Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

For any one who is planning to buy this bike. This bike makes the best exhaust sound in this segment.

I dont know much about this bike, but one day when I was returning from office, near BTP Bangalore, One red bike overtook me and sounded really beefy. I wanted to see what bike it was. I rode my activa as fast as possible through new tippasandra lane, couldn't catch a second glimpse of that guy. Exhaust note was way better than Ninja or Hyosung. The sound was more of like a 800+CC engine.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

Are you sure that it was the Inazuma. I took a ride and did not sound anything at all like 800cc+ bike although it does sound nice and angry,especially in quick city rides. The pillion seat is too high for my liking, though very comfortable because of the exceptional ride quality. No ABS did come as big shocker, especially for the price.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

the sound I heard was awesome. However, I got a small glimpse of the bike. Is there any higher capacity bike released by suzuki that looks like Inazuma 250. Could be that, or the sound was amazing.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

I have booked a bike yesterday. Will get delivered within 15 days.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

congrats.. !

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

congratulations.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

Suzuki Inazuma price dropped by 1L

Source: Suzuki Inazuma At Rs 2.6 Lakh On-road Mumbai - Overdrive

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

If we think about it, look how mind numbingly greedy they were...

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Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

I think this bike is pretty awesome, now that the prices have been slashed.

Does anyone know if Suzuki plans to launch this bike in other cities too? More specifically Hyderabad. I have talked to various dealers out here and most of them have no idea when it will be launched(and some do not have any idea about the bike ).

Tried writing to Suzuki from the website (thrice), but not response from them....

I need a new bike pretty soon and I am trying to shy away from REs (can't handle the temperamental nature of the bikes).

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

I recently had a relative of mine and however much I in the past have unliked this bike... It seemed pretty perfect for him. Build quality - Fantastically better. Ride Quality - Supremely comfortable. Gear indicator???!!!!! Wow. The dash tells you when to service your ride, beautifully smooth and well matted engine and drive train.

This bike literally is like a comfort tourers paradise in India. Beginning to actually like this Suzi.


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Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

If Suzuki had priced it sensibly at the begining, Inazuma would already have been a star. It's a capable tourer nevertheless.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

Test Ride Experience

Hi folks,

Yesterday, I took a test-ride of this bike & I must say, I was pleasantly surprised & impressed. At Chennai, this bike is sold, along with the other super-bikes & commuters only at SMK Suzuki, Porur. I had spoken to the SA a few days earlier & had fixed an appointment for Sunday; I was there promptly. In fact, my sis-in-law was looking for a scooter & had zero-ed in on the TVS Zest, but the launch in Chennai was still a couple of months away, so I had the chance to sway her attention towards the Suzuki Let's. She wanted to TD it.

And so we reached there at 10:30 AM & I should say that the folks there were quite affable & welcomed us warmly. Being a Sunday, we didn't have too many customers coming in, so it gave us some good face-time with the SAs. First, the Let's was prepped for the TD - my in-laws hopped on it & off they went. They weren't back for a good 15 min, so they must've enjoyed the TD, I guess. Later, they informed that they were delighted by the sprightliness & refinement of the scooter (coming from a Scooty) & the poise, even during two-up riding. Still, they would want to reserve their decision until they get to ride the Zest.

In the meantime, the Inazuma (a red one) was prepped for TD & brought to the entrance - the guy who was supposed to accompany me, was waiting for the Let's to be returned, before we went on the Zuma. So, after an agonizing 10 min wait, when the in-laws were back with the scooter, we got ready for the ride.

(Point to note: I had to take this TD without any safety gear, not even a helmet. I had driven my car to the showroom & didn't carry mine; when I asked for a helmet, they didn't have a used one readily available, to loan it. So, I rode with some caution).

