pre ride question

[cleensmoke666]

im considering riding my bike from st.louis to sedona az. in june..it is approx 3000 miles round trip.. i bought it new june 07 i have approx 4000 miles on it now im thinking by june 08..i'll prb put another 3-4000 miles on it by then i'll have close to 8000 miles on my tires if so should i get new tires before trip ..or are those safe...and also how long can gz be ridden per day lobng distance w/o destroying it

[Easy Rider]

i'll have close to 8000 miles on my tires if so should i get new tires before trip ..or are those safe...and also how long can gz be ridden per day lobng distance w/o destroying it

It depends.......and it depends. :roll:

As for the tires, you need to check the tread depth about a month before your trip...........or have a dealer check them.
IIRC, you're gonna be near the point where you need to change but a lot depends on your riding habits and style. Your tires have tubes and are, generally, a little more "robust" than tubless ones.

As far as riding distance, as far as you can go. It's likely that YOU will crap out before the bike will.
This assumes that you are not riding "flat out" all the time. That is, if you push it as fast as it will go, it will be under a LOT more stress than if you back off just a bit. Should run 55-60 all day long.

Take note that at that speed, you probably should NOT plan on riding on the Interstates very much. If you try to keep up with traffic, it puts a lot of extra strain on the bike. If you don't, it puts YOU in extra danger.

[davidc83]

This past summer I did a 2500 mile bike trip; I had to replace the back tire at 9000 miles but the front tire is still good at 11,000 miles.
I spent 7 days on the 2500 bike trip. The last half of the trip, I did mostly Interstate speeds for 3 days, going anywhere from 200 miles to 550 miles per day on the Interstate.

There is a guy who did about an 18,000 mile bike trip in 19 days from Tennesse to west coast, up to Alaska, over to East coast and back to Tennessee. Just keep up the maintenance and ride safe. It can do it.

[Easy Rider]

Just keep up the maintenance and ride safe. It can do it.

No question that it CAN do it.......the question is SHOULD you?

IMHO, it is not a good idea to operate any engine at or very near to it's performance limits for very long.................if you care about the longevity of the engine, that is.

You didn't say what sustained speeds you were achieving on the Interstate part of your trip.

This is, after all, a matter of opinion and there is no way to tell in advance if any ONE specific bike will be able to handle the strain or not. Most will do it fine; a tiny few won't. I'm not gonna take the chance.

FWIW, I think if you are gonna do much riding above 60 mph, you have the wrong bike. :cool:

[davidc83]

I also used it for Interstate travel to work: 70-75 mph. Of the 11,000+ miles I have put on it so far, 70% has been Interstate use. While on my 2500 mile trip, the interstate travel was 70-75mph. Of course, I cannot sustain these speeds at the moment, I switched to the 16T front sprocket and only have a top speed of 67mph at the moment. However, I am going to switch back to the 15T as soon as it warms up and I have the time.
By the way, when I mention speeds, I compare my speedo with timed mileage. Since I have an Interstate close to the house; I time my speeds per hour between the mile markers and do the math and then compare to what the speedo stated.

[Easy Rider]

I also used it for Interstate travel to work: 70-75 mph. Of the 11,000+ miles I have put on it so far, 70% has been Interstate use. While on my 2500 mile trip, the interstate travel was 70-75mph.

Great. I'm glad it's working out for you. One man's nectar is another's poison! :tup:

Two final thoughts: At 75 mph, stock, you are wound flat out. There is no extra to be had if you need it AND regardless of what you might think or others have told you, there IS extra strain on any engine when you run it WFO !!! True, it may not be a problem for tens of thousands of miles but the ODDS are that it will fail sooner if it is ridden harder.

While I love my GZ for puttering around town and road trips ~60mph, from what you have just said, I think you NEED a slightly larger bike. I've heard good things about the S40. :)

[davidc83]

I agree, however, when I have the 15T front sprocket on the bike, 75mph is not WFO; I have throttle left over and I have done 80mph (timed) with a little left (not much but some). There are not many GZs out there which can do this, but some. The rebels also are 250cc bikes and a lot of them can do 80mph with no prob. I have got a bigger bike now (C50) for my Interstate travels, bike trips, commute to work; and I have relegated the GZ to my weekend, back country roads, town errands.

[Easy Rider]

I have got a bigger bike now (C50) for my Interstate travels, bike trips, commute to work; and I have relegated the GZ to my weekend, back country roads, town errands.

Ooooh, I see. :roll:
Of course, there wasn't even a HINT of that in your earlier message.

