Hi everyone, how are you guys doing? Hope you all are having amazing fun rides in your wonderful machines. My name is Arun, finished doing my bachelors of technology (I.T), I am from Chennai, native is Andhra Pradesh (Vijayawada) and I am here to write my ownership experience of Suzuki GS150R, but first of all I would like to thank the creator and the head of BikeAdvice Mr. Deepak Raj and his team for giving me this fantastic chance to share my experience. I just love this site.
Ok then enough of blah blah blah. Now let’s gets into the real ride of my experience.
The Beginning of my Love Story Towards Two Wheelers
It was during the year 2009 July 22nd when I brought a Hero Honda passion (HH Passion, 2004 model) a used one for Rs.25,000 in Chennai bells road and somehow I managed to learn riding bike in a perfect way with the help of my friend Natraj.
Many funny things took place at the time of learning, I fell more than 4 times but never gave up, practiced learning bike for more than 25 days to ride it in a perfect condition on road and controlling the bike at top speeds was a big headache my bike used to wobble and vibrations were felt too much from the engine and I used this bike till December and finally got fed up of it and I was in a hungry need of something punchy from the engine and also many on road were having good looking bikes with good performance in it.
However I always had a strong desire to own something that satisfies my hunger so I requested my parents to get me a new one and the next minute without hesitation they gave me a green signal only on the following conditions.
- Great value for money product (main priority).
- Comfort levels should be good.
- Should have good technology with international standards.
- Easy maintenance.
- The looks and color of the bike should impress them.
- Budget should not exceed Rs.90,000 Mileage should be at least 47kmpl.
- So before proceeding further I would like to thank my parents deeply “love you very much mom and dad”.
So with the above conditions I was very much confused to decide which cc to go for firstly then later when I discussed about my problem with my friend Natraj (an expert decision maker) he suggested me to go for a 125cc or 150cc, I didn’t want to go for 125 as I thought there would be nothing punchier in it, so I decided to go for a 150cc .
The very next day I started googling for the reviews and bikes in 150cc category like a cheetah hunting for its prey it took almost more one month to shortlist the bikes, the following were the bikes that I had shortlisted and I am going to shoot out the reasons why I did choose and why I didn’t go for it.
As my house is located in the centre of the Chennai city (T.Nagar). Every company’s two wheeler showrooms were located nearby my home, so I managed to take a test ride of the following wonderful machines.
My first choice: Yamaha FZ
- What I liked: Looks (superbly seducing bike), handling, mono suspension, braking system, product of Yamaha and technology.
- What I did not like: Price (felt it was too much), Lcd display, costly spare parts, naked chain (requires high maintenance), mileage offered for such price tag and power was not justifying, comfort to the pillion during long rides and build quality.
My second choice: Hero Honda hunk
- What I liked: Looks (manly looks and eye catching design), Hero Honda brand, good initial pick up, low maintenance, mileage, comfort, butter smooth engine, build quality and good value for money product.
- What I did not like: Waiting period (33 days), full analogue instrumentation.
My third choice: Honda Unicorn.
- What I liked: Super smooth engine, product from Honda, reliability, low maintenance, mileage, comfort, mono suspension, tubless tyres resale value and good value for money product.
- What I did not like: Looks, common on road, full analogue instrumentation, waiting period (90 days).
My fourth choice: Bajaj Pulsar.
- What I liked: Looks, good features, price, mileage, initial pick up and value for money.
- What I did not like: Engine reliability, seen common on roads and average build quality.
My fifth choice: Apache 160RTR.
- What I liked: Looks, great adrenaline rush, price, powerful head light and horn, powerful front disc brakes, features, easy to nibble in traffic and easy availability of spare parts.
- What I did not like: Vibrations, comfort levels (can’t ride continuously for more than 30 minutes) and naked chain (requires high maintenance).
After a deep enquiry of the above short listed bikes I was quandary among the options and I took about one month to make a decision and it was during February, 18th of 2010. I decided to go for Hunk as I found much better features than all the above that fits my requirements, So I started heading towards Hero Honda showroom on the same day but I thought of going to temple first because I believe that positive vibrations can be found only in temple so I thought of carrying these vibrations along with me to the showroom.
