2006 Suzuki GZ250 review from United States of America

It consumes oil.

I found that its performance drops off during the last half of the manufacturer's recommended oil change interval. Changing oil at the halfway point is beneficial.

The GZ250 is a perfect first bike or a dirt cheap commuter. If you are riding in town or on lower speed limit roads, you'll have few complaints about this bike. You will find that this 250 does best at the upper half of it's RPM range. Low end torque is lacking.

I was little impressed with it's ability to maintain speed at speeds over 55mph. At 65mph the bike is OK flat out with no head wind. Introduce a slight uphill grade and add a head wind, and I've seen this bike lose speed even to the point where I had to pull off to the shoulder to let traffic get by. Embarrassing.

I've had no luck finding anything available to tweak the GZ250's performance. The answer is always the same... "It's a 250, what did you expect?".

I don't care for the tires on this bike. They are typical of what you get on any new cruiser bike. My personal preference is aggressive treaded all weather skins like the British bikes had. The weather in England requires tires that stick to the road in rain, black frost and even slush. Unless you live in a desert state, you'll want these, I'd think.

The saddle could be more comfortable. One's bum could go to sleep on longer trips. Mine has.

Higher speeds are not recommended on windy days. The little Suzi is slightly more than 300 lbs with a full tank of gas. 200 lbs of me plus 300 lbs of bike is not enough in a hefty crosswind.

All that being said, This remains a very good little bike. As with any vehicle, If you stay within the parameters of its limitations, you'll be quite pleased.