two stroke, long trip, advice for new rider

Horsmann

My 74 GT250 is now running and I'm loving it.
I'm new to riding and am getting in as much time as possible on the bike.
At the end of June I'm planning to ride from Yakima in Central Washington State to Kalispell Montana, a good two day drive, on "blue highways."
My question: what should I be watching for/careful about/alert to as I ride the bike? I'm going with a buddy who's on his Harley. We'll be taking secondary roads, not the freeway. We'll probably hold 60 MPH most of the time.
So on an old two stroke, with a lot of work done on the engine, brakes, forks and new tires, what should I be listening/looking for?
Most people I tell I'm riding a two stroke that far say "You're crazy." Not far off the mark. A few say "That's cool, you'll have a lot of fun and it will be a great experience."
So: you older Suzuki riders (older Suzukis, not necessarily older riders!) can you steer me in the right direction to keep my GT250 running smoothly for a long trip--and well into the future?
Many thanks.
Horsmann

Russell · Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 9:20 pm Post subject:

Buzz it rather than lug it. Long uphills that look flat and riding into the wind can trick you into loading up the motor too much .My rule of thumb back in the day was to always be in a gear and at revs where the motor would comfortably accelerate when throttle rolled on.If you are using wide throttle settings in a higher gear and the motor is struggling to hold revs or accelerate you risk building excess heat and a seizure.

I was happy to buzz up and down the revs on all my two strokes, and often rode with 2 up and pack but I NEVER ever held the throttle wide open at a constant speed.I never had a seizure or any other signs of over-heating. Some of my friends with different riding habits did things like 'holing' a piston with a heat spot right below the spark plug!

On winding and undulating roads that may mean you hardly ever run in the top 2 gears on a GT250.Revving freely with associated frequent closed throttle periods is going to be much better for it than long periods of lugging at a constant speed and throttle setting.

Sounds like you have a fun adventure ahead.

Horsmann · Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 9:48 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Russell
So: don't lug the engine--good counsel on any vehicle and driving my old VW Beetle taught me that.
But I'm not certain exactly what you mean: don't hold it at a steady speed/throttle, with good RPMs and no lugging? Could you clarify? Thanks.

Russell · Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 10:19 pm Post subject:

You'll know what rev range the motor feels most comfortable in once you've ridden it in all conditions.I don't recall exactly where the sweet range was on my T350's back in the 70's but it would have been generally between 4,500 and about 6,500 revs. By lugging I mean not making the motor try to 'pull' when it is running well below it's peak torque revs. I cannot remember ever running those bike's closer than about 1500 revs from red-line in the two highest gears for anything other than short bursts of acceleration, however running at higher revs is probably less harmful than making it work harder at lower revs in a high gear and with a wide throttle opening.

Hard to describe a motors response in emotive terms but the smaller two strokes are best when they are singing up and down through the revs in a 'zip, zip, zip' fashion. If you have it droning along in flat and unresponsive manner then you are being hard on it...I think. Before the GT moniker was attached to those bikes they had a period where the name Hustler was applied.That really suited them and the riding style that looked after the engine. Keep it hustling!Keep it lively.If it was a dog I'd say "let it run free...don't make it strain against the leash!"

Freaky_1 · Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 10:36 pm Post subject:

Nice explanation!!!!

If a roll of the throttle = a zip of the engine <> Good
If a roll of the throttle = a grumble (even if it will still accelerate) of the engine <> drop 1 gear or get off the throttle till ya crest and can make it zip again.

Rizingson · Posted: Sat May 15, 2010 7:05 am Post subject:

Sounds like a fun ride!! I used to ride a bit of cross country back in the "day". Both 4 stroke and 2 stroke. Had a GT550 triple the wife and I put a lot of interstate miles on riding double. Rode a steady 65-70 all day. Never had a breakdown. I would just make sure your ignition timing is spot on, and check your injection cable adjustment per the manual. Also make sure your carbs are responding equally so on cylinder isn't working different than the other. I think you'll do fine at 60, though if your going against wind you may have to drop a gear and run in fifth to easily hold 55-60.
Good luck and let us know how it went!!!