Suzuki GS125 ES

...I picked up my little Suzuki GS125 and drove it 180 miles back to my house (so this is where most of my review will come from).



~ The bike ~

At first glance it's nothing special but personally I think it looks better than the Yamaha SR and some of the Honda CG125 models, at least around 1998.

It's a small light bike (around 117kg) suitable for the shorter person, comes with different colours ...
...start, 5 gears, engine cut of switch and a gear selector display. Has no fuel gauge but does have a reserve so you know when to fill up again.



~ Performance ~

Don't expect anything special but it can beat a few cars off the lights to get you ahead of traffic with its 14hp engine or 10.2kw as they like to state these days. Claims to have a top speed of 65.2 mph but I know for a fact it can go faster, on ... more

This will be an ongoing review as I have just passed my CBT and bought one of these little commuters. The longer I own it the more I will add.

~ CBT ~

For those who don't know, anyone wishing to ride a moped or motorcycle has to sit a CBT to ride on the road. It stands for Compulsory Basic Training, if you don't pass it will be because they think you are not fit/safe to ride on road.

There are two types of bikes you can ride, a moped or a motorcycle, Majority of people learn on a bike up to the engine size of 125cc but if you are over 21 you could do it on a larger machine.

After completing my training on a Yamaha SR 125 I picked up my little Suzuki GS125 and drove it 180 miles back to my house (so this is where most of my review will come from).

~ The bike ~

At first glance it's nothing special but personally I think it looks better than the Yamaha SR and some of the Honda CG125 models, at least around 1998.

It's a small light bike (around 117kg) suitable for the shorter person, comes with different colours and graphics, has a 4 stroke engine, alloys wheels, electric start, 5 gears, engine cut of switch and a gear selector display. Has no fuel gauge but does have a reserve so you know when to fill up again.

~ Performance ~

Don't expect anything special but it can beat a few cars off the lights to get you ahead of traffic with its 14hp engine or 10.2kw as they like to state these days. Claims to have a top speed of 65.2 mph but I know for a fact it can go faster, on a dual carriageway I managed to get 70mph on a flat straight section. Personally I wouldn't take this to a race track but if you did you might just get 75mph out of it.

The bike suffers on gradients and you can actually see the needle moving backwards, you really need to be in a lower gear to keep your speed up.

~ Economical ? ~

One of the main reasons for getting a motorbike is that they are more economical on fuel, exempt from a lot of parking charges and congestion charges, tax is cheap and insurance is cheap.

This bike has an 11 litre tank and is very economical on fuel, not sure exactly what the MPG is on this as on the way my brother and I would top up his Honda CBR600 and do mine at the same time. I can say that before topping up we did 70miles and you could see petrol in my tank near the top, probably not even 1/4 of tank was used.
We stopped off again at around the 70mile mark and topped up again and this time has used less. When we got back I topped up my tank, have done 70 miles on it so far and nowhere near another top up, will run the bike until I need to refill and work out MPG.

~ The Ride ~

Ride height is pretty good but depends on the type of bike you like, the Yamaha SR125 I drove on my CBT was too much of a cruiser position for me, handle bars too high compared to seat. Not fancying a bike you have to bend over tank, I didn't want something like the Honda CBR 125, NSR 125, Aprilla 125 etc.

The seating position and handle bar position makes it a comfortable ride, has a nice soft seat but your bum will ache a bit after a 180 mile trip. For small trips this is near enough perfect for me.

Suspension is quite soft so it soaks up quite a few bumps but for gods sake don't use the front brake only !! On your CBT or any training course you will be told not to use front brake only as all weight is shifted to front forks. With the fork suspension being soft you are likely to drop bike or even go over the bars.

After the 180 mile trip I had no aches or pains as you may get on harder seats or racing position bikes. Personally I really like the ride on this bike.

~ Manoeuvrability ~

Not too sure what the turning arc on the bike is but can easily do a u turn on a standard 2 lane road. With it being light you can flick it easily from lane to lane or around country lanes. With it being small you can get it in small places and back out again. This bike is the same as many in regards to steering is hardly use, taking corners requires a small amount of steering and the rest banking. Don't bank too far with this bike as it has square type tyres. If you feel yourself taking a corner wider than you planned just back off throttle and the bike will come around.

~ Cost ~

After looking around for a few weeks I can say that I was unable to get one for under £750 in the condition I was looking for, most had high mileage and probably needed an engine rebuild. The 4 stroke is more reliable than the 2 stroke which is another factor to put into it. Costs really do vary in the 2nd hand market but in garages you could expect to be paying £700 - £1200 or above, depending on year and condition. A new one is likely to cost you £1600.
Luckily I found mine for £530 with only 8k on clock in average used condition.

~ Running Costs ~

Insurance cost me £163 but I opted for all the other insurances and break down cover bringing it to a total of £240. Tax is only £15 a year at the time of taxing it this year.

Petrol obviously varies but you will be using a hell of lot less than even the average economical car. With prices at 94.9 it takes £12 to fill tank up and i'll be able to get around 200miles out of it, £12 in my car will get me 90 miles.

As for parts and accessories I am not sure but told they are cheap as with most 125's. The GS125 seems not to be as common and I can't understand why, either that or they simply don't break down.

~ Summary ~

A cracking little learner bike or simple commuter to and from places, no good as a cruiser or for long journey's. An ideal step up to a more powerful bike or passing your test. Given the choice of a Honda CG125, Yamaha SR125 or the Suzuki, at this moment in time I would honestly pick the Suzuki. The Honda CG125 according to reviews is supposed to be better and probably is more common than the Suzuki, making it easier to get parts.

Update :

Having the bike for 5 months now I thought I would update the review.

Reliability : Been great so far and the only problem was the clutch cable snapped and good job I had breakdown cover. Not really touched the bike since I got it and not even serviced it and it's running fine. The cost of a clutch cable repair was £8, a new cable would have been £15, so nice and cheap there.
The chain has ahd to be tightened a few times now so it looks like it will require a chain and sprocket soon but they are only cheap with it being a 125.
The steering head bearings are also making a clicking noise when breaking sharp so I'd say they will have to be replaced soon.

Handling : For a 125 I think it great handling even when banking, suspension seems a little soft but I expect that for the age of bike it is. Bike can be pushed by wind if you are not careful, in high winds I have literally had to bank the bike to stop it being blown into oncoming traffic, however, this is probably normal for 125's.

Cost : £10 worth of petrol will get me around 190 - 200 miles and a full tank is only £12 at current pices of 94.9p. The tank is 2.9 gallons so you are getting around 68mpg city riding. On long runs that will reduce due to the fact that you have throttle fully open, but even then you will probably get 50mpg.
With cold weather upon us, the bike has been starting first time even if left unused over the weekend, as all bikers will know, that is not normal without having to use choke. It appears that the bikes carb mixture had been adjusted so that it started 1st time. Playing with the mixture the bike starts and rides how it should. This will also mean now that the MPG should be better.

Accelleration : Has pretty good accelleration and I can honestly say not many smaller engined cars can beat it off the line and upto 30mph, after 40mph it starts to lose it and accelleration slows. The top speed is 70mph although due to gradients you will probably average 60mph over a distance. 

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