Round 3 on a custom Suzuki GN250 Scrambler
As many of you already know, a Suzuki GN250 Scrambler was our first ever customer build, our first scrambler and the first time any of our projects received some online publication. Since then we’ve built another one, levelling up on the first, and improving on a few lessons learnt.
This time around on V3 we we’re given the base bike and told to go again, but better. I do love these little bikes, so I was happy to oblige for our rider Shane. The GN250 was in his family for a long time before we received it and had been in storage for some time.
The Idea on this project was to firstly Improve on our previous build, but most of all keep this project painfully simple. Oftentimes with our builds there are a lot of ideas flying around and we get super excited then start making weird and wonderful custom pieces to style the thing out. This time there was a constant reminder to keep the GN250 simple, as a creative exercise if nothing else.
We pulled the engine down in house and gave the top end a refresh. We started with new piston and rings, some porting work to the head, valves and springs with a new Mikuni Carburettor + DNA filter feeding the little animal. Our in house mechanic is now available for any engine reconditioning and rebuild work on your classic or custom bike. The Exhaust was given an upgrade with an FMF Powercore 4
Once the engine was prepped for pavement domination, we moved through the custom work that needed to be done. The Suzuki GN250 Scrambler comes standard with a 16” rear wheel which is really hard to find an off road tyre for, we stripped both wheels and re-laced them to a 19” front, 18” rear black excel rim using stainless spokes. This gives the GN a real dune buggy vibe and allows us a tonne of tyre options. Going with some of the best dual sport tyres we could find in the Pirelli Scorpion Rally, great road profile, a chunky tread pattern. Ticks all the boxes for us here.
Building off the wheels, we’ve bumped the rear suspension up around 40mm with a custom set of YSS shocks. Doing this means we’ll need to modify how the rear brake works so be aware of that if you’re trying to raise your GN’s suspension. The front suspension was slightly stiffened up and we’re running a heavier grade oil for a more controlled road ride.
On the front end, we’ve wrapped the new front tyre in a custom PBM front fender and mounts, replicating a factory style but making it a good bit cleaner. The lighting up front is a 5.75” Flashpoint with a set of Hollow Tip turn signals. These utilise the standard Suzuki GN250 Scrambler mounts. We’ve also swapped out the gauges for a digital dash. Displaying all relevant info on a single colour LCD screen. This Daytona unit is now available in our online store.
The triple clamps have been cleaned up and treated to a set of Protaper bars, PBM switches and reconditioned Brake and Clutch lever. Keeping everything minimal and sharp. The handlebar switches and other electronics run through a Purpose Built Moto Black Box, which acts as the brain for your electrical side. Tucked out of sight under the seat.
The mirrors on this Scrambler are a new design from PBM, after making a few sets for our own projects we’ve gone and released them for any builder needing an adaptable underslung mirror set up.
The standard GN250 tank already has a great shape, so we’ve just remounted it to create a better flow with our new seat and tail section.
The subframe has been shortened, smoothed out and a nice kicked hoop fabricated, keeping the seat section slim and short, frenching in our 3-in-1 tail light mounts to the frame, and utilising a PBM tail tidy to tuck that number plate up nice and tight.
The only real input the rider Shane wanted was on the colour. His family being from Papua New Guinea, he wanted the flag colours used to style the Suzuki GN250 Scrambler out, which almost mimicked the factory paint colours anyway. Again reminding myself to keep it simple, we used a black base and 2 stripe design in gold and red. Matching the Brat style seat with a mid-grain black leather.
A lot of riders discount these small bikes as custom donors, seeing it as a waste of money to spend on a small machine. My guess is most of those guys haven’t ridden one. Once you liven up a small bike with a few performance mods and get a bit of weight off them, you’re hard pressed to find a bike that’s more fun to ride. Anywhere you point this GN250 it’s going to deliver a smile to your face. All you gotta do is rip back the throttle on it and enjoy!
After this V3 I’m not really sure where we could go on another Suzuki GN250 Scrambler, what’s left to improve!? I guess we just need to wait and see until another one comes through the door.
Check out the full picture gallery for the Suzuki GN250 Scrambler here
If you’re interested to see how our Suzuki GN250 Scrambler builds have developed over time click here to see V1 from 2016 and click here to see V2 from 2018.
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Purpose Built Moto is home for unique custom motorcycle builds. We offer a unique motorcycle customizing experience in the heart of the Gold Coast.
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Hiya , fitted 400mm shocks and all seems good , test ride is fine , little light at the front so stifer forks is going to happen . I’m curious as to what mods you did for the rear brake , I’ve bent the rod fixing point slightly to clear the swing arm and that alone seems to be working, cheers for any input , Andy ,north west UK .