I am the second one converted GS to full DC; the first one being MACH50. The cost of Ape’s RR is around Rs. 1100/- and the total expense including the cost of RR will be less than Rs. 1700/-, if you yourself do it.
Collect 300 grams of 18 swg winding wire, 8 mm T spanner, 4 mm Allen key, 2-3 meter good, high ampere electric wire, 1 set of magneto cover gaskets, 1 high watts soldering iron, soldering lead and flux, digital multimeter and original Ape’s RR and contact G Magesh (gmagesh14).

And, fadeawayraj, is Shell Ultra Advance 10w40 Fully Synthetic oil you use JASO MA 2 certified? Don’t fill any oil which is not JASO MA 5, 4, 3 or at least 2 certified!!

Hi,

I bought my bike a month back with odometer showing 512 kms and the first servicing is due today.. I may go in 10 days time to the SC as I have some plans and hope this doesnt effect the bike adversely.
During a bargain, the dealer agreed to give 2 ltrs of engine oil free during purchase. I didnt knew abt engine oils much then and Now I have checked it and its Castrol made Suzuki Genuine oil 20W40 with only JASO MA certified (no 2 mentioned on the cover). Shall I go ahead with using this one or use some other JASO MA2 certified brand??? also anything particular to keep in mind during first servicing??

Regards
Manish

Please go through these links and you decide yourself.
1. Choosing the right motorbike oil: What does JASO and JASO MA2 mean? - White Dog's Motorcycle Blog
2. JASO MA and JASO MB classifications - oilspecifications.org
3. New JASO oil standards (MA1, MA2) - KatRiders.com
4. What is JASO MA?
And ask the dealer to give three litres of oil so that you can replace the oil twice with 1.1 litres each time.
And never heard about a bike’s engine or gear box damaged by filling Castrol engine oil. Get the first servicing done within 1000 kms or 30 days from the date of purchase of the bike, whichever occurs first.

Thanks Punarvasu...
I think its better to go ahead with Suzuki prescribed one only for time being..
My problem is that 30 days r over today but I can go to the SC only after 12 days.. as I have some field plans lined up and SC is 125 km far in Siliguri.. Alternately I can go to a local mechanic (as I have both oil n filter already with me) in Gangtok n get it done today.. but you suggested to have the first servicing done in SC.. so now confused if a delay of 12 days has any detrimental effect or taking it to a local mechanic will be worthwhile??? thirdly I can get the oil n filter changed now with a local mechanic n get the screws tightened 12 days later..
What do you suggest??

Thanks again
Regards
Manish

Then, send a friend to the SC with the user’s manual and hand over the service coupon and, if asked to, buy one more oil filter and 1 litre of oil they provide and ask them to record as the first service is done.
Almost all the SCs happily agree as what they need is the service coupon to claim servicing charges from the company and the commission they get for selling oil and oil filter.
If it is not possible, contact the SC over phone, explain why you cannot reach them for the next 15 days and ask what to do. Anyhow, sending the user’s manual with service coupon and getting it recorded as the service is done in it is better. Remember that the warranty becomes void if any of the 15 services are not done at the SC.
The other works like tightening the engine mounting bolts, chassis bolts etc can be postponed to another day.
Buy some 90 or 140 gear oil and lithium based grease, mix it loosely and apply on the chain after removing the lower half of the chain cover once in every 500-750 kms carefully so that your fingers are not caught between the chain and rear sprocket.
Buy a good car shampoo and carnauba wax to polish the bike. Avoid wood waxes we get cheaply in our market.
I cannot understand why you are planning to approach a local mechanic to replace the oil and filter. Buy a good 17 mm socket spanner and 8 mm T spanner and replace the oil and filter yourself. How to do it is explained on page 6-19 to 6-23 of the owner’s manual.

In this new year let us pledge to read and understand the post correctly before posting a reply, also make sure of not to bring unnecessary chaos,

at last its my bike and i will take care of it as per my wish and the same goes with fadeawayraj or whomsoever it may be; if some one is not compelling others to switch to JASO or MAMA standard their is no need to protest.

dear bro.....lets give space for all to express their idea / opinion / view

sorry am blind guy even if you say that thousand times i always call somethings runs on two wheels as two wheeler, and cannot accept it as Volvo sleeper coach

Buying a new GS150R. :-)

Hi! :-)
I am planning to go for the Suzuki GS150R and wonder if you folks could kindly spare a few moments in sharing your experiences and opinions. My need is primarily commuter based(no racing) and maybe a highway ride to smaller towns once in a blue moon. I believe that the GS150R is a great machine and I chose it over the Honda Unicorn because I find the Honda depressingly dull!

We know that the GS150R is not as popular as Unicorn is on the streets(Bad Marketing) and so a statement from a Suzuki salesman sent questions running across my mind when he said that 'no local mechanic would touch it' for any repairs. That probably means that one will have to drag or carry it to the service station? Couldn't see my confidence building any further after hearing that and so here are my questions-


* Any rust issues and the often reported 'engine stopping suddenly and not starting' on post 2011 production bikes?

* I have doubts about the Suzuki salesman's statement that no mechanic would touch the bike. However, the nearest service center from my residence is 6 kilometers away. I know this sounds absurd but is there any grain of truth in the salesman's statement?

