new to gz nnot bikes

[DrSpeed]

So after a few years of not having me a motorcicle (yes motor-sykle) i picked up a new 09 gz250 the 2 mile ride how hasnt got me toally convinced yet but i blame that on idiot drivers causing me to wash the rear end out but it was easily saved! i had my motorcycle endorsment before my cager endorsment my first bike was an 87 kz440ltd then had a honking 1200 suzuki full police fairing type bike that bike was fun would hit 105 and if i didnt look down i wouldnt even know i was going that fast! :rawk: :skull: so now that im 21 and in college needed a new commuter so had teh choice between the gz tu or a yamaha vstar or rebel the rebel was an outdated girly design and the v star well lets just say v twin and 250ccs is somewhat sacreligious in my opinion i would have gotten teh tu 250 had it now been efi i love the style but the efi wasnt worth it IMO so the gz it was with that beutifully reliable thumper engine and that fully intergrated transmission so now to teh ususal questions what size bags and topcase you recomend that bizith seat is coming off i ride solo so enjoy

[Water Warrior 2]

So after a few years of not having a motorcycle I picked up a new 09 gz250. The 2 mile ride however hasn't gotten me totally convinced yet but I blame that on idiot drivers causing me to wash the rear end out but it was easily saved! I had my motorcycle endorsement before my cager endorsement. My first bike was an 87 KZ 440 LTD. Then had a honking 1200 Suzuki full police fairing type bike. That bike was fun, would hit 105 and if I didn't look down I wouldn't even know I was going that fast! :rawk: :skull: So now that I'm 21 and in college I needed a new commuter so had the choice between the GZ, TU or a Yamaha Vstar or Rebel. The Rebel was an outdated girly design and the Vstar, well let's just say V-twin and 250ccs is somewhat sacriligious in my opinion. I would have gotten the TU 250 and had it now being EFI. I love the style but the EFI wasn't worth it IMO. So the GZ it was with that beautifully reliable thumper engine and that fully intergrated transmission. So now to the ususal questions. What size bags and topcase do you recommend ? That b*tch seat is coming off. I ride solo so enjoy
THERE, fixed that for you. I don't usually say Hello this way but I'm surprised at your comminication skills. So, welcome to the forum. We will answer all your questions and add suggestions as time goes on. Later on I will post a couple pics for your entertainment and knowledge.

[Viirin]

Haha, WW - your worse than that annoying paper clip from Microsoft Word

[Easy Rider]

THERE, fixed that for you.

Only partly. Some white space would have helped too. :)

I DO usually answer RUDE posts with a rude answer......and spitting out a chunk of un-formatted text when asking for advice is not only rude but unwise........as is rejecting a bike you like because it has fuel injection. I don't think that is a wise move either.

Let's see, now what was the question.........ah, yes, both things that could be answered with a search, no doubt. :whistle:

[Viirin]

Ah come on easy - lets give him the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe he didn't have time to proof read it or something...although it was kind of like deciphering a code

Whatever size saddlebags you choose make sure you get some spacers or rig up some sort of protection to stop them from swinging into you wheel or sliding down and getting cremated on the exhaust (right one only). Most people use leather or synth leather but they suck in the rain so you'll probably need to get waterproof liners for them - hard bags just look...weird on the GZ, which is strange considering it's a bike built for practicality over style but they'd probably be a better choice over all if you have to bring much stuff with you on your college commute.

Your right about the GZ being reliable and if you keep your carb clean and give it routine maintenance it'll stay that way.

Other than that welcome aboard!

P.S. You may want to re-evaluate your choice of name...or bike...the GZ doesn't exactly complement your doctrine

Vii

[Water Warrior 2]

Haha, WW - your worse than that annoying paper clip from Microsoft Word

Microsoft has a paper clip ?? Who knew! I may have been a bit caustic but modern education standards lack a lot compared to what I was taught in school and it is only the students who loose in the long run. How can a young adult hope to have a career when they can't master the basics of the English language ? It isn't their fault, the system has failed them but they should be wise enough to recognize this fact.

[alantf]

How can a young adult hope to have a career when they can't master the basics of the English language ?

It doesn't seem to stop some people ...........(or SOTP some people????)[attachment=0:1d5zucg3]ATT00004.jpeg[/attachment:1d5zucg3] :)

[ArizonaKev]

DrSpeed - as a fellow Arizonan, I would hope that you would represent our fine state in a way that makes us all proud. But I must say that your spelling, grammar, and punctuation are absolutely atrocious. Now, perhaps English is not your first language, which would be a somewhat compelling excuse. But if you truly are in college, then I would have to believe that you have learned something about these things, and would kindly ask that you utilize them here, if for nothing else, to at least not make it so blatantly obvious why Arizona ranks 50th in the United States in education.

