How cold IS it? [Archive]

alanmcorcoran

01-15-2009, 12:00 AM

Happen to be in the great state of Illinois this week, Land of Lincoln, home of the Windy City and the Honorable Rod Blagojevich.

It's effing COLD here! Like 6. And tomorrow? High of -3! That doesn't include the "wind chill." I can see why Easy gets a little cranky after December. Gee Suss!

Been keeping my eye out for bikers - none spotted so far. At least they don't have to wear helmets here.

Water Warrior 2

01-15-2009, 01:36 AM

Start checking driveways. They will be there frozen to their bikes and praying for heat.

Easy Rider

01-15-2009, 10:23 AM

I can see why Easy gets a little cranky after December.

:neener: :skull: :cry:
-11 here last night; may not make 0 at all today.
You picked a good time alright. Chicago is supposed to have about 60 hours (~3 days) where it never gets above 0 !!

alanmcorcoran

01-15-2009, 11:07 AM

Yeah, still no sign of any bikers this morning. Think I got freezer burn on the wak to the office.

mrlmd1

01-15-2009, 01:07 PM

It's getting cold in Florida's panhandle - still 50's in the sunshine but supposed to get down to 24 tonight, 13-18 for the next few nights. Not as bad as where you other guys are.

Dupo

01-15-2009, 01:26 PM

Calling for 4 tonight here in eastern Pa. Wind chills 10 to 15 below zero.

Good thing i found a new vehicle ... i'd be screwed having only the bike as transportation like it was for the past month. Now im pimpin it soccer mom style in the new 2000 minivan lol.

Moedad

01-15-2009, 01:35 PM

Gonna be 85 and clear here. :twisted:

Dupo

01-16-2009, 12:42 PM

Gonna be 85 and clear here. :twisted:

Oh shut up.

alanmcorcoran

01-16-2009, 02:48 PM

Anybody in IL set any new records for coldest ride? Yesterday I think it did not crack 0 all day. Today it's supposed to "warm up" to 6 or 9, depending. I saw a bicycle messenger this morning, but no motorized two wheelers yet.

Water Warrior 2

01-17-2009, 12:38 AM

Weather is predicted at 51 F Saturday and 46 F on Sunday. Just have to check the parking lot before tempting Fate. Sounds like a good time for a coffee run to StarBucks.

Dupo

01-17-2009, 03:10 AM

Right now in my neck of the woods .. its 5 with a feels like -5. I was out for a little tonight and had to get gas in the car ... holy mother of god its cold out there.

I'm ready for summer.

music man

01-17-2009, 10:44 AM

I'm ready for summer.

If you lived in the Hot-Box down here like I do you would never say that. In the summer it is usually 100-105 with about 70-90% humidity, it feels like someone is suffocating you with a wet pillow every time you even go outside to check the mail much less to do something strenuous like mow the grass, I swear I feel like I am having an out of body experience every time I go outside to mow grass in the summer time.

In the two summers I have had the GZ, It has actually been too hot to ride, even down the highway.

In regards to Alan's original "cold riding record", last winter I rode 130 miles to my home town, when I left my house it was about 25, it was right at dark, by the time I got to Monticello, it was about 18 (without the wind chill at 65mph), I had a Brain bucket-Half-helmet on, and some deerskin winter gloves on, it was Effing cold.

alanmcorcoran

01-17-2009, 03:13 PM

I'm (glad to be) back in sunny Socal. Gotta go pick up Suzi from her 3K service today. It's about 75, sunny and no wind. There's a reason why we pay Odles of bucks for small houses with no land.

Easy, get the heat turned up - I'm going to have to go back to Il three or four times before June.

Easy Rider

01-19-2009, 04:19 PM

1) Gotta go pick up Suzi from her 3K service today.

2) Easy, get the heat turned up - I'm going to have to go back to Il three or four times before June.

1) Hope it runs better after the service.

2) :skull: :retard: :cry: :mad: :curse:
It will imporve......about the middle of April.

alanmcorcoran

01-19-2009, 04:30 PM

I rode it back from the dealio - stalled on the way out of the parking lot!!!

