Suzuki GN125

[akkadian]

Okay so the Mrs has decided she wants to sit her licence and get a bike. The only things she cares about is that it is cheap, red (!), lite and new. She went out looking this morning and has discovered the Suzuki GN125 is now only $1850 brand new, thats a grand off RRP.

So, has anyone got a reasonably new model that could comment on reliabilty, issues, likes etc?

Can't see her getting on anything else new for that price.

[Deano]

Ask Alan (Weaver). He just bought one for a South Island tour (don't ask me why !?!)

Strange bike for a full on road trip but bear in mind that he has no soul.

[Kickaha]

Stock bars are crap, fit a lower flatter set

[Katman]

There wouldn't be many better suited learner bikes out there.

[nzspokes]

At that price I cant see it being anything but good. Resale wont be flash but if you spent 8k on a new bike you will lose more than the value of a GN.

If she likes it then your winning.

[Drew]

I rode one yesterday, after I donated a pair of Renthal bars to a mates. Tried a couple wheelies, and surprise surprise, it did pretty average clutch up sit down wheelies.

OK, lets try a different tac. Sitting mid seat, and giving it a hand full of gas at the same time as a wee bounce from about 2000RPM, up she comes onto the back wheel. Then it keeps coming up, all the way to the sweet spot, from where one can blip the throttle and ride off into the distance on one wheel.

To sum up, there is almost no reason not to let the missus get one, and then go play silly buggers on it at your leasure.

[FJRider]

The only problem with those bikes is ... you keep forgetting to put petrol in them. But they are easy to push ... :innocent:

[Lelitu]

really good learner's bikes

I did my training and bhs on one.

the only issue I've found with it is the size, admittedly I'm quite tall, and not exactly a twig
but I found them way too low and extremely cramped. just not pleasant to ride because of how tiny they are.

[akkadian]

OK, lets try a different tac. Sitting mid seat, and giving it a hand full of gas at the same time as a wee bounce from about 2000RPM, up she comes onto the back wheel. Then it keeps coming up, all the way to the sweet spot, from where one can blip the throttle and ride off into the distance on one wheel.

Yay! Sounds like a win/win. Will go get it Monday and can play while she's waiting to sit her Learners Licence. :laugh:

[Drew]

They really need a set of bars, I haven't met anyone who was comfortable with the standard items on a 125 or a 250. So factor $100 in for a set of motor cross bars. None of the cables or lines need to be lengthened to fit them, it takes ten mintues to swap them.

[GrayWolf]

Okay so the Mrs has decided she wants to sit her licence and get a bike. The only things she cares about is that it is cheap, red (!), lite and new. She went out looking this morning and has discovered the Suzuki GN125 is now only $1850 brand new, thats a grand off RRP.

So, has anyone got a reasonably new model that could comment on reliabilty, issues, likes etc?

Can't see her getting on anything else new for that price.

only 'downside'? is performance... the GN 250 is not exactly 'sprightly' which is why its such a good learners bike. She may outgrow a GN125 very quickly.... or maybe not? You could find a reasonable GN250 for the same price with a little judicious searching.

[Drew]

only 'downside'? is performance... the GN 250 is not exactly 'sprightly' which is why its such a good learners bike. She may outgrow a GN125 very quickly.... or maybe not? You could find a reasonable GN250 for the same price with a little judicious searching.

Why would ya do that? They barely go any better, and you don't get a new bike warantee, twelve month warrants, and a brand new bike.

[riffer]

Also,

buy a couple cans of CRC 5.51 at the same time, and spray it on all the chrome and wipe clean EVERY time you park it.

Even if you park it in a garage, because the damn chrome on it is so thin and porous it will leach the H2O out of the air and turn it straight into rust.

The one thing that kills resale value on these is the rust. The tyres are pretty shitty, but what do you expect. Don't expect to be able to do knee down in the wet on your favourite roundabout, cause you'll lowside.

But apart from that, they're a fantastic learners bike, especially for someone who's not too confident on a motorcycle, and, as Drew says, you can have a hell of a lot of fun practicing low speed wheelies on it.

