touring on a small bike

rocco · Post by **rocco** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 12:26 am

well, looks like plans to upgarde from the gpx250r are going to be delayed till mid next year

anyways back to my question.

another 3 weeks 4 mates of mine are heading to sydney for a weekend ride and asked me to tag along with them.

this may be a silly question but i gotta ask......

taking the gpx250r on a approx 600km one way trip is acceptable for the bike isnt it?

suppose what i am asking is would a trip like this severly screw the bike up due to its rev nature for a constant time period of approx 5-6 hours?

WILL THE BIKE SHIT ITSELF AND CONCEDE TO DEFEAT?

can a little 250 like it sustain a long trip and arrive mechanically ok?

I will be getting a once over at the local bike shop b4 leaving to check everything is good to go.

advice from those who have clocked up some large km's on a smaller cc bike in a single trip

thanks

seraph · Post by **seraph** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 2:11 am

easy. you'll have no dramas. you're bike is tougher than you give it credit for. they LIKE high revs, they're made for it, even redline (just not too much.

) I used to do huge days (+800kms of twisties) on my zzr250, including a trip where I did 7 and a half thousand km's in 2 weeks, sydney should be a walk in the park for your lil beast. If I were you I'd be more worried about rider fatigue than anything to do with the bike, if you don't htink your bike can handle a 600km day ride then you're probably not bike-hard enough to handle the trip yourself. long days in the saddle can be gruelling... remember to drink plenty of water (dehydration makes you lose concentration long before you'd think it would) pace yourself (time- distance- and speed-wise) and avoid big heavy meals and booze until you're done riding for the day. riding long km's in the dark sucks, avoid it if at all possible. air seats rock. hope that helps have heaps of fun

-J.

Lainie · Post by **Lainie** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 4:25 am

Gee boy, I thought I taught ya better than that

. Have some confidence in your baby

. Be sure before you head off to all the normal checks and it should be fine

. As seraph said look after yourself too though.

" You Can do it"

FrogZ · Post by **FrogZ** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 6:06 am

The only way 600k will worry it is if it is a trip through Iraq and Iran with McDonalds stickers on it. Even then the bike will prob survive.

MickLC · Post by **MickLC** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:12 am

Your arse will give out before your bike does.

mike-s · Post by **mike-s** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:01 am

i had an el250 once, same engine, just tuned & geared much lower than the gpx & zzr 250s. went alright for a while, then played silly buggers halfway down to p.i. fromhere and had to take some time to cool down.

neverwas the same after too,but of top end noise, got it rebored as it had shagged the rings on the WOTsections keeping up with a pack of motards on the way down.

Mel · Post by **Mel** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:06 am

My ex-BF and I did about 2000km on a trip last year, he was on his '88 GPX250 and it was all fine... until we went on dirt roads where the petrol tank broke a lug and started leaking petrol everywhere and the keys fell out somewhere along the way

still made it home though!

I reckon you'd be fine...

Stereo · Post by **Stereo** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 11:20 am

Your bike should be fine for roughly 20,000kms.... Providing you keep an eye on the oil levels, tire pressure and brakes....

At some point you may wish to get off and put some new tires on and replace the oil...

But 800km is nothing to your bike.... Chance of something braking.... only slightly above 0% unless you are doing something stupid

Draven · Post by **Draven** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 3:31 pm

It will do it easy

I rode my GPX RII 250 to my parents place from Newy which is a good 5 - 6 hr ride, sitting on 110 - 130 most of the way and it loved it, made it no worries at all but my ass wasnt the same though lol

Neka79 · Post by **Neka79** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:23 pm

ehehehhe it will shit it in..its what there built for...

i use to do days that were abt 500km long on a POS 250 thing & boy we use to ring crap out of it... and it was a big POS

ur biggest prob will be keeping up if they are on bigger bikes & decide to bugger off on ya, but ull catch up with em neway, so dont let it deter u..

rocco · Post by **rocco** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 5:54 pm

Thanks a lot Lainie and the boyzzzzzz.

This is the one reason why THIS forum is such a success.

Honest advice and 100% helpfull members.

Thanks
once again.

Roc

Gosling1 · Post by **Gosling1** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:27 pm

seraph wrote:... remember to drink plenty of water (dehydration makes you lose concentration long before you'd think it would) ...

great advice - Best accesory for a long road trip is a Camelback - I use a Fox 2-litre, it is invaluable on long trips. You can get cheaper versions at K-Mart, but a good Enduro version, with a decent bite-valve, is the go.

Fill 'er up with chilled Gatorade, and mate you could keep riding to Brisvegas.

BTW, your bike will do the trip easy - check chain tension and lube it, check oil level, do the tyre pressures and then just ride the ring off it mate !!

..The only way 600k will worry it is if it is a trip through Iraq and Iran with McDonalds stickers on it. Even then the bike will prob survive.

Rossi · Post by **Rossi** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:49 pm

Gosling1 wrote:
seraph wrote:... remember to drink plenty of water (dehydration makes you lose concentration long before you'd think it would) ...
great advice - Best accesory for a long road trip is a Camelback - I use a Fox 2-litre, it is invaluable on long trips.

[/quote]

I've always worried about falling orf and drowning myself

Gosling1 · Post by **Gosling1** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:55 pm

Rossi wrote:...I've always worried about falling orf and drowning myself

I can't do a long roadie now without it

must be getting on a bit.......

next accesory will probably be a c-bag !!

don't wanna fall orf and drown with one of *those* on !!