Topic: 4,500km road trip on a 250cc

[Arthur Dent]

I did a little road trip a couple weeks ago on my little Suzuki. Conventional wisdom says one will die on a 250cc bike outside the city. You certainly don't tour on one. Except me I guess.

Part 1: Prep

The first issue was that Suzuki had mounted the rear turn signals in such a way that mounting bags was impossible. Perhaps related the "wisdom" above.

So step one was to move the turn signals to the rear.



The stock mount was removed along with the turn signal. Wires were cut, extended and a pair of L-shape brackets I had lying around were pressed into service. I had some old Mercedes wire kicking around so my only cost was a little bit of heat shrink tubing. The one on the left is stock, the right modified.



Not sure how many of you have bought proper motorcycle accessories but man are they expensive. No off the shelf bags were available for my bike so I took a gamble on some cheap Chinese moped bags bought off eBay. The next hurdle was mounting the bags. There was a company that offered racks for my bike but they would have been several hundred dollars to buy and ship here. Not having that. So I started with some aluminum that I had lying around with an angle grinder and tape measure.



The stock turn signal was re-used to mount the bracket on one side and a plumbing bracket on the other. I did buy some nuts and bolts so they would all be the same size in case (or when) I had to tighten them on the road.



A thing of beauty! I just needed something to prevent the bags rubbing on the metal. I spied my son's old bike with a flat tire in the corner ...



The faulty inner-tube was cut up to give a nicer mounting surface. Luckily the bag will cover this ugliness. Ideally I would have done a test run but unfortunately I had run out time for that. So first (and final) testing to be conducted on the trip.



Packed and ready to go. I swapped the front section of the stock seat on and left the rear off.



Fresh oil change and odometer starting reading.

To be continued ...

[Arthur Dent]

Day 1 was a short one out to my friend's trailer in the Crowsnest Pass.



Fargo Powerwagon on the prairie



Lots of windmills around.



And a few old vehicles like this Canadian market Fargo 300 truck



and Jeep Wagoneer



Now in the Crowsnest Pass I met my buddy and we would start out for real in the morning. The good news was the bags stayed on the bike.

[ArticSteve]

Ppl did all the time in the early 70's, namely ride those small bikes to Florida and back. 

May I ask how you weigh?

[Arthur Dent]

I was actually going for a 70s style road trip - thus the smaller, retro bike.

I have not weighed myself in years but I'd guess about 170lbs or so and 6ft tall.

[rrocket]

This is just great! Love it!

And you're not as singular as you think. There are loads and loads of threads at Advrider about people doing this on 250cc bikes and smaller (and scooters! )...on and off the beaten path.

I find those threads extremely useful in the gear and packing they use...minimalist set ups are required on some of these smaller bikes.

I've been using a 30l dry bag. These can be had for cheap, are waterproof, durable, etc.

I've done my share of these trips on dual sports with ultra lightweight camping gear.

Keep the info coming!

[ArticSteve]

I was actually going for a 70s style road trip - thus the smaller, retro bike.

I have not weighed myself in years but I'd guess about 170lbs or so and 6ft tall.

I was lighter, maybe 150 and taller,  on a 1968 Suzuki 350  .   What a smoker; vapour trail all the way.      17 years old.  4 guys.  2 smaller guys on Kawasaki 500s and a guy my height, but heavier on a 68 Triumph 500 ... lucky b*astard.  March break 1971.  Ft Lauderdale and back.  Didn't seem that far fetched back then.

For those not familiar the Triumph was the only 4 stroke.


Good travels to you!

   

[ktm525]

This is great. I have done a couple 2-3 day trips on the Husky 95% entirely off pavement (and about 25% no real trail). We are working up to a crossing of BC entirely off road.  Your mileage you are attempting is crazy. How many days and what is your aprox route?

[rrocket]

I was actually going for a 70s style road trip - thus the smaller, retro bike.

I have not weighed myself in years but I'd guess about 170lbs or so and 6ft tall.

I was lighter, maybe 150 and taller,  on a 1968 Suzuki 350  .   What a smoker; vapour trail all the way.  [emoji14]    17 years old.  4 guys.  2 smaller guys on Kawasaki 500s and a guy my height, but heavier on a 68 Triumph 500 ... lucky b*astard.  March break 1971.  Ft Lauderdale and back.  Didn't seem that far fetched back then.

For those not familiar the Triumph was the only 4 stroke.


Good travels to you!

 

Suzuki T350? Cool bike! 

