Looking at a used GZ250, what to look for?
 

I'm looking at a 2002 Suzuki GZ 250 this weekend.
I Have seen several photos of the bike, looks good in photos, the guy says it's in excellent condition.
The bike has 17,000 miles on it.
What do I need to look at before purchasing the GZ250?
Do the GZ250's have common problems?
Is 17,000 a lot of miles on a 250cc bike?
Any tips or help with what to look for would be appreciated.
Thanks,

For that year and mileage, the asking price is usually less than $1,000. Most GZ250s have less miles from sitting unused.

What to look for (it's a long list, therefore incomplete):
- tires, aged over 5 years: need to be replaced;
- does the engine smoke/sound good (should sound like a sewing machine or lawn mower, knocking sounds - no good);
- all electrical in working condition, battery charges OK.
- any marks from being dropped.

If it has been maintained well and it is in good condition, you can double that mileage if you take good care of it.

17K miles is a lot considering that the GZ250 is not a "highway cruiser". In addition to what 5th_bike said ... even if "well maintained", ask specifically when the valves have been adjusted. At that that mileage, it should have been at least 2 times.

chuck

remember that the bike's thirteen years old. That's around 1,300 miles a year, or 30 miles a week.

I agree that it's 13 years old... When I first started looking last spring for a GZ250 in the VA/MD area, I saw many early 2000's w/ less that 5K miles on them for under $2000.00. It's not that a bike can't have high mileage and be in good shape, it's just that a 250cc would be more than likely used on short trips. Short trips are hard on an engine. A bigger bike, 650cc or above, is more than likely to be taken further per trip.

chuck

PS: The above are all just what I would look for. The bike you are considering just "may be" immaculate even with that many miles.

I looked and found a GZ250 last year. Beware of a bike that is titled in state A, the seller is selling from state B, and you live and will get a license plate in state C. Two of the five bikes that I looked at had "red flags" where I just did not feel good about the title. So, I bailed. To me, if the sellers name (i.e. the guy with whom you are speaking) is not on the title, I bail. [ Is it his/her bike or someone else's ? ]

The bike ended up with had just over 3000 miles, the seller's name was on the title and that title was issued from my state of residence.

chuck

BUYER BEWARE...............you just can't trust some folks.

I don't trust water is always wet... So .... yeah....
Caveat emptor.

I have never trusted water. I have a fear of any water deeper than the bathtub. So of course I never did learn to swim because of the fear. Yeah. WW2 is afraid of water. So of course I worked in water treatment plants for 25 years. :lmao: