2006 Suzuki GN 250

[Hiflyer]

Banzai? Badger8 was the GN wheelie master

It's a great bike to learn on (as i did), but there does come a stage where you may want a more comfortable position/ power/ room/ speed/ handling/ brakes etc, and then you can upgrade to a bike which takes more skill to ride

But as for a first time rider they're great bulletproof little bikes!

So you dont think itd be better to learn on a slightly more difficult bike to ride on?

thats my own personal view anyway, id rather do it the hard way.



like playing Halo on legendary for the 1st time. . . that sucked

[Choco]

So you dont think itd be better to learn on a slightly more difficult bike to ride on?

thats my own personal view anyway, id rather do it the hard way.



like playing Halo on legendary for the 1st time. . . that sucked

The Gn's fairly simple for a new rider to get their head around; shows what gear your in, not enough power to spin your back tyre, drops without any serious damage and so on. It teaches you the basics before chucking in better performing parts.

The main thing my Gn taught me was how to wait for a good gap and to pre-plan overtaking maneuvers which a more powerful bike might not.

The GN is a good Learner bike - get the basics down on it and then look to upgrade to something a bit more expensive and with a few more cylinders.

Halo on legendary is somewhat insane (im a PC geek and suck with controllers), but the final stage of Halo3 on legendary with a mate is stupidly good fun

[allycatz]

I tried the "hard way" on a cbf250 after being advised not to buy the gn...was too tall for me and as I was suffering from stuffed shoulder at the time....too heavy....one stuffed ankle later it took me 4 months to get on a scooter let alone another bike....I just want to learn in baby steps

[monkeymcbean]

Yeah, both of those things are a crock of shit. I'd be interested to know about these `sticky situations' that power supposedly gets you out of -- an impatient pass where you didn't leave enough room, perhaps?

You don't need power to get you out of `sticky situations'.

I'd also challenge the idea that you might get bored on a smaller bike. Some people might, but I certainly haven't. It'll be a long while (as a beginner with bikes) before you'll be comfortable enough to be bored, and if you are bored, it's because you're not seeking out the right sort of fun roads. On a small bike twisty tight roads are far more enjoyable than they are on a big bike.

Sounds like a GN250 would be an excellent choice for you -- especially with the low seat-height. Sounds like you share very little in your idea of biking with the original poster; doing wheelies and sounding `cool' with a straight exhaust don't seem to be on your list.

Ha, my first bike was a Suzuki tu 250 did about 7000kms in my learners year on it, took it everywhere, lots of dirts roads with some off road biker mates, that was interesting certainly got youst to the rear wheel moving round, tarmac was mostly secondary roads as i felt more comfortable on these with less traffic, great for building up confidence.
'sticky situations' yep but didn't need power to get me out of them!
I even got around with full leathers on this baby, it was so cool, on a good day with the wind behind me i could get up to 100kms!

[hayd3n]

im riding the mighty gn 250 at the moment ,my bikes getting the 2nd gear fix :<
,
its straight to work and home ,bad brakes, bad tyres, and i keep scraping the pegs on corners, lol ,but it sure beats walking

[Mystic13]

I think some of you are being a bit harsh on the GN250. My wife has finally learnt and being all of 5 feet in her winter socks and wanting a more tourer position the GN250 was it.

Last weekend I went for a blast on the GN with my 10 year old son. It went down the motorway well.

Overall my impressions of the GN250 are;

- well balanced
- easy to ride
- it's a single and performs pretty well for one.
- the digital gear display is a nice touch for learners, especially in the early stages of learning and changing down for lights.


Overall a great bike to ride around on. In the last 6 months I rode a GPX(Z?) 250 from New Plymouth to Auckland. I would happily ride a GN250 the same route for delivery purposes. (maybe happily isn't the word but...)

When you switch bikes you have to change your riding style, the way you brake, ride corners, and sit.

I never had a problem with achy wrists within seconds of grabbing the bars. I do think the turned in position is a bit odd but they're comfortable once you figure it out.

The brakes aren't the greatest but my other bike has brembo's that make it stop on a dime. You have to give the GN250's a real good squeeze.

A mate's Kawasaki VN1600 Cruiser has brakes that are as bad if not worse. I took his laz-y-boy kawasaki for a run because I'd never riden one got to the corner and hit the brakes and then there was a gradual slowing. Coming off a sport bike it was a real shocker.

A GN250 is $2500, you can get a much better bike by spending twice as much.

Personally I think the GN250 is a easy to ride, capable, reliable and bullet proof learner bike.

If you were 6 foot plus I would probably discourage the GN250.

All this and I weigh 100kg. I have no idea what my son weighs but the GN250 went fine.

The GN250 is a cruiser and not a sport bike.

I kind of think if you jump off a r1 and onto a 1000 cruiser you'd notice the same differences listed in previous posts. Brakes not as good, acceleration not as good, handling not as good and that would be true. They're two different bikes. That doesn't make the cruiser a lemon.