* Is white a good colour for the GS in terms of maintenance aspect since I plan to keep it for at least 5 years?

* The bike was released back in 2008, so would it be smart to make a purchase in 2013 if in case the product might be reaching the end of its life cycle?


Hyderabad specific questions-

* In Hyderabad, which dealer/dealers provides the best after sales service in your experience?(Few names crop up in complains)

* How true is this line- "The GS spare parts need up to 10-20 days to reach the service stations in Hyderabad!".(holding my breath on that one!)

* Is there anything that a GS150R buyer should know of before approaching a dealer? (Not popularly well known discounts or some nasty unwarranted charges often made by dealers or even pushing old models lying in the warehouse)

* Any mechanic in Hyderabad you folks like or prefer for your GS150R?

And the grand question- Would the GS150R be a practical decision against the much popular Honda Unicorn in your opinion?


Thank you for all the help folks. :-)


UPDATE- Suzuki has brought certain changes in its website design(neater than before), increased the prices and removed the green-blue colour option for the GS150R(Damn you Suzuki!)!

Hello trailwright,

requesting you to test ride the bike and decide upon, nowadays their are many good commuter bikes in market, bajaj quality is also improved alot you can short list their commuter bikes too, on other hand hero with out Honda is still a good bike

yes goodies on gs150r is still on par with the other latest 150 cc offerings.

so take your own time test all bikes and select the one that fits you best [matches your requirement] and that doesn't mean it should be the best bike of the year as per some magazine or xyz

It is true that GS is not a popular bike even though it is the best 150 cc bike in our market. It is due to the lack of advertisements, dealership network and the approach of the dealers. The percentage of commission and thus the amount the dealers get is higher if Access or SlingShot is sold.
GS is not an alien bike and hence any experienced mechanic can do its repairing works. But it is true that most of the street side local mechanics know nothing about GS or any other bike. So, going to the service centre for repairing woks is preferable.
Engine stalling has other reasons and is a common problem among all the bikes. The rusting problem of the fuel tank is solved as the new tanks are Teflon coated. Rusting of other parts depends how you maintain the bike. My bike is three years old and is in comparatively good condition.
As far as I know, Suzuki is not planning to stop production of GS as its sales are not going down. Yet, we cannot say anything about the future.
Almost all the parts of GS are readily available at the SC. If you have any doubt, ask for a certain part at the SC. But some parts of any bike are not always available. E.g. the brake bleeding nut and the nuts on the master cylinder were not available at SC at my town. These parts are not frequently replaced and hence were not stocked. Going through this forum you can see how seldom the parts of GS are replaced.
There is not even the least possibility of old model GSs being dumped in the warehouse. Further, the looks of the new model is different and so, you need not be worried about it.
I cannot say anything about Hero Honda or Honda or Hero 150 cc bikes as I know nothing about them. But Gs is a trouble free bike giving about 60 kml FE if sanely ridden and reached 115 kmh speed effortlessly at 8500 rpm. It is the actual speed; not as the 25 % erroneous 100 kmh at 10000 rpm in third gear shown in some other bike, to impress the young rider.

[QUOTE=And, fadeawayraj, is Shell Ultra Advance 10w40 Fully Synthetic oil you use JASO MA 2 certified? Don’t fill any oil which is not JASO MA 5, 4, 3 or at least 2 certified!![/QUOTE]

Yes it is JASO MA2

My answers in bold letters.

Which part you belongs to in hyderabad ?

Servicing done. Carburettor cleaned and adjusted. Air filter element replaced. Now the ride feels much smoother. And mileage too is back to normal (50-55kmpl in city with upshifting at 4500rpm and sticking to a speed limit of 65kmph).

Bill breakup (including VAT and other taxes):
Paid servicing: 350
Air filter: 200-ish
Front cowling (which was broken since 1.5 yrs): 1400
Rear sticker: 40
Overall: 2200-ish

Very satisfied with the SC.

As Saboo ASC was far away from where I stayed/studied/worked since I bought the bike, I've never been to this place. The service and overall experience was very good and professional. When I had the service manager take the test drive, he identified all the issues himself, without me having to tell them. Trust me, this is not something I'm used to. Other ASCs in Hyderabad were dumb in this respect. When I went to collect my bike in the evening, I'm pleasantly surprised by seeing the notes written by the mechanic on the job card along side the bullet points corresponding to the problems listed. This itself shows that all issues were attended to.

Many thanks to @punarvasu for clearing my doubts regarding the bike.

PS: Yesterday evening my clutch cable snapped and I had had to push my GS for 3kms. I tried starting the engine in neutral and shifting to 1st/2nd on a slope but it didn't work; it stalled. When I took it to Dobro ASC, Basheerbagh, they didn't have a clutch cable. And I was like . Common, it's just too small and trivial a spare to not have it in stock. But, I managed to find an after-market (non-genuine) one for GS [for 140 rupees] in an auto spares shop a few hundred meters away.

Find my replies in bold!

You can easily engage 2^nd gear when the bike is moving and can shift up to 6^th and down to neutral without clutch if shifting is at correct rpm.
The clutch is to engage 1^st gear while the bike is stationary. After that, clutch is not essential. This is what I am doing from the first day of purchasing my bike.



New GS, just arrived in the market.

If you know then please let all know on whats new in the new GS on both cosmetic, economic and technical changes