Log your rides

[waya]

Are these the right models?

GE: http://www.amazon.com/GE-H4-60NH-BP1-Mo ... 938&sr=8-2

OSRAM: http://www.amazon.com/Osram-64193SVS-OS ... 077&sr=8-1

[blaine]

Yes.H-4 bulbs.I started using these last year.I find them really bright,and a little cheaper,at less than $30.00 a pair.

[Water Warrior 2]

If you can get Osram SS bulbs go for it. Buy 2 and have one for a spare. I had a couple in a truck a few years ago and they were very good.

[tjvk]

well, third time out on the bike yesterday...decided to venture out on the main road....ended up driving about 25km roundtrip to the next town and back...thought I did pretty good for only riding for the first time a week ago. A little nervous in traffic, had a few stoplights and stopsigns to deal with along with some stiff winds on the back road. Wife went out after me and did a 5 km boot down the road as well.

[cayuse]

Well the weather broke today so I set out to knock off a long-planned highway trip up to Hope, BC.
I've done plenty of riding last season up and down the Fraser Valley between Chilliwack and White Rock, but had not ventured up into the mountains East of here. I was really curious to see how the geezer handled the wind and hills at speeds of 60-70mph (it's a 100kph highway). The wind factor is significant as it blows pretty hard up the valley and we all know how sensitive our little Suzukis are to wind. Water Warrior and Hacc81, you'll know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I got to Hope with a tailwind so it was a breeze to cruise along at 65-ish and actually pass the odd slowpoke. With that under my belt I decided to venture "beyond Hope" and head North up the Fraser Canyon towards Spuzzum. Spuzzum was always the butt of jokes around here since I was a schoolboy, basically because it's in the middle of nowhere and is very tiny. So I thought, why not? I'll tell my school mates I paid a visit to Spuzzum. Well, the bike was game and climbed heartily out of Hope into the real mountains. I was pretty impressed. Sure I had to shift down sometimes into 4th but not a lot. And remember, I've got the 16T sprocket so my gears are a little taller than stock. 20 minutes later and I'm in downtown Yale, shifting down and giving the engine a little breather as we cruise by the Japanese-tourist bus at 50kph. Then the real fun began, as the roads got a little steeper; enough that I was playing tag with the big trucks as they passed me on the really steep hills and I caught up to them on the downhill twistier sections. I think I passed through 6 or 7 tunnels, some of them curving as they cut through the mountains. What an experience! Do a Google image search on "Fraser Canyon" to get an idea of the countryside. Another 15 minutes or so and I found myself "in" Spuzzum. I was hoping for a photo-op but it turned out Spuzzum was even smaller than I remembered it (40 years ago). There was no town to speak of; just a couple of highway signs indicating where I was. OK, well I'd come too far to go back empty-handed so I decided to head another 10 minutes North and visit Hell's Gate, a spectacular area of the Fraser River, and a definite photo-op. Boy, by the time I got there the little GZ was ready for a rest! Mountain climbing is not it's forte! Anyway, we made it; I shut her down, looked for a washroom, shivered a lot in the cold mountain air, got the photo and hopped back on for the return journey. OK, now I find out I've had a tailwind pretty much the whole time I've been riding, because now I'm shifting DOWN to maintain speed on the downhills!!! Not all the time, I did get some kind of windbreak effect from the trees in certain spots but a lot of the time I just could not maintain highway speed in 5th gear. I would say I spent about 1/2 the return trip tucked in low over the tank just to keep up with traffic, alternating between 5th (while drafting the trucks) and 4th, doing 90-100. The wind around Chilliwack is notorious so I wasn't too surprised, but it proved that highway riding in this neck of the woods is not done 'leisurely' on a little 250.

280 km, 3-1/2 hours roundtrip . Would I do it again? Sure, but next time I'll take Hwy 7 on the return trip. It's longer, but less windy and more scenic.

[BillInGA]

Looks like an awesome ride. :2tup: The GZ is great on those twisty mountain roads.

[Water Warrior 2]

Lynda and I were through Hell's Gate. The lowly GZ is a great weapon of choice in that area because of the roads and speed limits. Of course any bike will do if you aren't fussy.

[marmar]

Got on the interstate for the first time today on the GZ, once again was able to get above 70 mph on the flat stretches with throttle left (had previously hit 73mph the other day out on the backroads here). Friday is my riding test at the dmv and then I will be doing the 38 mile each way commute on the bike after that :2tup: Overall I am feeling very comfortable with how the bike will ride on the couple of stretches of I-15 I will be taking it on ( there is a lake I have to cross over and a downhill portion that could probably see the little guy hit 85 with no problem).

[cayuse]

Good luck with the test marmar. :2tup:
In my experience that "little bit left" feels nice but it doesn't mean anything. There's never anything more there when you ask for it. Try it sometime.
You MIGHT hit 85 on the downhill, IF you have a following wind.
Careful though, in 5th gear with a stock 15T sprocket you will be at or near the engine's redline.
Let us know how the commute works out.
:2tup:

[cayuse]

Update on my Hell's Gate trip:

I switched back to the stock 15T sprocket and did this run again today.
What a difference! Not so much in the flatlands, but up in the hills it was way better. 5th gear has some torque again and I found I needed 4th only once when I got tied up with a truck and had to get by him in the passing lane on a hill. The real test was on the way back where I faced the same stiff headwinds as last time. This time, though, it was top gear all the way. I came back along Hwy 7 but it turns out it's even windier than Hwy 1! I was pushed down to about 90kph at one point but hung on and as I got into some wind 'shade' the speed crept up again (this is on flat ground). The worst was westbound on Hwy 1 around Chilliwack, as expected. But, top gear was there with just that little bit extra torque with the 15T vs 16T sprocket and I hung in there with the flow of traffic without downshifting, barely. In sheltered sections, or with other traffic around breaking up the headwind I can do 110kph (70mph) all day, but I am really at the limit of the GZ's capability.

I've got some video of the trip as I'm going through some of the tunnels just south of Hell's Gate. I'll post it here once I get it transferred from the camera.