So that I would get my product as soon as possible without any delays, just when me and my friend Natraj were on our way to the Hero Honda showroom in my bike (HH passion) he spotted a GS150R grey one in Suzuki showroom (abt nandhanam) and advised me to throw a final check on it.
But I was not at all interested but only because for his sake I went inside the showroom and things totally changed when I spotted a candy orange coloured Suzuki GS150R in a glossy condition I just dropped my jaw and slowly some kind of seduction rose in my heart towards the looks of GS150R as a love at first sight, so taking it as a signal from God I asked the attendant guy in that showroom to explain me about its features the following features just blew my mind.
- 6 speed gear box (longer life engine and also for mileage).
- Vibration free engine because of “engine balancer technology”GS150R balancer system is fixed with balancer-driven gear fitted with a rubber damper to kill the vibrations.
- No knocking.
- Two ride modes ( eco-mileage and power-fun).
- Guaranteed mileage of 52kmpl and above.
- Has got xtp(extra torque power) to deliver best strong mid and top end performance.
- Solid build quality.
- Butter smooth engine with good refinement.
- Can travel in 6th gear @ speed of 20kmph without knocking this particular feature made me think of the technology Suzuki gave in this bike.
- Front disc brake.
- Delivery time 3 days along with registration.
- Superb stability at top speeds.
- Provides good comfort levels to both the rider and pillion particularly designed for long rides.
- Price Rs.66,000(because there was an offer going on).
- 6 free services.
- TPS (Throttle Positioning Sensor).
The console of GS150R looks excellent there is an RPM indicator that glows to give an indication to the rider about the optimum up-shift timings(exciting isn’t it). The console consists of two modes namely Power mode and Economic mode. Apart from that, it displays fuel level, trip meters (trip A and trip B), time, and speed and also gear position. It displays RPM through an integrated analog rpm meter which is a Pretty Impressive design and innovative from other existing 150cc bike. SJCS (Suzuki jet cooling system) sprays oil to specific engine parts to prevent heating.
With all of the above packed features What else can one expect from a perfect packaged bike just try to compare these features with other existing 150cc bikes then you will know the uniqueness of this bike and why it is named as a “great value for money product” and “a perfect all rounder sporty commuter”, but personally I call it as super sweet commuter bike.
After taking a test ride I was greatly impressed with its ride quality and without any further doubt I booked a candy orange colored one on the same day and got it delivered within 2 days along with registration.
How I Maintained the Relationship with my Bike and its Results:
So far my bike has clocked 14,400 kms and 7 services were done . I am going to list out below the speed that I maintained.
Note: Right from the beginning I have been using only shell product (petrol (normal) and oil)
- 1st service speed maintained was 30-35kmph never exceeded above that
- For 2nd and 3rd service speed maintained was 40-45kmph
- For fourth and fifth service speed maintained was 40-60kmph
- For 6th and 7th service speed maintained was 40-70kmph max
All the above speed was by riding in eco mode rarely used power mode under emergency situations for reaching my destination pretty quickly. Now by maintaining in such a descent way currently I am getting mileage between 56-58 kmpl in city and also the performance and smoothness of the engine is still the same like a new one.
Top Speed Achieved in my Suzuki GS150R
The top speed that I went so far in my Suzuki GS150R was 124kmph in Poonamalee highway by shifting every gear @10,000rpm in power mode, the bellow mentioned figures help you to understand better. 1stgear 34kmph, 2ndgear 68kmph, 3rdgear 89kmph,4th gear106kmph, 5thgear 117kmph, 6th gear 124kmph. Many of you after reading this might get shocked or wonder and may argue that there might be an error reading, this is where the innovation of Suzuki comes in, for all the bike sensors are placed at the front of the engine but in Suzuki GS150R sensors are placed at the back of the engine to give an accurate reading to the rider.