Thank you kindly, and welcome to the forum.

AZ Kev

[Water Warrior 2]

DrSpeed. You might want to consider something like this if you will be riding solo. A little secure storage and a backrest all in one. I used a 28 liter Kappa top case and fashioned a metal mounting plate to mount the box and it's own mounting plate. Worked very well overall.
The bags worked well until the seams let go and have since been replaced by Nelson-Rig bags which are outstanding. There is also a thread here about making your own bags supports to keep the bags away from the rear wheel. Cheap and easy with a couple tools and a tape measure.

[DrSpeed]

Hey, Sorry for my poor grammar. I was typing very quickly and didnt really think to double check what i wrote. Im so used to my computer fixing my mistakes for me. I really do apoligize for starting out on such a bad foot. But as an update, The gz now has 200 miles on it and i love it, went on along ride up casa grande to see the big house. i see why they told me to get at least a 500 for the freeway, holy jesus was scared. and once again i really do apoligize for my horrid typing in the begining i hope this post is better.

[Water Warrior 2]

Oh good you haven't abandoned us. Wow, freeway riding is a scary propostion on a GZ. Your learning curve must have taken an abrupt turn upwards when you hit the freeway. Glad to hear you survived. Slower secondary highways are where the GZ shows it's worth. It can run along all day and wear you out while it still wants to continue.
You will have to realize the GZ and other smaller bikes are the primarily built for 3rd world countries where roads and speeds are slower. They are tough to kill but high speeds will do it quite nicely. Stick to highways with a limit of 60 MPH and get to know what the bike is capable of doing. Headwinds will take their toll on speed as well as a a long gradual hill. You do have to plan ahead while on the road. On a bigger bike just a twist of the wrist is sufficient when a hill comes up or the wind blows. Ride Safe.

[alanmcorcoran]

Dr. Speed,

Although the GZ will never be great on the highway, you will get more comfortable doing it when you have to do it. You have to get used to a couple of things, like really thrashing the crap out of it, typically in fourth, tucking yourself in good to make yourself aerodynamic, learning to ignore the fact that it bounces all over the place in the rough spots (it won't fall down and the wind will NOT blow you over - even though it feels like it) and keeping your eyes open for traffic (especially morons in cars on cell phones.) I avoid long distances on the freeway, but I'll jump on for 5 or 10 miles if I have to. I had my Geezer for about six months before I was forced to do about 25 miles in heavy, high speed traffic on a very rough four-lane and I got more acclimated to it. My big bike is a world of difference better on freeways, but the GZ is still a better local around town bike.

[DrSpeed]

Well as i said, Ive riden for a number of years and that hiway trip just freaked me out because for the 2 miles i was on it i had a right to left wind and was getting a left to right trucker wash wind. so i was squirlley like none other when i hit the frontage road and was hitting 55 i was happy. im just so used to kicking it down into 3rd or 4th giving a twist and be at passing speed, this little bike syndrom is a learning curve indeed. ohh and to whoever said it was a dumb idea to pass on a bike i liked becuase it had efi well personally i trust carbs more and push starting is always a good option that i was told can mess an efi bike up. but has anyone else rE

[DrSpeed]

ALIZED the lack of lighting for this bike i think a front fender mounted auxilliary light is in order

[blaine]

ALIZED the lack of lighting for this bike i think a front fender mounted auxiliary light is in order
With the G.Z.you can only run a small amount of auxiliary lighting.I ran two 20 watt lights on the front of mine.I was right on the edge of what the charging system can handle.

:) :cool:

[Viirin]

Trying to make yourself more visible is doable - trying to illuminate the road better is a bit more tricky...

Although there was a thread recently about switching to a LED headlight which would probably free up some watts

[Water Warrior 2]

My thoughts on EFI. Wouldn't be without it now. EFI just works too darn good not to have it. Yes you can push start an EFI bike if there is enough power to run up the fuel pump and pressurize the fuel system. You probably have a better chance of push starting b/c the processor will optimize all settings.
There are a few LED headlights on the market but are very costly to the average person. There is an auxilary light kit available from Twisted Throttle that has 2 10 watt LED's that apparently do wonders for seeing and being seen. About $300 if memory serves me correctly but well worth it on a low wattage system like the GZ. This kit is about as good as it gets in today's market.

[DrSpeed]

well i figured it out drill battery i keep charged under the seat and a home made led light that magnaetcially attaches to the fender. it took work but it adds that extra range i need to avoid coyotes and such

[Water Warrior 2]

well i figured it out drill battery i keep charged under the seat and a home made led light that magnaetcially attaches to the fender. it took work but it adds that extra range i need to avoid coyotes and such
Can you post a couple pics for us. Also a night pic would be most welcome.