Suzuki Gixxer Long Term Review – Second Report

Suzuki Gixxer Long Term Review – Second Report

Long Term Test No. 72

The Suzuki Gixxer is the best motorcycle in the 150cc segment, it’s fast, fun, frugal and practical

It’s been almost half a year and we have been riding the game changer of the year 2014, the Suzuki Gixxer! The street-fighter motorcycle has done about 7000 kms and is still riding like a tough workhorse! We’ve been taking this motorcycle for a lot of rides, most of which are one day rides. As we are based in Mumbai, few riding spots like Charoti, Igatpuri, Malshej, Lonavala, Pune, Lavasa and Alibaug have been covered. While taking the coastal Konkan run has also turned out with one of the destinations to be Ganpatipule.

The pictures in this article are specifically from Dapoli where we had our last ride this monsoon. The ride started from Thane, Maharashtra and the destination was Ganpatipule for the day. The Gixxer was ready with all the oil change and greasing done. The morning we were ready to leave and I get a surprise! One of my friends gets another Gixxer and mind that, his bike was very much new and he had just done his first service. We leave for the ride, as we headed, the one who was leading us took a different route going all coastal. This was the best moment as there was sunrise on the left and greenery all over, a good start for the ride.

After re-routing and getting back to the track we entered the Mumbai-Goa highway and the roads were in real bad condition. The Gixxer though was gliding over most of the potholes in a really good manner. The 41 mm telescopic front forks and the mono-suspension at the rear were playing good around the bad roads while I rested on the hard seat. Even though the bike was going smooth, the hard seat took my case quite a few times on the worst surprise of puddles. Getting through all these, the Gixxer never gave up, neither did any of the riders. Well talking about the riders, the group was of five riders, two Suzuki Gixxers, a TVS Apache 180, a Bajaj Pulsar 150 and an old Royal Enfield Electra 350. Except the Royal Enfield, rest of the bikes ran neck to neck and it was fun at all times.

The Suzuki Gixxer is a small but a very sharp street fighter motorcycle

The Apache was the most frugal performing machine, though the Gixxer never left out. As we went by, we encountered 25 KMS of continuous twisties and the actual test started here. The Apache was very sharp at taking corners following which came the Suzuki Gixxer. The wider rear tyre, rear mono-suspension and street fighter ergos made the Gixxer follow the Apache’s line very well and by the end of the ghat, the Gixxer was running tyre to tyre with the Apache. After the whole cornering session we had the long straight towards Ganpatipule and as planned we reached our destination just by an hour delay!

As I mentioned earlier there were two Suzuki Gixxers, I ripped my Gixxer to almost redline most of the times while the other guy rode sanely not crossing anything above 7000 RPM. By the end of the day we headed for a tank refuel as the small 12-litre tank of the Gixxer was about to reach reserve. Surprisingly even after being ridden hard, my Gixxer returned 42 km/l while the sanely ridden Gixxer gave a good 47.5 km/l mileage figure. As the day ended and it got dark, the Gixxer’s headlamp helped to quite an extent as the light spread all over, giving a decent view of the road. Still a stronger option of the headlamp bulb would have been much helpful.

The second day was a ride on the beach early morning and the return trip home. After all the city roads and the straights, we reached the same twisty section which I had mentioned above and this time the game changed, the Apache was on the tail of the Gixxer. If anyone would have seen us riding, we were going like a snake! Gixxer leans in, Apache follows! Going left and right and following the line while staying in the same lane and taking care of the on-coming traffic. During the whole ride from home to Ganpatipule and back, the Gixxer never let me down. There were a few moments like the downhill section where the rear brakes could have had a better bite and during the internal section of city where almost every speed-breaker had an encounter with the belly of the exhaust. Otherwise things were good.

Coming back to bike and off the ride, the engine of the Suzuki Gixxer is peppy and loud. By the time the motorcycle was launched and many of us tested it, there was this statement that the bike had the best sound! But mind that, the sound isn’t exactly from the superb looking exhaust, the sound is basically from the 155cc mill. Once ridden for a longer time, the sweet sound feels like an extra noise which is just not required at times. Though within the city it makes its presence felt only above 5000 RPM and that’s what makes it better. There’s another feature that the Gixxer has, it’s the shift indicator LED which can be set according to the rider’s requirement and an option to turn it off is also available. The Suzuki Gixxer is a beautiful mean 155cc machine and I can’t be more glad that it’s one of our long term motorcycles.

The Suzuki Gixxer has been a winner from the time it was launched. It’s a totally brilliant machine but some updates in the hardware like a rear disc brake and a bit increase in ride height would make the Gixxer a package everyone would opt for.

Suzuki Gixxer Cost of Second Service

* Engine Oil – Rs. 300/-
* Oil Filter – Rs. 52/-
* Paid Service – Rs 300/-
* Chain Lubrication – Rs. 150/-
* Coneset Assembly work – Rs. 485/-

Picture Editing: Sri Manikanta Achanta

Further Reading –

Suzuki Gixxer Long Term Review – Initial Report
Suzuki Gixxer Long Term Review – Third Report
Suzuki Gixxer Review
Suzuki Gixxer SF Review
Suzuki Gixxer vs Yamaha FZ V2 vs Honda CB Unicorn 160
Suzuki Gixxer vs Yamaha FZ V2 vs Honda CB Unicorn 160 – Video
Suzuki Gixxer vs TVS Apache 160 vs Honda CB Trigger vs Yamaha FZ