kilometres with 200-and-something corners (I never actually counted them, and wouldn't be enjoying myself if I did). It's a popular weekend arvo destination for would-be Wayne Gardners, who can brag about their exploits at the charming Reefton Hotel.

It's also part of my favourite 'test loop' when I quickly want to sus out a bike. In case you want to know, this runs from Kangaroo Ground via Christmas Hills to Yarra Glen, on to Healesville, over Mount Donna Buang to Warburton, then east over the Reefton Spur and on to Marysville, and finally back to Melbourne via the Black Spur. This afternoon trip covers everything from city traffic to gravel and dirt, straight tar to long, open sweepers and tight twisties, flat roads as well as ones that climb and descend, and, to top it off, a wide variety of scenery, from car parks to densely forested mountains - urban jungles to natural ones.

But let's get on with the actual story. This "crazy Suzuki" is the GF250J ("J" standing for 1988): a four-cylinder, water-cooled, 250cc four-stroke. I did a bit of a double-take when I heard it was available in Australia, and we could pick one up for the weekend at Peter Stevens in Ringwood. Surely, this sort of design is completely 'un-Australian', as was proven when Suzuki Australia tried and failed with the GS250FWD back in 1984-85.

The GS was "no great success", as a Suzuki Aus rep put it carefully. It was releatively heavy, and allegedly felt gutless (I unfortunately never got to ride it). Not only that, but I've been told you had to rev it something silly before anything happened at all. The design was complicated and practically ruled out home maintenance. All this, and much more, ensured that the GS was a sales flop and even scored a "Turkey of the Year" award from Two Wheels magazine.

Yet Suzuki Australia has recently decided to try it again, this time with the updated version, the GF250J. Only 193 of these Japanese-spec machines have been brought into Oz so far, and if the "extremely good sales" through dealers are ny indication, there might be a few more coming at a later date - although the word is that "it will not be an on-going model" on the Australian market.

Right, so how come this odd machine seems to sell so well? Simple: $3399 (NSW) or $3590 (Vic) plus on-road costs. Compare that to the 'bargain-basement' Honda CBX250 single reviewed last issue, which goes for $2799, or the more performance-orientated Kawasaki GPX250 twin tested in the issue before that, which commands $4399, and you might start to get the picture.

Taken at face value, there's no denying that the Suzuki represent brilliant value for money. You don't just get a run-of-the-mill 250, but one which has all the cylinders and attibutes of a big-bore blaster. How can they do it for that price?

I can't tell you, but what I can is that it's one helluva bike to ride. Like I said, I never rode the 'old' one, but this new model is a considerable improvement if the list of modifications is anything to go by.

Where to start? Claimed performance is up to a rather impressive 45ps at the 13,000rpm redline (compared to 35ps previously), with 2.6kg-m of torque at 10,500rpm. This particular bike wasn't put on the dyno to verify the claims because (A) it only has 17km on the clock when I picked it up and 440km when it was broght back, and (B) it was on loan from a dealer for a mere ride impression. But relying on gut feeling, the figures aren't wide of the mark.

Seeing as the engine is basically the same four-valve design as previously, with double overhead cams operated by a chain running down the middle, and with a similar bore and stroke of 44 x 41mm, the power increase is probable due to the increased compression ratio (11.3:1) and the four-into-one exhaust system, ehich replaces the former four-into-two. The six-speed gearbox is the same, but the final drive ratio has been lowered (and that rear sprocket does look large) to add a bit more 'go' off the line.

Chassis and running gear, likewise, have come under scrutiny. The new model is slimmer, has a slightly shorter wheelbase at 1370mm, and weighs less with a claimed 155kg dry. The single disc in the front and drum in the rear have been replaced by three discs ("Deca-Piston" bla-bla), which are absolutely brilliant.

Wheels sizes are 16-inch front and 18-inch rear, shod with Dunlop Arrowmaxes. Good standard tyres, no qualms about them. The wheel sizes also seem to offer a good compromise (see below).

Front forks are "Positive Damping Force" (PDF) items like those fitted to the GSX-R range, which provide an effect similar to a 'proper' anti-dive set-up and are four-way adjustable. Rear suspension is a full-floater with five-way preload, which can be adjusted by an outside-mounted, flip-up knob - so ridiculously easy to use, that you wonder why it can't be like that on all bikes.

