Why would an old experienced consider a new GZ250?

[birdmove]

We are (hopefully) getting close to moving from the mainland (Puyallup, Wa.) to the Big Island of Hawaii. Shipping is very spendy. We are seling our mainland motorcycles and my wife's scooter, and will buy our rides on the Big Island after the move. I am considering the GZ250 as my ride for the following reasons. First we will have a Suzuki dealer about 15 miles away (while the dealers of other brands will be 125 miles away). Next, we won't be doing any two up riding, so I won't need any big power. The speeds will be from putting around to 50-60 mph. There are certainly hills to go up, but 50-55 should be adequete. I am about 5'9" and 178 pounds. Very important (since I will be doing any maintenance) is the GZ is stone simple to work on. I will replace my own tires; do oil and filter changes; adjust valves, etc. Gas is way more there so I'd want something that gets great gas mileage. The GZ seems to have a 3.4 gallon tank. I would guess that the bike might go what--175 miles plus before reserve? That would be great.

Really, the only drawbacks are 1.will the bike fit me well? 2.The spoke wheels. I'd rather have cast wheels and carry an emergency tire patch kit with the little tanks to air a tire. I can deal with the tire and wheel situation. I'll come up with some type of tube or piece of wood that I could prop the bike on in order to pull a wheel on the road and patch the tube etc. I've replaced tires and tubes before and never pinched a hole in a tube.

Though I'm riding a bigger bike right now, I am not worried about going down in power. I recently solde a 225cc dual sport which I enjoyed riding. Even after 50 years of riding, I still love to ride--and that is big bikes, small bikes, and scooters too.

I think this old engine must be pretty bulletproff since I believe it goes back to the old GN250 series Suzukis, and is heavily related to the new TU250 engines too.

I like the looks of the GZ250, but will probably put some flatter handelbars on it if I get one. I do not like the stock bars.

Bearing all this in mind, I am not worried about "out growing" the GZ as I've already been through all that over all these years of riding.

Maybe now a question or two. Am I about right on the cruising range from a full tank to going on reserve? I mentioned maybe 175 miles? That's thinking the tank may have like a .8 gallon reserve? Are there any known weak points to this bike? Reading through the messages here I don't really see any recurring problems.

Are there many of you that are riding the GZ that had been riding bigger bikes? I had considered the Honda Rebel, but it may be a little bit physically smaller the GZ? The TU250 would be another possibility.

Thanks, Jon in Puyallup, Wa.

[Water Warrior 2]

Right on Jon. Sounds a lot like retirement to me. Congrats if I am correct.

The GZ should do you very well for the intended riding. I think the bike will be a good fit too. When Lynda bought her GZ in 2006 I had the pleasure of riding it home about 100 miles total. It fit me and at the time I was a bit heavier than you and a tad taller. Yes the Rebel is a tighter fit and has more moving parts but still has a large following.

A new GZ gets you reliability and a good starting point from mile "0" to where ever you take the odometer over the years. You may have found the perfect home for the GZ and many miles of smiles.

[mrlmd1]

By your own math, 3.4 gal tank - 0,8 gal reserve = 2.6 gal. If you get 60 mpg, that's a range of 150+ miles or so 'till you need the reserve, which might get you another 40+ miles. To be on the safe side, you reset the odometer every you fill up the tank and plan on getting gas at 125-150 miles and then you'll never need reserve and not have to worry about how far away is the next gas station.
I wouldn't worry so much about replacing or trying to repair inner tubes on the road. Are you going to carry spare tubes, patches, an air pump, tools to remove the wheel, break and reset the bead, etc.? You are not that far away from civilization and help if you need it.
If you peruse this forum you will find most of the answers to your questions. This is a very reliable bike in stock form and will last many, many miles/years with a little routine maintenance.,

[geezer]

i belive your better off getting a slightly bigger bike. you mentioned hills, not the gz's cup o tea. belive me. 55 up a hill wont happen unless your full throttle and even then a steep hill will require downshifting. the bike is really a pain when hills are concerned. but if you have no issues slowing down up the hills its no biggie. the bike is very underpowered. if you have the option get the savage 650 from suzuki. my coworker owns one and he gets 62mpg avarage. my bike gets 65!
now onto the engine, sure some people think the engine is bullet proof but i have my doubts, especially if your going to flog it up hills all the time. my theory is that most people think its reliable cause they dont own the bike more than a few thousand miles. sure some people have gotten very good milage out of there bikes, like a guy on this forum named blaine. my headgasket is leaking and my bike has 8000 miles on it. O_o its a cheap bike, and if you own one youll know exactly why.
hold on now i forgot about your wieght, you when 50 lbs less than me and are 4 inches shorter. bike might be able to handle you up hills a bit better. and it should fit you pretty well