Seat of the pants feel & looks

Before I straddled the bike, I asked for the seat to be removed, to check the space. Being a single-piece unit, it had ample space for the essentials like the bike's documents (under the pillion area) & the battery sits under the rider space. Put the seat back on & climbed on the saddle. For such a moderately heavy bike, I couldn't feel the weight on lifting it from the side-stand. The ergonomics were perfect & slightly commuter oriented - not surprising, considering the positioning of the bike. My bro-in-law who was watching me, commented that of all the bikes that he's seen me on, this was the only bike which wasn't dwarfed by my frame (I'm 6' tall & weigh 90 kg; I currently ride a 200 NS). Enough said about the bike's street presence & that too in Red - it was a sight to look at (depends on your preferences). Looks, are subjective & I leave it to the readers - for me, the bike had an impact to look at in the flesh, than the impression I had when I initially viewed the pics at online reviews.

As soon as I mounted, I rocked up & down on the seat, to check the suspension & I could feel the soft squishy nature, especially the rear mono-shock, going up & down. I had read about the great ride quality in other reviews & now, before even I could ride, I got a taste of it. I can assure you, it is quite a departure from the NS (even on the softest settings, the NS is a bit hard) and definitely a step-up on the CBR250R. The seat is nice & wide and finding the apt riding position on this bike is a no-brainer. This is a bike, that can feel instantly friendly even to a novice rider.

The quality & positioning of switch-gear is top class & the knobs / switches have a well-built & tactile feel to it. The aluminium clip-ons are well finished & add to the aesthetic appeal & I also found the meters to be well-defined, informative & legible. The presence of the gear-indicator can be of immense use on the move, both in the city & during long hauls. Since it was a TD bike, it had bare minimum fuel & the fuel-level bar was at its last point & blinking, I forgot to ask about the reserve capacity, though I remember the SA telling me that it was a 15-lit tank.

The tank feels great to hug & the shape (from POV of the rider) is visually gratifying. My person opinion: they could've mounted similar indicators (as the rear ones), to the front, than integrating those with the side extender scoops - could've added some meat to the visual mass (or the lack of it), at the front. And yes, when viewed from the front dead center, the headlamp may appear to be dwarfed; but trust me, from any other angle, it doesn't really matter. As I said, in the flesh, this is a different bike & evokes different emotions.

From the rider's POV, from the saddle - the front handlebar, meter & headlamp combo looks kinda compact. In fact, the bikini fairing could've been slightly more pronounced (or a fly-screen could do great, as we'll see later) or the bars could've been a bit wider. Nevertheless, the overall ergos are well-sorted & the rider triangle is well-catered to.

On thumbing the starter, the engine came to life almost instantly & settled into a muted purr - refinement on idle is great, with the engine not being audible. I increased the revs a bit at standstill & all I could hear was a refined increase in engine thrum that was subdued, yet tantalizing & none of the clatter (that obsequious lawn-mower banter that many attribute to, in some of the twin-pot competition) at lower revs.

The ride

The first gear settled in with a clunk & off we went (with a showroom guy riding pillion). Come to think of it, the gear shifts were smooth, but a bit clunky. The bike had around 1460 km on the odo, so I guess it would take some more running in. On the move, the Zuma is rock-steady & effortless at it - both at slow & moderately high speeds. And it masks its weight well. For a near 190 kg bike, it handled really well. I don't want to draw any comparison to any bike here - I firmly believe that every vehicle, from the humble TVS XL to the super-bikes have their own segments & intended customer base, doing specific jobs; it would be pointless to pit this bike against a Duke 390/200, Pulsar 200 NS or even the CBR250R. The Ninja is in a different league & many people want to compare these two, just because both of them are 2-pot bikes. I wouldn't fault them or call those comparisons baseless. However, I wish to state to those folks that - if you could just alter your perception, just a teeny little bit - to look at this bike, as the step-up for a sizable base of riders, who tour the length & breadth of the land & would want a highly reliable, effortless, easy-going, super-refined, well-built & finished bike that can munch many thousands of miles, with equal number of smiles while doing so - you would see the point.

