Suzuki marauder 250 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Suzuki marauder 250

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Tk22

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I'm looking at getting my first manual bike I've been riding scooters for awhile but it's time to get on a manual bike I had a v star 250 around this time last year and it would not go in gear nice and would always stall at first I thought it was just me trying to learn to ride it and then a friend that's been riding bikes for a few years tried it and he had the same problem I ended up getting rid of the bike and went back to a automatic scooter but I really want to learn to ride a manual bike.

I went to a motorcycle salvage yard today that happened to have a mint Suzuki marauder 250 it's in really nice shape but he's asking $2300 for it.

I heard it running and it's a good strong running bike I know it's classed as a beginners bike but is it easy to learn how o ride?

I looked at the chain and sprockets and they are in good shape even the tires are good.

Is the Suzuki marauder 250 better then Honda Rebel 250?

The 2 bikes look some what the same how reliable is the Suzuki marauder is it a bike that I can ride every day with out a problem even in the winter months?
 
Honda Rebel has (had?) been in production for years and years and owes nobody an explanation. I know a guy on disability (fingers missing, back and attitude problem) who's been bombing around all over the place on the Marauder 250. He's got nothing good to say about anything but darn it he's never said bad word one about his ride. I think you'll do well with either of these machine. And welcome aboard!
 
Tk22 said:
I'm looking at getting my first manual bike I've been riding scooters for awhile but it's time to get on a manual bike I had a v star 250 around this time last year and it would not go in gear nice and would always stall at first I thought it was just me trying to learn to ride it and then a friend that's been riding bikes for a few years tried it and he had the same problem I ended up getting rid of the bike and went back to a automatic scooter but I really want to learn to ride a manual bike.

I went to a motorcycle salvage yard today that happened to have a mint Suzuki marauder 250 it's in really nice shape but he's asking $2300 for it.

I heard it running and it's a good strong running bike I know it's classed as a beginners bike but is it easy to learn how o ride?

I looked at the chain and sprockets and they are in good shape even the tires are good.

Is the Suzuki marauder 250 better then Honda Rebel 250?

The 2 bikes look some what the same how reliable is the Suzuki marauder is it a bike that I can ride every day with out a problem even in the winter months?
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I think you can get a better deal for the maurader, especially since it's end of season. They don't have a high resale value since there aren't many takers. I told a 2008 maurader a couple of years ago for $1600.. (it was 6 years old at the time and needed needed routine maintenance (carbs), but was fully functional and ridden often).

I have spent a good deal of time on the bike and it is quite slow. Depending on your riding style (sporty/cruiser/inbetween), I would urge you to look at another bike.. perhaps even a slightly bigger engine if it's a cruiser. The 250cc cruisers are heavy and not confidence inspiring when you need to accelerate.

Alternatively, If you are comfortable with 250cc bikes and have experience on scooters, you could also consider a 250cc honda CBR which a nice flickable little bike to learn on, and enough speed for the inner city streets.

Given that almost everyone on this forum seems to want to go at break-neck speeds, I will caveat my advice above with 250cc bikes not being enough to satisfy most people's acceleration thrills.
 
I'm not looking for a super fast bike just cheap to maintain and cheap insurance witch is the reason why I ride all year I don't even own car the bike is my only transportation so if it breaks don all the time like my current bike then I'm not very happy.

And when I say $2300 that includes taxes and licencing and safety this is the only marauder for sale near me and the rebel people are selling for the same price but without a safety and I would still have to pay taxes when I licence the bike.

I currently have a 2005 majesty 400 but every time I ride it needs something and it's gotten to the point that it sits in a nice heated garage waiting for parts rather then me riding it I've never had a bike that is as big of a money pit I've owned the bike since September 5 2015 and so far it's eaten $1200 in parts and still wants more.

It's a good thing I work on my own bike I would hate to know how much it would have been with labour and parts the bike takes about 45minutes for me to take off the body plastics just to get to do any work on the engine I'm sure a dealer can do it in half the time but twice the cost.
 
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I rode a friends 250 Marauder this year to store it for her. It's a great little bike. It will pull away from traffic at stoplights and is comfortable at 100 kph. Great on gas too. Cheap 2 wheel transport, you can't go wrong.
 
Tk22 said:
I'm not looking for a super fast bike just cheap to maintain and cheap insurance witch is the reason why I ride all year I don't even own car the bike is my only transportation so if it breaks don all the time like my current bike then I'm not very happy.

And when I say $2300 that includes taxes and licencing and safety this is the only marauder for sale near me and the rebel people are selling for the same price but without a safety and I would still have to pay taxes when I licence the bike.

