pre ride question

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by mcintyre_aerospace

Wow, tearing at each others throat.

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

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

[Badbob]

Originally Posted by davidc83

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.