The experience of riding at such greater speeds was top notch and had a mixed feel of deep fear and pride in my heart I was smiling excited and at the same time fear started hitting my mind with a great force, the engine was heating up but there was no wobbling the bike was rock solid providing great stability and confidence, I thought that the engine note and characteristic would change when I cut down to 40kmph but to my surprise even after such stress the engine was behaving very smoothly without any negative feedbacks, I think by this time all of you might have got some clarity about the smoothness and quality of GS150R engine.
Difference between Riding in Power and Eco Mode
Eco mode: This particular mode is designed to give mileage(min 52kmpl) that is the reason why many during test ride feel that the initial pick up is not good, they should also try it in power mode(strong suggestion) to feel the difference.
Power mode: Power mode is designed to give good acceleration, super smooth ride, adrenaline feel and even torque distribution be it low, mid range and top end the torque distribution felt is even and in this particular mode the way the bike reaches 40-100kmph is just fantastic, ride it to experience it you will know the difference and a smile is sure to blossom in your face.
Comfort Level
The comfort levels in GS150R is fantastic it provides comfort not only to the rider but also to the pillion, you can ride on it for full continuous 1 and half hours without any pain. It also handles bad roads with ease.
Maintenance Cost
The maintenance cost of GS150R is quite low so far I spent around Rs.2200 only for 7 services I use shell 4t engine oil costing Rs.192. And I give it for water wash for every 2 weeks which is RS.66 in showroom and I apply a cream polish (Rs.65 Brand is moto max) so that it protects the bike from losing its color and stays glossy.
Rusting Problems
Yes I spotted some rusting problems in my bike near the handle bars and some bolts but later they were replaced with a new one for free of cost under warranty within 30 minutes at smk.
Spare Parts Availability and After Sales Service
In Chennai “smk” provides you better service than any other service centers of Suzuki in chennai and they can get you any kind of spare part within 2 days or max 5 days not beyond that if that particular spare part is not available on the spot so I recommend smk strongly and the cost of every spare part is not much costly when comparing to Honda and Yamaha.
Engine Reliability
The six speed manual gear box provided by Suzuki gives you a better engine life and also the engine life of any vehicle depends upon the way the owner of the vehicle maintains it Change the engine oil for every 2000kms and make sure the service guys clean the air filter and carburetor every time you give it for service and always prefer shell (highly recommended) be it oil (4t engine oil) and petrol (normal) it may be costly but the performance of the bike will be great.
The Advantages and Disadvantages I felt about GS150R:
Aavantages
- Superb build quality and stability
- Innovative features and technology
- Styling of the bike (perfect looking sporty commuter)
- Great value for money product
- Powerful horn
- Majestic appeal on road and big bike feel.
Disadvantages
- Weight, needs special attention at parking places
- Average headlight focus,
- Rear brakes could have been better
- Lack of color choices.
My Personal Verdict
How would you feel watching a movie(GS150R) casted by Amitabh bachan(eco mode) and Rajinikanth (powermode) directed by steven spielberg(suzuki company) wouldn’t it be a treat to your eyes and makes you watch the movie again and again the same feeling is guaranteed if you own a GS150R, I killed my hunger by buying this wonderful product .Products like these come only once in a while so try to grab it before they fade off. And here I am not trying to promote or exaggerate about my bike this is purely my personal opinion.
My Conclusion about GS150R:
Finally before inferring to my conclusion I would like to state that with all due respect, the above mentioned data and information was completely my point of view and moreover it is not written to criticize any other products. In addition, if you are looking for a 150cc bike with some innovative technology and great features, majestic looks, value for money product, rock soild build quality, no nonsense bike, perfect commuter and if you feel that you want a bike that should stay with you for the next five years then GS150R is a perfect choice, and I thank suzuki for giving us such a fantastic product.
Furthermore, with this I am wrapping up my review, hope you all had a great time reading it, if at all you find some odds here and there please excuse me and Please don’t forget to give your comments and tell me What you felt about my pics, review and videos that I had posted.
Ok then take care wish you all good luck have a great life ahead and I pray to GOD that the heavy duty tax on super bikes should come to normal so that everyone of us here can own our dream machines one day.
‘Hail Riders, Hail BikeAdvice’
Regards,
Arun
