New Guy With TU250

[ToeCutter66]

Hello All,
My name is Kevin and I live in Northern Virginia. I have recently purchased a TU250 and was hoping it would be okay if I hung out on this forum. I have owned about 8 motorcycles in the past, but recently rethought my motorcycle priorities, and now I think that 250ccs is enough.

Thanks
Kevin

[Fish Baseball]

Welcome aboard......I think its more important that you ride than what you ride here....besides as far as I know its more or less the same bike, just in a different outfit. :2tup:

[alantf]

now I think that 250ccs is enough.



Welcome - You're our kind of people! :2tup:

[patrick_777]

Nice bike. Welcome welcome.

[burkbuilds]

Glad you joined us. Tell us some more about the TU250 how it handles, what kind of mileage you get, do you like the fuel injection is it responsive, etc.

[ToeCutter66]

The TU is a sweet bike. There is not really much negative I can say about it. I only have about 800 miles on it, but so far my mileage has been between 70 - 84mpg, the 70 was on the first tank of gas, and the 84 was on the most recent. It seems to get better mileage if you open it up a little. I was real easy for the first tank, but have been progressively riding it more aggressively. The fuel injection is sweet, you just turn the key, wait for the pump to stop, and bump the starter and she fires right up. Handling is sweet, it would be a great bike for living in the city, it is as if it can read your thoughts and just go in that direction. There is no thinking about counter steering, lean angle etc, just look where you want to go and that’s were she goes. I am a little disappointed in the lack of dealer accessories, if we were in Japan there would be tons of options. Also, I could not find a forum dedicated just to the TU, but there is a yahoo group that is somewhat inactive.

This forum is great. I just changed my oil using the directions posted here, thanks to whoever put that up. I also want to get familiar with the valve adjustment procedure; the TU only has 2 valves to adjust. Lastly, I wanted to get an idea of how much severe service I could get out of this bike without worrying about problems. From what I can tell, 500 miles on the superslab at 70mph is out of the question. I guess I will stick to the back roads.

One thing I am not getting with this bike is peer acceptance from my so called friends. They are mostly Harley and Metric Cruiser riders. Does anyone here live in the DC area and want to do some riding? PM me off forum if you want to meet up.

Let me know if anyone has any specific questions about the TU, and if anyone is interested you are welcome to take it for a spin.

Thanks
Kevin

[music man]

Don't worry about your "peers", my answer to people like that's comments were always, when you buy me a bigger, more expensive bike, then I will be more than happy to ride it, until then, you let me worry about what I ride and you worry about what you ride.

And no you probably don't want to go 500 miles on a superslab, but if it is anything like the GZ you can go til' your body can't take the punishment anymore at 55-60mph, and then get up and do it again day after day till you give up and go home.

The GZ may not win any speed races, but endurance is definitely its strong point, the one I had I rode for over three years, and the one and only time it left me stranded, was because the clutch cable broke, hardly a blemish on its record. I wish I had about 3-4 cars at my house that I could trust half as much as I trusted my GZ, the stupidest thing I ever did was sell it.

[yathauser]

welcome from a fellow nova'n newbie. i'd love to get together for a ride, and maybe take your bike or a spin. :tongue:

[burkbuilds]

Toe Cutter, I'll second most of what music man said about peers. The only change for me would be an addition to the until you buy me a bigger bike and pay my gasoline bill for it. I've got some friends who are Harley riders that are very accepting, and I know other Harley riders who are basically "stuck up", that's their problem not yours. Sounds like you are getting a lot out of the TU250! I'm envious of the fuel injection and the fuel mileage you are getting, very nice. Thanks for telling us about your bike.

[blaine]

Welcome to the forum.Enjoy your bike for all its good qualities.I've had my G.Z. for three years, and have no intentions of selling it.

[mole2]

Welcome aboard and ride safe. If your "peers" disapprove then they are NOT your peers.


:)

[Water Warrior 2]

TC66, your so called friends are probably too worried about their appearance and shiney chrome than the actual riding. Ride your bike, get it dirty and park beside them at the coffee shop. Others will know who really rides.

[GZBrian]

Welcome Toe Cutter. Let us know how the rear turn signals hold up. The design kinda swayed me away from the TU as it seems like a passenger could break those off pretty easy. Lots of good folks here and good info. Enjoy. GZ Brian.

