Faults:

This is my second GN125 1983. The 1982 gave me no trouble, but the 83 seems to have this issue that could be either the clutch or the gears / trans.

Anyhow, it starts easy, but idles high. I think the diaphragm might be acting up, even when warmed up. While idling at normal RPM, it has loud banging sounds from the engine, and once the clutch is pulled in, it seems to only do it maybe 5%. If you put it thru the gears, it still makes lots of those hard noises, and stalls the engine with a hard mechanical stoppage; something binding, getting stuck.

So I am disappointed with this, and don't know what it really is. If anyone had a similar experience, please share your success with me. Thanks.

Faults:

The starter motor has gone out, but it is a 28 year old motorcycle.

General Comments:

For as old as this bike is, it runs very well. It has an easy little engine to wrench on and I never have to worry about spending money on gasoline. It is extremely light in weight, so the wind tends to blow it around a bit. I love it though, great little bike to tool around town on.

Faults:

The little light bulbs on the gear indicator always seem to be burning out. Replacing them is not difficult, but it's not easy, either.

The tach and speedo gauges are not sealed well, probably because the bulb sockets are just big hunks of rubber that don't really keep the water out, so the glass has fogged and there's nothing to be done. You can't take them apart to clean under the glass without destroying them, or so it seems, anyway. I haven't found a way to get into them. This is quite an annoyance.

Changing or checking light bulbs in the gauges (turn signal, hi beam, neutral and illumination) is a real pain, and the bulbs do vibrate loose and go out from time to time. They just need to be wiggled back to life.

Gauges are black-painted over zinc plating. The paint comes off with heavy finger pressure. This is just cheap. I have no idea why these cheapo gauges are so expensive from the dealer at $150 a piece. Besides, all I want to do is clean the underside of the glass.

Front brake had good feel, against what others have said, but the pads were squeaky straight from the dealer. After I replaced the pads, the squeaking stopped, but now there's nearly no feel, though the brakes work nicely.

For such a popular bike across the world, it's very difficult to find accessories like luggage racks for this bike in the United States. I've wanted one for a long time and still can't find one here. Parts are cheap and plentiful in England and South America, though.

General Comments:

Aside from the above comments, I do really really like this motorcycle. It's light, fun, agile, perfect beginner's bike. But it looks great, too. No doubt about it. I find the acceleration to be crisp and solid, tire grip is sure. This bike is all about fun.

I've ridden much larger bikes and I guess I'm just not a horsepower snob. I like the big fast bikes and I like the little peppy nimble bikes. I'm just a huge motorcycle fan. I don't find this bike to be too slow. It's not a highway bike, for sure. But it's fun to ride, safe, nimble, attractive and just, I don't know. I really like it.

I don't see why someone who has been given the choice of either a motorcycle or a scooter would go for a scooter. This thing is way cooler than any scooter any day of the week.

Rust is a problem on the chrome bits, but it all comes off with steel wool. This bike sat for ten years and still runs just fine and is about to get used a lot. Rust had gathered on the foot pegs and everywhere else. But to my amazement, it all came off without the cleaned chrome surface showing any wear or damage, but for some pinhole pitting on the forks.

Tires can be hard to find and expensive in the US. The dealer still carries them because these bikes, I believe, are still imported to the US on a limited basis for state rider safety programs, which is a good thing. Dealers get plenty of them at the beginning of each riding season from the DMV's, and fix them up and tune them. After being unable to find tires on the Internet, I surprised to find the tires for this bike at my local Suzuki dealer IN STOCK. They cost about $140 the pair, though. Ouch! But I did install them myself, which you can do with this bike, because wheel design still uses tubes. Otherwise, it would have cost about $340 from the dealer to refit the bike with new tires and tubes.

The bike is virtually unchanged in design since 1982, and I think the frame and cosmetics are even older from back when all Suzuki were two-strokes. But the classic look has aged really well, and parts are still basically easy to get at the dealer or on eBay.