Got this very nice looking 1977 GT250 from a chap over Southend way. I'd gone over to look at a Suzuki GT550 he was also selling, which I purchased, had this 250.  When I looked at the condition of this one I decided to get a deal to take the pair.

I'd owned a few Suzuki X7s in the 80s but never had one of these so was interested in what they were like. The bike had been through a major renovation by the previous owner and was in very good order, but had not been made road worthy as it had stood in his collection for a time.

First thing was to add a new battery and discovered a few electrical glitches.

Then replaced the tyres and tubes as they were old.

Also noticed carbs were out of whack so would need to get into that as well.

On the electrical side the bike wasn't starting properly and wasn't charging. I found the Rectifier unit wasn't working and finding a decent or NOS replacement wasn't easy and was fairly expensive. Luckily I found one at the Stafford show which needed a bit of wiring work but worked fine. A few other wires needed work and anew fuse box fitted.

Also spotted the coils were mounted the wrong way round!

That fixed some issues but still having problems I checked the Alternator/Stator and found that wasn't working either. Ended up swapping out the entire left side electrics with a good used setup. Now had a decent working electrical system.

Carbs needed a good clean in the sonic bath plus new gaskets. Also had an issue with one of the bowls which seemed warped, so that was replaces as well. Fitted new Carb-Airbox rubbers, balanced the carbs and then on to the next step.

The Tacho was squealing which was very annoying in the garage. I tried to sort but clearly and internal issue and as I could get a replacement for £25 I just swapped it out.

Had a small patch of oil under the bike which turned out to be the Neutral Switch unit was cracked. Fitted a NOS unit and new seal.

Petrol tap was leaking so got a new unit.

I then discovered the 2-T pump wasn't working as it should and after faffing around with it for many hours gave up and replaced it with another unit. Problem solved.

Next couple of pictures are the bike recommissioned and just about to go into the MoT bay at the local garage. Passed with no advisories.

Thoughts on the bike...

They were 17 year old specials from back in the day, so had sporty looks, were nimble, light and quick for the day.

These bikes are easy to work on with everything easy to get to without the need to dismantle half the bike as you get on some models. 

Performance wise this one wasn't great to be honest, it all ran nicely and made the revs nicely but just didn't seen that quick. My reference point being the two X7s I had back in the day and the GT380s I had at the time.  I have to admit that I'd not ridden a 70s 2-stroke in 15+ years so maybe the issue was in my head!

Rode the bike for a summer or two and then sold as I wanted another bike and needed the room. The new keeper got a really nice bike.