suzuki marauder 125 improvements

[nik1900]

hi all.im quite disapointed as im repeating alot of people on here, but just wondering what can be bought/done for this bike to improve the performance / speed as getting a new bike isn't an option at the moment.

cheers
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Nik

[G]

Out of interest, why isn't it an option to get a new bike?

This sort of bike is made as a slow bike by design, so rarely is it at all cost effective to make them go siginificantly faster.

[nik1900]

it isnt an option for money / job problems. i knw i cant get THAT much more out of it, but a little would be nice. i was just wondering what my options were....
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Nik

[G]

Basically, to get anything decent out of it, for the money you would have to spend, I expect you could sell the bike and get a fair bit faster bike and still be left with change

Infact, I wouldn't be suprised if you could sell it and get a faster bike anyway.

[nik1900]

yes but getting a new bike is a bit of a hassle that i dont need at the moment, got enough on my plate, was jus wondering if there was anything quick i cud do / buy for this bike
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Nik

[G]

Nothing that won't be a lot more hassle than getting a new bike (which really isn't too much in my experience) for any kind of decent gain.

[stevo as b4]

Agreed! You either want to keep your Marauder and live with it's level of performance for now, which if money is really tight probably is a good option. Or you are prepared to sell it, and with it being a custom 125, i expect it has a reasonably good re-sale value, so that you could get enough for it to change to an older but faster bike.

If your limited to a 125cc, then going fast on the cheap usually means a secondhand sports or trailbike 2stroke machine. Say Just for an example a late 80's- early 90's NS125F/R. A bike like this will be faster, but cost more to run by quite a bit compared to your existing bike. The example machine could probably be brought in tidy condition for £600-800, but being an older bike, you will have to do some maintainance, and replace some parts as they wear out.

If you can afford to do basic maintainance and servicing and replace consumable parts as they are needed, then an old bike like this could be reliable. But try to run one on next to nothing, and it will suffer and break down long before your Maruder would given the same treatment.

I don't know that much about the engine in the Maruder, other than it's a 2v OHC air cooled unit, with 10.2bhp as std. It would be much like a Honda OHC engine, in that with some work a strip and re-build and a few £££ spent on tuning work, and aftermarket parts,(if you can get them?) some gain could be had. But to get a 50% power increase which isn't going to make a massive difference, you would still need to increase the capacity, which would cost you more still. A DR200 engine might fit, with alot of work, or possibly an older air cooled 2 stroke from a GP125/TS185 etc. It wouldn't look pretty though, and unless you have a collection of spare or free engine's, a welder and some metal fabrication skill's, as well as plenty of time, it's not really going to happen!

[nik1900]

what about de-restricting it?
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Nik

[Davo]

[nik1900]

how do you know?
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Nik

[nik1900]

how do you know?
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Nik

[nik1900]

how do you know?
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Nik

[Davo]

It's a 4 stroke 125 engine, it's been designed to meet learner limits (i.e. no more than 14.6bhp)

[nik1900]

argh.fair enough.this is doin my head in now, theres gotta be somethin i can do without replacin the bike, which means being out of a bike for a while, while i look for a new 1, an i need my transport
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Nik

[cestrian]

This takes me back to when I was 17 and trying to squeeze the last drop of performance out of my Suzuki GP125. I had a K&N air filter and a Micron exhaust but I doubt if it went any quicker. It did however go about 5 MPH faster (top end) than a standard GP125 but it was a 2stroke after all. Oh, and it made alot more noise too, really annoyed the neighbours.

Now, as for a 4stroke which was designed to plod on forever and be very frugal on the go-go juice, I'm not sure if it can be tuned up enough to gain the required hike in power output to get another 10MPH or knock a few seconds off your 0-60 time. I reckon the money you would spend on the parts and the tune up would amount to financial problems.

I always remember what my brother in law used to tell me......"Gord, if you wanna go faster, buy a bigger bike"

g)

[nik1900]

ah iknow its inevatable im gna need a new bike.i want a new bike,very bad, but as i said im not in the position where i can. dammit

thanks anyways
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Nik

[edd]

We have all been there, we have all got new bikes. Getting a new bike is simple:
Step one: look at what you have to spend, including the value of your bike.
Step two: decide on the bike you want, or a list of possibles
Step three: sell your bike, there are many websites,(ebay, biketrader, etc.) that will help you do this.
Step four: with bike now sold use money to pay for a replacement bike which is faster.

Thats not stressful, at all. It cost me under £100 to pay for my test, lessons and theory, and thats the best performance upgrade I can reccomend. If you could make a 4t 125 cruiser significantly faster then you are better than me. When you have passed your test you can buy a faster bike by selling your 125 anyway. Changing your bike doesnt have to cost you money, I have made a profit on every bike I have ever bought.
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