Suzuki GW250 impressions

**ZMC888** · 10-07-2012, 12:40 PM

Reports suggest that new Honda will be made in Thailand.

**Lao Jia Hou** · 10-09-2012, 03:22 AM

Here is the first installment about some extras.

I opted to mount a crash bar. As Felix noted above, several aftermarket options already exist. At first, I thought the "professional protection" would be great ... until I actually saw it, close up. It is HUGE, and does not hug the bike, or follow its lines. There are some pics of one mounted at the premier MC parts shop in Beijing (798 shop), alongside GIVI bags. That "professional protection" looks like you are enclosed in a cage. Frankly, I think it looks butt ugly.

"Professional Crash Bar" mounted on a GW250

And here it is on taobao:

Taobao "Professional Crash Bar"

I was looking for an engine guard, but here in China, they seem to believe that these protective bars are also supposed to protect your legs in a fall. Hence, crash bars are gigantic wings. Total nonsense about protecting one's legs in a fall, but I am not going to argue with 1.3 billion people. I really wish I could find a decent metal fabricator & get my own "engine guard" made.

Anyways, I opted for this one (off taobao):

Taobao Crash Bar

The first one sent did not fit properly, despite the seller espousing "quality control". Sent it back, the seller sent a second one, and it fit.

It is a very simple mounting exercise.

It attaches to the two front engine mounting bolts, at the frame, and two clamp bolts on each side of the lower frame tubes.

1) I was damn nervous loosening off BOTH front engine mounting bolts (what if the engine drops?!?!?!). After removing the nuts from both, the bolts were "loose" which gave me confidence to slide them out. Yeah, it was ok - for some reason the engine didn't move, but I didn't want to press my luck by having it hang on whatever (???) for an extended period of time, so I hustled my bunnies to get the bar on and the bolts replaced. The factory bolts have to be replaced with longer bolts (supplied with the bar), because the bar fitting results in extra width that the bolts have to reach. One trick I learned ... it is necessary to remove the factory bolts on the left side of the bike, but use the longer replacement bolts from the right side of the bike. The longer bolts won't clear some water cooling hoses. But coming from the right side makes it easy.

2) The two lower clamps are somewhat easy (left side is a bit tight), but the bolts didn't look like they were good quality.

Here is a pic of the two front engine mounting bolts (in red circles):

Sidenote: Typical, really crappy "neep neep" horn. However, a really nice feature is the stone guard for the radiator. I wish Jialing would've done that on its JH600.

Here is a pic of a the lower clamp mount.

Here are some pics of the mounted bar. I think it looks not too bad, and offers some basic engine case protection. The "quality" is ok (good for China), but would be considered average "MIC" quality in the West. Not my ideal, but one has to cook with the ingredients at hand.

At least it is not one of those "bat wings" ... like on my YBR125 in the background. I hate that crash bar - it looks goofy, and adds too much width to the bike.

Hand guards, windscreen, RAM mount, and rear carrier coming (the carrier has been a PITA).

**felix** · 10-14-2012, 09:57 AM

True that you never see crash bars that just protect the engine in china, they've always got to be as large as the bars. I guess it's because there's nowhere to mount your tea flask on normal engine guards.

The ones you got aren't too offensive though, and if you install some spotlights on them they might even look purposeful. And hell if they also do protect your leg in a fall then why not!

Hope you haven't binned her yet, looking forward to your updates!

**Lao Jia Hou** · 10-21-2012, 01:10 AM

Originally Posted by felix

True that you never see crash bars that just protect the engine in china, they've always got to be as large as the bars. I guess it's because there's nowhere to mount your tea flask on normal engine guards.

Haha - right you are, Felix! And until they are mounted, one has to improvise ...

By the way, that is a fake/clone YBR125 that is now being sold in China. Amazing. Up next, more riding impressions, and GW hand guards ...

**bikerdoc** · 10-21-2012, 02:06 AM

The thing is a lot of the crash bars seen in mainland China are made from inferior metal, no stronger than tin. The metal used for the application can be found in many instances for motorcycle crash bars, engine guards, car, van or SUV nudge bars and stairway bannister rails and such like. A little hit with a piece of 4x2 (wood) can leave a substantial "ding" in the metal. They may look the goods, all chromey but they are about as reassuring as everything else here is.

**Lao Jia Hou** · 10-21-2012, 02:08 AM

I purchased hand guards from taobao:

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=15776665616

Very easy to install, although it requires a bit of playing around with the puzzle of which/where, etc., as there were no instructions.

Anyways, a few things were noticed:

1) These are WIND protection only. They would most certainly NOT protect your hands in a crash, or bump. There is no bar reinforcement (they are only a bendable plastic), and the mounting hardware would collapse in a moment. Nevertheless, they do seem to provide good wind protection for cold riding days (becoming more frequent in Beijing).