I currently have a 2005 majesty 400 but every time I ride it needs something and it's gotten to the point that it sits in a nice heated garage waiting for parts rather then me riding it I've never had a bike that is as big of a money pit I've owned the bike since September 5 2015 and so far it's eaten $1200 in parts and still wants more.

It's a good thing I work on my own bike I would hate to know how much it would have been with labour and parts the bike takes about 45minutes for me to take off the body plastics just to get to do any work on the engine I'm sure a dealer can do it in half the time but twice the cost.
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Sounds like a decent deal. If the guy will take $2000-$2100 I would go for it if it includes safety, etc. Marauder is a good bike - better than the much older Rebel design. I have the Honda upright 250 twin and it has no oil filter (just an unremovable screen) and it is not counterbalanced so it buzzes at 90km/h and over - reliable but crude and dated. The Suzuki one-lung is counterbalanced, newer, and far more comfortable. Also, contrary to what you hear from some people here you won't find a more comfortable or practical bike in the city than a cruiser. You sit upright on a cruiser giving you better visibility, your feet are more easily planted on the ground and your shoulders don't get tired on longer rides the way they do on sportier crouch designs.
 
Sorry to Hijack the OP's thread, but it's on the Marauder topic....what would a decent value on a low mileage 2001 be? Came across one for sale but I think the asking price of $2500 is a bit off in left field. Low milage or not it's still a 15 year old bike, and it's end of season.

My wife needs a starter bike for next year and she likes the looks of it, I know it'll be reasonable for insurance, and I think it'll be good for our needs (short trips together and some group travel), but I keep sticking on the asking price.
 
Roadghost said:
Sounds like a decent deal. If the guy will take $2000-$2100 I would go for it if it includes safety, etc. Marauder is a good bike - better than the much older Rebel design. I have the Honda upright 250 twin and it has no oil filter (just an unremovable screen) and it is not counterbalanced so it buzzes at 90km/h and over - reliable but crude and dated. The Suzuki one-lung is counterbalanced, newer, and far more comfortable. Also, contrary to what you hear from some people here you won't find a more comfortable or practical bike in the city than a cruiser. You sit upright on a cruiser giving you better visibility, your feet are more easily planted on the ground and your shoulders don't get tired on longer rides the way they do on sportier crouch designs.
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When I saw the marauder 250 I liked it It's like the rebel and virago 250 rolled into one bike I like the style of the rebel but don't like no oil filter the other reason why I like it is it's light I had an accident on a bike a year ago and messed up my right leg and sometimes I can balance the bike with it but most of the time I can't and with the majesty I'm afraid of strong wind when I'm stopped is going to force me to put to much weight on my one leg and it's going to give but with the marauder both feet are flat on the ground so that's not a problem.
 
I tried to get the price down but the shop did some work on the bike it has new tires front and back, new chain and sprockets, carb cleaned, tune up, new brakes front and back, new brake rotor, master cylinder rebuilt.

The only thing I found wrong with the bike was the battery but he told me that he would include a new one in the price.
 
Tk22 said:
I tried to get the price down but the shop did some work on the bike it has new tires front and back, new chain and sprockets, carb cleaned, tune up, new brakes front and back, new brake rotor, master cylinder rebuilt.

The only thing I found wrong with the bike was the battery but he told me that he would include a new one in the price.
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its almost December. All the work was to make it serviceable and legal. I would tell him for $200 dollars less he can sell it now or wait to MAYBE sell it for $100 more in May.
 
The Suzuki marauder 250 should be a good bike, but the price seems high. A safety certificate is only $35. Yes, you have new tires and a new battery. That's another ~$80 for tire and ~$50 for a battery. It is end of season so most sellers tend to not want to store their bikes. The price should be less.

There are other bikes. The Kawi Vulcan 250, Suzuki Savage LS650/Boulevard S40, Honda Rebel 250, Yamaha Star 250, Suzuki TU250. They are all pretty close. If you ride all year and you depend on your bike then maybe you should get something newer than a 15yo bike. Also because you ride in winter a bike that has FI fuel injection will start and warm up a lot faster than a carbed bike.

Your Yamaha Majesty has better front protection than any of these cruisers. It is also FI, but maybe the CVT is problematic? In the winter and the rain the Majesty will keep you significantly drier and cleaner. Your Majesty also has some built-in storage, while all these cruisers are naked, meaning you'll need to add your own windshield, heated grips, pannier bags, etc. The manual shift of these cruisers should be more reliable than your CVT.

A newer bike will be more problem free for much longer. FI, newer parts, less mileage, etc. For not much more you might be able to get a new bike at this time of the year. I'm sure the dealers want to clear out whatever they have in stock now.
 