[Reyji]

Lucky you that's a sweet bike! I would trade my GZ for a TU anyday. I've heard only good reviews about the TU. Unfortunately they don't sell TU's in Canada which sucks otherwise I would be riding one preferably a black one. I like cruiser's but retro style vintage bikes are more my style. Enjoy riding the bike I'm sure you are!

[Rex81]

Hello all, I'm new to this forum and a new owner of the TU, looking for a forum for it as well. I've had it almost a week and I love it to death. I'm not a new rider by any means, I've been riding for about 10 years, I've owned a bunch of different bikes and ridden countless others. I know the TU is considered a beginners bike, (and it certainly would be great for a beginner) but as a seasoned rider I find it to be the most satisfying ride yet! Suzuki really hit the mark with this one. In a word, I would call it "responsive". There is no hesitation in any of it's operation, from the engine firing up, to twisting the throttle, to pulling the clutch, to pulling around a corner. It's just smooth and effortless.

I've been collecting and restoring old Hondas for a number of years, my most recent (and favorite) a 1971 CB350. I had recently convinced myself I was going to keep that one forever. But even fully restored, no 40 year old bike can be considered reliable, and I like riding more than wrenching so I decided to check out the TU. I was really attracted to the simplicity and reliability of a single cylinder, fuel injection, and electronic ignition. No more bad floats, stuck needles, gummed up carbs. No more choke, cold bloodiness, hesitation. No more leaking petcocks.

I love old bikes. They just have a certain "mojo" to them. But after I rode the TU for the first time I knew I wouldn't miss the 350. Sure, it doesn't have the raw power and acceleration of a bigger bike, but it does everything else better. Way better. It's just so much easier to live with. I know that no matter what, I can just shut the bike off when I'm done with it, and always have it waiting to go for me when I need it.

I couple of other benefits: It cruises at freeway speeds better than the 350 due to gearing. It will sing along at 65 mph all day long. Gas mileage is great. Getting 75 now, but I know that wll improve. The distance from the passenger foot pegs to the pillion seat is short so my 6 year old daughter can toot around town with me. Also, with the exhaust on one side, I taught her to always enter and exit the bike from the left so I never have to worry about her getting burned. It actually carries a full sized passenger with ease, something I was sure it couldn't handle. With a combined 400 lbs of rider and passenger, it does just fine, with only a slight degradation in power and handling.

There's probably a ton more good things to say about this little bike, but I can't think of them now. I just love it. They can keep their 750, 1000, 1500s. My TU250 works just fine, thank you very much.

[blaine]

Welcome to the forum.Your experience will be appreciated.

[ArizonaKev]

ToeCutter - welcome to the forum man! This is a great place to be for a 250 rider - be it TU or GZ.

I wanted to chime in on the whole "Harley-rider acceptance" thing too. We have a guy here at my work who was giving me some crap the other day, asking about my 'little bike.' I asked him what he had, and he said some kind of giant Harley (fat boy, wide glide, something....) and so I am asked him why he didn't ride it to work? He went on to give some long excuse about it running hot, too much trouble, blah blah blah - meanwhile, I ride my '01 GZ every single day and am loving it. I think that pretty much says it all.

Also, another interesting tidbit - one night, I was coming home, and there was a guy on a custom Harley in front of me. When we stopped at the light, I stayed about 20 feet behind him, because I didn't want to "break protocol" and ride up next to him on my 'little bike'. So, to my complete surprise, he looks back, and waves me up to ride beside him. He said "I like riding with people - it's a lot more fun," and so we cruised on together for the next few miles, side by side. I have to admit, it felt pretty damn cool!

Of course, there are a lot of "harley snobs" out there who won't even look at me when I ride by them. But I always try to remember that they are not all that way, and even when they are, I could care less. Like my cousin in South Dakota told me when I told him what I was riding - "Take pride in what you ride brother." Indeed, I think we can all take pride in our awesome bikes !

Good luck, be safe, and happy riding :2tup:


AZ Kev

[Mercutio57]

I hear ya, AZ Kev. I've been snubbed by a few HD snobs as well. Thankfully they are relatively few in number (at least in my neck of the woods), and most riders will give or return a wave no matter what you're riding. And you're right about the everyday thing-- my GZ is my daily transport, whereas most of the big hogs I see are weekend toys. Ride on!

[alantf]

my GZ is my daily transport, whereas most of the big hogs I see are weekend toys.



Must be a worldwide thing. It's the same over here. You'll never see harleys during the week. :cool: