How long is too long for the little 250?

[dannylightning]

I always kept my gz under 65mph, except every now and again i would push it up over 70mph for fun but did not drive that fast for long. around 60mph was my freeway speed on the gz , that is when the rpm's started to seem like they were getting up there a little so figured better safe than sorry

[JWR]

This is cut from Pat Henry's Alaska Ride Report.
Good food for thought about the GZ.


I've been attempting to get my bike, a Suzuki GZ250, in good working order for this trip. It has 35,000 miles, which is a lot of miles for a motorcycle of this kind. As with every vehicle I've owned, I do all my own maintenance.

After 9,000 miles.





And what experiences they were - riding a small 250 cc single cylinder motorcycle across this beautiful continent; I still don't know how the little thing held together running flat out for hundreds of miles at MAX RPM and MAX SPEED in 107 degree heat through Texas.

[5th_bike]

I did 65 mph in 4th gear, at 8,000 rpm (standard 15 tooth front sprocket). Going 65 in 5th gear sounds really calm, then.
Redline is at 9,000 rpm.
So, no worries.

PS again here is Jaime's table:




As you see, in 5th gear, rpm is simply 100 times your speed in mph.

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by JWR

This is cut from Pat Henry's Alaska Ride Report.
Good food for thought about the GZ.


I still don't know how the little thing held together running flat out for hundreds of miles at MAX RPM and MAX SPEED in 107 degree heat through Texas.

I think Patrick Henry was very lucky and had an exceptional GZ to live through that trip.

[music man]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

I think Patrick Henry was very lucky and had an exceptional GZ to live through that trip.

Not only did his GZ live through that, but consider this, If my memory serves me correctly, he already had somewhere in the neighborhood of 35,000 miles on his GZ when he started out on that trip, and it was LOADED to the gills with luggage.

[Water Warrior 2]

M M, your memory is correct. I know some people said Lynda was just plain nuts to ride her GZ half way across Canada and back but she did it and proved the nay sayers wrong. It is a tough little bike no doubt about it.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

I don't think anybody here considers it an issue.

I think you've put a slightly incorrect interpretation to the word "issue". I believe you've interpreted it as "something bad", which is, indeed, one interpretation. The other meaning of "issue", however, - & the one that I believe he meant - is "the point in question".

[burkbuilds]

"15-30 miles freeway driving doesn't sound like it should kill any road bike but are these things just built like crap?
Anyways, I need an answer to my question about how long can I maintain 65 or so and feel comfortable I wont kill my engine."

I think running ANY motor WOT for hours on end is just asking for it, but you are definitely not running the GZ WOT to hit 65 mph and for the distances you are asking about I wouldn't have any concerns at all about it causing damage to the engine. I rode my GZ pretty much WOT to Atlanta and back one day, about a 4 -5 hour trip for me, and the only thing broken was my rear end and legs by the end of the day. I put 12,000 miles on my GZ in a year and she ran great and never gave me any problems, hope you get great service out of your bike as well. Although a few people have been known to blow an engine in their GZ's most of the ones I remember did stuff like run it WOT for a couple of hours each day for a bout 5-8 thousand miles before it blew up and one of those guys said he never even changed the oil or added any, so he got what he deserved in my opinion. The GZ is a great bike and not a "piece of crap", take care of it and you probably can drive it for 20 years!

[bonehead]

[Anyways, I need an answer to my question about how long can I maintain 65 or so and feel comfortable I wont kill my engine.[/quote]
Rode 185 mi @65 and no problems. If you ride yor bike that hard all of the time, You may be the one to answer your question..when it finally craps out.