Top Speed/Highways

[BonnieBlack]

Probably a topic done to death ... but ...


So, took my first ride on a GZ250 this weekend. A friend bought one as their first bike. Wife and I and friend took it to an abandoned parking lot and friend was practicing, getting use to the feel. Learning counter-steering, emergency stops, etc.

Anyways, I ran it down the service road. I weigh 250lbs and was running the bike at 60 mph. It didn't seem to mind at all.

Everyone has been saying, "It's not a highway bike, but it will be great in town". Is that true? I didn't get it out on the highway, but I was feeling like I would be able to keep up. And if friend is a 100 lbs lighter than me, she should be fine, right?

I mean, once she's built up her skills.

[jonathan180iq]

These bikes can hold speed just fine. I took many a road trip between 65-80mph.
What they mean by it not being a highway bike is that these bikes max out around 80mph. It's not good for any machine to operate near 100% capacity for long periods of time. So driving cross country trying to keep up with traffic is not the best idea. If you are pinpoint with maintenance and know what you're doing, a bike is a bike. A long time ago, when clearances weren't nearly as precise, a 250cc machine was considered mid-level and people crossed the country on them. The common misconception now is that they are entry-level or "beginner bikes", which is just roughly better than calling it a toy.

Take care of your bike and it will take care of you -even if you thrash it around at freeway speeds.

PS: for safety reasons, when highway speed if your max speed, you don't have any juice left to avoid situations or to get out of the way at the last second. So keep that in mind when doing long highway jaunts.

[BonnieBlack]

Yeah, that makes sense. Especially about running the bike at it's limits. Anyways, even if the bike can handle highways, it'll be a bit before the owner will be ready.

[jonathan180iq]

Get her ready and then get her rollin'. These are good, solid, simple and efficient bikes. She'll be happy - back roads and highways. :)

[bwader]

I mainly ride on 55mph highway and can maintain 60-65mph on flat ground in 5th gear even at my weight of 250. 16 tooth front sprocket too

Top speed for me has been 72mph on GPS and I had to be in 4th to get there and maintain it. WOT in 5th gear is about 65mph depending on wind and slope.

On a faster highway I just stay in the slow lane or with people going the speed limit up to 65mph or else I got to shift to 4th to accelerate then back to 5th to maintain.

I'm sure your lighter friend will do fine on the highway on the GZ. But like most you start thinking about slightly bigger bikes that are better for suited for highway riding the more highway riding you do.

I'm loving my GZ at 7,200 miles now and average 60-65mpg, I just paid state taxes and fees and it came to $8. Yes eight dollars. Virginia tax assessed value of my bike is $750 and tax credit for smaller vehicles and cars you get a discount, so mine I just had an $8 fee and free taxes for this year. compared to my car which they assessed at 3,500 and was $90 this year with tax credits.

[raul10141964]

I running 140 main jet, 2.5 tuns on the pilot. shim on the needle, 16T sprocket and mode air filter (see pic).
I can maintain 65 to 70 mph on 5th gear with no problem
do not mod the filter without change the main get

[PG tips]

I mainly ride on 55mph highway and can maintain 60-65mph on flat ground in 5th gear even at my weight of 250. 16 tooth front sprocket too

Top speed for me has been 72mph on GPS and I had to be in 4th to get there and maintain it. WOT in 5th gear is about 65mph depending on wind and slope.

On a faster highway I just stay in the slow lane or with people going the speed limit up to 65mph or else I got to shift to 4th to accelerate then back to 5th to maintain.

I'm sure your lighter friend will do fine on the highway on the GZ. But like most you start thinking about slightly bigger bikes that are better for suited for highway riding the more highway riding you do.

I'm loving my GZ at 7,200 miles now and average 60-65mpg, I just paid state taxes and fees and it came to $8. Yes eight dollars. Virginia tax assessed value of my bike is $750 and tax credit for smaller vehicles and cars you get a discount, so mine I just had an $8 fee and free taxes for this year. compared to my car which they assessed at 3,500 and was $90 this year with tax credits.

