Questions...

[dannylightning]

not something i would want to ride around but its a nice bike. will probably serve you well comperd to a gz or tu for what kind of ridig you are going to do. what's the red line on that thing. probably really high, if so i bet it will do great in mountain type areas or big hills

[birdmove]

I don't have,and have never ridden a GZ250. I'm 56 and have ridden for some 48 years never being without motorcycles since I was eight years old. After owning a bunch of motorcycles, I now, since 2007, own a small Yamaha XT225 dual sport. Guess what? I enjoy the heck out of riding this little machine, and really enjoy getting from a low of 72 mpg (on a short commute in really cold weather) to a high of 95-105 mpg (on longer rides in warm weather at speeds of 40-50 mph). Now I also ride a 2007 Royal Enfield 500 Bullet, and my 2006 HD XL883 Sportster. I work at a Harley-Davidson dealership. Often as not, I commute on my XT225. But I ride year round here in western Wa. State, in rain (lots of that!), and very cold weather. This winter we had a two week period where about every day we were breaking cold weather temps.It got down to as low as 14 degrees. I rode the XT to work. I don't worry over a dual sport bike getting dirty and wet. Who cares? There have been many many days at work when I was the only one that rode to work.I am not a fair weather rider.

The reason I bring this up, is that, if a guy like me can enjoy riding a 225cc motorcycle....you get the picture. I seldom take the XT on a freeway, but it will run at 55-65 all right.It has a six speed trans which really helps. I will be taking some overnight trips with this motorcycle later in the year.I'll plan back road routes. Freeways suck anyway, unless one is in a big hurry at all costs.

It isn't pre ordained that everyone must "progress" from a small motorcycle to larger and larger ones. Most of us do, to the glee of the motorcycle makers. I think it's great to eventually have a couple of motorcycles. One smaller bike like the GZ250,TU250, Honda Rebel, or a nice dual sport like my XT, or a KLX250, and a larger street bike that can handle freeways.

Just my two cents.

jon

[alanmcorcoran]

When gas gets up to ten bucks a gallon I bet a lot of us will "progress" right back down. Given the current state of the economy: the gas mileage, maintenance and insurance cost of the GZ250 makes it a superbike. I don't like it for hills or freeways, but it's a very low cost commuting bike.

[Sarris]

Why do ya' think I keep mine? It only gets ridden about 30 miles a month and makes my ass hurt.

I love my GeeZee.

[dhgeyer]

Another member of the two size bike club here: BMW R1200R and GZ250. I love 'em both, and I agree that going bigger isn't necessarily progress. I too believe that fuel is going to get very expensive here someday, and a small bike will be a precious commodity.