I feel like I've made a mistake, but love the bike now.
 

So I don't quite know how i stumbled into the highway speed posts last night but anyway I starting reading one and it concerned me so I searched for more.

Now I hope some more experienced riders can help me here but basically am I am going to destroy this bike in short order if 75% of its life is spent at 70 - 75mph? I've had two bikes for a while now, both my Burgman 400 and my 1999 Honda Helix 250cc scooter and use the Burgman for weekends / long trips and fun. The Helix is same engine size / configuration / horsepower as the GZ and they basically offer the same performance / power, however I've run the Helix at 70 - 75mph for years now (89,000 miles) with no problems and I expected the GZ could handle it the same. From what I read this is not true with the exception of Jonathoniq chiming in on these threads to set everyone straight.

So here is the thing, if it can't handle it then I will be disappointed because I like it but I don't want to just blow engines on this bike for fun. I am happy with the highway power and passing abilities of the bike so my post is not related to that aspect but rather will this destroy the engine in daily use. The reason I got this GZ is because I like the $$ savings from the Helix 250 all these years and I really like it on the GZ to, it does even better on gas and so far the tires are lasting great.

So help me out here with your thoughts - do I sell this bike and looking for another late model Helix to continue on my commute or will this bike handle it. I like the Helix but at 90,000 miles now it's age is showing and its starting to become troublesome honestly - I am not interested in doing what's needed to fix it up either so it will now serve as a backup bike to the GZ and it will assume the commuting duty. But if I got the wrong bike for the job then I will pickup a used Helix or Honda Reflex 250 with about 85,000 less miles than my current one for the task

Also - I read in alot of these posts people are not able to get above 65 or just barely to 70. I am no feather weight at 250lbs, probably 275 with gear and my backpack and mine does 70 without WOT and will easily get up to about 83mph if I want, but I don't regularly go more than 70 - 72 range with a few 75mph bursts to pass trucks or something. Why would mine seem so much faster, it appears to be stock to the best of my knowledge?

Be prepared to blow it up at your commuting speeds. The GZ is not really a higher speed commuter. You can not make it more powerful and tinkering rarely does anything but make it run worse.

The GZ is primarily a 3rd world market bike. You have slightly less than 20 hp and 249cc's. Go for a more powerful bike with faster gearing.

If you can find one of these, it may suit your needs:

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/235/17...de-Review.aspx

Thanks man!

The GW250 is produced in China and was first introduced there. Built to Suzuki standards and has developed quite a following. Lower labor costs in China allow Suzuki to sell the bike for less than a Japanese built product. A good bang for the buck.

I can't help it but I love this bike and it still makes no sense to me how driving it at 70mph is harming things. I mean according to research done last night its top speed / redline of 9000rpms hits at 89mph. So how can me staying this far from the redline still be destroying it? I understand the air cooled engine probably is not enjoying traffic but the highway speeds baffles me, I am not running it 80+ ever, 90% of the time 68 - 72mph which is well away from the engines rev limiter. I already bought it and love it so I will take the chance and be faithful to maintenance and see how it handles it. I will be the official GZ torture tester LOL

It in no way feels or sounds stressed to me at those speeds and I am not holding it WOT to do them so I just can't understand how I am blowing it up.

It may not sound stressed to you but it will when a valve grenades. Other members have discovered this the hard way. High continuous revs will pound the valve seats to death and proper valve clearances close up. It will sound nice and quiet until there is a bang. That can take out the entire engine.

I think it's like with anything else in the motoring world, if you work it harder, just do more maintenance... I mean, eventually all motors blow. By their very nature, engines have a limited lifespan. If you know what you're getting into, and you take as many precautions as possible, then just ride the bike as you need or like and don't worry too much about it.

There are things you can do to lessen stress, like play with some different gearing combinations. Since you're going to be on the highway and need the top speed, I wouldn't recommend the 16T front sprocket unless you pair that with a slightly larger rear sprocket to counter balance it. You could also stay with the 15T front and get a slightly smaller rear for the same effect.

just keep it, slow your roll, allow extra travel time, and use more secondary roads; I rarely push mine past 45-55 mph and when I do it is done with steady incrimental increase in speed and I limit times at high speeds to 15 minutes or less (30 minutes max); want more speed...ride your Burgman