Suzuki's new 250cc Fuel Injected bike.

[al74dart]

Suzuki has a new bike for 2009 called the TU250X with an 82 MPG rating for "City driving". The bike has electric start and the engine is a fuel-injected, 249cc, 4-stroke, single-cylinder, air-cooled, SOHC. The list price is $3,799 with a shipping cost to Arizona of $275. In my opinion that is a little much for the bike but I will have to wait and see what they really sell the bike for. It was originally listing for $3,499 but for some reason they saw a need to add $300 to the list price. I called two local dealers yesterday and they are still waiting for the first ones to arrive. It is just a plain commuter bike listed as one of their Standard models. Here is a link to the bike.
Suzuki Cycles - Product Lines - Cycles - Products - TU250X - 2009 - TU250X

Al

[Ryland]

I like it! nice styling, perfect size engine, a little on the heavy side but still not to bad, and with a price that would make it competitive with alot of other entry level bikes, makes me think that there will be alot of used ones out there in a few years, of course if it's as good as I hope it is people will hold on to them, but there are always those people who want to get something larger.

[MetroMPG]

And being fuel injected, ideal for instrumentation. MPGuino.

[theunchosen]

Well for starters you could dump some of the exhaust pipe and maybe drop a silencer to cover some sound as far as weight reduction.

Then fiberglass aero fairings. Maybe force it to lean out its standard burn if its ECU.

It would accelerate very slowly, but Highway you might see. . .100?

[beatr911]

This is interesting. The carbed version of this engine on the old GZ250 gets the same mileage. I'm wondering what the advantage is to Suzuki to go FI. Hopefully this is a roll-out of FI technology applied to all new models.

What I like about this FI system is that it has an O2 sensor feedback. So many of the early FI systems didn't have this, though they ran well they didn't have the self-tuning capability that a feeback loop provides. This bodes well for development of more fuel efficient cycles - and mpg monitoring cabability.

A while back, Honda proclaimed that all new models would be FI by something like 2010, even 50cc scooters in third world markets. They were to develop a very simple system that would be reliable and easy to repair. Maybe this is in fact what we are finally beginning to see in the entire motorcycle market?

[Chuck.]

I'll admit to a dream project: A homemade Aptera-like vehicle powered by a motorcycle engine like this. As said, it could be hooked up to an OBDII device, but would be cleaner than most motorcycle engines.

My picture is a fibreglass vehicle like the Aptera except the seating is verticle - not side by side for better aerodynamics. Don't know much about fibreglass, but a few wood or metal beams in the bottom and a layer or two of fibreglass with a thin layer of air might make it strong for it's weight. Getting the right engine and canopy would be the hardest part....would need to get all the parts before making the body. With a 250cc engine, it would be too small for A/C and would need plenty of ventilation for the engine from overheating (see the Litestar/Pulse site). In skilled hands, should easily get 100mpg.

[redyaris]

I can not get all that excited about a fuel injected motocycle engine, I already have one on my WR250R that I like, mainly because I can start and go without Idleing. Although the quality of modern bikes is great the design is more than 50 years old. Not so much as a hint of aerodynamic consideration, on any of the stuff on the market. If they would have one or two models that where optimized for aerodynamics then that segment of the market would be satisfied. A naked bike would have all the openings as closed off as posible, a faired bike would have a fairing developed in the wind tunnel and good graffics to satify fashion, and one scooter would be done the same. But what does the market provide? the same mediocrity over and over and over... with 20 different models. I know that manufactures need to build what people will buy, but are there so few of us that it is not werth there time to make 2 or 3 fuel efficiant motocycles/scooters?

[skyl4rk]

This Suzuki is rated at 105 mpg.

[redyaris]

Oh how I miss my DR200 I don't think I ever got 105mpg but better than 80mpg was the norm even without careing about fuel economy,on gravel roads passing every car on that type of road. The only four wheeler that ever passed me on this type of road, was some all wheel drive costing 20 times as much, as my DR200, and getting 18mpg while doing it.

[Ryland]

Motorcycle shops tend to spend most of their time rebuilding and cleaning carburetors because they sit over winter, so even if a fuel injected bike gets the same mileage it will get used more because it will start more and if it's use is displacing the use of a larger vehicle it will save gas.