[rrocket]

This is great. I have done a couple 2-3 day trips on the Husky 95% entirely off pavement (and about 25% no real trail). We are working up to a crossing of BC entirely off road.  Your mileage you are attempting is crazy. How many days and what is your aprox route?

Yea, those off road rides can be brutal..even if only a few hundred KMs!

I did the 6 Days of Michigan when I was young. Was brutal and a little over 1,200kms off road. Did it on my nicely prepped KDX200!

I'd rather 4,500kms on road at my current age and lack of off road fitness!

[ArticSteve]

Suzuki T350? Cool bike!

The green colour was cool and around town and to school it was great, but still I was too large for it.  I loved the Triumphs, but it wasn't happening for me.  The 350 was loud and smoked like crazy although that was perfectly acceptable back then.  The two brothers that had the Kawi 500s got rid of them and both got Triumph 650s which to me was the ultimate at that time.  They were great ppl.  I borrowed those bikes lot. 

[rrocket]

Suzuki T350? Cool bike!

The green colour was cool and around town and to school it was great, but still I was too large for it.  I loved the Triumphs, but it wasn't happening for me.  The 350 was loud and smoked like crazy although that was perfectly acceptable back then.  The two brothers that had the Kawi 500s got rid of them and both got Triumph 650s which to me was the ultimate at that time.  They were great ppl.  I borrowed those bikes lot.

My first street bike was a 2 stroke. My first motorcycle period was a 2 stroke. And all of my earliest competition bikes were 2 strokes.

I have a big time soft spot for them!

[Arthur Dent]

Suzuki T350 is a neat bike.

4,500kms in 11 days or so. The first and last day are pretty short. It ain't an attempt either. Been done! 

The route I'll roll out in each update just to keep some semblance of suspense. Haha.

[rrocket]

Suzuki T350 is a neat bike.

4,500kms in 11 days or so. The first and last day are pretty short. It ain't an attempt either. Been done! 

The route I'll roll out in each update just to keep some semblance of suspense. Haha.

Hell ya!

Good job!

[Arthur Dent]

Real Day 1 - route. I sorted of combined the first leg into this. We planned to go to Jasper but didn't make it that far.

[Arthur Dent]

The first real day we head out together. My buddy had planned the whole route and was riding a Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ... just a little more power than me.



We headed north to Longview where I fueled up. Due to my lack of a gas gauge and small tank this was to become a very familiar taskThe Twin Cities Hotel.



A nice Ford Model A was lurking near by.



We were off again and back in to the mountains. This time scenic Kananaskis.

Sadly we didn't make it far. His bike would not restart after we stopped to take the above photo. No power. No electrical. Dead. Well out of cell phone range.



I sent him on my bike to head back into cell range and decide what he wanted to do. Had a pile of time to kill at the side of road so here is a photo of some flowers!



He came back (eventually) with a tow truck. Not a great start. The closest bike mechanic was in Black Diamond roughly 60-70kms away. An expensive tow. Big wallet ouch for him.



The local bike shop was just about closing but we managed to get them to take a quick look. Bad news was that they would need more time. Good news is there were willing to bump him to the front of the line. We had planned to camp the entire way but now only had one working bike (and the small one at that) so were stuck within walking distance from the bike shop. Luckily a hotel was near by.



Black Diamond Hotel bar where we had some drinks and food to drown our sorrows. We had a booked and expensive ferry in a couple of days and were unsure if we could continue the trip at this point.



Nothing to do but have a few more drinks and play some pool



I did come across this neat Chevrolet Monza. It has been a while since I have seen a road going example.

To be continued ...

[ktm525]

Next time you call me! I was probably only 30 mins away.

[Brig]

This is awesome!  Thanks so much for sharing this adventure.   

[quadzilla]

I did a little road trip a couple weeks ago on my little Suzuki. Conventional wisdom says one will die on a 250cc bike outside the city. You certainly don't tour on one. Except me I guess.

I've read stories about people travelling across the country by foot, skateboard, unicycle, bicycles, etc so no reason why you can't on this and probably much easier.

This is great. Looking forward to more updates.

[dirtyjeffer]

My first street bike was a 2 stroke. My first motorcycle period was a 2 stroke.

i started on a Honda Elite 250 scooter, but my first "motorcycle" was a 2 stroke as well...a Honda NS400R.

[ktm525]

Ok lets guess what caused the dead V-Strom. Since I assume that you continued with your journey the problem was minor. I am guessing a loose battery lead or failed battery.