Now that we have that out of the way, why in the world would you want to go back to a 15T front? Not enough "ZIP" for you? :??:

[cleensmoke666]

thanx all i appreciate the input

[mcintyre_aerospace]

Wow, tearing at each others throat. Also it depends where you live and plan to drive. I just traveled to Michigan and back from west Texas. This bike would be pretty bad on the interstates here. They are mostly straight through west Texas and turn really hilly in north Texas, not good for a GZ. Up in Illinois, speed limits were only 65, and the roads were all flat and straight. The GZ would do okay, but the roads were pretty bad and worn out. I make a 206 mile round trip pretty often to get to a bigger city, and have no problem on the state highways cruising around 65. Also about the tires, when i first bought my bike for 400 dollars, it only need tires, but as I couldn't really afford new ones, or was to lazy, I stil rode it for about 600 miles on slicks, which shows that the tubes are tougher than you would think, so don't worry to much.

[Easy Rider]

Wow, tearing at each others throat.

No, no, it's called a "lively discussion" !!!! :tup:

It IS possible to discuss differing opinions without getting nasty about it.

[Badbob]

There is a guy who did about an 18,000 mile bike trip in 19 days from Tennesse to west coast, up to Alaska, over to East coast and back to Tennessee. Just keep up the maintenance and ride safe. It can do it.

You should also point out that this bike is still on the road and has more than 40,000 miles on it.

I've only heard of one GZ250 blowing an engine and that one was fairly new.

[Water Warrior 2]

Lynda plans on riding her 250 half way across Canada and back in June. Should be 3000 miles or more. After seeing what it will do in the mountains and on flat ground I have no doubt it will be a great trip at reasonable speeds. 60 MPH is comfy for both bikes and I can pack all the heavy stuff on the Vstrom, it doesn't seem to care if it is loaded. We won't be on a road equivalent to an interstate and can enjoy the scenery.

[Badbob]

Sounds like a great trip.

I've been lusting after a V-Strom DL650 for awhile but I don't have room in the garage for one. Please post a report after your trip. I'm particularly interested in how well they travel together.

[Water Warrior 2]

Sounds like a great trip.

I've been lusting after a V-Strom DL650 for awhile but I don't have room in the garage for one. Please post a report after your trip. I'm particularly interested in how well they travel together.

First a correction. The trip will be 4 or 4.5 thousand miles when all is said and done. How do they travel together ?? Quite well actually. Lynda isn't a speedster so she keeps me honest most of the time. During the fall we had a nice relaxed 4 day weekend roaming around the south end of the province and really enjoyed ourselves. Not a great deal of miles but it did show that the 250 can be a small bore touring bike if there are no interstate kind of roads. Mostly mountains and the curves that are so much fun. The 250 can pull a pretty fair grade if Lynda takes a bit of a run at it to get the revs up a bit. Both of us are pleased with it's ability to do grades with a down shift or a little more speed for the sweet spot in the torque curve. The bike seems to pull hard on hills so I am wondering if the jetting is a touch lean and a hill climb with more throttle corrects the lean condition. It did use a wee bit of oil. Totally acceptable with an air cooled engine. Liquid cooled bikes have closer tolerances due to the constant temps. A bit of oil usage also keeps a rider on their toes and looking/checking stuff more often.
So you like a Vstrom. Getting more and more popular all the time. A lot of folks have jumped ship from other rides that just were not what fitted them. The Stroms are taller but can be lowered on both ends for a better fit. They do not do anything perfectly(not many bikes can)but they do so much so well it is surprising. If you haven't been there, try lurking on Stromtrooper.com
Been a member there for a couple years and have made many new friends to ride with and share info with. Even went to Tennesse and rented a Klr 650 to ride the Dragon with some members. Wonderful guys and gals. Would have loved to take the 650 but I chickened out due to a few other plans during the trip.
Okay, nuff said for now.

[Tonckawa]

HOLY CRAP. We are talking about a GZ250 on these long trips?? I would have never thought about going on a trip longer than 100 - 200 miles on this bike. Seems to me that it would blow up going that long at 65 mph plus with only a 250cc engine. Guess I am wrong.

Hell, my ass has a hard time with just 20 miles, thinking about 1000 miles, my ass would never even want to see a toilet seat again, LOL.

[jonathan180iq]

250 engines aren't as weak and fragile as people think they are. Once your pateezer gets used to the seat, you'll discover that it can handle 60-65 all day long.

I took a 4 hour trip of around 240 miles a while back she did just fine. No hiccups at all.

[Orpheus]

250 engines aren't as weak and fragile as people think they are. Once your pateezer gets used to the seat, you'll discover that it can handle 60-65 all day long.

I took a 4 hour trip of around 240 miles a while back she did just fine. No hiccups at all.

I take 200-250 mile trips (with my girlfriend and luggage) all the time and I never have any problems. I'd love to take my GZ across country some time, avoiding the freeways as much as possible of course. The main problem is keeping up with >60mph traffic uphill or >75mph freeway traffic (which I really don't like on a bike as small as mine). The other problem is that this bike ain't made for comfort on long hauls and I find myself stopping to stretch every 30-45 minutes, which seriously increases your travel time. As long as you keep up the maintenance, I don't see why a GZ wouldn't be able to make numerous cross-country trips without any serious maintenance problems.

