While the V-Strom 250 owners seem to be a happy lot, the Gixxer and Gixxer SF owners have been struggling with the vibration issues
BHPian neil.jericho recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Suzuki’s 250cc engine which is shared between the naked Gixxer, the faired Gixxer SF and the pseudo adventure VStrom, has been a cause of consternation for many owners. While the VStrom 250 owners seem to be a happy lot, the Gixxer and Gixxer SF owners have been struggling with the vibration issues on their motorcycles. Thanks to Team-BHP, several of us owners have had a singular platform to share our frustrating experiences.
I believe that there are 2 separate issues, that we have conflated thus far. Once we unentangle them, all the problems that were faced by owners, are probably easily explained.
- Problem #1 is the silky smooth engine refinement going for a toss at the ~6,000 km mark.
- Problem #2 is the engine’s Achilles heel it’s an oil cooling system.
Problem #1 – Balancer Related
For the Gixxer and Gixxer SF 250 motorcycles, what has been established so far is that:
- Out of the box, the engine is butter smooth all through the rev range. There is 1 exception to this, though. An unsold motorcycle had excess vibrations which were similar to what the rest of us find on our bikes.
- The 250 cc engine breaks in at roughly around the 6,000-kilometre mark. That is when the annoying vibrations start creeping in. Again, there are a few exceptions which I have found but this 6,000-kilometer distance seems to be the ballpark.
- Rather than do a pan-India recall for the Gixxer and SF 250, Suzuki did a face-saving recall for 199 motorcycles that were manufactured in a particular time period. It has been proven that motorcycles made both, before and after, that time frame, suffer from the same excessive vibrations.
- Motorcycles that have gotten this balancer-related warranty fix done, are a lot smoother than before. Bear in mind that these engines are still not as smooth as they were in the first 6,000 kilometres.
By the end of December, the Suzuki superbike dealership in Cochin had done the warranty recall fix on my bike. In early January, I observed the vibrations shifting left, which was a phenomenon that really puzzled me.
Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to clock several thousand kilometres on my motorcycle, most of it while touring. In parallel, I have been chatting with a couple of TBHPians who own the Gixxer and/or the SF 250 and our observations are exactly the same. I believe that now, I have a fair idea of what is behind these unsolved, left-behind vibrations that tend to “shift left”. This leads us to …
Problem 2 – Oil Cooling System Related
In order to understand this issue, below are the observations that led to my conclusion:
- The sweet spot while touring continuously, is an indicated 90 km/h (actual speed 81 km/h) which is when the engine is spinning at 6,000 RPM in 6th gear. From this point onward, the vibrations increase, almost linearly. It’s best to stick to this cruising speed and avoid fatigue-inducing vibrations.
- While on a highway ride, I find that the vibrations start to increase after ~ 45 minutes.
- On day 1 of a multi-day solo ride, I took a coffee break almost an hour after I left home. When I got back onto the motorcycle, I found that it was a lot smoother than when I stopped. After some time though, when I repeated this, the engine wasn’t as smooth when I restarted my riding. Basically, halfway into a day-long ride and/or in the afternoons, the engine’s vibrations were noticeably more pronounced than before.
I checked this with different TBHPians and all of them confirmed that they have seen the exact same thing on their bikes.
This leads me to believe that the real weak point of the engine is its oil-cooled system. To reduce the engineering complexity and cost of ownership, Suzuki has opted for an oil-cooled system, rather than the traditional liquid cooling system that is adopted by say, the TVS Apache RR310 or the Honda CBR250. Ironically, while the oil cooling system does a phenomenal job of keeping the engine temperature under control (this engine simply never gets hot!), the engine oil falters in what should have been its primary responsibility! Apparently, the 250 platform comes with a fan, which I have never heard coming on.
As a result, in the mornings, the oil is able to cool faster, while the rider takes a tea break. Thus, the motorcycle appears to be smooth after a 15-minute break.
On the other hand, once the ambient temperatures are high, the oil needs a lot more time to cool down. Thus, the motorcycle appears to be less smooth after a 15-minute break, as compared to the same situation occurring a few hours before.
Simply put, Suzuki’s approach to value engineering a simple bike for select (less discerning?) markets, has led to this unrefined and gruff engine.
In the grand scheme of things, whether or not owners get the balancer problem sorted out under warranty (a saga in its own right), their motorcycles will still face the issue of the oil cooling system being unable to keep the engine smooth, when it runs continuously on highway trips.
Long story short, what does this mean for commuters?
Absolutely nothing! The Gixxer 250 and the Gixxer SF 250 are great bikes for commuting. They are nimble and have more than enough performance for city conditions, without feeling suffocated. At the same time, you will easily get a mileage of 35+ km/l.
Long story short, what does this mean for tourers?
Even if your motorcycle gets the warranty recall done, the 250cc platform isn’t great for sports touring. While doing a day-long ride/weekend ride / multi-day ride, you cannot keep stopping every 45 minutes and wait for the oil to cool. As a best practice, I typically stop once every 60 minutes to take a water break and keep my mind fresh. I’ve had to reduce that to 55 minutes or sometimes even 50 minutes. These frequent stops can get a bit frustrating while touring. Also, to reduce vibrations, you have to keep your GPS speeds in the 80 to 100 km/h zone, which is rather low for a 250cc motorcycle. Unless you are a slow highway rider, this may not be the best motorcycle for hardcore tourers.
In summary
It is sad that Suzuki, a company which has built its reputation on manufacturing over-engineered engines, has come up with this cost-engineered platform which has such a glaring weakness. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that the level of R&D which has gone into this, is nowhere close to a similar offering from the very same company that is sold in global markets.
That said, most owners have made their peace with the roughness post 6,000 kilometres and are happily enjoying their motorcycles. Barring the engine, there is literally nothing that we can really criticize of the Gixxer and Gixxer SF 250 unless we are really being picky. My suggestion to fellow 250cc owners is to push your local dealer for getting the balancer recall done under warranty. Then, see if you can manage with the reduced vibrations and try out different engine oils to make things smoother.
Keyword: Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 owner shares 2 isolated problems of the motorcycle