But the choke was completely off. Had no trouble after that - was keeping it up above 65, mostly over 70, on the 25 miles of freeway home. Haven't ridden it since then, still enamored with the Strat. But we'll see...

dan_

01-19-2009, 04:46 PM

How much did the 3000 mile service run you? I have to get mine soon.. Though you probably paid an ass load more then i'm going to have to since you live in Cali.

countrydad

01-19-2009, 05:15 PM

I haven't ridden for months and I'm getting anxious! I was working a few hours away in Challis, ID a few weeks back and it topped out in the heat of the day at -30(didn't miss the bike too much that day).

alanmcorcoran

01-19-2009, 05:32 PM

How much did the 3000 mile service run you? I have to get mine soon.. Though you probably paid an ass load more then i'm going to have to since you live in Cali.

Little bit less than $300. I think it was 286 or 268 or something. I spent more than that on gear for my wife in the store when I picked it up.

Frankly, I think most of the more mechanical minded types on here could have done it themselves. The most important thing they did was clean my carb.

dan_

01-19-2009, 05:42 PM

Little bit less than $300

Eh.. screw it pile it on top with the rest of the credit card debt. :-P
My wallet just bit my ass.

Water Warrior 2

01-19-2009, 05:55 PM

Alan, did that include checking the valves ?

alantf

01-19-2009, 06:12 PM

Gaaaaaawd!
Didn't realise how prices vary round the world - Just checked what my 5000 km service cost. Including oil & filter it was 39.17 euros (less than $50 ?) Plus, over here they're sooooo obliging. Any little problems - just pop into the workshop & the mechanic'll drop everything, & then fix it for free. Perhaps this is one of the advantages of living in a small village - dunno.

alanmcorcoran

01-19-2009, 06:16 PM

Alan, did that include checking the valves ?
Not sure. I have the receipt with all the stuff on it at home. I'll give it a look later on. They looked up what had to be done in their service manual.

Easy Rider

01-19-2009, 07:05 PM

Haven't ridden it since then, still enamored with the Strat. But we'll see...

Yea.....you haven't tipped the 'Liner over yet either! :poke2: :biggrin:

patrick_777

01-19-2009, 07:09 PM

Hell, he's probably still got the training wheels on it....

...I would.

Easy Rider

01-19-2009, 07:16 PM

Hell, he's probably still got the training wheels on it....

My wife has one like that; it's called a Corolla !! :crackup :haha2:

alanmcorcoran

01-19-2009, 07:38 PM

Yea.....you haven't tipped the 'Liner over yet either!

I'm not saying that this is not a possibility, but, seriously, for an average 50 year old man, I'd say the odds of me dumping the Strat is really only slightly higher than dumping the GZ. The thing actually handles much better on the highway: it's super smooth, unfazed by wind, has very little reaction to the crappy road surface, and can pass/get out of the way of traffic much better. You do have to make some adjustments for stopping and starting, and, as Easy has pointed out, you don't want to park it in a dead end pointing down. Tha being said, with a little over 300 miles on it, I have already established I can duck walk it up a slight incline, I can push it uphill when off of it (not easy, but doable), I can walk it backward, etc. And I am what you might kindly put as "slightly built."

I know shit (and whoop-shit) can happen, but I really don't think it's an order of magnitude more likely on the Strat.

I had my wife on the back of it for a 52 miler this AM. My only prior experience riding two up was on a tandem. This is a LOT easier than the tandem (the tandem only weighs about 40-45 pounds - do the math on the COG. Plus, it's your muscle that get's it going, and... you can't get it going by taking both your feet off the ground... first.)

Even though she:

1) Had a boyfriend in high school that nearly dumped her off the back.
2) Said boyfriend was killed in a motorcycle accident
3) Had fallen off her only attempt to ride one (thirty odd years ago)

...she said it felt pretty stable and, even suggested I go faster (we were doing 55-60 in the twisties) if I wanted to. Unfortunately, the backseat suffers from GZ seat disease - said her ass was numb 30 mins in. Not sure how people manage multi-hundred milers on the back.

dan_

01-19-2009, 07:42 PM

Easy Rider

01-19-2009, 07:54 PM

Yea.....you haven't tipped the 'Liner over yet either!

