General Questions

[GRob-GS250]

It only takes me 20 minutes or so to get to work. I was wondering if anyone has taken there bikes out for a longer ride, Like maybe 2 hours or 3?

[xanthmo]

I have spent about 2 hours in the saddle, alternating between in town speeds of 35, and 65-70.  It is much more comfortable to do on a cooler day, I felt the engine starting to get pretty heated, but it was over 80 degrees that day.

I really have not had trouble keeping up with traffic.  I even joined a group of BMW riders a few weeks ago, and kept up pretty well, but it was a fairly conservative ride.  I have found that quicker shifts and shorter intervals on the lower end keeps my bike moving faster, than trying to strech out the shifts into higher rpms.

Also, try not to downshift too quickly, you may end up skidding.  

I think I have posted this info in another forum, sorry for the redundancy.

[GRob-GS250]

Don't be sorry, that is what I was looking for. My brother lives around an hour and a half away and I was thinking about riding over there this weekend, Its all in town roads and stop N go traffic, I was concerned that my bike was still to new for a longer ride, It has around 150 total miles on it now and the user manual says 600km I think before its broke in.

And I agree that quick gear changes (as opposed to longer ones) is a big help, And I have never had a problem keeping up with traffic either.  For awhile I thought the engine was running a bit high for the speed I was going (in 5th gear)(around 55 mph and higher) But I now think that its because I have always had a cruiser type bikes (6 gears) and never a sport type with 5 gears, I keep thinking its time to change gears again, lol.

I do downshift at almost every light and have never skided yet, I think downshifting is a good Idea, Sometimes the light will turn green and its easy to continue on from what ever gear your in, I think its also easy on the breaks and in general good for the bike.

The only real problem I have had is today I noticed one of the allen screws holding the handle bars on was missing, My bike came already assembled so I'm not sure if it came out while riding or it was never there. I went to the place I bought it and they gave me one.

I have also noticed (it could just be me) that the bike seems to be running much better now then when I first got it. It only had 2 miles when I got it. The gears seem to change, um... better or more easley, I seem to be getting better performance in the lower gears and I swear the gas mileage is a bit better. Maybe Im just getting more used to it.

Thanks for responding Xanthmo

[xanthmo]

Coming off a 1000cc sportbike, it was kind of different riding the zongshen, but I learned to adapt pretty quickly.  I did not follow any break in procedures, and just rode the hell out of the bike, and it seems to perform better every time I ride it.  I have not changed the oil yet, but am excited to put a better oil in, and see if that smooths the bike out a little.