Is 5th gear useless to anyone else?

[CMS]

I'm in Southen Ohio and we do have hills. My 08 will touch 70 [no windshild ,flat land ] I recently took my first extended ride to the South. On Rt 68 South from the Dayton area to Riply Oh. [believe it or not] I maintained 60 /63 on most of the trip ,on the hills, I did lose speed [5th gear] but I only downshifted once to 4th. This was on one long climb and I down shifted about half way up the incline, on the others I increased my speed at the bottom of the hill as much as possible. This helped on the smaller and shorter climbs, although I would still lose some speed. I'm 170 and the bike had Cortech side and top bags installed. Over all I'm still pleased with the speed of th GZ, it is a 250 and there are limitations, but I really enjoy my trips more so than on my larger bike.The larger bikes are for getting from point A to point B, my 250 is more of an adventure trip, it allows me to see the sights, but I digress. :rawk: CMS

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by tommygun

See now I would be thrilled to get up to 70! I have been 70mph down hill only?! does the 16t give you more torque? to maintain a top speed of 60-65?

No, quite the opposite, less torque. Like I said, it would NOT be a good thing for YOU.

And another thought or two:

1) It takes a LONG time to achieve top speed with an underpowered vehicle like the GZ. If you crank it up to 55 or so in 4th, it might take you another 1/2 mile OR MORE to achieve 70 in 5th.......on the flat with no head-wind. Honestly. If you don't have that long a straight, flat road (or not enough patience) you will come to BELIEVE it won't do 70.

2) If you are in 5th going about 60 and start up a hill, don't assume that just because it slows down a little bit that it will KEEP getting slower and slower. It probably won't. It might drop 5-7 mph on a slight hill and then keep going at 50-55 in 5th just fine. IOW, don't panic and don't downshift to 4th until it drops to 50 or less (or it's obvious that it is a BIG hill).

3) Don't be afraid to open the throttle all the way. Most of the time, that is the only way you can maintain speed in 5th gear.......really.


It REALLY sounds to me like you just need to resign yourself to what the GZ really IS: A small, underpowered motorcycle. If you can't live with that, then you got the wrong bike.

[alanmcorcoran]

Tommy,

Other posts I've read on here indicate that you won't redline in 4th until you hit 70 or so, which, you've apparently never hit. Next time you're on a hill, try winding the thing out as much as you can in 4th. (If it's a steep hill, forget it, third is your only option there.) Also, several of us have noticed an anomaly where the bike actually goes a little faster with the throttle backed off a tad from wide open.

If your bike won't go over 60 on a flat road, something is probably wrong. I have no mods, a windshield and I weigh 175ish. I'm a fairly inexpereinced rider, but I can get it up to 60 on the flats pretty easily. 65 is usually doable as well, depending on the road and the wind. Above that, I need smooth asphalt, a tailwind, and a little luck.

Experiment with a different oil. Also, make sure your oil isn't low. A lot of people seem to be happy with the Rotella T 5w40 synthetic. It is sold for diesel engines, but it seems to work okay for the GZ.

Finally, don't discount the value of a warm-up. My bike doesn't really hit its stride until it's been running for about 15 minutes.

[trykemike]

Hey Tommygun search the howto section re: power increase.

Also I have been thinking that the owners who have trouble reaching 65 + may have a carburetor with a 115 main jet so the engine is starving for fuel. Check the owners manual re: carburetor specs .

I am 5 ' 6 "" 165 lbs . I can always top 75+ mph and have reached 80 + a dozen times this pas summer. I never down shift on a hill and maintain 50-65 mph depending on conditions and hill steepness and length.

Try a slight bit of choke about 1/8 in cold weather it works for me . I reached 130 kph when the temp was 40F with a little choke.

When I pulled the plug it was a little black on the tip but gold the rest of the way.

[theneanderthal]

Yeah, as mentioned, I'd have to question whether the motor is sufficiently warmed up.

Have you hit 1000 miles on the odo? If not the thing isn't broken in yet and isn't capable of producing max power until it is. Have you done a valve adjustment yet?

My geezer didn't really hit its stride until I exceeded 1k, did a valve adjustment, and the little scoot was warmed up. I generally ride for 1/2 or more before the mouse motor really starts to produce the power its capable of.

Mine isn't happy on regular 87 octane gas despite what the manual says but 89 makes it smile.

I bought mine with 8 miles, used, and no owners manual so it got broken in hard, mostly at full throttle, contrary to the manual suggestions. Also it seems there are no two of these things alike as far as performance is concerned so ymmv.

[Water Warrior 2]

The GZ is a smaller bike with limitations. Not a lot can be done to improve the performance but some things help. Always make sure tire pressure is correct. Low PSI means more rolling resistance. On Lyndas bike the pressure is kept at 2 up specs which also helps a bit with tire wear. Synthetic oil might help a bit but do not expect to notice anything drastic. Good oil will just normally make the bike smoother to operate. Have you done a valve adjust yet. Might help a little too. Basically just ride and accept the bike for what it is and enjoy what it is capable of doing. In the future you may want to upgrade to something more powerful and hand the bike to another newbie looking for a smaller bike.

[alantf]

87 & 89 octane petrol? I wish that we could get it over here (Tenerife). It must be cheaper than the 95 or 98 octane, which is the only lead free that they sell here.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by alantf

87 & 89 octane petrol? I wish that we could get it over here (Tenerife). It must be cheaper than the 95 or 98 octane, which is the only lead free that they sell here.

Same stuff; different measurement system. :biggrin:

North America usually has 3 octane choices and Europe only 2.
Don't know for sure which one is missing on your side of the pond but I think it is the middle one.

[tommygun]

Thanks Gang, I purchased the bike with the intent to ride it into the ground. I have put about 6500miles on it in 4 months so I hope it will last riding it wide open all the time. Whats the going distance before a complete engine overhaul?

[Rick]

You might try changing your spark plug and running some Berryman's B-12 or similar fuel system cleaner through the bike. I did both of those things recently when my GZ was acting a little sluggish, and now it's running great. I can easily get up to 75-80 on flat road, and it'll accelerate on moderate uphills even in 5th. I'm pretty light though (145) so I'm sure that helps some.