WOW! Straight lines never felt so good

[viper522]

Originally Posted by dirtrulz

I have been riding since about 8 years old, 39 now, Started on dirt bikes, which as far as I am concerned is the best way to start.

We had a 'dirt riding since 8' student in my MSF course some years ago that failed the practical test twice because he kept putting a foot out. Sometimes (bad) habits are worse than a clean slate.

[Black Hills]

I had a similar experience, I think it was 1976?? keep at it and have fun. Once you start riding with others always try to find a gruop that rides better than you. If you are the best rider inteh gruop you never improve, if you are the slowest you learn a lot!!

[Reista]

I can will myself out of bad habits in about an hour. As for getting a 250cc lol *friend im 300lbs and 6'2" i dont think a 259would fit! As for dual sport, the insurance would rip me a new one XD

[EsconDeasy]

Originally Posted by Reista

I can will myself out of bad habits in about an hour. As for getting a 250cc lol mate im 300lbs and 6'2" i dont think a 259would fit! As for dual sport, the insurance would rip me a new one XD

Please don't mate him....(slang that I don't understand gives me a headache)

[Reista]

Originally Posted by EsconDeasy

Please don't mate him....(slang that I don't understand gives me a headache)

How do you not? Its merely a colloquialism for friend

[Roadrunner]

Originally Posted by Reista

BUT you are supposed to stick with the bike! Unless heading toward a ditch (VERY bad situation then. distance yourself!) because the bike will eat the impact if you have one AND slow you down a lot more than you by yourself
Cheers for the advice

Yeah...but you should still be on top of it - and not have it land on you.

[braq attack]

hey sorry to bump a several month old thread but I just gotta chime in. I havent read the whole thread because I dont have that kind of attention span but I do wanna say a few things. I am in just about the same boat as Reista (well the boat you were in back when you got your bike running). im getting ever closer to having a road ready gs850.

i noticed that people are giving you shit for riding your bike a bit prematurely and being a beginner (seriously people making fun of beginners?) i got my gs850 test ride ready a few days ago and took her for a spin down the driveway (i have a long country driveway) now this was the first time i had EVER ridden a motorcycle. EVER. i got on it and shifted into first, and stalled it. lol. a couple tries later and i was off. down the driveway and around the turns. i was in aw having been itching to get my butt on a moving bike. i was really surprised with how well i controlled it. but of course i am aware of over confidence. i did drop the bike once while trying to back up to turn around but picked it back up. i mean really wats life without being a little bold and trying something you dont know how to do at all? i did about 8 back and forth loops without stopping. shifted into second and third even. got on the throttle hard a couple times too maybe about 25mph but im not sure i was paying attention to where i was going.

now ive got the itch even harder. i cant ride it tho because the petcock seal went bad and all the gas leaked out. waiting on a new seal so i can get practicing again. i gotta get my licence asap so i can get out on the road.


so thats my two cents hehe

[Reista]

Originally Posted by braq attack

hey sorry to bump a several month old thread but I just gotta chime in. I havent read the whole thread because I dont have that kind of attention span but I do wanna say a few things. I am in just about the same boat as Reista (well the boat you were in back when you got your bike running). im getting ever closer to having a road ready gs850.

i noticed that people are giving you shit for riding your bike a bit prematurely and being a beginner (seriously people making fun of beginners?) i got my gs850 test ride ready a few days ago and took her for a spin down the driveway (i have a long country driveway) now this was the first time i had EVER ridden a motorcycle. EVER. i got on it and shifted into first, and stalled it. lol. a couple tries later and i was off. down the driveway and around the turns. i was in aw having been itching to get my butt on a moving bike. i was really surprised with how well i controlled it. but of course i am aware of over confidence. i did drop the bike once while trying to back up to turn around but picked it back up. i mean really wats life without being a little bold and trying something you dont know how to do at all? i did about 8 back and forth loops without stopping. shifted into second and third even. got on the throttle hard a couple times too maybe about 25mph but im not sure i was paying attention to where i was going.