I'm not saying that this is not a possibility, but, seriously, for an average 50 year old man, I'd say the odds of me dumping the Strat is really only slightly higher than dumping the GZ.

Ah yes, ignorance IS bliss! :)

I failed to make my point clear. The problem is NOT with the actual drop, meaning 0 mph or near to that, but in trying to pick it back UP again. :cry:

If it ever flounders over completely on it's side and you try to pick it up by yourself......it is possible that you will end up with more injuries than an actual crash. If and when it falls over, just swallow your pride and get help.

dan_

01-19-2009, 08:02 PM

Yeah 800 pounds is like a baby elephant.

alanmcorcoran

01-19-2009, 08:18 PM

Now that is an interesting question. Here's how i was figuring it:

The thing is 800 pounds or so wet.
My experience with "picking things up" is, you have to lift about half the weight, so, if this is true, I'd need to dead lift about 400 pounds.
At my peak, in the gym, (STOP laughing!!) I could only bench 215, (twice!)... but I can lift the whole stack (410 pounds), with my calves, on the shoulder pad machine, like 15 times. (My quads and calves got kind of big when I rode the bicycles, and, although they ain't what they used to be, they don't ever seem to go away completely.)

I'm not sure if I can wedge my ass up against the seat, but if I can somehow get some leg leverage, it's possible that even skinny old me might be able to right the thing. Probably push it right over onto the other side.

Let's hope I never find out.

Dupo

01-19-2009, 10:55 PM

That video that Patrick gave you .. has a 110lb woman upright a dresser i think it was. You can do it.

Dupo

01-19-2009, 10:57 PM

...she said it felt pretty stable and, even suggested I go faster (we were doing 55-60 in the twisties) if I wanted to. Unfortunately, the backseat suffers from GZ seat disease - said her ass was numb 30 mins in. Not sure how people manage multi-hundred milers on the back.

Two words ... Mustang Seat.

Check them out. Expensive but i've never heard anyone ever complain about one. I owned one originally on the shadow ..... 2 hr rides i would get off and it wouldnt feel as though i was on a motorcycle for that long.

patrick_777

01-20-2009, 12:09 AM

That video that Patrick gave you .. has a 110lb woman upright a dresser i think it was. You can do it.
:tup:

alanmcorcoran

01-20-2009, 02:17 AM

Two words ... Mustang Seat.

Do they cover the passenger (pillion) seat too? "My" seat on the Start is way better than the GZ, and my ass has gone 18 hours on a racing bicycle seat, so I am accustomed to discomfort. Plus I can move around a bit more I think. I wouldn't say money is no object, but, let's face it, if I was pinching pennies, I wouldn't have bought the Strat in the first place. There's a lot of cars that get better gas mileage, and the insurance is more than all three of my cars put together.

'course, they don't have that low rumble of the V-twins, and the power of over 100 horses nestled in your crotch. Yee-Haw!

Easy Rider

01-20-2009, 10:39 AM

I'm not sure if I can wedge my ass up against the seat, but if I can somehow get some leg leverage, it's possible that even skinny old me might be able to right the thing. Probably push it right over onto the other side.

Yes, using the proper technique it can be done.
Probably the aforementioned video clip.

BUT it is still better to have help; if you do it by yourself, one slip and you are screwed.

P.S. That is the main reason I got my GZ in the first place; can pretty much pick it up and "throw it around" however I need to, by myself. :biggrin:

Easy Rider

01-20-2009, 11:02 AM

Two words ... Mustang Seat.

Do they cover the passenger (pillion) seat too?

Don't know if you have found a "Liner" conference yet but there is a fairly active Roadliner community here: http://www.motorcycle-journal.com/forum/

You can do your own search to see if there is any discussion about seats. :biggrin:

alanmcorcoran

01-20-2009, 01:46 PM

Thanks Easy.

