RideFast June 2020

First
Ride
Here we go – R49,900. People
have told me that’s a lot of money
for a 250cc motorcycle, although I
suspect most of these people are
stuck in 1986, awaiting the end of
the Cold War. Others have at least
justified this statement by pointing
out that you could purchase a
second-hand 600cc supersport for
that price.
Yeah, good luck with that. From
what I’ve seen, having perused
the selection of used motorcycles
at various dealers, most decent
600s are somewhere in the
R100,000 range; maybe R80,000
at a push. A 600cc for R50,000 has
been pulled out its own ass and
is almost certainly on the verge of
costing you a good chunk of money
in spares that are probably no longer
imported. Also, the general running
costs of a 600, especially a poked
one, are going to catch up to the
person that can afford only R50,000.
Lastly, that R50,000 supersport
is most likely more than tenyears-old,
and the banks are going
to laugh at you when you try to
finance it.
So, R49,900 is a good deal for a
new bike, especially one like the
Gixxer 250. When you look at the
range of similar motorcycles, the
closest is the 300cc range that
starts at R75,000. Really, R49,900
for a 250 is a properly good bang
for the buck.
With sensibility out of the
way, is it any good to ride? That
would depend on how you look
at it. The motor is a 249cc singlecylindered
getup with oil-cooling
and a single overhead cam,
churning out 26hp and 22Nm of
torque. None of this is particularly
applaudable, especially compared
to motorcycles with just 50cc more
displacement but, again, none of
these motorcycles have a R49,900
price tag.
What can be extracted from
these specs is that the motor is
relatively simple. From that, we
can confidently assume that it
is also bulletproof, a quality that
is especially sought after when
LITTLE
GEM
S U Z U K I G I X X E R 2 5 0
Motorcycles are
getting increasingly
expensive and, in a
time when a simple
commuter costs close
to R100,000, the need
for something fun,
that will not require
the selling of one of
your kids to afford,
is massive. Suzuki
thinks they have
the answer with the
Gixxer 250. Donovan
Fourie gave it a go.
Pics by Beam Productions & Chris Kuun
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