Suzuki GSX250R Announced For US

Suzuki Motor of America announced it will bring the new GSX-250R sportbike to the U.S. as a 2018 model. First introduced in China last month before again appearing at EICMA, the Suzuki GSX-250R will arrive in showrooms in April 2017.

While we were hoping the mini-Gixxer would get upsized to a 300 for western markets, North America and Europe will get the same 248cc parallel-Twin as the one sold in Asian markets. This puts the GSX-250R at a disadvantage against the likes of the KTM RC-390, Yamaha R3 and the Honda CBR300R. Suzuki hasn’t announced pricing yet but it will have to be much lower than the MSRPs on these competitors to gain a substantial share of the small-displacement sportbike market.

The powerplant is the based on the one used on the Suzuki GW-250, only refined for low- to mid-range torque. The camshaft profiles were designed to optimized performance at speeds between 15 to 55 mph. New intake valves have a slimmer stem profile near the heads to improve airflow into the combustion chamber while new rocker arms reduce mechanical losses from manipulating the valves. Further frictional losses were reduced by using a new oil pump design and using reshaped low-tension piston rings.