Dupo

01-20-2009, 04:46 PM

Alan ...

http://www.mustangseats.com/cart/index. ... tratoliner (http://www.mustangseats.com/cart/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&zenid=c30c7a352df80199fa2ab68226e935c7&keyword=stratoliner)

Talk to anyone who owns one ... you and your passenger will love em.

alantf

02-02-2009, 01:16 PM

Hey,
My friend in Perth (Australia) has just e-mailed me, complaining about the heat! He says it's 41º (thats 112ºf)
On the news it says that England's snowed in - the worst snow for 20 years. Airports closed down, no trains running, motorways barely driveable.
I hope you guys in America are somewhere in between.

Moedad

02-02-2009, 04:59 PM

alanmcorcoran

02-02-2009, 06:48 PM

As Moe, OC and Busy will attest, it is pretty darn nice where we are right now. Just about perfect riding weather. No wind, not too hot, and pretty blue sunshine filled sky for as far as you can see. It's not quite the "Endless Summer" here, but it's pretty damn close.

81ºF today.

Water Warrior 2

02-02-2009, 07:03 PM

I will be very polite and just say this about weather. :cry: :cry: I had to use 4 wheel drive just to get groceries yesterday. Not impressed with the weather this year.

dan_

02-02-2009, 07:24 PM

60F today but a strong wind blowing north.. Haha got up to 80 in fifth gear heading north and i'm a big guy, but wouldn't make it over 60 heading south :-P

mrlmd1

02-02-2009, 07:52 PM

WW- I had to get a full size (Desert Storm) Hummer in '95 just to get out of my driveway in NJ and get to work each day. My Jeep Cherokee with the nasty tires and my 4X4 Suburban with 4 studded snows couldn't move in 3-4' ft of snow and ice every 3 days.
Now in Florida where I am, it's 60's, to get into the 20's the next few nights, not as bad as you, not as good as Calif., but like everyone says, this too shall pass.

Water Warrior 2

02-03-2009, 05:50 AM

Not so much the depth of the snow here. Snow, rain, sleet and temps going slightly above and below freezing. You never know what is around the next corner or what the shadowed areas will hold for you.

mr. softie

02-03-2009, 06:48 PM

Moedad

02-03-2009, 07:34 PM

Mr. Softie, that's one of the loneliest looking motorcycles I've ever seen.

This is how it looks here today.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/danmartin56/Miscellaneous/MainBeachinLaguna.jpg

alanmcorcoran

02-03-2009, 08:28 PM

Water Warrior 2

02-03-2009, 08:39 PM

Don't encourage them Moedad. We got way too many people on the freeways as it is.

Besides, it's only going to get up to 77F today.

That *was* a heartbreaking shot of the GZ. Like a skinny dog chained up outside in the snow. So sad...

No way Alan. The bike is just conserving it's energy till better weather comes along and it can run like the wind.

On a different note. Got in the first ride of the year today. Finally warmed up to +8(46 F) so out I went. Been a long time since Nov 16th. Sure love that fuel injection on the VStrom, just pushed the button and it sprung to life.

Easy Rider

02-03-2009, 09:00 PM

Mr. Softie, that's one of the loneliest looking motorcycles I've ever seen.

OK, so you should have stopped there!! :neener:

BusyWeb

02-04-2009, 12:03 AM

Here's my view out the back today. Since I took these an hour ago we have gotten another couple inches...

Unfortunately I don't have a garage so I rigged this shelter from some scaffold and a tarp.
http://www.postimage.org/gxyFnGS.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gxyFnGS)

http://www.postimage.org/aV17RyT9.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV17RyT9)

I've cleared a space in one of my sheds and I am putting the GZ inside till the snow subsides...
Hi, there.
I also felt sorry for the GZ.
However, I admire your idea and implementation.
My brain just sparked,,,,
Why don't you create a patent about it with some more elegant design!!!
It might be really a good and practical product if those are folderable and shink in to small bag like camp tents....
Just my thought, as I don't have my GZ's own shelter too...

music man

02-04-2009, 02:02 PM

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=8571900 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8571900)

I used one of these for an entire year for mine, with the optional side curtains, worked like a charm, kept it dry. It also lived through both of the hurricane storm leftovers that ran over us last year, never budged and my gz was still clean.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product. ... id=8486791 (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8486791)

here are the side curtains, makes it into a storage shed of sorts, i also had my push mower and weed eater stored in there.

mr. softie

02-04-2009, 03:40 PM

Thanks Music Man I had one of those gazebo rigs for a few years but the sun got to the fabric and it tore to shreds in a bad storm last fall. Luckily the bike was in the shed at the time. The frame of the gazebo got totaled as well. I have built a ramp for my shed and can ride right on up and in, so the makeshift shelter is coming down. You are right it does look pretty forlorn.

