The inspiration for purchase of the GSX was an aborted trip abroad on a Honda RS250. It just wasn't big enough for my needs so once recovered from my excesses and with the RS suitably spruced up for sale, I paid a call to the local Arthur Daley Used Bike Centre who offered me £100 trade in on a Y reg, GSX400F with 12000 miles on the clock, a slightly dented tank and a £420 price tag. There was 12 months MOT and a fair amount of tax, plus a little psychology produced a Rickman top box and a promise to do something with the dent. By psychology I mean the battle of nerves between the greasy salesman and the oily biker. I had already made up my mind that the machine was what l needed but had no desire to be ripped off, So employed the age old technique of waiting until the guy had his flashy pen hanging over the dotted line, then casually walked out of the shop muttering about another bike I’d seen down the road. Worked a treat.
First reactions on returning a few days later to pick her up were cosmetic. I don't care how much logic should be used when considering purchase, it's the combination of sleek design, colour and sparkling chrome that flogs most vehicles, be they bikes, cars or lawn mowers. The GS certainly looked the business to me despite the need for a good gunking down, not ridiculously flash like the red boy racer Kawas that seem as if they’re doing 150mph standing still. I know this because I have often passed their owners at night doing about 30mph and trying to catch a glimpse of something moving through their blackened visors. Sour grapes maybe.
The luxury of electric start was that next sensation to be experienced following two years of kickstarting the Honda, which never had one to save an extra 12lbs of weight, thus making it one of the lightest 250s on the market at the time. This was followed by the pleasant surprise that the illuminated gearshift indicator seemed to work quite accurately, despite missing rear cover that had been replaced by careful application of black tape by some previous owner. My last experience of this quantum leap in high tech instrumentation was on one of the first Suzuki GT380s. No problems with the glowing neon figures until it rained, when the readout attempted to show you all the figures at once.
Wobbling off down the road. I soon, discovered its ability to seek out false neutrals with consummate ease, and winding back the throttle on attempting to engage warp speed had the engine screaming uselessly between the gears whilst flat capped Reliant owners and young mothers pushing prams sailed effortlessly past. A little application and some positive left foot movements had me tap dancing up and down the box like Wayne Sleep on speed. The frantic jigging about necessary to get from 6th to 1st after having to slam the anchors on for whatever reason, still had me cursing the little Japanese engineer who designed the interior of the gearbox. All the stranger because the usual Suzuki gearbox is ace.
He was no doubt thousands of miles away when, struggling through a particularly bad evening rush hour, I found the pedal getting gradually stiffer to operate. 20 minutes of stopping and starting later, l was reduced to yanking the thing up with my left hand every time I stopped in order not to set off in fourth, the gear I was forced to confine myself to for fear of getting stuck in a lower one and having to drive at 10mph.
On eventually arriving at my destination, I applied WD40 to the joint which gave some temporary relief until i could get home to examine the problem. Removing the gearbox cover revealed a considerable amount of road muck and foreign bodies, which when removed seemed to solve the problem.
The handling didn’t exactly inspire confidence to start with, but I put this down to the tyres. The front was the original Jap, which after 12000 miles was looking decidedly ropey. The rear was equally balding and of dubious Indonesian origin. Both tyres were actually V rated, but I decided to fit relatively cheap H rated Metzelers, which rushed me £96 worth of beer tokens and £8 for fitting.
The GSX only weighs about 400lbs so can be thrown around with ease. It's stable in straight lines and doesn't move about much in corners, although jamming on the brakes tends to make it sit up when banked over. There's not much that can stay with a spiritedly ridden GSX in town. Long, high speed runs are spoilt a little by a seat that becomes very hard after 120 miles, and a lack of power above 90mph. Especially annoying is the need to drop two gears from top if you want to shift with 80mph on the clock; the ageing gearbox does not inspire much praise.
Lighting gets the thumps up, especially the front headlamp which, when flicked on to main beam at night can wake up a sleepy Capri driver coming in the other direction from half a mile away. I've always considered the engine cut off switch a little superfluous, so I was surprised to find that when mine didn't work I rather missed it. There's always the odd chance that you'll need to cut the engine out pronto...
60mpg seems about the average consumption, although a good caning could get it down to 45mpg around town. The rear brake shoes were shot on inspection, so another £10 went west on a pair of Ferodos. Unfortunately, they're rather a tight fit which is actually slowing the bike down at the moment. I've attempted adjusting and prising them apart, but to no avail. I guess it's a case of putting up with them until they wear a little. l also discovered that there should have been a cover for them which was not present. This lack of protection could well affect their performance.
l'd like to be able to say that I took her into my garage, stripped the engine down with deft precision, replaced all the worn bits with considerable hassle, struggled manfully with stripped threads and knackered oil seals, then finally wheeled out a transformed machine that was the envy of all who laid eyes upon it - but I can't. Apart from replacing the necessary plugs, points, filters, shoes and oil, I've done damn all to the bike and she's apparently no worse off for the daily thrashing to the office and back.
Would I recommend one? If what you want is a well behaved four stroke that can handle the occasional long distance trek as well as daily commuting, then, yes, l would as long as you don't go AWOL on too regular a basis.
Mike Alexander