Sold the GZ

[roncg41677]

Well, I finally sold the GZ. I loved that bike, but I've been going on more and more longer distance rides with a group, sometimes with my wife on the back, and at higher speeds 2 up for long periods, at times I was waiting for the engine to blow something out. It may have functioned fine, but I'd like something that will pull the 2 of us at 60mph and still have some power to spare. I put around 2k miles on my GZ, and it was a great first bike.

[roncg41677]

Picked up my new (to me) bike last night!

It's a 95 Yamaha Virago 1100, 18,500 miles. I got it for $1,600. It's been modded a little bit. The guy was working on making it some sort of a bobber/custom, so he had removed some hardware. But he still had it all and gave it to me. I'll be mounting some of it back on. He had painted it a really nice color, sunset metallic orange. He told me it's a color Chevy uses/used for the Corvette? I don't know, but I really like it! It's not perfect, slow fork seal leak, choke's not working, but otherwise it runs like a champ! I rode it about 80 miles home after buying it and it did wonderfully. It was surprising though, when I needed to go from 55mph to 60, one tiny twist of the throttle and I was pushing 70, and the engine was only at ~4,000 rpm! Whoa, I'm loving it! Going to practice in a parking lot with it to get more of a feel for the clutch, throttle and brakes.

I'll post some pics when I can get em .

[Water Warrior 2]

From a 250 to a 1100 V-twin. I guess you would love the torque on demand feature. Congrats on the bike. Now do your practicing in the parking lot and report back. :2tup: :rawk:

[Dark Jackal]

nice jump over there

i'm also planning enjoying my GZ for about 1 year or two than moving on something bigger....

650 Dragstar or 750 Shadow.... i'm containing myself of trying one of em now because i know it's no turning back ahah

congrats for the new monster

[Water Warrior 2]

Lynda rode her GZ from the late summer 2006 till Feb of this year. Now she has a Suzuki M 50 with a 800 cc V-twin. A really beautiful bike that I might get to ride someday. For most riders the idea of outgrowing a bike is natural given some time and experience on 2 wheels. But I do think a person should not be in a hurry to do so. Experience all you can on your first smaller bike and consider what you really want and need in a larger bike. 500 and 600 cc bikes are great stepping stones in a riding career for many folks. Work your way up and enjoy different bikes during your life here on Earth.

[roncg41677]

Here are some pics:




Water Warrior, I'm with you on your comments. I wasn't initially planning on "moving up" from the GZ, but I started riding with a group on Harley riders, and my wife started riding on the back with me. It was more of a necessity if I wanted to keep doing those things. The 1100cc wasn't exactly a necessity, but it was the a good deal. I'm not opposed to moving down sometime in the future to a 750 or 800 or something. I'm not opposed to owning one of every displacement at some point in my life :biggrin: .

[patrick_777]

Nice looking bike. That seat looks pretty comfy too.

[roncg41677]

Thanks . Actually, the seat is taking some getting used to. It's so wide at the back that it is constantly pushing me forward. Still getting used to the adjustment.

[Water Warrior 2]

Looks like a 90 degree V. Depending on the internal design of the crank time etc it could be very smooth running. Is there much vibration and engine pulsing at idle ??

[adrianinflorida]

Nice bike. I like the styling on the Virago.