[birdmove]

Yes, I do l like the Savage/S40 also. Drawbacks are 1.2.8 gallon tank is a might small, and 2. the cam chain tensioner is a well known weakness. It's got a real one of a kind design of this tensioner and it's not uncommon to have problems within 10,000 miles. There is a mod that helps a bunch. At least replacing the tensioner and cam chain isn't too tough on the S40. Go to the Savage forum abd search for cam chain tensioner or verslaggen (I think is how its spelled). But the S40 is a good looking bike and again, easy to work on and not too exspensive. I will have to add it to my lsit too. I hear they are pretty torquey too, which makes forn a fun ride.

jon

[geezer]

cool. i hope i dont sound like i hate my little bike. it may get me laughed at all the freakin time but i love her. now i gotta do a headgasket hahaha

[alantf]

You're moving to a small island. I too live on a small island with low speed limits. I've had my GZ for just over 4 years now, & riding every day, still have only 20,000 km (12,000 miles) on it. I've found it the ideal bike for the conditions. I'm 5'9" & 155lbs, & even though I live in the mountains The GZ still seems a willing climber. We also ride 2-up, as traffic congestion makes it the ideal primary transport, with no problems. I can quite see that a bigger bike would be required in America, with its wide open spaces, but I think the GZ is ideal for the type of riding that you will be doing.

BTW, I can get anywhere on the island in 70 miles. How does this compare to Hawaii? :2tup:

[CMS]

Birdmove , I don't think you have any trouble with your fuel milage , my 2008 GZ achived 65 to 70 mpg with normal ridding [55/65 mph range ] As far as maintenance your right ,they are very simple and easy to maintain.In owning two GZ over a few years I've never used reseve. The only draw back for me is the seat, [I'm 5'9" and 180,] I've had the local upholstery shop look at my seat and were going to mod it [more padding and a pinch wider if possible ]. He says it can be done. Awaiting mod will report more on this later. I have ridden and own larger bikes but really, as you, enjoy the smaller ones more. I have a TU250X ,love this bike but it may be more expensive to buy in Hawaii. I have the rear rack, Givi [28L] top case and Cortech saddle bags for the GZ, this hauls all I need and the wife has ridden two up with me. The current price for a new one is $2.900.00 a good bang for the buck. As a former Harley rider [1200 Sportster] I think your on the right track. Good luck on your move and new riding adventures. Terry [CMS] :rawk:

[Way]

I'm new to the GZ also and would humbly suggest looking at getting a 16 tooth front sprocket as I am doing. Supposed to be perfect for the 55-60 mph range. As of now with the 15 tooth sprocket, I can hold 50 going up semi steep hills. I'm 5'7" about 200 lbs. I also get about 169 miles or so before I go to reserve but recently went 200 miles and did not reach reserve.

[birdmove]

What is stock on the front sproket--maybe a 14 tooth?? 169 before reserve is pretty respectable.
I went to Hinshaws motorcycles Sunday to sit on various bikes I'm considering. Thay have a new GZ250 for $3384-that's out the door with everything. I could get it for le3ss as I am not going to license it at all in Wa. State, and was told, as long as I had some proof of my Hawaii home (copy of a power bill for instance), that I would not be required to license it on the mainland. But I would then have to ship it to island.
I wonder if Suzuki might drop the GZ since they have the newer TU250??
I like the GZ. What I don't like are the handlebars. I prefer flatter bars. But I suppose those are easily replaced, and hopefully I wouldn't have to go to shorter cables and brake line.

Jon

Originally Posted by Way

I'm new to the GZ also and would humbly suggest looking at getting a 16 tooth front sprocket as I am doing. Supposed to be perfect for the 55-60 mph range. As of now with the 15 tooth sprocket, I can hold 50 going up semi steep hills. I'm 5'7" about 200 lbs. I also get about 169 miles or so before I go to reserve but recently went 200 miles and did not reach reserve.