2004 Suzuki GZ 250

I am a new rider and bought this bike to learn, this is my first bike and i'd recommend to any new beginner to get this bike, light and easy to handle and learn. good safety features so you don't start and run into anything. Its a 250cc but has enough power to give you the satisfaction of riding ... a bike. higly recommended for beginners.

A friend passed her riding course and got her license, but didn't have a bike to keep riding on. So, I found this used and bought it. She liked it, so she bought it from me. It's one of the bikes she learned on at the course. It's very easy to ride and gets 70mpg. We found that it didn't have ... enough oomph to get it up steeper freeway hills without downshifting to 4th, so I swapped out the front sprocket for one with one less tooth. I calculated that this would raise the RPM about 500 for any given freeway speed, and it worked great to make it up the hills without working the gears. The trade off was losing about 10 MPG, but for $20 and about a half hour's work, it was a good trade. Anyone who's 200+ lbs. thinking of getting a small bike like this should consider a sprocket swap. With 2500 miles on it, it is still using some oil, but I suspect that it isn't fully broke in yet. The chrome is rusting through in some spots already, which is a bit disappointing. I don't think the previous owner polished it at all. The paint still looks great. Overall, this is a great beginners bike that can't be beat for the price.

I took my motorcycle safety course on this bike and have to say that I was very impressed with it. Being a 250, it has adequate power for everyday driving situations and great handling as well. If you're going to be doing a lot of highway riding a bigger bike would be a better choice. However, this ... bike really shines at city riding. It's small, lightweight frame makes it great for beginners.