Busy, that is a good idea, a shelter that could be taken along! There is a semi-portable shelter someone sells for $400, but with that dough I could make it to LA!
http://www.postimage.org/Pq1gEYO0.jpg (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pq1gEYO0)
It is bright and sunny here today, and about 27 degrees, and is going up to 55 by Sunday, so I will be riding as soon as the ice melts off the roads.

You just about broke my heart with that pic of the beach you know Moedad:cry:

patrick_777

02-04-2009, 03:42 PM

It's supposed to be over 70 here this weekend...but we'll have a 25-30mph wind with it.

mrlmd1

02-04-2009, 03:56 PM

Right now down here in sunny Florida right on the Gulf of Mexico it's about 40, getting down to 15-18 for the next few nights. Too cold here to ride in the 20-25 mph wind. But it will warm up to 70 by Sat., we hope.

music man

02-04-2009, 04:14 PM

Thanks Music Man I had one of those gazebo rigs for a few years but the sun got to the fabric and it tore to shreds in a bad storm last fall. :

Yea it is definitely not a permanent solution, but for about 100 dollars I wasn't griping to much, it saved a lot of weather damage to my bike over that year, so i guess I got my moneys worth.

mrlmd1

02-04-2009, 06:41 PM

From another answer on anotherr thread on this forum, I found Google Docs., I hope this link works on here ( I tried it and it worked for me).
If you are sick of cold and a little snow, check this out and stop complaining.

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?doc ... w3fx&hl=en (http://docs.google.com/Presentation?docid=dfsw5hj2_0fxjtw3fx&hl=en)

alanmcorcoran

02-04-2009, 06:52 PM

I get an error message:

We're sorry, but alanmcorcoran@xxxxx.com does not have access to this document

mr. softie

02-04-2009, 06:58 PM

I requested permission to view presentation...

mrlmd1

02-04-2009, 07:00 PM

alanmcorcoran

02-04-2009, 07:21 PM

Too bad, maybe they singled you out.
I just tried it again and I have no problem accessing it.
I guess that link only works for me. Are you registered anywhere on Google, like with Gmail? If so, if you logged in, maybe you could access it.
I'm going to go back to it and see if there's any settings to let anyone view it. There was an area to insert emails to send it to, I don't think it could be sent to GZ250bike.com.

Yeah, it actually addressed me by my gmail account (which I tried to disguise... I am the world's largest recipient of spam.)

I'm a big Google user. I just went through this whole ppt thing with my dad (my sister had sent him a ppt for Christmas) and at that time I couldn't find a Google viewer. Probably didn't look in the right place.

alanmcorcoran

02-04-2009, 07:23 PM

It's working for me now. Whatever you did opened it up.

Some pretty great pictures...

mrlmd1

02-04-2009, 07:26 PM

New link - this should work now. Someone let me know.
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id= ... _0fxjtw3fx (http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dfsw5hj2_0fxjtw3fx)

mr. softie

02-06-2009, 01:52 AM

How cold IS it? Not as cold here as wherever those slides were taken! The link works now when I log into my Google account. Thanks. I have lived in Wisconsin and the Colorado mountains, and have lived in weather like that, but got soft living in Arizona and North Carolina before moving to PA. Now 45-50 seems awful cold, and an inch of snow is a total bummer.

