Finding the perfect small bike....NOT!

[Easy Rider]

OK, so here's the deal:

Recently decided that the years are catching up with me a bit and I no longer feel comfortable trying to control a "big" bike so I decided to trade-down. Got a Suzuki GZ 250. Nice bike and it fits my short arms and legs perfectly. Easy to manuver, both running and not.......
BUT
After only a couple of months, I'm thinking I may have downsized a bit too much so I went searching for something with just a bit more power. Found the Suzuki S40. Similar frame to the GZ and only 50 lbs. heavier. But then noticed the drag (straight) handle bars. Crap.

I did a quick search of the "Big 4" japs and came up with nothing. Did I miss something? (Low seat, cruiser or standard, 350 lbs. or less).

And yes, I know that there are several mods. for the GZ, including a new top end (up to 350 cc) but I have no intention of doing any of that, except maybe bumping the front sprocket one tooth.

Looks like I'm just going to have to enjoy my little thumper for a while.

[hammersfan]

Kawaski Vulcan 500 439 lbs

Honda VT600 VLX 452 lbs.
I know that these are a hundred lbs more than what you were looking at but they are still pretty light and shouldn't be at all difficult for an experienced rider of any size to ride.

[wildwolf]

Originally Posted by hammersfan

Kawaski Vulcan 500 439 lbs

Honda VT600 VLX 452 lbs.
I know that these are a hundred lbs more than what you were looking at but they are still pretty light and shouldn't be at all difficult for an experienced rider of any size to ride.

Suzuki VS800/Boulevard S50 ~443 lbs dry weight, ~477 ready to ride....and a whole lot more giddy-up than either the Vulcan 500 or the Shadow VLX. You also get a less maintenance shaft drive, and have a bike that's been virtually unchanged for 20+ years, so there's plenty around that know its history/track record.

[wildwolf]

Btw, as far as the straight/drag bars..those take a little bit of work...but can be changed to some buckhorns.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by wildwolf

Btw, as far as the straight/drag bars..those take a little bit of work...but can be changed to some buckhorns.

Yep, know that. The rub is: brake line, clutch cable, throttle cable(s) IF you can find ones that will fit (BIG if). Might not be too bad with an S40.....cables from a GZ might just fit. Anyhow, not quite ready for that yet.

The thing that bugs me is: Drag bars on a cruiser......WTF? They had enough sense not to do that on ANY of their other "cruiser" bikes, including the GZ. Stupid, really stupid.

And for those who suggested bikes in the ~ 450 pound range.........
You apparently missed the point completely. Small rider, both in size and strength. Been there, done that, not going back.

[DrBob]

The drag type bars on all the Boulevard cruisers, the S40, S50, and S83, are put on tall pullback risers so they actually place your hands in a very similar place, but different angle, to the buckhorns previously used. The cables are exactly the same length as the ones on the buckhorns with the shorter riders, so you can swap between the two very easily if you swap the bars and risers as a set. The buckhorns were the number one source of compaint about the bikes, so Suzuki made the swap in response to customer imput.

With that said, I think the Honda VLX600 is the best small cruiser on the market, with much more power than an S40 or GZ250. It is far more refined, smoother, will run all day on the highway, there is a huge aftermarket for them, and despite the heavier weight is very, very easy to handle thanks to a low center of gravity.

[Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

And yes, I know that there are several mods. for the GZ, including a new top end (up to 350 cc) but I have no intention of doing any of that, except maybe bumping the front sprocket one tooth.

Looks like I'm just going to have to enjoy my little thumper for a while.

What does "bumping the front sprocket one tooth" do?
And the 350cc Mod. is this something that can be done to a 2001 GZ250?

[raycogxxx]

I'm only 5'6" and the S40 fit me great-I loved the drag bars- The M50 is a slight stretch but well worth it for the xtra power and capabilities.

[davidc83]

Originally Posted by Cruiser

What does "bumping the front sprocket one tooth" do?
And the 350cc Mod. is this something that can be done to a 2001 GZ250?

According to other forums, increasing the front sprocket on the gz250 to a 16T sprocket will lower the rpms, smooth the ride, and increase top speed another 5mph. Do a google search for the 350cc mod or go to http://www.thumperracingusa.com/DR250S.html for a write up of the 350cc mod. Should work on the 2001 since most if not all the gz250's have the same engine.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by DrBob

The buckhorns were the number one source of compaint about the bikes, so Suzuki made the swap in response to customer imput.

And a little input too I'll bet!

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll actually look at an S40 after all.
I just traded in a "standard" with drag bars and didn't like the forward riding position (with short arms and all). What's the beef with the buckhorns?

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Cruiser

What does "bumping the front sprocket one tooth" do?
And the 350cc Mod. is this something that can be done to a 2001 GZ250?

What David said.....

[Scott58]

The drag bars are what i really liked when I first saw my S50. After riding it there are a whole lot of things i like about it.

