No, quicker(time for changing gear) the better for shifting up.

If you were to race then adopt power-shifting. i.e. shifting to higher gears in power-band of engine RPMs. Power-Band is the range of RPMs between High-Torque and High-Power RPMs of the bike. In GS150R the power-band is 6000 to 8500 RPM. However, GS is not for racing. It's for commuting and touring.

When you shift-up @higher RPMs you pay the price of clutch wear/tear. Coz, Clutch plate decelerates faster than the transmission and there is the manual intervention for changing gears. So, for less wear/tear you got to shift-up fast while keeping both clutch and transmission at relatively same RPMs; that happens only @lower RPMs.

When to shift up in GS150R?
Some site recommend below speeds per GS's gear ratios.

Shift to* ----------- Minimum required -------------- My practice
2 -------------------------- 13** ----------------------------------- 8 to 10
3 -------------------------- 18 -------------------------------------- 15 to 18
4 -------------------------- 21 -------------------------------------- 22 to 24
5 -------------------------- 24 -------------------------------------- 28 to 30
6 -------------------------- 28 -------------------------------------- 33 to 35

However, I don't find them quite right for smoother shifts. They're between 2500 and 3000 RPMs for 2nd to 6th gear. Discover them yourself.

* XBHP forum s/w trims-off white spaces man!
** yeah, on the level roads

@Rajeshbw: Thanks a lot.
@vishnukmd: Thanks a lot.
@gmagesh14: will surely give a try.

@Rajeshbw: The engine is barely comfortable chugging around in 6th from ~30 kmph. But any lower, the engine wont make enough torque to move the gear. Just ride it around and shift whenever youre most comfortable. No rules or anything. You can aramse cruise around at 55-60 kmph at 4000 rpm in 6th.

thank u frnd....

can any one suggest how much amount of speed can we go before the first service or before reaching 1000miles... for better performance of the bike....

wn we take the first service... the 1st service has depend on the time duration r it depend on the km the bike cross......

I've been shifting gears at around 4-4.5k rpm, which seems to be a bit higher than what you guys are doing the engine feels most smooth at around the 4.5k rpm mark.

Also, is using clutch for a couple of seconds to avoid knocking sound while accelerating out of a bend a bad practice?

It is below 5000 rpm up to 800 kms, 7500 rpm up to 1600 kms and 10000 rpm thereafter. Please see page 4-2 of the manual.
The first service is due between 750 and 1000 kms or 30 days from the date of purchase of the bike.
After that, change the oil in every 2000-2500 kms and lube the chain frequently (in every 500 kms or so after removing the lower half of the chain cover, revolving the wheel in reverse direction) with lithium based grease dissolved in EP 90 or EP 140 gear oil. lube the other points shown in page 6-7 of the manual too.



All of us are using the clutch, brake or accelerator to control the bike effectively. How can it be a bad practice if it is necessary?

Yes it is when you have an option to downshift and have enough pick up to come out of a corner without the clutch.

I second that, give highest preference to your comfort.

Whenever I find a pillion who owns a different bike than of my own, I ask them to ride my GS out of curiosity.

Collegue-1*:
- Owner of Hero-Honda Achiever; also he recommended me Achiever a year back.
- Height: 5'9" approx
- Weight: 75 kgs approx
- He changed gears at relatively(relative to my current practice) higher RPMs.

Collegue-2: Owner of Bajaj Pulsar; he recommended me Pulsar a year back.
- Height: 5'6" approx
- Weight: 65 kgs approx
- Perhaps the smoothest rider among all pillions, shifted up about 3.5k to 4k RPMs.

Collegue-3: Owner of Enfield 350cc; he recommended me Enfield a year back.
- Height: 5'10" approx
- Weight: 75 kgs approx
- He changed gears at highest RPMs. I've never done such up-shifts till today. Top gear he used on my bike was 4 and he reached 74 kmph!

Collegue-4: Owner of Bajaj Scooter; he recommended me Unicorn.
- Height: 5'8" approx
- Weight: 75 kgs approx
- He changed gears at relatively higher RPMs.

