YOU don't have to be a learner rider to enjoy Suzuki's little DR-Z250. You could be returning to off-road riding, you might need a bike to ride to the office, with a little dirty stuff thrown in on the weekend, or you might like to gear the bike up and do some short adventure rides.

While the quarter litre trail bike won't be great at all of these things, it will certainly do a reasonable job at all of them, and that's exactly why it comes up trumps for me.

In the driveway
It's a pretty basic engine powering the DR-Z. 249cc capacity, with TSCC. That stands for Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber which according to my old man came out on the GSX1100 back in the early ’80s or thereabouts. It's a bit of trivia but it gives you an idea of how long the basic design of this engine has been around.
A decent sized oil-cooler helps the fins on the cylinder keep the engine down to a reasonable temperature, but engines like this will work hard in hot conditions on tight trails. But the electric start will make firing up the little engine much easier if you stall it at the bottom of a gully. Here's where my dad squawked about the old days again, "you should try starting an XR600 on a 40 degree day at the bottom of a gully. It just about gave me a heart attack," he said.
Serves him right for being out on such a day, better off on the lounge with the air-con on I reckon.

There are some concessions to modern technology, like the alloy cylinder plated with a Nikasil type lining. Suzuki call it SCEM (Suzuki Composite Electrochemical Material). Lots of funky words, but in reality it's a long lasting set up which requires no need for overbores, in theory anyway.
Other trickery includes the auto decompression system for easy starting, and the six-speed gearbox lets you cruise along at highway speeds okay.
It's got a steel frame and an alloy swingarm, but it's a basic affair. Here I go again telling you it's basic. That might sound a bit unfair but it's not meant to be a criticism of the bike, just to inform you the design has been around for a number of years. When on a good thing...

A single disc is fitted at both ends, and the long travel suspension (forks are conventional) is adjustable for compression and rebound damping.
While the speedo is a bit ugly it does give enough info for the rider, including a trip meter. There's no tacho, which would be nice, but then again not many off-roaders have them so it's not alone in that regard.

On the trail and road
I subjected the DR-Z250 to a bit more than many testers would, I think.
Everything from commuting to work, a 90 minute round trip, to a ride with a couple of road bikes to a classic bike show, with some nice twists and turns on the way. Of course we also went searching for dirt roads and trails to play on too.

Riding the bike on the road surprised me because it was easy to ride at the upper speed limits. You wouldn't want to ride it on the freeway for too long but it will cruise at 100km/h okay but there's not going to be much left in the power tank for more. That's fine, it's not what the bike is designed for anyway. If you do subject it to lots of that you might wear out that special cylinder lining pretty quick.
It's great fun on dirt roads, and even more fun in the bush. I went riding with some mates on much more aggressive off-road machines and the little DR-Z went everywhere they did. If you are pushing hard the suspension quickly gets out of its depth, especially for larger riders like myself.

You can play with the settings but quick riders will probably get the forks and shocks beefed up, or maybe go to the DR-Z400, or possibly even do both. If you want to play at a reasonable pace in the bush then the 250 will be fine.

Full of fuel (10.5 litres) the bike weighs 131kg but it doesn't feel all that heavy, and even big steep hills weren't an issue. In fact I found hill climbing didn't faze the DR-Z much at all. Sure, some more power would be nice but the low seat height and flexible engine combined together well on the climbs. Rev it hard or plod it in low gears, the bike coped well.

Would you buy it?
If you look at the first paragraph again I think those sort of riders mentioned should take a good look at the DR-Z250 if they are in the market for this type of trail bike.
It's very reasonably priced and history says the engine will be reliable.
I really enjoyed my time on the DR-Z250. It's a great entry level trail bike.