Speed vs. Life of GZ250

[fg1234567892000]

Is using the GZ at highway speeds safe? That is to say, what sort of effects will running the bike near/at it's max rpms have on its engine? What can be done to allow the bike to handle speeds of 65 mph on a regular basis?

Just a thought in my mind. I just got my bike a few months ago and like to hop out on a highway now and then, but I worry what sort of wear/tear I may causing to my bike.

Thanks!

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by fg1234567892000

Is using the GZ at highway speeds safe?

Yes, but it depends.

The GZ should be happy doing 60-65 all day and 70 occasionally.

Even with the stock gearing, it is hard to get the engine to anywhere near it's "limit" in top gear......unless you have a tail wind and are going downhill. IIRC, you would hit the rev. limiter about 90 MPH......if you could get it there.

We have had a couple of riders come here who have trashed their engines. One liked to rev it all out in the lower gears all the time and the other somehow managed to get it over 80 on the highway for long runs for freeway use.

Changing the front sprocket to a 16 tooth will drop the revs some and make it overall more pleasant to ride in 1-4.......but 5th will be sluggish and will take longer to get up to speed.
Sounds to me like maybe you would NOT be a good candidate for that as you might not want to sacrifice top gear acceleration (what little there IS).

[Water Warrior 2]

:2tup: What Easy said. The GZ is not a large highway cruiser but will do fine if you ride according to it's abilities. Lynda's GZ would do 60/65 all day providing there was no real headwind, long hills or a combo of both. You will need good riding conditions to maintain highway speeds.

[fg1234567892000]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies.

[Pete7874]

How does having a windshield affect top speed? I would think it probably makes little difference since if you didn't have one, then your own torso would be causing similar air drag. But maybe the shield smooths it out a bit because of its roundness?

I suppose I should just take mine off and see if I notice any difference...

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Pete7874

But maybe the shield smooths it out a bit because of its roundness?

I suppose I should just take mine off and see if I notice any difference...

Yes, but it depends on exactly what shield you have and how it is mounted.......and how big a "wind profile" your body has !! A small to medium size shield, mounted properly often reduces the drag a bit.

You should definitely ride a bit without a shield; likely you will appreciate it even more after you do that.

[alanmcorcoran]

Originally Posted by Pete7874

How does having a windshield affect top speed? I would think it probably makes little difference since if you didn't have one, then your own torso would be causing similar air drag.

There's a lot of factors that go into top speed so it's hard to specify exactly how much the windshield costs you. I think you are spot on about the torso causing "similar" drag, but, I believe it is less than the windshield. Plus, if I scrunch myself up and ride sort of "sport-bike" style, (knees and elbows in tight and chin on the speedo) I can add ten miles an hour to the top speed of an unshielded bike. That can be significant given that the GZ tends to poop out at 65-68 or so. I did notice a tail off in the top speed after I put on a moderately large windshield. Given the amount of things that have smacked into the shields on each of my bikes, I'm in the same camp as Easy - sticking with the shield. I think I could live without it if I didn't ride freeways.

[BillInGA]

After riding without a windshield for four years, I put a SlipStreamer SS-28 Sport Fairing windshield on my GZ250 this past spring. I didn't notice any change in performance, but there was a significant change in comfort. Cold weather riding became pleasant and no more holding on to the handlebars for dear life. Deflecting stones and other small road debris was another benefit.

With the windshield you will not only have a bike that can go all day at 60-65 mph, but a rider that will be able to as well.

[Pete7874]

Mine's the SS-06 Spitfire. It seems to wobble quite a bit at higher speeds.

[ArizonaKev]

Living in Phoenix, Arizona, the land of 112º temps in the daytime, I thought I would offer a different take on this...

My bike actually came with a pretty nice, smaller style windscreen. However, I found that it cut down the amount of wind hitting my body - which is what it is supposed to do, and a good thing, right? Well, when it's 100 degrees at 8am in the morning, and the only thing keeping me cool at all on my bike is the wind circulating through my mesh jacket -yeaahhhh, it's not really such a good thing. I actually took my windscreen off, and greatly increased my comfort as a result of the increased windflow.

Now this winter, when it gets bitterly cold - I'm talking like 50 degrees here! Lol - I might actually put it back on. Although I am not yet certain, as I noticed it changes the way it handles at higher speeds too, and I am not sure I like that change entirely. I'm sure it's something that one gets used to though, and I just might do that this winter.

Stay cool everyone - Lord knows, I'm tryin'! :2tup:


AZ Kev