I didn't gun the throttle (nor was it my intention to) - I wanted to ride it, as I would, if I were a calm super-commutourer (borrowing from Satyen Poojary!) and I was pleased by the refinement & silky smooth power delivery. I quickly took it to 6th & was able to chug along at 40-50 kmph without any snatch or lug - credit it to the short gearing. This is a wonderful tool to commute within the city & perfectly complements those with riding needs that have a mix of both city & the highway. Nothing can beat the lazy stability that this bike offers in top gear, at city speeds, with such sublime refinement levels & can pull cleanly if need be (maybe RE can, but again, no comparisons here). Even from such speeds, if you try to gun it, there is no drama - just a calm reassurance & without sputter the engine pulls cleanly & there is a steady build-up of revs & speed. I'm sure this bike will win many hearts with its easy going nature; I can never comment the same about my 200 NS - make no mistake, I love the Pulsar a lot & have had many memorable moments & rides with it - but, it can never match the grace & elan of the Zuma, or the reassured nature. Both the bikes have linear power delivery (the NS still has a gem of an engine), but the Zuma is in a different league here.

In terms of refinement, let's just say that it is extremely good - don't need a debate, if it's better than the CBR250R or the Ninja (the Dukes are not even in contention here), it just can set the segment benchmark for low to medium revs - never took it high enough see how it fared, as the ride was limited.

Since, it was the city & the stretch was small (and also I didn't wear a helmet), I took it to 90 kmph, before I eased out - at 6th gear, it showed exactly 6k RPM, doing 80 kmph. It is evidently short-geared, as the NS does 90 kmph, in top gear at the same 6k revs. The red-line is a little over 11k revs, so theoretical top speed should be around 146-7 kmph (though, there are videos that show the Zuma touching speedo readouts of 154 or so). I believe, the bike can comfortably tour at 110-120 kmph - owners will be able to validate it.

There was wind-blast even at 80-90 kmph, nothing that a fly-screen couldn't sort & there are many options available online - notable ones are from Puig, as well as from others.

The brakes were quite good - had a nice, positive feel to it & I was able to modulate to my satisfaction. Again, no surprises or sudden grab of the front-end here; just clinically progressive & refined braking behavior.

When we finished, I requested for another solo ride, without the sales guy riding pillion. He checked briefly with the SA & gave the go ahead. I repeated the route & this time, the bike accelerated with slightly more eagerness, but with calm, controlled poise which was well balanced. I took it over some fairly bad stretches & the suspension took it with aplomb - it simply wafted over, while not upsetting me from the seat. If not anything else, I believe Suzuki's trick up the sleeve, is this bike's ride quality. Between the solo & the pillion rides, I didn't notice any major difference or weight settling in, in the handling. It was predictable, smooth & controlled & never felt that I had to dial in extra effort, even during the U-turns that I took, during this short ride.

To conclude

At the end of the ride, I was left so impressed that when I collected my thoughts during the end of the day, I was wondering that how such a wonderful bike - that made sense to a large percentage of the well-heeled junta, was actually not being marketed to its strengths.

To wind up, this is a bike that most Indians had been waiting for - they don't need raw power, aggressive looks or one-wheel-up-the-air, whenever they ride. And they also don't want offerings that they can ride only within the city & deliver zillion miles a gallon. What they do want, is a reliable, supremely comfortable, no-nonsense commu-tourer that can do the job, all day long, in the city or the highway - without shaking up their bones or stressing themselves out. And can take their better-halves as pillion, with supreme comfort. And doesn't pinch too much on their pockets.

However, the last statement might be a deal-breaker, with its on-road price of 2.46 Lac (Chennai). I think Suzuki needs to manufacture this in India & bring the price down by some bit, so that it makes terrific sense to the majority of the bikers out there - it is simply that good.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

Hi Raja, good review there. Do you have any pics? If so, those would have gone with the review as a bonus. But review is honest.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

Hi Krishna, that's the mistake I made - I didn't click any. A bit of late realization, I guess. Also, I was excited to ride, I forgot about the pics totally.

Re: Suzuki Inazuma 250 Review : xBhp's Ride Report

To add my two cents. ....these 2 bikes were used by our mods during the xbhp collectors ride ...and I found them pretty comfortable with it ...it is a kinda tourer thing .

you live only once.....