TU250x

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Last month, my wife bought a Suzuki TU250x. She fell in love with the retro style and being able to flatfoot the bike. So far, she's put about 1500 miles on it.

Here's a pic next to my chinese CSC RX3 adventure bike.

[SpudRider]

The TU250TX is a sweet little ride, and the lighter weight is ideal for your wife.

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It's a 2011 model. We were lucky to find one used. There aren't too many used in the Denver area and most of those were the new silver color. But my wife had her heart set on the bronze/platinum color.

I did the regular maintenance for a new bike ... oil change, brake fluid, chain oil, cable lube and adjustment. The old oil was dark and sludgy, but with Rotella 5w40 synthetic gear changes were still sticky. A second oil change to Mobil1 10w40 RT made it nice and smooth.

It was left outside uncovered by the po and the tires were cracking, so we put on a set of Shinko 712s and upsized them. The bike is nice and planted now and the larger tires make up a little for the short suspension travel.

Here's a pic of the TU next to my RX3 and Vstrom 650.

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We went on a ride to Estes Park with my wife's brother yesterday and despite its lower power, the TU had no trouble in the mountains. Its single cylinder 250 is very smooth. Unlike the RX3, the TU is tuned for low end torque. It has a very smooth power band over 3500 RPM and an easy clutch pull. Shifting is smooth and consistent. It's relative long wheelbase (compared to the other 250s in the list) makes it very stable at highway speeds and in turns.

Here's a chart of the TU compared to other 250s, including my Zongshen RX3. By the numbers, the power to weight ratio is barely higher than the 125 cc Honda Grom. But it doesn't feel weak at all. It's geared perfectly and my wife has no trouble keeping up with my RX3 on pavement.

It's priced higher than most other 250s, probably because it's still made in Japan instead of China or Thailand. But used prices are very reasonable.

Model			Seat (in) Lbs	CC 	MPG	Gal 	HP	TQ (ft-lb)	HP/lb	Tq/lb	MSRP
Honda CBR250R		30.5	357	250	77	3.4	23.7	15.7		0.066	0.044	$4,199.00
Yamaha V-Star 250	27.0	326	249	78	2.5	21.0	15.0		0.064	0.046	$4,340.00
CSC Cyclone RX3		31.3	386	250	70	4.2	24.8	16.6		0.064	0.043	$3,495.00
Suzuki GW250		30.7	407	248	60	3.5	24.0	16.0		0.059	0.039	$3,999.00
Honda Rebel		26.6	331	234	52	2.6	16.1	12.4		0.049	0.037	$4,190.00
Suzuki TU250X		30.3	326	249	67	3.2	14.8	11.5		0.045	0.035	$4,399.00
Honda Grom		30.1	225	125	80	1.5	9.0	8.0		0.040	0.036	$3,199.00

[SpudRider]

You wife has good taste. I like the bronze and platinum color scheme.

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Originally Posted by SpudRider

You wife has good taste. I like the bronze and platinum color scheme.

Thanks! It's very classy and goes great with her riding gear. I'll have to get a pic of her in her matching jacket.

[Huck369]

I love the retro look of the TU, I wouldn't mind having one in my stable of bikes...

[Weldangrind]

That TU is a beautiful machine.

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Couple of more interesting things about the TU.

The cylinder uses a special coating similar to Nikasil plated directly on the aluminum cylinder walls. This lowers weight by eliminating the cylinder sleeve. But it also means you can't easily bore this engine out for more power.

Also, the TU doesn't meet California CARB emission standards, so it's a 49 state bike. This was almost a dealbreaker for my wife, who wanted the cleanest bike she could get. But in the end, she decided that its modern, fuel injected engine was clean enough, and since she also wanted a light bike with the right ergonomics, it was the obvious choice.