Steve Kealy•8 Mar 2013

REVIEW

Suzuki GW250 Inazuma

Name: Suzuki GW250 Inazuma
Brand: Suzuki

There's a lot to like about the new quarter-litre commuter from Suzuki, including sure-footed handling, a very good build quality, and plenty of comfort

The all-new GW250 model is dubbed Inazuma (the Japanese word for ‘lightning’), and revives the name applied to the naked 400, 750 and 1200 models of a decade and more ago.

While Suzuki pitched it as a sportstourer, we’d call it a nippy suburban sportster and perky commuter. The new bike is distinguished by a unique styling treatment that takes cues from the B-King cruiser.

With just a reported 24hp (18kW) on tap, its performance is particularly remarkable, given its decidedly porky kerb weight of 183kg. However, power-wise it sits behind fellow twin-cylinder bikes like the Kawasaki Ninja 250R and Hyosung GT250R, as well as the single-cylinder Honda CBR250R.

The Inazuma’s 250cc fuel-injected twin is smooth, quick-revving, smooth-shifting and very economical. The handling is sure-footed and the steering easy. The big indicators are visible in bright light, and the headlamp has both spread and penetration aplenty.

Build quality -- for a bike built in China – is impressive and absolutely up to Suzuki’s Japanese factory standards. Comfort too, is perfectly adequate for anyone under about 1.82m or six feet in the old money. There’s a bit of buzziness in the bars, seat and pegs when the bike’s revved hard. Eventually it might get annoying, but if you’re spending eight hours a day riding, you’ve probably bought the wrong bike.

However, there’s no escaping the need for high revs – even in sixth gear, the bike’s spinning at 7500rpm at 100km/h. It’ll see 135km/h if asked. Reportedly. With a red-line at 11,500rpm, it begs to be revved – and most of the useful power is in the top quarter of the range, with the 24hp peak at 8500rpm. Luckily it spins up gleefully and despite the Fun-Police’s huge exhaust silencers, it sounds pretty good doing so.

The instrument panel has an analogue rev-counter and a host of LCD numbers including a speedo selectable for km or miles, a gear position indicator, fuel gauge, dual tripmeters and a clock.

A three-mode rpm indicator changes the point at which a gear change light will come on to prompt gear shifts towards a more economical riding style. The modes are Eco, Normal and Off. We left it Off....

Completely ignoring any pretence at riding for economy – and the fact that this was an almost brand-new bike – we returned mileage of 3.78lt/100km. This is probably close to as bad as you could make it: more sedate use, a less rotund rider and a few more km on the engine should see this number dropping a lot closer to 3lt/100km.

The handling is easy, comfortable and accurate – the bike goes where you point it and while it’s no GP racer, it holds a line, even in quite bumpy corners. Thanks to wide bars, it tips into corners easily, but without any nervousness or twitchiness; Suzuki has got this pretty-much spot-on.

On the downside, despite being a monoshock design, the rear suspension delivers a very firm ride and faithfully transmits bigger impacts to the rider’s spine. Fiddling with the seven-way adjustable preload helps a little, but doesn’t eliminate the occasional thump.

The rider’s saddle is wide enough and supportive enough to allow a range of riders to fit comfortably, but their passengers might want a wider, less sloping perch if they’re more than pint-sized.

By far the biggest surprise was venturing onto a gravel road: the Inazuma was unfazed by the surface and was really, really good. You can demand – and get – a lot of the available power before the rear wheel starts to spin, and the bike’s weight works for it for a change. Under brakes, neither wheel is especially keen to over-brake and lock up.

While dirt roads aren’t really listed in the Inazuma’s repertoire, the bike’s so good on them that if there was a dirt section on a trip, there would be no reason to detour to avoid it. Rally attendees of small stature rejoice!

For what it’s worth, a sudden grab of the large single front disc brake will just about lift the rear wheel off the ground. There’s a lot of braking to be had before that happens, and the rear brake has lots of feel too, though a lot less retardation.

Which brings us to the Inazuma’s styling: ‘polarising’ would probably be a good description. Not many people actively liked it – some said it was okay, others were more critical. The frontal treatment is chunky and butch, whereas the tail is quite conventional. There’s a suspicion that even a minor tip-over could damage the square-cut sidecovers, which also mount the front indicators.

At $4990 (plus on-road costs), this isn’t a cheap entry into the two-wheeled world. However, it’s one that you could ride for a very long time without really needing anything more – though we’d like to see a centrestand on the ‘standard’ list, rather than the ‘optional’ side, even if at $145 it’s not a huge impost.

Other useful accessories available from Australian Suzuki dealers include $280 crash bars, a $260 rear rack and a $195 26-litre top-box, and four or 22-litre tank bags which help to make the bike a serious small-bore contender for the week-day work-bike, weekend play-bike category.

Visit the GW250 Inazuma in Bike Showroom

SPECS: SUZUKI GW250 INAZUMA

ENGINE

Type: Liquid-cooled, SOHC twin

Capacity: 248cc

Bore x stroke: 53.5mm x 55.2mm

Compression ratio: 11.5:1

Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

PERFORMANCE

Claimed maximum power: 24hp (18kW) at 8500rpm

Claimed maximum torque: Not given

TRANSMISSION

Type: Six speed

Final drive: Chain

Clutch: Wet

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR

Frame type: Tubular steel cradle

Front suspension: Telescopic fork, non-adjustable

Rear suspension: Monoshock, preload adjustable

Front brakes: Disc

Rear brake: Disc

Tyres: Front 110/80-17, rear 140/70-17

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES

Rake: Not given

Trail: Not given

Claimed kerb weight: 183kg

Seat height: 780mm

Wheelbase: 1430mm

Fuel capacity: 13.3 litres

OTHER STUFF

Price: $4990

Colours: Pearl Nebular Black or Candy Cardinal Red

Test bike supplied by: Suzuki Australia, www.suzuki.com.au

Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres

Suzuki GW250 Inazuma

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