now ive got the itch even harder. i cant ride it tho because the petcock seal went bad and all the gas leaked out. waiting on a new seal so i can get practicing again. i gotta get my licence asap so i can get out on the road.


so thats my two cents hehe

'sall good for me XD nothing like having a bike you don't know works, fixing it, and then riding on the bike you brought back to like. Grats on the first ride, they really are great bikes and fast! (once you get to 6000 rpm you'll know what i mean immediately. Don't do that until you've gotten know how the bike feels ^^ that power curve really takes off) as far as the petcock, simple problem, simple fix! I'm replacing my valve cover gasket and choke cable sometime soon- what can you expect? They are older bikes and need some attention- fix them up, treat them right, and they won't need so much attention anymore!

*also, provided you live in the bottom 1/2 of america, perhaps we might take our GS's for a spin once you get your to be road worthy

[braq attack]

well the whole reason im so dedicated to getting this bike fixed is I plan on taking it 900 miles IL to NM in less than a month. ill be heading through Missouri and Kansas Mostly. its my lifes goal at the moment to do this lol. gonna be working all summer in NM and also plan on riding some of the run roads out there

[Reista]

Originally Posted by braq attack

well the whole reason im so dedicated to getting this bike fixed is I plan on taking it 900 miles IL to NM in less than a month. ill be heading through Missouri and Kansas Mostly. its my lifes goal at the moment to do this lol. gonna be working all summer in NM and also plan on riding some of the run roads out there

Be sure to run it around town, then run it to a city 100 miles out and back. if it breaks down, fix it and repeat the process. If it doesn't check your oil, fork oil, secondary drive oil, shaft oil, tire pressure etc and head out (be SURE to bring a mobile charger with you, if your battery totally poops out there's nothing worse, it can get so bad you can't even push start it because your battery will suck even that juice.) Also bring another brake/clutch lever, if you lay it down and it breaks it's something easy to fix that makes life hell if you don't. That my 0.02, check out the Iron Butt challenges for dollars worth of info

[braq attack]

i do plan on riding it as much as possible before i leave. a couple of long day trips would be whats best i think. thanks for the advice!

[East Coast Rider]

Nice to see some Suzuki GSes around here! I have an '82 GS1100EZ. You gentlemen do both yourselves a favor...

Look up www.thegsresources.com

It is the only GS-specific forum out there that I am aware of. Excellent technical forums...Introduce yourselves on the forums, and more likely than not, a member by the screen name of BassCliff will introduce himself to give you his own little welcome . Real nice guy...

In his sig line is a link to his website, with all sorts of very handy tips & tricks, electrical mods, etc. TONS of know-how on that forum...BassCliff also owns a GS850.

ALSO: Braq, before you head out on any long trip, I'd check the charging system on the 850. They are notoriously weak, and only get worse as they age, obviously. I strongly recommend that you use back roads/state highways for your upcoming trip if you don't get to do any significant amount of riding between now and then. For me, the interstate was quite unnerving when I first started riding. Now? I have well over 100,000 accident free miles on the road, on my various bikes. Invest in some good gear, gents, and be careful.

[braq attack]

thanks. Ive been on the GSresource site a lot recently. yes its probably the best place for GS technical know-how. I will check out my charging system. a do plan on getting as much practice in before leaving. im chomping at the bit and waiting for parts is THE WORST. but yeah my trip will start out on interstate, turn to highway then back to interstate, then its through Kansas City. if i survive that its more interstate all the way to past Wichita. and them it should fizzle out into long lonesome Kansas road. which i think sounds like the most therapeutic part of the trip

[East Coast Rider]

The technical forums, and the archived stuff on BassCliff's site are literally a Godsend. I put my ignition and the coils on a relay to bypass the 30 year old wiring harness. Luckily, my OEM stator and R/R work just fine, for now. I plan on upgrading the R/R after I get the suspension re-sorted and the clutch installed. Those 850s are great highway machines...smooth. Y'all need to post up some pics of the bikes!

[braq attack]

i just put up some pics in my thread

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783383

unfortunately the site doesnt resize the large pictures to fit the page. and i dont feel like uploading them to a site