Tk22 said:
I'm not looking for a super fast bike just cheap to maintain and cheap insurance witch is the reason why I ride all year I don't even own car the bike is my only transportation so if it breaks don all the time like my current bike then I'm not very happy.

And when I say $2300 that includes taxes and licencing and safety this is the only marauder for sale near me and the rebel people are selling for the same price but without a safety and I would still have to pay taxes when I licence the bike.

I currently have a 2005 majesty 400 but every time I ride it needs something and it's gotten to the point that it sits in a nice heated garage waiting for parts rather then me riding it I've never had a bike that is as big of a money pit I've owned the bike since September 5 2015 and so far it's eaten $1200 in parts and still wants more.

It's a good thing I work on my own bike I would hate to know how much it would have been with labour and parts the bike takes about 45minutes for me to take off the body plastics just to get to do any work on the engine I'm sure a dealer can do it in half the time but twice the cost.
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Gotcha.

250 Maurader is not a bad bike and they seem to be Mechanically OK.
I just did a quick search online and there seem to be plenty of similar Marauder's priced in that range.
I don't think you are getting a steal on that bike, so do your due dilligence. I.e. a smallish repair will erase any discount.

P.s, you mentioned it's at a salvage yard shop... I hope the title is clean and not a salvage title - look carefully at the stampings on the frame.
 
TorontoBoy said:
The Suzuki marauder 250 should be a good bike, but the price seems high. A safety certificate is only $35. Yes, you have new tires and a new battery. That's another ~$80 for tire and ~$50 for a battery. It is end of season so most sellers tend to not want to store their bikes. The price should be less.

There are other bikes. The Kawi Vulcan 250, Suzuki Savage LS650/Boulevard S40, Honda Rebel 250, Yamaha Star 250, Suzuki TU250. They are all pretty close. If you ride all year and you depend on your bike then maybe you should get something newer than a 15yo bike. Also because you ride in winter a bike that has FI fuel injection will start and warm up a lot faster than a carbed bike.

Your Yamaha Majesty has better front protection than any of these cruisers. It is also FI, but maybe the CVT is problematic?
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The only problem I have with todays bikes is fuel injection I've had 2 fuel injected bikes and both where a pain one was brand new and the dealer had it more then I did I ended up getting my old bike back and half of what I paid for it and my majesty had a bad fuel injector and I replaced with a used one.

The cvt on the majesty hates the city it was built for the highway and I can feel it I had to replace the clutch when I first got the bike it kept seizing on me while I was riding it I replaced it with a better cutch witch still has problems in heavy city traffic I'm waiting for a new aftermarket belt itch was almost $200 and the dealer told me it had a new belt not even close.

I've never had a problem with a carbureted engine yeah I have to let the engine warm up longer but it's cheaper to fix when it breaks and the last time I've had a carbureted bike flood out was about 4 years ago when I first started riding I had a 1977 Puch moped al original carb and engine I don't miss that thing at all always playing with the carb or the points sucked big time when I had to pedal the thing home.

As For storage I have saddle bags or a shad removable trunk and I don't use heated grips have a really good pair of gloves that keep my hands super warm.

The big problem with modern scooters is when you break down you can't fix the bike on the side of the road.
 
Dresden said:
Gotcha.

250 Maurader is not a bad bike and they seem to be Mechanically OK.
I just did a quick search online and there seem to be plenty of similar Marauder's priced in that range.
I don't think you are getting a steal on that bike, so do your due dilligence. I.e. a smallish repair will erase any discount.

P.s, you mentioned it's at a salvage yard shop... I hope the title is clean and not a salvage title - look carefully at the stampings on the frame.
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I asked him about that it's got a clean none branded title what he told me was the owner that had he before said the bike would start and die and he did not have the time to fix it and his wife told him to get rid of it so he bought it off the guy and sonic bathed the carb and cleaned out the gas tank.
 
Tk22 said:
The only problem I have with todays bikes is fuel injection I've had 2 fuel injected bikes and both where a pain one was brand new and the dealer had it more then I did I ended up getting my old bike back and half of what I paid for it and my majesty had a bad fuel injector and I replaced with a used one.

The cvt on the majesty hates the city it was built for the highway and I can feel it I had to replace the clutch when I first got the bike it kept seizing on me while I was riding it I replaced it with a better cutch witch still has problems in heavy city traffic I'm waiting for a new aftermarket belt itch was almost $200 and the dealer told me it had a new belt not even close.
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7 of the bikes I have owned have been trouble free EFI,all my friends who have owned EFI bikes have had zero problems. A buddy had the Majesty in Thailand with ALL city riding and it was trouble free.

i believe you have just had a run of bad luck with your vehicles.
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