However, when in sprint I shift up @higher RPMs.

I'm not an expert, but always improvising. Adjust and observe ...

*data to spark some imagination of the person.


PS: I asked these four owners a year back:
?: Which one should I buy? CB-Unicorn or GS150R?
Ans: All four suggested "CB-Unicorn". And fun-fact: All of them had ridden Unicorn in the past but none rode GS150R before!

Riding at slow speeds on higher gears in not recommended.Its bad for engine.

Thank u...
i also ask several bike owner about the unicorn and GS150r.. all of them recommend me to buy unicorn only..

but i prefer to by GS150r only...

most of them said that suzuki didn't produce a good condition bike for India what is the reason for that.. and the spare parts for the bike can be easily accessible r not

Rightly said friend, Me too experianced. Whoever is asked for a question of buying Unicorn and any other bike the instant reply is Unicorn...

After Test riding GS i am impressed, i purchased it after 4 months and in the mean time i test ride Yamaha Sz-X, Dazzler but i am not satisfied as much as GS with them. Finally i made it to GS and now @ 11500KM on ODO

Thanks for pointing it out, Aneesh. But are you sure about it if the engine is not stressed? Please ride a GS, slow it down to 30 kmh in top gear and accelerate gradually to see how it performs. And kindly tell me how that riding affects the engine if, as I said, it is not over stressed.


I am extremely happy to know that friends of yours are the designers of Suzuki bikes sold in India to authoritatively say that they are not ‘good condition’ bikes.

But contrary to their faulty designing, most of us are using this bike without any serious issues.

My personal prior experience with Suzuki is a Fiero which is now about 12 years and 130K kms old. The main opponent of Fiero then was Pulsar. I don’t see any 12 year old Pulsar on road now, but see some Fieros (the Suzuki Fiero).

Here no one has complained about the scarcity of spare parts of GS. Please go to a Suzuki service centre with that friends and ask for a spare part of this bike.

The oil filter of a well known bike (not CBR – even a spare nut of that 1.8 lac rupees bike is not available) was not available for some months but all the bikes including the new ones were serviced without changing it. No one did notice it or know it. That is how the availability of spare parts of some well reputed bikes.

This is not to convince you how GS is a better bike. Buying it or any other bike is your personal matter. Decide yourself which bike to buy.

Edit: A friend was wandering through all the ownership threads here, asking questions and collecting data about all the bikes. He spent a number of months for his research and at last bought a H***. Within 1500 kms, smoke began to come through the exhaust.

Nothing is perfect in this universe because perfectness itself is relative.

So, did your friend push his bike or have it pulled by oxes for 1500 km before he realised he could start the engine? and you village folk seemed so knowledgeable.....

Excuse the joke.

I should be thankful to my friend for having given me his Unicorn for long drives. It is from his Unicorn that I finally decided on the Suzuki. The Unicorn ride was good enough for me and I was comparing the GS150R with the Unicorn when I took the test ride of the Suzuki. The 6th gear finally did me in.

Today I took the GSR to the fantastic N-I-C-E Expressway and in 6th gear the bike touched 100km speed at just 7000rpm. That is the upper limit for the bike till 2nd service. Even at 100kmph the bike was so silky smooth ... I love it

The gs150r being newer, it has better looks than unicorn. But looks are subjective and depend on personal choice.

The unicorn has rear monsupension and offers better manuverability.
Gs150r has dual gas-charged rear-suspension and offers better comfort.

In terms of size, weight, engine power, and price, there is very little difference between the two.

But the gs150r has some extra features:
Digital speedo with gear indicator.
Engine balacer for less vibrations.
6th gear for smooth rides on highways and long stretches like ringroads.
LED tailmap.

Given that unicorn lacks so many features, i think unicorn is overpriced.

Spare parts for both unicorn and gs150r is available with showrooms only. If you have a dealer in your town, then nothing to worry.

Durability wise, suzuki, yamaha, and honda are all equal.