RIDING IMPRESSION
P56
2013 SUZUKI GW250
bottom end to speak of; its strongest torque curve is in the 40006000 rpm range, but more experienced riders will wring it out far
above that to find that small window of fun. Our test riders said
they constantly saw the tach needle around 8000 rpm or above.
The GW will reach speeds upwards of 85 mph, but you might
want to have a book handy while
you wait for it to get there. But
80 mph seems to be the realistic
max, with the tach showing 9,500
rpm, which isn't all that far from
the bike's 11,000 rpm redline. In
short, the GW is a revver, especially if you want to make any sort
of time getting to your destination.
It does, however, cruise along
nicely at 65 mph but don't expect
a whole lot of acceleration from
that point when you suddenly twist
the throttle to the stop. Plan ahead
when making lane changes; you
don't want a car coming up on you
faster than you thought.
You'd think that wringing out
the motor like this would produce
some serious vibes, but because
of the GW's gear-driven counterbalancer shaft, the Suzook is remarkably smooth when it comes
to vibration, or the lack of vibration. You just don't feel it through
the handlebars, footpegs or seat
areas, though one tester noted
some buzzing when he consciously pressed down hard on
the right footpeg, but overall, the
GW is surprisingly smooth at all
rpm's. When you combine the
lack of vibration with the lack of
exhaust and engine noise (but
Despite its
claimed 403
pounds, the
GW feels light
and agile on
the road.
adding in some wind noise in
your helmet), the tach is your
only indication that you're trying
to squeeze every bit of power out
of the GW's small motor. Again,
the motor is very smooth.
The GW is fitted with a sixspeed transmission that takes little persuasion to get it to do what
you want. Upshifts or downshifts,
the tranny responds with only a
light touch on the gearshift lever.
Finding neutral is also very easy.
One of the GW's biggest advantages is fuel economy. Even
though the motor is always working
hard, it doesn't suck much gas. We
had the bike a short time but saw
an easy 70 mpg, and a lot of that
came after some serious flogging
on the highway. With a 3.5-gallon
fuel tank, you won't be visiting the