I'd be happy with that, my annual tax is 88 euro for the bike and 190 euro per quarter for the car, roughly one thousand dollars (US) I'd hazard a guess at.
That said, I've been wondering if I'd been flogging the bike too hard, I can get almost 85 (on the speedo) flat out going down a slight hill on the motorway, but wondered if I was pushing it too hard at 60+,maybe even 70+ a lot of the rest of the time, I'm sure I can squuezemore out of it easier since i put on a small windshield.
I try to run it more gently near the end of a journey to aid cooling.
I've already considered getting bigger engined replacement, although the gz I think is mostly quite suitable and more than adequete for getting about in traffic and even short motorway journeys.
The money isn't really there yet and despite what I've estimated to be people looking down on a 250 I'm not even sure I'd get a reasonable value from selling so might keep it in storage if a replacement happens.
I haven't seen much in the way of vulcans, or many older bikes which I think look nice, but might require some work, which I don't have the time for. As much as I'd like a Suzuki again, I like the Yamaha xvs size.
If I could get a Suzuki that size and style.
In regard of maintenance, my gz was laid up for a while and needed little to get going again.
Is there a cult following of the bike I chose for other reasons?

[alantf]

my annual tax is 88 euros

My annual tax bill came yesterday. € 12.57 ($ 20 ?) for the year :clap:

[PG tips]

I feel ill hearing of people in places paying reasonable vehicle tax

[Water Warrior 2]

When Lynda had her GZ she would cruise at 100 kph(62 mph) with a little power left over for grades and headwinds. The bike was happy and performed like a champ.
For those of us who like the GZ but want a bit more the S-40(650 CCs) is a good alternative. Still a single cylinder bike with a belt drive instead of a chain. Lynda looked at one, liked it but finally decided on the M-50 when it was time to move up. The M-50 proved to be a great ride without fear of being too big and bulky for around town. Any of the 50 series Suzukis are a good ride.

[PG tips]

Is that a belt drive? I've only seen two for sale here ever, probably more about, I'd read differing reviews. It may an have been one, as one was a shaft drive so it may have been something else.
I've seen a few different Suzuki cruiser like styles for sale from time to time, I'll have to keep an eye out for what I like that fits the bill. I'd take a liking to the Yamaha 535 but read it had its own particular problems.

[blaine]

Yes.The S40 (Savage) is single cylinder (Thumper) belt drive. :)

[Water Warrior 2]

Added info on the 50 series. They all have a drive shaft from 2005 and up. All have Fuel Injection except for the S-50 which is a carbed bike.

[PG tips]

I've seen an S40, tempted to replace my GZ, how much are belts commonly? Easily available, possibly online? My concern is its much older than my GZ which is running fine.
Similarly mechanically simple? Being older its possible its had more chances to have damage and wear even though the mileage is lower than its age would suggest, the condition doesnt seem near me even though it is old enough too, I'm tempted to permission to look at it and maybe keep my gz with the view to selling it. Yet to see the bike in person, just missed another very clean Suzuki of another model.

[blaine]

Belts are readily available & last much longer than a chain & very little maintenance. :) ;)

[Water Warrior 2]

Belts are readily available & last much longer than a chain & very little maintenance. :) ;)
A belt is a lot cleaner too.

A few years ago I spent a fair bit of time lurking on a Savage650/S-40 forum. The bike has a large following of riders who just love the thumper. The bike has not changed a lot over the years.............just like the GZ itself. Suzuki has had the sense to keep them simple to own and maintain.

[Vegas Street Rider]

I have gotten my 2009 GZ250 up to 75 mph on a relatively level roadway with little or no wind. I weigh in at 170 lbs. and use 87 octane gas. I live at an altitude of 2100 feet above sea level and single digit humidity fyi.

[Water Warrior 2]

I have gotten my 2009 GZ250 up to 75 mph on a relatively level roadway with little or no wind. I weigh in at 170 lbs. and use 87 octane gas. I live at an altitude of 2100 feet above sea level and single digit humidity fyi.

Don't do that. A GZ will not be happy for long at that speed. Yeah, I know we all have to find out at one time or another. Lynda had her GZ up to 80 mph for a short stretch on the Canadian prairies. The bike sounded very angry and settled down nicely at 60 mph.

[Vegas Street Rider]

Like you said, you just have to know. I use my bike primarily as a commuter and usually keep it under 65 miles per hour. Mostly at 45mph.