[hayd3n]

well the brakes on this particular gn are very touchy, i just touch em and they lock up and not good on wet days!!

[Irontusk]

- the digital gear display is a nice touch for learners, especially in the early stages of learning and changing down for lights.


All this and I weigh 100kg. I have no idea what my son weighs but the GN250 went fine.

The GN250 is a cruiser and not a sport bike.

Next you will tell me I need a tacho No trouble learning without one, it's good not to rely on these things, eyes on the road people..

I'm not even 65kg and it sure struggled to get me up hills (yeah I know no 250 is going to do terribly well up hill)

Take that back, there is a difference between a commuter and a cruiser.

[Bonez]

I'd be more worried about the build quality of a chinese made GN250.

Guy at works done over 23,000kms on his 2006 "rustbucket" only rust I can see on it is the headers. But it's been out in all weather for 3 years so it's to be expected. Only issues he's had was rect/reg, chain and muffler plate reriveted.

Yamaha Scorpians are a bloody good learners bike too.

[Mystic13]

I'm not even 65kg and it sure struggled to get me up hills (yeah I know no 250 is going to do terribly well up hill)

You're kidding right. It struggled to get a 65kg you up the lack of hills in Aucks.

I think the GN may not be in good order or your expectations were too high.






As for the Scorpion - I thought the red Scorpion with black wheels looks pretty good.

We took the Scorpion for a run when choosing a bike for my wife and the GN250 won the toss. The extra cost of the Scorpion and the skinny tyres were the two negatives.

Sure you can buy a kawasaki that goes like a rocket for 6-7g's. Or you can get the GN and step up when you've learned. Some people don't know if it's really them and the GN250 is a good dip in the water.

But again these bikes are built for a purpose and do the job well.

The seat on the GPZ, Ninja, or Hyosung were all too tall for my wife. She also didn't like the lean forward position. Personally I like the bike like that.

Clearly different people do have different taste but nothing to me suggests the GN250 deserved bagging for being lower cost etc.

[klingon]

I reckon if you treated any bike the way most people seem to treat their GNs, they would fail to perform.

I challenge you to buy any bike, leave it out in the rain, never change the oil, never lube the chain, let the tyres gradually go flat, then after a couple of years let some people from here take it out for a test ride. Of course they're going to say it's a heap of junk!

Oh and don't forget to let 15 of your closest friends learn to ride on it as well - drop it a few times, forget to pull in the clutch before you change gear, stall it on every single hill start for the first six months, and for the next six months thrash it to within an inch of its life "to see how fast it will go."

It's a miracle any bike survives that kind of treatment, let alone continues to function and can still get up to motorway speeds!

[NOWOOL]

you might want to remove reliability, its a 2006 rust bucket GN

the 06's are just as reliable as the 80's ones...the only difference will the the tendency to take on corrosion on the forks and side plates. More than I can say for 250 ninjas.......buy a new bike at 20,000 k's....meanwhile the GN will still be running fine.

[Reido]

the 06's are just as reliable as the 80's ones...the only difference will the the tendency to take on corrosion on the forks and side plates. More than I can say for 250 ninjas.......buy a new bike at 20,000 k's....meanwhile the GN will still be running fine.

mines at 20,000 kms and going fine, besides a chain that needs attending too >_<

i rode my mates GN (either 2005 or 2006),
the handling was terrible (i'll conceed that the seating and bars are quite different to my bike so could have been because i was not used to it)
clutch was very heavy and stiff, and the breaks weren't very responsive.
though his wasnt rusted at all,

so my opinion on the bike, reliable engine, hate everything else (besides maybe the weight)

[huff3r]

My clutch seems fine, very light and all that...

But the best bit about my GN250 is that in the 3ish years i've owned it, it has appreciated in value.

Its a 2004, and is worth more now than it was when i bought it. So if i do sell it (actually it blongs to dad lol) i'll be making money, not losing out.

I havent looked much at other 250s, but this impressed me a lot. And the other thing is... why not start on a GN if you're not going to lose any money on it? Might even save you some money (1st fall, no fairings to replace... and maybe you'll learn not to fall again, as opposed to 1st fall costing 100s)

[unrealone]

My clutch seems fine, very light and all that...

But the best bit about my GN250 is that in the 3ish years i've owned it, it has appreciated in value.

Its a 2004, and is worth more now than it was when i bought it. So if i do sell it (actually it blongs to dad lol) i'll be making money, not losing out.

I havent looked much at other 250s, but this impressed me a lot. And the other thing is... why not start on a GN if you're not going to lose any money on it? Might even save you some money (1st fall, no fairings to replace... and maybe you'll learn not to fall again, as opposed to 1st fall costing 100s)

Please elaborate how yours has appreciated in value?