2) One end of the wind guards mounts on the bar ends, the other end mounts with a supplied metal strip that clamps under the clutch/brake lever bolts. Here is where it got interesting:

a) I mounted the clutch side first. No problem. When everything was tightened up, the clutch lever still operated normally.

b) I then mounted the brake side. When everything was tightened up, the brake lever was frozen. Huh? Well, it seems that the material that the brake lever mounting (i.e., Suzuki OEM, not the wind guards) is made from is easily bent, allowing the brake-assembly to be squeezed onto the lever. I went back to the clutch side, and that material seems very rigid (I couldn't get it to squeeze the clutch lever, limiting its movement). The two sides appear to be made of the same material, but the brake side is definitely more pliable.

Here are some pics taken with my crappy mobile phone (sorry, I will try for better pics after the windscreen is mounted).

The GW and YBR, side by side ...

Another side by side, with some extra eye candy :) ...

Focus on that eye candy ...

An experienced rider, she has been "evaluating" the GW ... and she "loves it" ...

She has put a few hundred kms on it, in the city, on expressways, etc. Her comments are:

1) Very smooth
2) Great cornering
3) Heavy, but not too heavy for me (she is about 45 kgs!)
4) Easy to get on the center stand, but tough to get it off

She has also ridden YBR250s, which she also loves, but she says she has a preference for the GW (it is "pretty").

Here is the end of bar mount of the wind guard. It fits well.

And a front view ...

And a poor pic of the inside mount ...

So, the bottom line for me is:

1) These are good wind guards, but definitely NOT hand guards.
2) It is nice that they are designed for the GW, so no modifications & no swearing is required.
3) It was an interesting discovery about the pliable brake lever assembly material.
4) I pick pretty "evaluators" to help the MCM community!

**Lao Jia Hou** · 10-21-2012, 02:37 AM

Originally Posted by bikerdoc

The thing is a lot of the crash bars seen in mainland China are made from inferior metal, no stronger than tin ... about as reassuring as everything else here is.

True enough.

I don't really understand the "crash bar" idea. I am only looking for engine guards that would protect the cases if the bike was knocked over by wind, soft ground, error, or idiot (see below) ... or a low speed drop. The idea that a "crash bar" would somehow protect a rider in an "at speed" crash seems silly. If so, you would think MotoGP riders would be taobao's biggest customers! If I ever drop a bike at speed (knock on wood), I'd be thinking of my own "case", not the bike's!

Speaking of idiots, wtf is it with strangers thinking it is perfectly acceptable to walk up to your bike and hop on it to try it out? Damn, this is my #1 pet peeve in China. The pinnacle of p'd off was when I arrived downstairs to see that some "dressed-up" girl & a photographer were using my Harley for their photo shoot! Neither saw any problem ... "we're being careful". Seriously, how can you respond to such insanity.

I now cover all my bikes, locking the cover to the front wheel, and also using an alarmed disc lock (any movement and that thing screams - good for remembering it, too!). Anyways, I am sure these idiots would drop the bike and just walk away. Grrrr. /rant.

**Steve_Halt** · 11-07-2012, 12:00 AM

Read the three through. Very informative. I think GW 250 will be my wife's next bike once she grows out of her EN 150.
Personal impression: front fender kind of on the ugly side, but why not if it does the job? The spec sheet shows the bike must be a pleasure to ride casually, like daily commuting or something.

**guy fawkes** · 11-11-2012, 03:16 AM

Originally Posted by Steve_Halt

Read the three through. Very informative. I think GW 250 will be my wife's next bike once she grows out of her EN 150.
Personal impression: front fender kind of on the ugly side, but why not if it does the job? The spec sheet shows the bike must be a pleasure to ride casually, like daily commuting or something.

hehehe my wife drives my EN150, but I worry that the gw is too heavy for her, so I dont know if she can grow out of the 150

**guy fawkes** · 11-11-2012, 03:29 AM

Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

1) I was damn nervous loosening off BOTH front engine mounting bolts (what if the engine drops?!?!?!). After removing the nuts from both, the bolts were "loose" which gave me confidence to slide them out. Yeah, it was ok - for some reason the engine didn't move, but I didn't want to press my luck by having it hang on whatever (???) for an extended period of time, so I hustled my bunnies to get the bar on and the bolts replaced. The factory bolts have to be replaced with longer bolts (supplied with the bar), because the bar fitting results in extra width that the bolts have to reach. One trick I learned ... it is necessary to remove the factory bolts on the left side of the bike, but use the longer replacement bolts from the right side of the bike. The longer bolts won't clear some water cooling hoses. But coming from the right side makes it easy.

I was thinking the same thing, basically why i haven't attached my KO 66 protector bar yet...

I did however get the 66 chromed back rack so its easier to bungee net things to the back of the bike when I boot around... this way i dont have to always take a back pack with me... I don't really want to get side boxes, but the ones that you showed in the link above look pretty awesome, i might consider getting a set of those for longer travels...