add another bike to GZ

[Dupo]

Yep, Scotts in Coopersburg - forgot about them! They were pretty good with answering questions and also leaving you alone to sit and look (although their bikes are WAY too close to each other, did you notice that? LoL)

The Vstar Custom is exactly the bike i "almost" had on ebay till i got outbid at the last minute! That was while i was still deciding on a final bike, it was an impulse bid (it was soooo sweet).

[Bill]

Originally Posted by Badbob

This is the basic list I'm using to eliminate bikes from my list:

1. Must have a long history.
2. Must have a good support group.
3. Must have high reliability. See item 1. US Marines use KLR650s for couriers.
4. Must be easy to maintain. See item 1.
5. Must be fairly low maintenance. See item one.
6. Must have a large cargo carrying capability for camping trips and grocery shopping.
7. Must have readily available parts and bolt on accessories available at somewhat reasonable prices.
8. Center stands are highly desirable. The facilitate maintenance and road side repairs as well as makes parking the bike in the garage take less room.
9. Must be able to ride on any road. For me this pushes the KLR650 to the top of the list.
10. Must be able to go at least 200 miles on a tank of gas preferable before hitting reserve. In some areas this can be very important.
11. Under nice to have would be comfortable riding for two. You can ride two on a KLR650 but I really don't think it would be very practical or comfortable so this is how the road bikes get into the mix.

Harley's have a long history and IMHO it ain't good. They are getting better, but they are definitely smooth pavement only. Did I mention horribly expensive.

Sounds like my Suzuki Boulevard C50 (805cc). They have been written up in the latest Crusier magazine. You can also read a reprint comparison with the other mid-sized bikes in an online motorcycle magazine. I forget the link but do a Google search. It is the top selling mid-sized bike for the last 5 years. Must be a reason. Also check out the VolusiaRiders.com website for loads of information. Another great forum with extremely helpful people.

I know Harleys are a popular name but expensive to buy and expensive to maintain. "90 percent of the Harleys that have been sold are still on the road...They never made it back home." Sorry, I couldn't help myself!

Cheers!

[Bill]

The last post should be modified regarding the C50.

1. It is not used by US Marines for couriers as far as I know.
2. Does not have a center stand
3. Not for off road use.
4. It is just fine to ride 2 up comfortably.

I should have read the previous posts more carefully.

[one]

Bill,

I read your post indepentantly from the specifics of the quoted text, meaning that i looked at the C50 keeping in mind the check list. I like the cruiser style because of the looks and feeling more like a car position rather then leaning forward with my feet under or slightly behindf me.

I rode a dual sport in my PA motorcycle training class. The bike handled much better then I expected. The seat height was a bit high for me but hte kicker was the gear shift and rear brake levers were way to small. Obviously, I got used to it but I do like the larger controls. No knocking the dual sports - when I see people riding them, I do not like the look of the hand gripsor the way the rider sits. If I wanted to ride off the road then ontp trails and not look back, then I would get one. Besides, being able to ride off a road, jump over obsticles or in the air the bike has to be able to take a bit more abuse then a cruiser.

The bottom line is - all posts on here are educational. After riding about 50 miles yesterday, I was thinking to just buy a bigger bike and seeing if it is much different, if not then I would keep the GZ since everything is so accessible for maintenance. (This assumes that the larger the bike the more parts and maintence costs.)

[Dupo]

In all honesty, a bigger bike is MUCH different than the GZ. Trust me. I loved my GZ, but as soon as i hopped on that 750 i didnt look back. I got home and said "well, im selling the gz". GZ is just what its meant to be - a starter bike (or commuter). To someone new, they are awesome. Put a few thousand miles under it then move to a big bike and you wont believe the difference. Go back and sit on the gz after a 50 mile ride on the big bike. It literally feels like a 50cc mini bike.

Not knocking the GZ at all. I wouldnt have traded anything for it as my starter bike. I just put several thousand miles on it and got bored. The gz was just too uncomfortable for long rides and having to stop every half hour was getting annoying (to stretch and get rid of the butt pain). Now, i can go 3hrs non stop and have minimal butt pain after getting off it after a long ride.

[Badbob]

Put as few thousand miles on your GZ250 while you make up your mind.

One note about dual sport bikes. They are good all round bikes that are very good for commuters. Pot holes don't bother a KLR much and they can go up or down curbs or even stairs with no problem. Those road construction areas that give my GZ250 fits are not a problem for these bikes. This helps to make them good commuter bikes. Some city streets a worse than many back country dirt roads. So they have their place in the city as well.

[one]

My GZ is an '01 with 3200 miles. Maybe by the spring I'll do another 300 or so. This all depands on teh weather in the NE, (outside of Philadelphia).

All the points on your last post are well taken (especially keeping miles low - for resale, etc.), I do question what kind of City roads you have that are worse then off road. I sure hope they are temp for construction not permanent roads.

I can totally agree with you on the dualsport, they have so much suspension travel that i can see stairs as mot being an issue. Curbs, it would laugh at.

As these posts go back and forth, I can see why, once getting into riding, people have more then one or two bikes. For me, at this point, it's a price point since It is really a toy and not used for anythign real contructive except going to the store here and there.

[Badbob]

I obviously don't care about the millage. I bought it to learn as much as possible on. I figured the money was gone when I handed them the check. When and if I get ready to sell I expect to sell for half or less of my purchase price. You need seat time to learn and you get seat time by riding. I want as much experience as I can get before I go on to the next level what ever that might be.

If you will reread my post you'll note that I said back country dirt roads not off road. I've seen a lot worse city streets than where I live today. Mostly in places where it shows a lot and they have this thing about slinging salt everywhere. Pot holes that would kill you if you hit them with a GZ250. Broken pavement and edge traps of every description. Huge holes in the road that are not completely covered with those slipery steel plates (death trap for any bike). Need I mention construction where even the cage drivers are afraid to go fast. Man hole covers sticking up three or four inches above the pavement. I was on a trip years ago and while crossing a bridge I saw a hole in the pavement that went all the way through. These are a few things that come to mind.


Things you can do with your GZ250:
There are meets for 250s. The next time I see an announcement I will repost it here.

There are a few people who love 250s and have a herd of them. There is a 250cc Yahoo Group as well as a couple of web sites.

At least one person has ridden his GZ250 to Alaska and back.

Go on camping trips. I have been on one and plan on going on more. There were three people a two GZ250s on this trip. Round trip total about 800 miles.

Tour the back roads. I've ridden as much as 474 miles in a day and never touched any thing larger than US highway. I like county roads best. More to see and the riding is much more laid back.

Learn to be a good rider on the cheap. Is cheap to by its cheap to own and if you scratch it up while your learning so what. Thats what I got mine for and believe me I've got scratches. If ti makes you feel bad to drop a GZ250 imagine how you would feel if you paid $15 0r $20 dollars and you dropped it.

I'm not going to waste my time worrying about resale value. I'm going to think about the next ride.

[Bill]

One,
I have found Dupo and Badbob to be two of the best sources of information regarding the GZ250. So you have come to the right place to learn and to get valuable advice (as evidenced by the earlier posts to your questions).

I didn't have a link for you earlier but here is a website to check out if you haven't already. Lots of reviews of crusiers if that is what you are interested in.

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadte ... st_finder/

Cheers!

[Dupo]

That review site is pretty good. They had a review of all the 250cc cruisers and that review pretty much made up my mind on which bike i wanted to start with. (that, and sitting on a rebel certainly turned me off to them lol).