After years of waiting, Suzuki India is finally going to launch a 250 cc made in India sportsbike. With the brochure now leaked, all important details of the fully faired Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 are now available, except for its price. Here is a short comparison of the Gixxer 250 with immediate rivals in the segment – Suzuki Gixxer 250 vs Yamaha Fazer 25 vs Honda CBR 250R vs KTM Duke 250.
Engine – Powering the new Suzuki Gixxer 250 is an all new, 250 cc liquid cooled, single cylinder engine. This is the most powerful engine made by Suzuki in India. It comes with heavy localization, and thus will help in pricing the bike aggressively. It is not the same engine which powers the GSX-250R. That is a parallel twin, where as Indian one is a single cyl. The Gixxer SF 250 engine for India delivers 26.5 PS @ 9000 rpm and 22.6 Nm torque @ 7500 rpm. This means that the single cylinder 250cc for Indian Gixxer is more powerful than the internationally available parallel twin on board the GSX-R250, which delivers 25 PS at 8k rpm and 23.3 Nm at 6.5 k rpm.
Comparing the power and torque figures with rivals, the Gixxer SF 250 is among the most powerful in the segment. Honda CBR250R delivers same power output, but peaks a but early at 8500 rpm. Duke 250 delivers 30 PS and 24 Nm while Fazer 25 is the least powerful at 21 PS and 20 Nm. Below is a detailed comparison chart.
Dimensions – Of the four, it is the CBR250R which is the longest bike. It also has the longest wheelbase. Widest and tallest bike of the four is the KTM Duke 250. Seat height of CBR250R is the lowest, followed by Fazer 25, Gixxer 250 and Duke 250. KTM Duke 250 has the highest ground clearance at 185 mm, followed by Gixxer 250 at 165 mm. Honda CBR250R has the lowest ground clearance of 145 mm.
Kerb Weight – Yamaha Fazer 25 is the lightest bike of all four at 148 kgs kerb weight. Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 kerb weight is at 161 kgs, followed by KTM Duke 250 at 166 kgs. Honda CBR250R is the heaviest of them all at 167 kgs.
Tyres, Brakes, Suspension – All bikes get disc brakes in the front as well as at the rear, along with dual ABS. Disc brake size of the Gixxer 250 has not been revealed yet. Of the remaining three, it is the KTM Duke 250 which has the biggest disc brakes.
All bikes feature 17 inch alloys. Suzuki Gixxer 250 is wrapped in 110/70 rubber in the front, and so is the CBR250R and KTM Duke 250. Yamaha Fazer 25 gets 100/80 rubber in the front. At the rear, Gixxer 250 is wrapped in 150/60 rubber, and so is Duke 250. CBR250R and Fazer 25 are wrapped in 140/70 rubber. Suspension in the front is telescopic forks for all bikes, except KTM Duke 250 which gets USD forks. Rear suspension in all bikes is monoshock.
Price – As of now, it is the Honda CBR 250R which is the most expensive bike in the segment at Rs 1.96 lakhs, followed by KTM Duke 250 at Rs 1.94 lakhs, ex-sh. Cheapest bike of the four is Yamaha Fazer 25 at Rs 1.43 lakhs. Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 price has not been revealed yet. It will be revealed on 20th May 2019. Price is expected to be in the Rs 1.7 lakh range. All prices are ex-sh.