[Water Warrior 2]

Like you said, you just have to know.
Did that once with a car. Dang it was fast. Never did find out how fast it was as 135 mph is really scary and more than enough. Got arrested goofin off with that car.

[Glewis950@gmail.com]

I have a 2011 gz has 3k mi last week I decided to test top speed for my bike in my riding conditions. I have a regular windshield, small saddle bags and I weigh 215. I made it to 70 pretty quick it was wound tight then I realized I was in 4th gear. I shifted to 5th and eased on up to about 79 according to my speedometer. My gz seems to have a sweet spot between 57 & 65 mph in 5th gear. I'm not sure about the elevation here in Bowling Green KY but I'm well pleased with my little gz. Hope you are too. PS I'm glew I'm about to turn 76 yrs old ☺️

[Vegas Street Rider]

What kind of windshield do you have on your GZ?

[gz250_mike]

I just got a used GZ250 from 2003. It doesn't have a windscreen, and It has a little less power then I hoped.

Full Throttle it maxed out at 115kph (71mph) on the highway, with a little ducking, on a slight downhill. On slight hills it struggles to maintain above 95kpm (60mph).

Is this the best it has, or what should I look at tweaking first? Chock looks great, changed the oil.

Thanks!

[Vegas Street Rider]

You are getting about the maximum from the GZ. I wouldn't expect more from it without major mods. It is not a road bike that can run at sustained speeds of over 60mph or so.

[Water Warrior 2]

I just got a used GZ250 from 2003. It doesn't have a windscreen, and It has a little less power then I hoped.

Full Throttle it maxed out at 115kph (71mph) on the highway, with a little ducking, on a slight downhill. On slight hills it struggles to maintain above 95kpm (60mph).

Is this the best it has, or what should I look at tweaking first? Chock looks great, changed the oil.

Thanks!

Don't go rushing in to do tweaks. Learn what the bike is capable of doing as designed. A slight uphill will definitely slow the bike a bit. Don't despair, there is a downslope eventually. We sometimes expect a lot from a small displacement bike and that just won't happen in most cases.

The GZ is an excellent small bike that is very popular as a trainer/first bike. It won't try to kill you or overwhelm you while developing your skills. Master your skill for a couple years and ten move up to a larger bike with more zip if you want. You may find that the GZ is all you really need if you don't want to do highway travelling and competing with faster traffic.

When Lynda was still with me she started on the GZ and eventually upgrade to the Suzuki M50. It was a fine bike with both town and country manners. I found the 800cc V-twin to be just right. Maybe it's the old guy in me but too much power and the inability to control the speed just gets you to a crash site first. Even with my Honda 700cc bike I find myself wanting to just twist and go sometimes. Bad idea considering I don't won't heal well if something goes sideways.

[09GZ250]

I got mine on the interstate quite a few times going 75mph with a top speed of 87mph of course I weighed 107 at the time.

[miller.connor25]

I got mine to 88 on a highway and I weigh 140

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[wacio]

Mine will go 80 mph. Takes bit of time to get there. I have Suzuki windshield that came with bike - 160 lb rider. I also do not recommend mods. Sprocket mod - will not increase top speed. All intake, carb and exhaust mods will net extra 10 mph (if done correctly) and will cut substantially into engines life expectancy. Also will rise chance of catastrophic failure - most likely within head (dropped valves and loosened seats). In case of such failure you are totaling the bike (parts prices are too high to consider repair). Take it easy guys or - want faster bike - buy faster bike.

[Shawnski451]

I've had mine up to 71mph (190lbs rider) on a flat road. Think it still had a little bit left. I'm a new rider but I can honestly say that this really isn't the bike to run at 65+mph on a interstate highway. Sure, It'll do it but not for any kind of long duration. I found that my GZ250 is happy cruising at 45-55mph.

As said by anyone who owns one, its an awesome and nimble little bike to kick around town on, cruise some back country roads, and run some errands on.

[Donald McPherson]

My GZ tops out at 60MPH. But then again it's a 125cc GZ But still great for urban riding

[Shawnski451]

I took mine for a ride out to Lake Ontario last weekend (about 50 miles away from where I live) and took all back country roads. I was able to cruise at 55-60mph with no issues what so ever. The little 250 just hummed along. It was an awesome ride and I caught a lot of it on my helmet mounted GoPro but the wind noise was pretty bad.