Suzuki GN125 - good bike?

[vinnieh]

I had a quick look with the search function to find out the general opinion on the Suzuki GN125, but since my "broadband" is reduced to dialup speed at the moment, it's not easy, so I thought I'd just make a post.

Anyway, the time has come for me to sell my little Nifty 50, and upgrade to something faster! There's some pretty good looking Suzuki GN125 (and 250s) on trademe, but I don't want to buy a bike that as all manner of design flaws etc...

So for around $1800, am I going to get myself a good bike to #1 Learn On and #2 Get Me Places? Is the GN125 reliable? Fuel efficient? Do they handle well? Things to watch out for?

I'm only experienced (if you can call it that) in scooters and dirt bikes... road bikes seem to be a whole different story.

Any help, tips, suggestions are most welcome!

Thanks all!

Vinnie

[Phoenix]

I would get an FXR 150 instead, more fun to ride, better handling, fuel efficient, tyres last a long time, when I thought I was moving up by buying a GN250, little did I know I was moving down, I learnt nothing from riding the 250 except that it cost me $4200 under MTF

[Trouser]

The 250 is slow the 125 is slooooow.

If you intend to ride on motorways and open roads then get something bigger and better. The 125 is fine for 50 to 80k roads though.

[R6_kid:Me]

They're mass produced, low level commuter bikes. Don't expect miracles from them and you won't be dissapointed. If you want to learn to ride a motorcycle on the road, and get from A to B, then a GN125/250 could be just for you.

There are arguably better bikes for the job, even in your price range. But for doing what you've stated a GN125/250 should satisfy your needs for a while at least.

My pick would be to find a decent second hand Yamaha Scorpio Z. It's faster and arguably better made - I enjoyed riding the ScorpioZ, even after being on bigger bikes (back to back with an 07 ZX10R)... the GN wouldn't have been the same.

[rainman]

GNs aren't all bad although people will justifiably tell you that the new ones rust a lot. They're great little bikes to get your skills developed on, but they don't set any land speed records. This is a generally good thing for a learner. Seriously.

And you can run them on pocket change.

[Dargor]

Good for doing the basic handling on. But i'd borrow/hire it.

[racefactory]

Just to get some sort of indication- the GN250 will do an absolute max speed of 130 with a bit of a tail wind.. with a 55kg rider, and it will take 2km to get there.

A 125cc is half the capacity of a 250cc... So I would not expect any motorway riding from it to be honest.

[Outlaw_Torn]

I would get an FXR 150 instead, more fun to ride, better handling, fuel efficient, tyres last a long time, when I thought I was moving up by buying a GN250, little did I know I was moving down, I learnt nothing from riding the 250 except that it cost me $4200 under MTF

Would have to agree with you on this one!!! ive found the FXR is powerful enough, cruises at open road speeds fairly well (with an 80kg rider lol) and i just traveled from napier to opononi on about $30... Shouldnt be too hard to pick up a decent conditioned one in your price range.

[prettybillie]

I had a quick look with the search function to find out the general opinion on the Suzuki GN125, but since my "broadband" is reduced to dialup speed at the moment, it's not easy, so I thought I'd just make a post.

Anyway, the time has come for me to sell my little Nifty 50, and upgrade to something faster! There's some pretty good looking Suzuki GN125 (and 250s) on trademe, but I don't want to buy a bike that as all manner of design flaws etc...

So for around $1800, am I going to get myself a good bike to #1 Learn On and #2 Get Me Places? Is the GN125 reliable? Fuel efficient? Do they handle well? Things to watch out for?

I'm only experienced (if you can call it that) in scooters and dirt bikes... road bikes seem to be a whole different story.

Any help, tips, suggestions are most welcome!

Thanks all!

Vinnie

I learned on one of these - well I wasted a whole lot of time one one as when I moved to my GPX I had to learn all over again. They are great to get from a to b, but if you're wanting to get into it more than that this one is probably not your best option.

[koba]

An FXR also has the option of being used for bucket racing when you have outgrown it on the road.

[Dare]

I had a quick look with the search function to find out the general opinion on the Suzuki GN125, but since my "broadband" is reduced to dialup speed at the moment, it's not easy, so I thought I'd just make a post.

Anyway, the time has come for me to sell my little Nifty 50, and upgrade to something faster! There's some pretty good looking Suzuki GN125 (and 250s) on trademe, but I don't want to buy a bike that as all manner of design flaws etc...

We used these to do our handling test... Very stable considering it was the first bike I ever rode, but after getting the bandit I realised how incredibly slow they are. I wouldn't recommend it for anything you wouldn't do on a scooter. GN250 maybe? Apparently those can keep up with some people on 250 ninjas if ridden well enough.