Are you looking to step up from a 150 cc motorcycle well in that case you must
have looked at the 250 cc segment and felt that it's a little bit of a
no-man's land because they aren't as wallet-friendly as the 200s but they
aren't as exciting or as premium as the 300s or the 390 either but could the Suzuki
Gixxer SF 250 be the one that changes the space from being a no-man's land
to being every man's or every boy's dream
let's go straight to the heart of the matter the new engine is a 250 cc oil cooled engine don't write it off sign
it off just on that basis not just yet I'm going to give you some headlines
about it it's an all-new engine that Suzuki has developed specifically for
India and that oil cooling system it is so efficient that the block of the
engine the head do not need fins it's like a liquid cooled engine on that
front it's so cool apparently that Suzuki has
filed several patents for it
in in space the SF 250 is offering the best power-to-weight ratio in fact the
only 250 with a better figure on that front is the 250 Duke but that's not
fair and that would be unfair but talking about power this makes twenty
six point five PS of power which is the same as Honda CBR 250r which has liquid
cool and well this packs in six PS more than the fazer 25 from Yamaha
all cooling has helped make motorcycle lighter Suzuki tell us that this 250 cc
engine is in fact 1.4 kilograms lighter than the 200 engine from KTM and well it
is six kilos lighter this motorcycle then the CBR 250r but it is four kilos
heavier than the Fazer 25
promising right but what is this engine form and be the usability or top-end
performance well Suzuki answered both well it's a
good thing that we are the BIC it would help clear one of those things
right now
so will this 250 cc motorcycle make tongue hangout they could rule all over it
with excitement fizzy happiness no but it is bringing the balance that Suzuki
promised it's giving you the bottom and grunt that you get with the Frazer 25
for instance and on the other hand you're getting the top-end punch as well
off the CBR 250r in fact the power delivery is so smooth it's almost a bit
too common on that front which is why it doesn't feel all that exciting in the
way it performs but everything that is got the engine feels adequately smooth
the gearbox really slick so it is coming across as a real mature package and I'm
going somewhere with this watch out
but first we handle you see the Gixxer SF 150 set such a high benchmark on this
front that its elder brother the SF 250 you will have to do better or at least
as well but how now to go along with that bigger engine the SF also needs a
bigger frame a beefier frame it isn't a trellis or a twin spark it is the
diamond type but it is more robust than before
interestingly it is also shared with the SF 150 but the geometry for the front
end is different this is sharper has less trail as well to give it that added
bit of agility
and like the 150 you get regular 41 mm telescopic forks up front there are no
panelists or radial calipers but you do get dual channel abs on the 250 and if
you look at the rear there's a box section swing arm which is five
millimeters longer than the one on the 150 apart from the bar ends there's
another interesting way of distinguishing with 250 from the 150 and
that's the tires the 250 West radials and the rear raise a 150 by 60 profile
weedy
expectations are high from this for another reason as well ryuyo
ryuyo google it and if you find something about this secret of Suzuki's
let us know in the comments below now it's time for track time
it's clear the SF 250 has its own personality it isn't hyper like the SF 150 which is
just super agile ever willing to turn into any corner at any speed and it's a
lot of fun that way the SF 250 seems a bit more mature it seems to be putting a
bit more thought into the way it goes into a corner and the rider needs to
adapt and once you do you find that it is a confidence-inspiring
and smooth motorcycle especially through long sweeping bends and of course along
with that bigger powertrain that it has it also has the punch to make it that
much more exciting yes it could have been spottier and it would have been
more fun but in the real world more people might enjoy this over a variety
of conditions one thing I did not like though with brakes they were a bit
inconsistent in terms of the feel and the ABS intervention which was a bit of
a downer especially braking at the end of the
long straights here at the BIC but nonetheless, it's clear the SF 250 is
bringing a different flavour to the Suzuki showroom but now it's time to see
whether it's bringing the sensible quotient for daily use
the SF 250 is going to fit into the urban grind just fine the engine it's
got torque from low rpm it's smooth so what's so that you can shift up gears
early and just cruise along and which is interesting because when you head out on
the highway you will find that you'll be able to see the triple digit speeds
calmly although that small windscreen how well does it deflect wind at triple
digit speeds or something we'll have to wait and find out when we get this bike for a test
another thing we're gonna have to check for Taurus is the range
because this tank is the smallest in the class at 12 meters and Suzuki is shared
claim fuel efficiency figures but yeah you're gonna wait for our real-world
tests for that as well and clue number three about the attitude of the SF in
the accessories list Suzuki is offering a charging point here a twelve volt
socket for the SF and saddlebags as well well the sporty looking motorcycle won't
make you a captive of sportiness because well despite the clip-on handlebars the
seating position is actually quite comfortable you could use this every day
without getting aches and pains and the seat height at eight hundred millimeters
it isn't the lowest in the class but even somebody like me who's five feet
six can get both feet down flat and well when it comes right quality ve only rode
it on the racetrack here but over the curves it felt quite accommodating so
the SF 250 seems like it's an everyday bike for every man
so while we warned a motorcycle to be an every day motorcycle
there are also romantics we wanted to look sporty and sporty means fully
faired and this Suzuki wears its Gixxer SF name with ride look at the headlamp
it's got led low beam LED high beam and the design well why don't you tell us in
the comments what do you think about it I'm on the fence here and Suzuki said
that this design is clearly not inspired from any of the existing big bikes that
I can confirm now as we've come to expect from Suzuki quality is pretty
much spot-on you look at the paint finisher this is a matte finish for the
silver and for the black the two colours that the Gixxer SF 250 is offered in
currently it looks really well done and that aside you look at the instrument
cluster that's a new unit because it has a blue back right now it's still that
digital layout that we've seen on the Gixxer 150 but this is different the
only thing I find a bit strange here in terms of design is this windscreen which
is really quite short and feels especially so when you're looking at it
from here from the riders viewpoint
in terms of design it's quite clear to connect this to the Gixxer 150 that we
had earlier right from the grab handles here for the pillion and the tail lamp
well it's taken on a more modern look it's sleeker and has that LED bar in
there to give it that modern edge as well and Gixxer element quite clearly
here is the exhaust with that dual port layout here but it's looking a little
bit bigger it's looking a little bit more spread out for well that more
grown-up look here with the 250 well there's one thing that might be a bit of
a downer for those looking at the SF 250 and that is it looks pretty much exactly
like the SF 150 yeah for 60,000 bucks more and right the price tag at one
point seven lakh rupees one thing that this is charging a bit of a premium but
when you look in you'll find that Suzuki is delivering value like the radial
tires the bigger disc brakes and the instrument cluster the new engine right
but coming down to the motorcycle where does this fit in well it's clearly I
gave you the hits it's giving you a different attitude a different nature
motorcycle in the Suzuki portfolio the SF 150 is that really brash youngster
this is the more mature package it's still a very capable fun and exciting
package but is bringing that added sense of maturity and with that what you're
getting is a motorcycle that might not fit in perfectly as a sports bike but as
a sports tourer for a lot of people this will take all the right bosses