Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

This is the same post I made in the Honda Rebel forums. I wan't to get both sides. Yes If I put a post about a GZ vs Rebel in a rebel forum Im going to get a bias rebel answer, same here most likely. So I am putting the post on both and drawing my own conclusion from that. so here it is guys.

Just wondering which bike has the highest speed before the engine can get damaged.

I have seen a video of a Rebel doing about 80mph on the interstate which is impressive. Not much info out there for the GZ. Some reviews of it claim it can only reach about 70mph

I also think the Rebel is a bit smaller than the GZ, it seems like 6.0-6.2 are comfortable on a GZ while that size on a Rebel is quite cramped.

The GZ costs about $300-$500 or so more than a Rebel on average used.

From what Iv read they have similar estimated MPG, I am not sure how they calculate the MPG since it said 82MPG on the GZ but most people Iv spoken to who have had one say its more along the lines of 60-65MPG realistically. Is the 82 figure riding like 40mph tops?

Anyway so yeah I guess I'm just asking a list of comparison questions since there's not much info about Top speed and specifics about both bikes.

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

Mine would do 75+, obviously on flat road with no wind in my face. I had a windscreen too. I wouldn't recommend running consistently at that speed all day however. I don't know what the Rebel site claims or doesn't claim, but the GZ isn't made ofr that kind of riding. It will do it, but you'll wear out your motor within 5000 miles or so, depending on how well you maintain it. I consistenly got 70+ mpg in stop and go commuting. I'm sure it would get 80 or better on a nice even (no big hills or headwinds) cruise at 55 mph.

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

Well I would be going from Home to school every day and maybe around town. I live in the San Diego area and go to San Diego state University.

The daily commute would be around 50miles both ways 5 days a week. I could take surface streets but I want it to be able to get on the Highway if need be once in a while.

There's a video online about the "Honda rebel on the interstate" the guy is pushing his Rebel to around 80mph. Only real problem I have with the rebel is I am 6.0 so it is to cramped for me.

I don't plan to do MUCH Highway riding like I said but I would like to be able to do SOME highway riding if I needed to a few days a month.

Also does a GZ250 last? If You do good maintenance and take good care of it how long will the engine last?

Do they last alot less than cars? My Chev Camaro has about 200,000 miles on it and still feels strong but Iv herd of some bikes engines giving out around 10,000 miles so is a motorcycle a much lower life span engine than a car if properly kept?

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

The Gz is the largest of the GZ, Rebel, Virago 250 group. Also the largest tank and best appearance. Probably the cheapest overall to maintain with only one cylinder as opposed to the Rebel/vertical twin and Virago/V-twin. The GZ has a sweet spot at about 60 mph and will do it all day long providing you aren't battling hills or headwinds. Have you looked at a S-40 Suzuki ?? Same appearance, just a bit larger with a 650 single for power. For your height and weight it might be worth a look just for fun.

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

i got up over 75mhp on mine.

the gz rides much better than the rebel tho. it is wider, bigger gas tank and it feels alot more stable in my opinion, and much more comfortable to ride.

i rode a few rebels and did not seem to like them, i got on a gz and it just felt right, neither of these bikes are going to be good highway machines, with a bike like this you want to get the one that feels best to you, not the on that will go the fastest. yes you can get up to 75-80 mph on one but your gonna be pushing the motor hard. not recommended for long periods of time. some gz owners on this board run 70mph all day long on their gz some report doing this and not having any kind of problems.

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

If you are 6 foot tall then you need to forget about the Honda Rebel or the Yamaha Virago and go with the GZ, simple as that. None of the performance numbers even matter, you are just simply gonna be too cramped on the Rebel, and the Virago is built about the same as the Rebel.


And on a side note, I know someone who just bought a Virago 250, did you guys know that even though it "appears" to have two exhaust pipes, one of them is a dummy pipe, I thought that was a very strange idea.

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

I'm a six footer! The rebel felt like crap, no way could I ride it! The GZ fit was a lot more comfy, still I wish I had more... Sit on both bikes! You will go for the GZ!!!!!!!!!!!!
Besides the GZ looks better and I get 80 MPG or so!

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

If you want to ride the highway at 70+ mph, get a bigger bike, 500-800cc's. You are big, these bikes are light, and will not be very comfortable, or as safe as a bigger heavier bike on the highway. These little bikes are great around town or on smaller roads going 60-65 all day, not 70-75. There's also no reserve at those speeds if you have to speed up or make some speedy evasive maneuver. Look for comfort and safety, not top speed.

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

If you're wanting to be able to ride on the interstate, then sadly neither the GZ or Rebel will be the ideal bike. I honestly wouldn't get on the interstate on a GZ if my life depended on it, but many people on the forum here don't have any problems.

For interstate riding, I think the minimum would be the 750cc class cruisers (except the Vulcan 500, which is comparable in performance to the 750cc v-twin class).

Re: Have questions GZ250 or Rebel 250?
 

I put 12,000 miles on my GZ last year riding mostly back and forth to school, but only about 20 miles each way, not the 50 you are talking about. As for speed, well, I got it up to 82 downhill with a tailwind once for about 10 seconds, now I'm 6'1 and 210 lbs so someone lighter might do a little better but basically I've got to agree with what mrlmd1 told you about needing a bigger bike. I loved my GZ and it never gave me any mechanical problems, ran great easy to maintain, but it wasn't made to ride the highways. I took mine on a round trip to Atlanta two times (250 mile round trip) I was worn out and in pain by the end of that ride. Now some people have ridden a GZ from Florida to Alaska and WW's wife drove one across Canada a while back but for a 6 foot tall man, this just isn't the bike for highway/long rides. When I changed schools and started planning to ride back and forth to Atlanta once a week, I changed bikes too and I can ride that 250 miles no problem now but even with seat mods the GZ just isn't comfortable for a 6' person for rides like that. You are going to be better off buying a slightly larger bike for your driving needs and your frame, check out the Kawasaki Vulcan 500 (my new ride) or a Honda Shadow 600 or up size, or like WW said the Suzuki S-40 might be a good choice for your riding requirements but not a 250 of anybody's brand. As for mileage, I consistantly got 70 mpg on my GZ, the worst I got was on one of those Atlanta trips where I was wound out the entire time and I got about 56 mpg that trip, the best I did was about 78 mpg when I was riding around on local flat roads averaging about 45 mph. My current ride the Vulcan 500 consistantly gets 60 mpg combined driving mileage, so a little loss there but the comfort and power level for longer trips was a good trade off. I just came back from running to the beach in Florida and back over a 4 day weekend and the bike did great and I was fine with just stopping every 1.5-2 hours for gas and walking around a little before jumping back on it. Sorry to be so long winded, but I kinda felt like we had very similar situations and I just wanted to let you know my 2 cents on it from my experience. By the way, my Son in law rode with me on that trip on his Honda Shadow 750 and it performed flawlessly as well both bikes get within 5 mpg of each other on the road.