[FJRider]

The one thing that kills resale value on these is the rust. The tyres are pretty shitty, but what do you expect. Don't expect to be able to do knee down in the wet on your favourite roundabout, cause you'll lowside.

But apart from that, they're a fantastic learners bike, especially for someone who's not too confident on a motorcycle, and, as Drew says, you can have a hell of a lot of fun practicing low speed wheelies on it.

At the price paid for it ... resale wont be that big a loss ...

A regular clean and polish will save you heaps, and the fitting of a GOOD set of tyres may save HER life ... or at least ... a lot of pain. Quality tyres are not often fitted on learner bikes ... due to the budget (or lack of) of the owner.

[Drew]

At the price paid for it ... resale wont be that big a loss ...

A regular clean and polish will save you heaps, and the fitting of a GOOD set of tyres may save HER life ... or at least ... a lot of pain. Quality tyres are not often fitted on learner bikes ... due to the budget (or lack of) of the owner.

You'd get a decent set of hoops for a couple hundy too.

[riffer]

You'd get a decent set of hoops for a couple hundy too.

I wonder what are a good set of tyres for a GN? Sport Demons?

[Drew]

I wonder what are a good set of tyres for a GN? Sport Demons?Anything radial will be fine. I wouldn't go as good as sport demons if I didn't have to. The bikes weigh nothing, and don't have super brakes.

[Kickaha]

Anything radial will be fine. I wouldn't go as good as sport demons if I didn't have to. The bikes weigh nothing, and don't have super brakes.

You wont get radials in the sizes those bikes run, but Bridgestone, Pirelli, Dunlop etc should have something far better quality than what they come out with

[avgas]

I test rode a GN125 (new) for a mate a few year ago and fell in love with them. Even didn't mind the stock bars. Preferred it to the GN250 seemed more flickable for some reason (newer?).
Easily enough grunt - got to 120 on motorway relatively easily.

Was a shock for me to see the MILLIONS of them in use in China. They are the equivalent to a hilux over there.

[Oakie]

Shock! Two pages into a GN125 thread and there are no haters!
I'm not about to hate either. I've only ridden one a couple of times and that was a test ride and ride the bike home for my son-in-law. Loved it! So easy to ride and a great bike for him or anyone under 6 foot 4 to learn on. Get decent tyres as others have said but if it's not going to be used in the wet just wait until the budget allows. Handlebars ... I found them OK. Infact they probably made the bike feel a little bigger physically which made it OK for my 6 foot frame.

[GrayWolf]

Shock! Two pages into a GN125 thread and there are no haters!
I'm not about to hate either. I've only ridden one a couple of times and that was a test ride and ride the bike home for my son-in-law. Loved it! So easy to ride and a great bike for him or anyone under 6 foot 4 to learn on. Get decent tyres as others have said but if it's not going to be used in the wet just wait until the budget allows. Handlebars ... I found them OK. Infact they probably made the bike feel a little bigger physically which made it OK for my 6 foot frame.


Mate I wont hear a bad thing said about the wee ginny. Got my partners one in the garage de 'rego'd now as she decided to go can am. They are an excellent learner bike, for at least 6 months to learn the basic skills.
Every so often they make a bike that is almost perfect for a task, and the Ginny is one of those. The only other ideal learner bike IMO was the old CB175 Honda, sadly they are few n far between now, but another excellent choice for a newbie.

[akkadian]

Thanks for all the positive feedback. Mrs is really excited about her new purchase now. After watching the monos on You Tube she's banned me from using it until she can legally ride though :( Even so, it all sounds like a done deal to me.

[Zadkiel]

So to hijack this a litte, I have been looking at one of these to commute on since they are so damn cheap. I learnt to ride on a GN250 and it had manageable power (it wasn't so slow it hurt), will this be much worse? I mean it's half the CCs right and only 6 years newer. So is it close enough to be ok, or will it just be so slow I might as well have bought a scooter?

Have you had a ride yet? What do you think?