Review: ZZR250

[John]

ZZR250, a bike every learner is well aware of – maybe not the prettiest, DEFINITELY not the fastest, not the most comfortable – what does it have? Its impossible to explain the ‘Zen’ of the bike seems to suit all learners alike, and plastics on a 250cc bike just reels in the new riders un-aware of repair costs, but that’s not all this bike does have a reputation a reputation that it will continue to have for years to come, lets find out.
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At first glance you would be fooled to think that this bike is a mild mannered ‘old mans’ bike (I use that term loosely), and you wouldn’t be blamed thinking that, when you get on the bike you a treated to a relatively sporty riding position for a bike with a rather small seat height (760mm) everything is easily found, the clip-on handle bars force you into a relaxed riding position with no real strain on the wrists, the dials are easily to view from all angles thanks to its larger blade (which does a good job of wind protection!), sitting on this bike surprisingly is very comfortable, lets see how it performs.
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The bike relies on the (infamous?)/famous engine from the GPX series of bikes being in production since the mid to late 80’s and still produced under the Kawasaki theorem “If its good why make it better?”, The water cooled, 4 valves per cylinder, Parallel twin engine with about 28+/- BHP (depending on year).
The bike is very friendly down low to the rider – its two pistons pumping out enough torque to keep it running happy at sub 10kmph speeds without to much playing with the throttle, and can get off the line very very quickly.
At city speeds/filter speeds the bike has plenty to play with in just about every gear, always ready to accelerate and do it relatively quickly.
Up high is the only real weak point for this bike, once it gets to 130kmph its going to take a bit to get farther quickly, topping out at around 160kmph on a good day – it still provides plenty of get up and go to keep up on a ride or overtake the cars, or even take out cars happily.
Ideally the delivery of the engines power is very smooth (almost unnoticeable) so is very practical for the novice rider who is still learning throttle control, this bike will definitely not punish one who hasn’t had any on or off road riding experience.

The gearbox is also another fantastic thing of this bike (and most Kawasaki’s) is there simplicity – they are built to be friendly and forgiving while still taking the punishment of one yet to learn proper clutch control, they let you know your in gear with a nice ‘clunk’ and only hit false neutrals if you get lazy in your changes – getting into neutral while stopped is a breeze one click up and you’re there no fidgeting around with the lever trying to find neutral, another big plus for this bike.
Cruising – what can I say this bike eats country roads and state highways without trouble, it loves being ridden at a constant speed, the comfort at 100/120kmph is amazing its like literally sitting still (if you’re a short fella like me, if your larger I would imagine a bit of buffeting for reference I’m 5’7” and never got a sore neck on a ride.) and what’s better still is fuel mileage, I always ran 91 in it and got around 270+/-kms to a tank (18litre including reserve).
Now say who would think that this thing could attack those twisties? Well don’t throw it away yet; this thing has yet to share its best best feature it LOVES to corner, literally this bike MAKES love to the corner – its small high profile tires 100/80 front insures it dips in quick and flicks out just as quick and the 140/70 holds it in the corner, you will be scrapping pegs in this bike within months of having it! The front end is confident under braking never shaking the rear even under incredibly heavy braking, the front end suspension is very firm yet forgiving, and the rear (adjustable) is a wee bit to hard, but softening the spring would turn it into a perfect ride (this is my opinion i.e. my riding style), the front single disk slows the bike nicely and is strong enough to lift the rear if you ever..err need to. The aesthetic appeal of this bike is what catches a lot, with its twin guns (exhausts) floating either side of the bike and large wind protecting fairing with plenty of lines to keep you looking at your bike while its parked in the garage.
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Over all I find it very hard to fault this bike, it has a presence that just makes you want to ride it like a big bike, it draws plenty of attention and is commonly accused of being a 400cc bike, but the best thing is the price! These bikes are one of the cheaper of the 250cc bikes, since this is the EX series (GPX, ZZR) there will always be parts around, (they still make the GPX for the US/Jap market) so finding spares and new parts is never problem, unless of course you want fairings now that’s a different story, fairings and indicators for this bike are some things you DON’T want to break as they will set you back a few dollars to get fixed, I leave you with the full bike specs.

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Displacement: 248 cc
Bore & Stroke: 62.0 x 41.2 mm
Compression Ratio: 12.4:1 CarburettorKeihin CVKD 30 x 2
Rake Angle: 26.5 degrees
Front Wheel Travel: 125 mm
Rear Wheel Travel: 110 mm
Front lace>Tyrelace> Size: 100/80-17
Rear lace>Tyrelace> Size: 140/70-17
Wheelbase: 1,405 mm
Fuel Tank Capacity: 18 litres
Seat Height: 760 mm
Dry Weight: 146 kg
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> Disclaimer: The ZZR250 was my first road bike so this maybe a bit of a one sided review I tried to be as unbiased and truthful as possible, thanks for checking it out.
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[Pwalo]

Nice review. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the ZZR/GPX 250s. Certainly seem to be an ideal learner's bike.

[John]

Thanks, I also agree - they are so cheap (gpx for around the 2k Mark max, and ZZR around the 3k mark), hold their value - and they go so well, the GPX is also great in the sense that they have a fairing but not a large one that is easily broken.

Think thats why they are so popular in the american/canadian markets? well I think anyway.

[MoFunthanmost]

great review - Love my baby and those corners!

[crash harry]

ZZR250 was my first bike too. I thought it was ace. Real friendly for a beginner.

[fishb8nz]

Sounds like a nice bike to ride but 270/18=42.5 mpg. My mate has a Suzuki Swift car and he gets 45 mpg! Are you sure about that. I'm looking for a commuter bike for convenience and economy.

[Ixion]

Sounds like a nice bike to ride but 270/18=42.5 mpg. My mate has a Suzuki Swift car and he gets 45 mpg! Are you sure about that. I'm looking for a commuter bike for convenience and economy.

Y'need a single cylinder for economy. L'i'l Ratty gets about 90mpg (80 if I cane it), for about 150kph . FXR150s will give you 110mpg, maybe a bit slower. GN250, should be over the 100mpg I guess bit slower again.

Depends too on how much you weigh, that's significant on small bikes. I'm about 120kg with gear, which doesn't help, dunno how much Mr John weighs.

[justsomeguy]

Sounds like a nice bike to ride but 270/18=42.5 mpg. My mate has a Suzuki Swift car and he gets 45 mpg! Are you sure about that. I'm looking for a commuter bike for convenience and economy.

Crap fuel economy. About 270kms on around 16.5-17 litres. This is a good mix of city and country riding and never taking it above 13k rpm.

[Gremlin]

Well John obviously rode my poor little bike hard. With the blasting I did on PF's ride, it was about 15.7 litres, and I got 275 off k's. The best I have got is 320 off 15.9. This was still mixed riding and I don't ride economically.

The best ever consumption I have recorded (I've built an Excel spreadsheet to record everything) is 4.7L/100km or 21km/L. Recorded as mixed riding, and probably still leaving lights quickly.