long trips on a 125

famagusta

i recently bought a 01 suzuki gn125. she only does about 80 km/hr, anything faster an the engine gets quite loud, almost a grinding noise(same noise if i rev high in lower gears??). anyway i was just wondering how a 125 would do on a long trip, eg. dublin to killarney, would it be too much for the engine or would it be ok if i tipped along at 80 km/hr. i only do short trips around dublin these days to work. any comments would be appreciated. thanks

Pigeon Reaper

I used to do Dublin to Galway on a 250. It would do 120kph comfortably. I wouldn't recommend it even on the 250. The engine eventually blew up. You'd want some reserve power just in case you needed to get away from a truck etc. It's nice in theory but the reality is a bit different. Also a few hours on a naked bike at 80/90kph wears you down physically. If your hearts set on it try taking the bike for a 2/3 hour spin on a national road to see how it feels.

The Doktor

You CAN go anywhere on a 125... I know a guy who did Dublin to Kilarney on one of these.....in the SNOW!!!
http://world.honda.com/news/2004/photo/2041202/pages/01.html

But would I want to? no....
I have an AS1 at home, which is nice for a short spin, for maybe an hour or so, but Dublin to Kilarney, no way. It would be painfully boring!

Krusty_Clown

Someone did the Boyne Riders Photo on a scooter either last year or the year before Must have hard a soft saddle..

Hotblack Desiato

famagusta wrote:

she only does about 80 km/hr

You'll really be struggling up hills or into a headwind, might not be able to maintain 80!
My first bike was a 2-stroke 100 which would do 70mph on a good day but into a headwind would struggle to 40. Really not fun.
I've had a few goes on the GN125 my brother in law used to have, ok as a city bike (he was a courier) but again I wouldn't fancy taking it out on the open road if there was ANY other traffic on it.

I ran a GN250 for a while (when my CBR6 was off the road, chalk and cheese eh! ) which was not really any faster than the GN125 but had more torque so could maintain its speed a bit easier into an uphill or headwind.
I did Dublin-Limerick on that once, going to a rally with tent etc. on the back, and it was OK but I took all the back roads to avoid the traffic. Main routes with a speed limit of 50mph or faster were a disaster area and it's no fun struggling along when everything on the road including fully laden trucks is passing you out with millimetres to spare. Not very safe either
The GN250 was fine around the city though and was actually fun to fling around on twisty back roads. Coming off a bike with loads of power available it was a challenge to get the most out of what you had.

sutty

I done Dublin to Limerick on a Virago 125. Cant really recommend it. Bikes just not safe on roads with a 100+ kph speed limit. (people passing to close) I used to get to waterford and Galway once on a Dragstar 250. That was much nicer. Last week I done Dublin to Waterford on a CBR250rr. That was perfect. But for that extra bit of go. I'd not feel safe on anything less than my Monster 620.


With that said however, last year when I done the Rev up for DSI, one lad was on a 125 Varadero (spell) He was the fastest one to do the 1000k. As he had to refuel feck all and had a big tank.

saobh_ie

Young lad by the name of William on irishbikerforum.com came up to Dublin from Limerick for the IBF Toy Run. Twas a bit slow and ropey in the wind. He's started going to the motorcycle rallies now. Legend.

Apart from getting everywhere really slowly you shouldn't have problems once its maintained.

SonOfPerdition

Krusty_Clown wrote:

Someone did the Boyne Riders Photo on a scooter either last year or the year before Must have hard a soft saddle..

you are ****ing kidding? how many sites did he visit?

Luimni

Ive a 125 which is in the same league speed-wise. Took a spin from Limerick up to Roscrea (not that long a trip) last weekend and found it very uncomfortable on the main road. I was conscience of the speed of the bike, about 80-90kph max which led to me being passed out quite a bit. Its no fun when you cant keep up with traffic and increases the danger as some cars will sneak pass if you give them room, so positioning is crutial, either give those car feckers a lot of room or nothing...
But overall it wasnt too bad and the bike handled it well and so i cant see a huge problem in going on much longer journeys. Just have a few extra stops to rest, and get off the main road from time to time and relax with some twistie roads and try and get out of the mirrors.

Krusty_Clown

SonOfPerdition wrote:

you are ****ing kidding? how many sites did he visit?

Not too sure, but when these photos were taken, he had done seven or eight:
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showpost.php?p=368113&postcount=15

Mad indeed!

saobh_ie

Legend. That's very cool.

N1 getting yourselves into the photos.

bjmotors

ya mite want to consider gettin a 250 or even a 400 for long drives. The honda Bros 400 are a good commuter and are also cheap on insurance at only grp 5.

AsphaltRisin'

I had a suzuki TS100 for 2 years and often ended up doin long trips on it, as it was the only think i had that was never broken!! At the time was always messin with 125 2 strokes (RGs, TZRs, old skool NSRs etc) and Various dodgy ford Sierras, which i ran on a shoestring budget. The TS was my backup vehicle, even though it'd only do around 55mph (was rebored and had rejetted carb so would actually do about 70 but you were revvin the balls off it and fuel economy was zero) for any lenghth of time, i always kept it well maintained and did loads of insane trips, Limerick to dingle, limerick-cork, limerick-galway, and it was slow, noisy and after a while pretty uncomfortable but i had to make the trips so i just got on with it.
It's not exactly fun doin long trips on a 125 , but if you're stuck with it for insurance reasons/licence reasons then you CAN do long trips, but i'd advise only if you actually need to, or if it'll definately be worth it, as you've got to be extra patient and careful.

art

I had a girlfriend in Limerick and did Limerick to Dublin trips at the weekends for a while on a RD125.

Very tiring, very stressful and when I look back I realise I was lucky I didn't get killed (due to the bad road holding of the smaller width tyres, cross winds, stressing the engine and myself trying to maintain a top speed in traffic etc etc)

Really wouldn't recommend it.

Steffano2002

And here I was, wondering if I could do long trips with my Bandit 600... :rolleyes:

Did Dublin - Galway in one go (didn't even stop to pee!) last summer and I was in bits when I got there (even with perfect riding conditions). And I was averaging... Well, above the speed limit anyway...
I'd hate to have to do it again on a 125 now!

babybundy

i have done some distance on my 125 and on the 80 but i personally wouldnt do much on a gn

Kinetic^

Did Dublin - Galway about 6 years ago on a '93 Yamaha TZR 125. Only stopped to fill her up. Twas grand. It was a 2 stroke so there would be a bit more oomph in her than your GN. From what I recall I did it in under 2 and a half hours. Twas summer time and in the morning so not much traffic and dry roads.

Elfish

Wouldn't recommend riding it at full whack for long periods - ie hours. Had an RXS100 seize halfway on an extended trip (ie belting it full whack all the time from Dublin - Malin Head) and it wasn't fun. Your 4 stroke gn would be less likely to seize, but all the same, if you ride it at 60-70% of what it is capable of then you could ride it from here to India given patience.

How good are you at putting up with a sore arse? Go reasonable easy and the bike will go as long as you want. Up to you!