[wildwolf]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

And for those who suggested bikes in the ~ 450 pound range.........
You apparently missed the point completely. Small rider, both in size and strength. Been there, done that, not going back.

My wife is 108 pounds, and 5' 1" tall...she rides a VS800 Intruder as do I. She's not nearly as comfortable on handling it when backing/turning around in tight spots as she was on her GZ250...but 99.3% of the time..she's cruising and going forward so that's not an issue.

If the weight of the bike is what scares you, I'd highly recommend you try both the S50 and the M50 offering from Suzuki. The M50 will feel incredibly light as it is very well balanced at rest. It's also quite fun to ride. The S50 feels lighter than my older VS800 for some reason. I attribute it to the wider stance of the drag bars vs. the buckhorns on my bike.

In other words, don't discount a bike just because you know it's weight is ~450-500 pounds.

My wife can man-handle the M109R around on the show room floor at the dealer easier than she can her own bike...and it weighs 250 pounds more than hers.

[davidc83]

The drag bars on the S40 are not necessarily stock. A guy I work with bought an S40 and has basically the same handlebars as my GZ250 (stock) and his was stock from the dealer. If you are interested in the S40, talk to the dealer, they should be able to install bars similar to the gz250.

I have a gz250, and even though it is low on power, I love it. I just got back from a 1132 mile trip on mine, rode it 453 miles down (13 hours), rode 150+ miles over 2 days, then rode it back 532 miles (10 hours), and the last 150 miles were on Interstate doing 70-75 mph thru the hills of Kentucky. The gz250 does get a little faster and does not rev as high after a couple thousand miles are placed on it.

[davidc83]

And I rode the 'Dragon' in Tennessee on it and it was great.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by wildwolf

If the weight of the bike is what scares you,

Scared ? Who me ? I ain't scared of nothin !

Seriously, I have simply decided that I don't WANT a big bike, for various reasons. I find that a smaller, lighter bike is just more FUN for ME.

Whatever tickles your thighs!

Btw, which bike would your wife really prefer to ride?
Forget about YOU for a minute and what you ride.
If it was JUST her, which bike would she have?
Her answer, not what you think she would say.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by davidc83

The drag bars on the S40 are not necessarily stock. .

Maybe not but that is what the "spec sheet" says.

I have a gz250, and even though it is low on power, I love it. I just got back from a 1132 mile trip on mine, .

Well you kind of read my mind! Thinking about riding to Atlanta this summer, about 700 miles. Not sure I want to tackle that on the GZ. How was the butt factor?

The gz250 does get a little faster and does not rev as high after a couple thousand miles are placed on it.

I can see getting a little more speed when broken in and loosened up but "does not rev as high" ????? Come on now, that just doesn't make any sense.

[davidc83]

Well, it doesnt sound it revs as high at 70 mph now that it is broken in, however, it does not have a tach so I could should be used to the sound now.

Butt factor: what Butt, it was so numb I didnt think I had one . It did get to the point, when I would get to a red traffic light, I would stand up or at least rise up a little to get the pressure off. The two buttons on the stock seat suck.

Trip to Atlanta: route for the gz250 from central Illinois, Take US50 east to Central Indiana, at Versailles, take US 421 South until you get to Frankfort Ky.
Take US 127 South to Danville, Ky. Take US 27 South to north of Chattanooga, take highway 60 over to US64/74 East until US129/29. Take US29 South to Atlanta. Easy to do on the GZ250, on this route, only had to downshift to 4th once or twice for the really big hills to maintain the 60mph.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by davidc83

Butt factor: what Butt, it was so numb I didnt think I had one . It did get to the point, when I would get to a red traffic light, I would stand up or at least rise up a little to get the pressure off. The two buttons on the stock seat suck. .

I figured that would be the case. The stock seat gets a little uncomfortable for me just on short trips. Think I'll be checking around locally for a seat mechanic. Hopefully just changing to memory foam and eliminating the buttons will be enough. Alas, no buttons probably means new cover too.
Probably want to change the front sprocket before a long trip too so that trip might have to wait 'til next year. Should be broke in good by then.

Originally Posted by davidc83

Trip to Atlanta: route for the gz250 from central Illinois, Take US50 east to Central Indiana, at Versailles, take US 421 South until you get to Frankfort Ky.

Your starting point borders on Southern ILL. I kind of figure that central ends about Effingham.
My preliminary route is US 45 to Memphis (maybe side trip to Tunica) then 78 and 278 to Atlanta.

[davidc83]

For changing the front sprocket, check out this forum:
Suzuki GZ250 Forum Suzuki GZ 250 Home Page on GZ250Bikes.Com View topic - Install a 16 Tooth Front Sprocket

Relatively inexpensive and the guy states it takes less than 30 minutes to change the front sprocket. I am going to do mine whenever I have to change the chain. Might be a while though.

I used to be stationed at Scott AFB and considered anything North of the base to be central