Suzuki is a very interesting motorcycle manufacturer to me. And among their recent products, I fell in love at first sight with the Inazuma 250, a small to medium size bike by international standards that appears to be an "everybike" or a workhorse that can serve me well in a variety of situations.
I grew up not really having an interest in motorcycles in general, because an accident when I was a kid left me far away from anything on two wheels for years. However, as the realities of life begin to sink in more and more during the second decade of my life, I also began to notice motorcycles - they're the quickest method of transportation around town; easy on the wallet because of low fuel usage, parking and maintenance costs compared to cars; there is a wealth of customization options for them if you know where to look; and you can arrive at your destination in more style than the lousy Jakarta public transport (or even your own car) could ever provide you. Just as I started paying more attention to them, Suzuki launched a bike that caught my eyes, the Inazuma (aka GW250 for Europe/the Americas and GSR250 in Japan). It was a worldwide release with identical specs anywhere it is sold with China as the manufacturing base to cut costs and as the home market. Interesting strategy because as far as I know, China is a very industrious nation, not so long ago the world was beginning to get flooded by cheap Chinese products of all kinds and the general impression was of low price but lower quality.
Now, things are different. China has begun a revolution in the smartphone industry by releasing multitudes of high-spec Android phones, complete with proprietary user interfaces and similar build quality to the established players such as Samsung, Sony, Apple and HTC, but at much lower prices. In the past, aftersales services of Chinese products have always been disappointing at best. However, in the current decade (starting around 2011-2012), they have managed to keep global costs low enough that they can still provide decent aftersales at the lower prices they peddle their products at, and this applies to everything they make, including motorcycles.
The "Made in China" stigma that usually came with Chinese products is no longer relevant these days, especially if you look at the Inazuma. It is well designed and well engineered, with all day comfort seeming to be the priority. No matter what you think when you see pics of the bike, you will think differently once you get to see it in the metal and even more differently when you ride it. It is an unassuming bike that you need to live with to appreciate, and you WILL appreciate it. There are no flashy aspects about it, except the surprisingly huge size, which is probably why Suzuki chose the phrase "Defeat the Arrogance" in its Indonesian marketing material for the bike. Which can be probably translated into "well, this bike is not going to stroke your ego, but if you get one with the right mindset - that it is not a racy bike, then you will never want to part with it."
So far so good - so why make a blog? Well, my research into the Inazuma allowed me to meet many new friends, many of whom are players in the motorcycling apparel industry (all of them Inazuma owners, and with many products geared towards Inazuma riders, obviously). One of their primary issues with their business is on how to reach an international audience. The quickest way to start getting around this would obviously be a website, an online trading post of sorts. However, just as I got to know my friends because of a similar interest in the bikes we ride, and general personal compatibility - not just a professional relationship - I feel that a fully professional website slightly reduces the community values. A blog is a much better way to reach out, advertise and still be available for friendly banter among Inazuma riders throughout the world. So, this blog will not only be a trading post, but also a place to share things related to the Inazuma family of bikes and riders. For starters, there will be a few pieces of bike specific apparel that I will try to help put out there into the world via this blog. Hopefully this blog can help international Inazuma owners find whatever they're looking for.
As a final word, this blog project is impossible without the following people:
Jasky Slowriders aka Zaky Akbar
Adet Vriono
And the rest of the ION-ID (Indonesian Inazuma Owner Network) members that are too numerous to individually mention.
