GZ Top Speed

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by tampadeb

I get mine to 80.......
........ easily.

I can easily believe the first part but not the part about it being easy! :cool:
Are you sure you are reading the little marks on the speedometer correctly ? :biggrin:

[tampadeb]

What little marks? lol We have a straight stretch about 2 miles. Depending on traffic I get to 75-80 in less than half of that. It seems easy. But 80 is all it will do. Even with the wind on my back. The only reason I know this is because 80 shouldn't feel so good. ;o)

[alanmcorcoran]

I'm assuming tampadeb is a lady and probably weighs less than us and has a smaller wind profile, so even though 80 is probably not in the cards for me, it's not a stretch that it might be well within reach for her.

[Chris]

All the top speed claims seem odd to me. One guy says his top speed is 68 and another guy says he can hit 90??? Mine hit 76.9mph and I just don't believe that any stock GZ250 will do much more than that.

On the tachometer thing: I've checked and it is just not worth it. Some $300 and it dosen't change anything on the bike. My maintenance expert at Yamaha (national expert) says there is no way you can over rev these bikes, especially in higher gears. He told me to go as fast as I wanted to and the engine was going to be just fine.
Don't worry about a tach, just ride reasonably and you'll be find. Or you could send me the $300.

Chris, Atlanta

[alanmcorcoran]

Chris,

Some of the disparity can be explained by:

1) Preponderance of newbs on the site. As Easy and others have said, it helps to shift the bike at far higher revs than recommended in the manual to maximize your speed.
2) Riding position. If you don't have a windshield, kissing the speedo gets you 10 miles an hour more.
3) Windshield.
4) Rider weight.
5) Rider size.
6) Break-in. Mine is definitely a little faster now than it was out of the box. (See "pre-ponderance of newbs.")
7) Mods.
8) Inexact nature of the marks on the Speedo.
9) Probably inaccuracy of the speedo in general.
10) Tailwind. Most people don't know when they have a tailwind because they experience the headwind the're generating. Nonetheless, it has a significant top speed inpact.
11) Incline. Again, I'd be willing to bet what "looks" flat, often isn't.

The 90 does seem farfetched. But I've hit 73-74ish so I think 68-80 is a reasonable range.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by tampadeb

We have a straight stretch about 2 miles. Depending on traffic I get to 75-80 in less than half of that.

Let's see if I can do the math: half of 2 miles is.......a LONG way by most motorcycle standards.
Just making a little fun of your "easy" characterization. :biggrin:

Mine climbs tall mountains easily too.......if it is in 3rd gear !! :crackup

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Chris

Some $300 and it dosen't change anything on the bike.

All very true, except for this.
A working add-on tach can be had for a LOT less than that; somewhere around $100 if you just search a bit.
Useful and really worth it even at that price? Probably not but there are worse ways to blow $100 on bike "bling".
I think I'm going to take my "tach money" and get a clock and thermometer:
http://www.clocks4bikes.com

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by alanmcorcoran

7) Mods.

Good analysis but you left out 2 things:

1) Outright B.S.

2) Reports from non-North America riders.....whose bikes come from the factory with all the carb mods done already !! :biggrin:

[alanmcorcoran]

What? Bullshitters on the GZ250bike.com? Say it ain't so!

[patrick_777]

I've seen 90 on mine, but it was pristine conditions setup just for it.

...and I don't bullshit anybody. EVER.