Hi from Chicago - Turkish Soccer Ref

[ArdaBey]

that now also is a proud owner of a 2008 GZ250...

I got my safety course and license last year, and waited another year before getting my first bike. Last Saturday, found a couple decent options at a nearby honda dealer, basically my decision was in between the Suzuki GZ250 and a Rebel 250 for the price point I was willing to spend. After sitting on the bikes, decided to go with the GZ250, simply because it felt more natural/comfortable.

One of my friends at work was courteous enough to ride it back to my place for 20 miles as i did not feel comfortable with a long first trip. I took it out for a 7-8 mile ride for the first time last Sunday. And it felt pretty good to be able to ride it around. Also was a good reminder about the importance of protection from elements :)

Hopefully I can get in touch with other gz250 owners over here and exchange some ideas, tips. Possibly meet with other Chicago locals and go for rides as well.

Happy riding!

[blaine]

Welcome to the forum.You will need to get some proper riding gear,jacket,boots & gloves.
:cool: :)

[Water Warrior 2]

Welcome Ref. You got the best first bike ever. Yes you will need safety gear as mentioned above. Soccer injuries can be bad but things happen even faster on 2 wheels and the opposing team in in a cage of metal.
MotorcycleGear.Com is clearing out a pretty decent Joe Rocket jacket if you want/need one. About $60 or so. Get all the protection you can. Boots, gloves, jacket, helmet no matter what. Riding pants with armor for your knees and hips.

[alanmcorcoran]

Welcome Arda. Are you from Turkey or is Turkish Soccer a variation on... "regular" soccer?

I am, for the moment, about 25 blocks south of you, on Dearborn and Madison, but bikeless. (Bikes are in Anaheim.) I did take a trip out to Starved Rock SP on a rental Honda 750 I got from a place on Halsted. Beware the highway traffic on the weekends (lane splitting is not legal in IL.) Also, I'd stay away from the West Side surface streets on weekend afternoons.

The trip out to Starved rock, via Joliet, is pretty nice. There are even a few curves and hills at various points. You might check to see if Mad Maps has an IL edition.

Have fun, and take your time getting up to speed.

[mole2]

Welcome to the forum from South Carolina. You've got a great starter bike there and you made a good choice. Ride safe.


:)

[ArdaBey]

Finished my first long trip this weekend. 40 miles total (from lakeview to toyota park) to pick up a used windshield.
It was under raining for most of the trip, but I actually wanted to go out under those conditions specifically, so that I can get used to riding during rain and get some fundamentals right (no braking during turns, smooth/steady acceleration, etc.) No incidents to report, everything went as expected. Hopefully I dont have to ride thru rain in the future, but if I do, I now have some idea what to expect.

looking forward to some warmer weather soon, so that I can ride more.

Also, just won a bid for an engine crash bar on ebay. Next project is to figure out how to put it on(hopefully I can do it myself), and if it's complicated figure out a decent place to get it done.

Welcome to the forum.You will need to get some proper riding gear,jacket,boots & gloves.
:cool: :)
Thanks Blaine, already working on it. Got my atomic pants, and helmet already.


MotorcycleGear.Com is clearing out a pretty decent Joe Rocket jacket if you want/need one. About $60 or so. Get all the protection you can. Boots, gloves, jacket, helmet no matter what. Riding pants with armor for your knees and hips.
After seeing this, went to the site, and ordered the JR Atomic 3.0 for $69 and gloves for added protection. Thanks Water Warrior.

Welcome Arda. Are you from Turkey or is Turkish Soccer a variation on... "regular" soccer? ...
Have fun, and take your time getting up to speed.
Alan, thanks for the tips. I am actually from Turkey, and I am also a soccer referee (2 days a week, which is the upper limit determined by my wife). I'll need to ask for the location of that bike rental place at some point, since I think it would be a good idea to rent out a few 600 or 750 cc bikes before upgrading...

[Water Warrior 2]

Glad to help with the jacket. JR is a pretty good product and doesn't break the bank especially on a closeout. Now that you have had a taste of rain it might be time to consider a rainsuit. I always carry one on the bike for 2 reasons. 1st, rain and 2nd if the temp drops a rain suit will stop the cold a fair bit if you don't have cold weather gear with you.

[alanmcorcoran]

http://www.chimotorental.com

I dealt with Brandon last summer.

[GZBrian]

Great choice of bikes. We considered the Rebel as well, but the GZ just felt better for us after we sat on them. Just like you said about being more comfortable. Enjoy.. GZBrian

[alantf]

just won a bid for an engine crash bar on ebay. Next project is to figure out how to put it on(hopefully I can do it myself)
All you need are two spanners (wrenches?) Remove the horn. Remove the bottom bolt on the down frame. Offer up the bars. Replace the bottom bolt with the longer one provided. Replace the horn, over the top fixing hole. Job done. 10 minutes at most. :2tup:

[IceBreaker]

Welcome to the forum, good to see more GZ riders from Chicagoland. Rode safe!

[ArdaBey]

Water Warrior, thanks again for the jacket reference. Tried it today for the first time, and it works out great with the JR ballistic pants that I got. Zipper on the pants link up with the zipper on the jacket, and there are 2 self connecting pieces on the jacket front that go through the belt loops, basically fixing the jacket and the pants in place.

I was comfortable with wearing it at low 50s as well, with a light fleece underneath.

[Water Warrior 2]

Always glad to help a fellow rider. Being new to the world of 2 wheels can be a daunting experience.