Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/141046
o -< o • rm Z m ~ 'Tl a> ". ..... '" co .... u ..., a> ;c a> U '" '--:-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You can drive right by gas stati ons. T he tank w ill take you 14 0 miles befo re you have to STOp . 1 Ph o to s by Da ve Schoon maker & A rt Frie d m an . What Happens When a 250 Gets Toned Down? smo ke , d id n othing to m ake us less curio us o r fearful. After alm ost 1000 miles, th e o il t ank finally as ke d for ano the r q ua rt a nd we wen t b ack to enjoyi ng i t. It sure is nice to no t leave a cloud b eh ind as you go flailin g away fro m a stop , and Su zuki's " Posi- fo rce " lubricatio n system pu t th e o il where it d o es the m o st good. T he handlin g an d brakes were all tha t the y n eed ed to be an d m ore. Th e suspension is a prop er rnatch of comfor t and can tr ol. S teering is qui te neu tra l with no te n de ncy to fall in o r resist turnin g . Bu m ps never se nd yo u an ywh ere that you didn't in te n d to go . lt was n earl y impo ssibl e t o groun d the GT-25 0 with th e stock t ires. T he drawback to the Roo d h andling is th at it makes you wish fo r more power. The new fran t disc bra ke is also m o re th an ade q ua te for th e power an d 35 0 p ound w eigh t of th e m achin e. Th e GT·250 is th e sm a lles t stree t ma chine t o get a di sc b rake so far , an d it de monstra tes th at a d isc is a good id ea o n a sma ll ma chin e, too. T he d isc w ould sq ueak occasionally , but onl y when applie d q ui te lightly. Li ke th e fr on t di sc, the ca ble operated rear d rum b rake could lo ck the wh eel wh en ever yo u felt like it. Both were pro gressive an d co nt ro llable. T he o ther con trols varied. T he cl utch was very light an d n ever slip pe d or grab bed , d esp it e being tr ea ted to seve ra l long sessions of b urnouts and wh eelies by o ne staffer. T hrottle resp o nse was . affec te d by th e change in ca rburetio n since th e o nly pl ace wh ere the m ach in e co mes o n the ports is o ut of ra nge of wha t p owe r b and th a t the carburetion al lows. Beyond th e ch anged carb ure tors th ere still lurks a p ea ky eng ine. Ch an gin g th e slid es wouldn 't hurt a thing. In fac t , we intended t o d o it o urselves, but th e slides n eve r arrived a t o ur d ealer whil e we h ad th e bike . T he transmi ssion is still a six -speed and still works very well. Low is low e noug h to do wheelies just by ham mering on th e thro ttle , a nd sixth is an o verdrive. Lo catin g neu tral is easy. Among other things tha t caught o ur attention aroun d the machine were the horrib le fake lo uvres on the o il tank and tool box co ver. The y are quite ugly. T he headli gh t is fair, but the tai llight is Suzuki 's neat double bulb job that gives you a back -up b ulb a nd a chance to fin d and rep lace a blo wn bu lb before yo u get rear-ended . T he big instrume nts a re nice, but tend t o be slightly erratic. Two of the bulb s in th e inst ru me n ts wenl pool as d id the low bean fila me n t. A I the e nd yo u a re left wondering whe ther th er e is a place fo r a d e - j n t e n s i I'Ie d 250 . S hould th e to n in g-do wn formula be applied 10 a 250 ? Ma yb e. We ce rtain ly liked the added comfort an d range thaI co mes wit h the bi gger scat a nd ta n k, and we d id n ' t regre t the weigh t. But the e ngi ne see ms co nt radictory because it still is the sa me o ld snappy H ustle r wi th a little less th rottle . To ma ke it successful as m ild-man n e red around .towner, the GT-250 need s so me e ngi ne re des ign of porting an d such . O th e rw ise , the slides should b e changed a nd the H us tler should go back to being the flas hy whecIstand ing b reath- take r that it once w as. It is still the off-spring of H ustle r , b ut it feels a little schizoid a bout it. SPECIFICATIONS ENGIN E : Type Bo re x st rok e Disp lacement Co m p ressio n ratio Claim ed BHP Carburet ion O il capacity Reco mm en d ed fue l Ign it io n S tar t ing Sh ift pattern Two cylinder, air cooled two stroke w ith p iston port induction 54 x 54 mm 247cc 7 .5 : 1 31 @ 7 0 0 0 RPM (2) 26mm Mikun is 2.3 pts . Regular Battery-coil Kic k Left fo o t , u p for u p, 1·N ·2 ·3·4·5 WHAT'S M O RE : T he machine is large fa:" a 250. Th e seat and tank are big and the machine is tall. A ll this is do ne w itho ut doi ng anything unseemly w ith the styling except for the ugly fake louvres on the side panels. Weight A bou t 350 Ibs. Wheelbase . .. . .. . . . . .. . . . . .. . . .. .. ... . . . . . . . . . . •... . . .51 .75 in. 80.5 in . Len gth Width 32. 1 in. 3 .00 x 18 T ire size, front 3 .25 x 18 T ire siz e , rear Fuel ca paci ty 3 .9 gal. Gas mi leage du ring t est 30·40 MPG 1032 Miles re cord ed d u ring test Suggested reta il p rice S81O .