很多人想要复古自行车，但不是每个人都有耐心和力学的能力，让旧机器跑步或钱支付别人为他们做别人。那么，用复古造型买一个较新的摩托车，并获得现代技术和质量控制的好处，对吗？但不是每个人都有昂贵的新哈雷戴维森或胜利，甚至是川崎Z900的钱。别担心 - 铃木让你的背部TU250X.

A retro, before it was cool

Harley-Davidson makes retro bikes because, well, it never really stopped making those bikes to start with. The stereotype is that everyone else makes retro bikes bikes Triumph proved the idea was profitable with the Bonneville line.

That’s not exactly true; Honda had the GB500 cafe racer in the 1980s, and the other Japanese manufacturers have played with the idea as well. Suzuki brought the original TU250 out in 1994 as a laid-back, easy-to-ride bike with vintage styling. The current-generation machine came along in 2004. That makes this machine an “authentic” retro bike from wayyy back, before the idea was cool. That just might be the perfect selling point for hipsters …

Tech talk

So, at first glance the TU250X appears built along the lines of the stereotypical Japanese beginner bike—cheap, cheerful, and just a tad bit chintzy. When you take a closer look, you see that isn’t the case with this little Suzuki. The TU250X is a well-built machine, with attention to detail and quality.

TU250X围绕空气冷却的249cc单身构建，具有电子燃油喷射和五速齿轮箱。考虑到这台机器在现代生态拍摄如Z400或反叛者之类的情况下达到市场，令人惊讶地看到铃木有EFI。然而，这对小型自行车来说实际上是一个问题，因为它在击中北美市场时保持了高度的价格，可能会伤害其销售。这些天，至少在一些市场中，MSRP似乎更加符合这个价格类别的竞争。

巧妙地，设计师用铃木双节流阀系统（SDTV）调谐TU250X。基本上，进气管有两个由SDTV控制的蝶阀，其打开或关闭这些阀门以优化发动机平滑度，使线性电力输送。然而，涂特只制造了大约16马力和12英镑的扭矩，因此不要指望这件事能够提供轮胎切碎的加速。

在发动机之外，这辆自行车不是机械奇迹，但它得到了你需要的东西。前面有一个单碟制动器，带有双活塞卡钳。在后面，铃木穿上鼓制动器。它必须是在复古吸引力的目的的尝试中，因为当这辆自行车设计时，鼓式制动器绝对不用风格。有一套标准的线圈上，骨折，瘦叉，钢管架。自行车可能会以质量为主，但它肯定没有Swanky New Bonneville T120的Flashy Tech。

The right look

The budget bike competition all comes with EFI standard now, along with ABS, and traction control and leaning ABS are probably coming soon for these machines. The TU lags behind these bikes from a technological viewpoint. However, it does one thing very, very well: It looks good.

In an age where everyone’s using all sorts of plastic parts on their retro bikes to cover up ugly bits like radiators or cheap exhausts, the TU uses no such trickery. The long, chromed exhaust, the spoked wheels, the bulbous signal lights, the two-part seat and the dual analogue gauges are all straight from the 1970s. Looking at this bike, you’d think it was from around the same time as the original GS series. Suzuki even goes to the effort of putting a fairly decent paint job on the TU. Or at least, it did—chances are, the TU has seen its day.

A dying breed

See, the TU was considered an oddity in North America, where we typically didn’t see the manufacturers putting that much effort into their small-cc machines. Over in the Japanese domestic market, there was much more interest in the 250 class, thanks to government regulations, and it paid off to have an attractive small-bore bike with a high-end finish.

不那么多了。COVID之前,至少有were rumblings of serious weakness in the Japanese market. Add in ever-tightening emissions, and the fact that it’s much cheaper to build bikes around mega-platforms like the affordable GW250, it’s likely the TU and bikes like it are probably on the way out. It wasn’t for sale in North America this year, although that doesn’t mean it won’t come back. Suzuki’s execs sound a bit depressed about the whole motorcycle scene these days, though, so don’t sit around waiting for them to re-introduce it. If you want one, buy it now, especially since dealers are trying to clear out leftovers, like thislightly-used 2018 model in Georgia. You can buy a useful aftermarket luggage rack, and hey—you’ve got yourself a budget-friendly machine for touring the back corners of North America or even developing countries, as long as you don’t mind the slow lane.

照片：周期交易者