As mentioned above, the GF is a Japanese-spec machine, which shows in little things like the unleaded nozzle restrictor in the tank filler hole, and the red warning light with Japanese characters on the attractive dashboard. This lights up when you pass the 80km/h mark, and might serve a handy function in teaching Australian learner riders what various speeds feel like.

Starting the GF was never a problem, hot or cold. Another good thing was that the gearbox was smooth when cold, and didn't respond with a loud clunk and forward jolt when engaging first gear. The engine itself doesn't seem to hesitate while it's warming up, and only the water temperature gauge indicates that you should be taking it easy.

It's a funny sensation, riding a four-cylinder 250. The engine is so smooth or silky (take your pick), that it feels - and sounds - like a little turbin working away beneath you. Apart from the occasional little tingle, vibration is non-existant throughout the rev range.

The GF takes off fairly rapidly in 250cc terms, but seems to 'sip' a bit after the initial surge. Between seven and eight thousand revs it all starts happening, and above that, when the muffled exhaust note turns into a muted howl, one almost has to hang on. Although not yet in the league of sports-orientated two-strokes, a GF on the boil is quick enough! We couldn't pit it against the GPX250 because that had gone back before we got the Suzi, but it feels quicker -
as a four-cylinder four-stroke should, against a four-stroke twin.

The engine alone should ensure that the Fang Factor is high. On top of that, the GF is surprisingly nimble through the twisties yet reassuringly stable in a straight line, and doesn't mind the occasional stretch of dirt. Steering geometry, wheel sizes and standard tyres work together well.

At the same time, it's an amenable machine with a comfortable riding position (although the seat could do with the proverbial sheepskin), and very easy to handle around town. It even has a flat tank top which provides a good base for a tank bag. Learner riders could do a lot worse than choose this bike to cut their teeth on.

Sounds almost like the ultimate 250, doesn't it? That was indeed my first impression - until I sat down and had a good think. And what I came up with was that learning about bikes entails more than just riding. You also have to maintain the thing so that you get an idea how everyting works and what's actually happening beneath you. In this respoect, nothing can beat a 250cc single with screw/locknut valve adjustment, and the GF250J Suzuki is as far removed from this as you can get.

Also, fuel consumption was a bit disappointing at 17.25km/lt. Admittedly, I didn't try a low-consumption run, but I didn't rev the ring off it either as it was still being run in. City traffic resulted in 16.6km/lt, while the 'test loop' got a slightly better figure of 17.9km/lt. Both could be better for a 250.

But still, this isn't an ordinary learners machine. It's designed like a sports-orientated big-bore, and sells at a basic 250's price. Who can argue with that?

(Many thanks to Peter Stevens Motorcycles in Ringwood, tel 03-870 0222, for lending us the bike)

Rob van Driesum

Second opinion

First impressions count and I found after jumping off the CBX250 Honda onto the GF250J Suzuki the first thing I noticed was how solid the Suzuki felt. Being a four-cylinder machine compared to the Honda single, the bike is noticeable heavier and contributes to it's overall 'strong' feel. A ride over Melbourne's West Gate Bridge on a windy day showed that the weight proved to be an advantage as the bike didn't have to be ridden on a lean to keep it in a straight line.

Allowing for the fact that the bike had 48km on the clock, the revs had to be kept to an acceptable level, but the engine still produced enough power to safely clear out from the traffic at lights. Once into sixth gear though, I kept looking for another gear. It is certainly a revver!

I found the seating and handlebar positions suited my 5ft 5in frame and everything was within easy reach. The footpegs and handlebars were vibration-free which makes for comfortable touring as the small fairing did a good job, diverting the breezes over the top of my helmet.

Gearshifting was smooth and accurate, with no false neutrals. Both front and rear brakes had penty of feel and pulled me up with no heart-stopping moments.

I thoroughly enjoyed my stint on the GF and would like to have another go on it with a few more kilometres on the clock. It would be fun to do a bit of touring on it. Keep the revs up and it would take rider and gear anywhere, and you'd have a lot of fun along the way.

Colleen Dooley