The temperature never got above 20 F here today :shocked: It is 12 F now :??: WTF!!! Might get up to 45 or so by Sunday!!! :cool: Been looking for apts. in Florida :2tup: (online) :lol:

My new 16 tooth sprocket did arrive today (from Bike Bandit), and I am doing a complete maintenance on the old GZ tomorrow. New brake pads, new front sprocket, new rear drive cushion, valve check, lube, oil and filter, clean and lube chain, wax and polish etc. Also finishing a rear rack I've been working on, and putting the big wind shield back on. Spring can't come too soon for me.

mrlmd1

02-07-2009, 10:26 AM

How's this for cold weather protection instead of a balaclava? Just don't wear it into the bank.

http://i.gizmodo.com/5147222/joker-ski- ... s-than-one (http://i.gizmodo.com/5147222/joker-ski-mask-is-creepy-in-more-ways-than-one)

mrlmd1

02-08-2009, 10:12 AM

Went for a ride yesterday and the leather pants block the wind fine and keep your thighs fairly comfortable, but wind still gets up underneath the bottom leg opening to chill your shins and lower legs. Other than taller socks, taller boots, elastic at the bottom of your pants to keep the air out (like on sweatpants or equivalent), any other ideas on keeping your lower legs warm and the wind out? I thought of straps with a snap buckle or velcro to close off the bottom of the pants but that would be kind of ugly even if it worked.

alanmcorcoran

02-08-2009, 02:05 PM

My Caliber Tourmasters's have exactly that, velcro straps. And I have mid height Alpinestars Ridge boots (with thickish socks.) Usually it's my hands that are cold but I bought a monster pair of gauntlet gloves when i went out with M. Hoosier last week.

caroledee1

02-10-2009, 02:09 PM

To borrow from a Beatles song, "It's been a long, cold, lonely winter. Here comes the sun and I say it's alright!" Took my first ride in

about three months. Rode 36 miles in 60 degrees with sunshine. A bit gusty (40 mph gusts), but it's alright. The good it did my heart

is immeasurable. My bike sat outside under a cover. The same as the last three winters, I started it up with no problem. Didn't have to

prime it. Left the battery in it again and it was fine. Chance of snow on Saturday, but today is golden. :biggrin: :ride:

Easy Rider

02-10-2009, 06:21 PM

My bike sat outside under a cover. The same as the last three winters, I started it up with no problem.

I got in about 20 miles this afternoon but had somewhat of a problem. Mine was in the shop last week for a valve check and spark plug. I had a terrible time getting the idle speed set right.

I think Alan called Sportland and told them to mess it up so it would be like his !!! :biggrin:
Think I finally got it right; I think the cold temp. had a lot to do with it.

How did your baby like the cold weather ??

02-10-2009, 07:32 PM

I got in about 15 miles - warm today, 60 degrees or so, but wet from all the melting snow, so I didn't feel like I could relax, what with taking it slow through the puddles and/or avoiding monster potholes. Felt good just the same. Such a tease though. We are hardly done with winter, but it does make me wonder. Easy and others in the great Midwest, when do you start riding for good? Middle of March? Not until April?

Keith

caroledee1

02-10-2009, 09:06 PM

How did your baby like the cold weather ??

My bike purred like a kitten! Abused like a red-headed step-child and still started right up. ( I'm not very politically correct, am I?) :lol:

I have bought quite a few items from Sportland. My Yamaha Radian was purchased from Bloomington Sportland. Both places have always treated me right.

Hopefully spring is not too far away!

Easy Rider

02-10-2009, 09:43 PM

Easy and others in the great Midwest, when do you start riding for good? Middle of March? Not until April?

I'm a wuss so my answer might skew the results. April......late April. Last year was a bear 'cause it was cool/wet/cool/wet.....don't think I was riding on a regular basis until JUNE.
Hope that doesn't happen again this year.

Easy Rider

02-10-2009, 09:46 PM

My Yamaha Radian was purchased from Bloomington Sportland. Both places have always treated me right.

One of my windshield/seat test runs last year was to Bloomington for BarbQue at Bandanna's.
Think I'll try to work in a day trip to the boat at Peoria this year.

mr. softie

02-12-2009, 01:17 AM

We had t-shirt weather here today. I rode the past 4 days and it has been warmer each day. 60's today.The new 16 tooth front sprocket really makes the bike ride differently. More relaxed. A lot of my riding is on country roads with speed limits of 40-50 mph with a bit of highway riding at 55-60 mph. The new gearing is perfect for the kind of riding I do.