[patrick_777]

I haven't ridden for anything over 40-50 miles at a time yet, but the time I've spent on the GZ would make it perfect for a medium-haul, side-road trip. I'm literally 10 miles from Route 66 in Tulsa, so I might have to cruise across the state once or twice soon. My issue so far is luggage, which I'm just now trying to decide just how to set this bike up in a way that I'll like. The lines of the clean bike makes me want something that can easily be put on and removed without much effort.

That's for another thread though. This bike seems very stable at rural highway speeds, but I couldn't see getting it onto a freeway or a "modern" interstate. Not that it couldn't take it. I just think it's much better suited to side roads.

[Badbob]

I ridden a few trips that came close to 1000 miles round trip and once rode 470 miles in one day on my GZ250. If you get your seat fixed its not as big a deal as you think.

The foam in th stock seat compresses pretty fast so after about half an hour your basically sitting on the seat pan. Before I fixed mine I was in pain after half an hour. Now I can ride the tank dry if need be.

I planing a trip now that will likely be over 1000 miles by the time I get home.

[davidc83]

Hey Bob,
Remember the Franklin meet last summer when I followed you to Tallahassee. 2500 mile round trip for me. On the way back, I coverd 840 miles in 2 days, 550 miles on day 1. On the 550 mile day, I only stopped when the gas tank needed it- 3 stops.

Hey guys, for luggage, I used a suitcase which I bungee cord to the pillion seat, lenth-wise layed down across the seat; used the back tail lights and the shocks for anchor points. I made a 1100 mile trip and the 2500 mile trip with the suitcase like that with no problems on the shocks or the tail lights. Here is a picture of me going thru Deals Gap (the dragon) with the suitcase on the back; you may have to copy and paste the URL:
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPa ... 176&po=176 (http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/OrderPage.aspx?pi=04RK00AN010176&po=176).

[Badbob]

I remember. I also remember you getting excited when you thought you had got a 100 mpg riding with the Rebels.

My favorite luggage is the big yellow dry bags I get at WalMart for about $10. I've rode through some very heavy rain with these and never got a drop of water in one.

[Water Warrior 2]

Sounds like a great trip.

I've been lusting after a V-Strom DL650 for awhile but I don't have room in the garage for one. Please post a report after your trip. I'm particularly interested in how well they travel together.

I lied about the correction earlier. Somehow got befuddled with miles and klicks. 4940.9 kms on the trip meter of the Vstrom. Lynda logged a few more visiting friends and relatives while I vegged out and recovered(old guy syndrome). Will do a report and try for a few pics later.

[jonathan180iq]

For what it's worth, I've been reading over the great motorcycle encyclopedia the last few nights and I've read stories about old BSA 125s making cross country trips. These bad boys only made somewhere around 9bhp. This was also before the days of electronic ignitions.

I've gained a much greater appreciation for what this little bike can do just by reading about where motorcycling, in general, has come from.

[Badbob]

For what it's worth, I've been reading over the great motorcycle encyclopedia the last few nights and I've read stories about old BSA 125s making cross country trips. These bad boys only made somewhere around 9bhp. This was also before the days of electronic ignitions.

I've gained a much greater appreciation for what this little bike can do just by reading about where motorcycling, in general, has come from.

Got a link to this motorcycle encyclopedia. It sounds like something I would want to read.

[jonathan180iq]

Actually, I went the old school route and actually purchased a real book. :)

I don't have the exact name and author information with me but I'll get it to you.

EDIT~
IIRC: It's simply called "The Motorcycle Encyclopedia" and I think it it's either written or edited by someone named Hugo.

EDIT II~ Here you go. Written by Hugo Wilson
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Moto ... 0789401509 (http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Motorcycle-Hugo-Wilson/dp/0789401509)

[blaine]

Don't sell this bike short.It is very capibile

[patrick_777]

http://www.idlerants.com/images/zombiethread.jpg

[alanmcorcoran]

Yo Patrick, on other sites I see that they lock up old threads after a certain period of time. Perhaps this is something GZ250bike might consider?

And no need to reply with your usual suggestion... I shall go fuck myself in accordance with our mutually agreed upon disposition for these sorts of inquiries.

[patrick_777]

Threads are usually left open in case someone wants to add an update to them. The board actually has an auto-lock feature for threads, but it's turned off. We've all seen old threads come back to life with some decent (and sometimes new) discussion.

I'm always looking for excuses to use smart-ass pictures though.

[alanmcorcoran]

I think you know where I stand on zombies. Hell, if it wasn't for that Resident Evil chick, I'd have probably never learned to shoot OR ride.

Stay non-zombie my friend.