Easy Rider

02-12-2009, 12:32 PM

The new 16 tooth front sprocket really makes the bike ride differently. More relaxed. A lot of my riding is on country roads with speed limits of 40-50 mph with a bit of highway riding at 55-60 mph. The new gearing is perfect for the kind of riding I do.

Ah Ha! Another convert!
Amen, Brother Softie! :tup:

:plus1:

P.S. I have trouble reading your posts.......because my eyes keep going back to that CAT !! :crackup

02-12-2009, 02:13 PM

Easy Rider

02-12-2009, 02:31 PM

.The new 16 tooth front sprocket really makes the bike ride differently. More relaxed.

I, too, am considering this mod, as I drive in similar situations. Could you clarify what you mean by "more relaxed"?

The main difference is that the engine turns slower at a given speed; as a result, you can stay in each gear longer. This is most noticeable in 1st as you can actually complete a turn from a dead stop without shifting into 2nd in the middle.

My take is that not only the engine is more relaxed but also the rider as it doesn't seem as "urgent" to get through the gears.

Softie........??????

Sarris

02-12-2009, 07:33 PM

I agree with Easy also. Much more relaxed ride, the engine turns a bit slower. I lost about 5 mph from my top end, but added about 2 mpg. You would think higher gearing = more speed, but the little GeeZer doesn't have the torque. It's the best mod you can make to get better in town drivability, but now you'll get your ass run over for sure on the Interstate. Luckily, I have a Harley for that purpose.......

:biggrin:

alanmcorcoran

02-12-2009, 08:02 PM

Easy Rider

02-12-2009, 10:10 PM

Not sure how this thread migrated to the 16T but, now that it has, what're your thoughts on somebody like me being able to do it? Do you have to mess with the chain?

(FYI, Suzi's in the shop having the erratic idle when cold symptoms looked at. I'm not hopeful there'll be a cure.)

Given what you said in the past about having to get on the Interstates (freeways on the left coast) all the time, my advice would be NO. It limits your acceleration a tiny bit (although I think it FEELS better) and limits your top end to something around 70. Coupled with hills and tall overpasses.......I just don't think so.

You have to "mess with" the chain to change the sprocket but the one additional tooth works fine with the original chain.

FYI......if my bike continues to have idle trouble when the weather warms up, I will find you in Chicago the next time you are here and kick your ass for putting a HEX on me!! :shocked: :neener:

Moedad

02-12-2009, 11:53 PM

Given what you said in the past about having to get on the Interstates (freeways on the left coast) ...

We have freeways AND interstates here in Southern California. The interstates (I-5, I-15, I-10, I-40, & I-8 are all freeways, but all the freeways (55, 57, 405, 605, 91, 22, 60, 105, 210, 134, 14, 710, 110, & 805) aren't interstates. We even have a few tollroads now. Then there's Central and Northern California. Only I-5 runs the length of California. I probably forgot some freeways in the San Diego area.

patrick_777

02-13-2009, 02:13 AM

Freeways/Interstates/Highways...they're all the same thing. Big fast slabs with cages hurtling down them at high speed with no regard for motorcycles.

alanmcorcoran

02-13-2009, 02:22 AM

I usually have the 'Liner for freeway duty. I do have to go on the freeway to take the GZ in an out of the current shop I've been patronizing, but i can take it locally if need be. See other thread for some not so good news on the 'Liner.

Easy Rider

02-13-2009, 11:07 AM

I usually have the 'Liner for freeway duty.

Oops, kinda forgot about that. So, if your normal ride to work is non-freeway miles, then sure, it would be worth a shot. Just keep the old one incase you (or the next owner) wants to go back.
Sprocket= ~$20. Shop labor= 1/2 hour ~ $50; total ~$70 unless you do it yourself......which is not much more complicated than adjusting the slack in the chain.

Yea, sorry to hear about the dump. Now the 'Liner has "character"! :roll: