Endurance Test Coming Up Next Weekend

The old bike guys I ride with occasionally are mad to ride from Calgary to Whitefish, MT starting next Friday morning and returning on the following Sunday.
The criteria for bikes allowed on the ride:
1) Nothing newer than 1982
2) Nothing bigger than 1000cc
3) All two strokes are eligible regardless of vintage

The big question is:
will my 650C2 make it there and back without hurting the top
end of the engine ?? The little sweetheart really spins up at highway speeds and I wonder if she'll be able to handle it for the 6 or 7 hours it'll take to make the trip.
Anyone got any serious touring experience on a 650 ??
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

No long trips on my 650 but at 70mph I'm doing 6000rpm. That's 2/3 rd's to redline. But have been told these motors will buzz that ALL day long with out even breathing hard. Now 6-7 hours in that "seat" is another question. Anything over 2 hours and my butt is screaming to get off!, take breaks to shake things out!

Well, WABBMW (a member here w/ a 1982 KZ650CSR) stopped by my place over the weekend and related a story where he fairly recently completed a round trip to California (from Houston) on his bike...maybe I can get him to chime in with the tale (it went well, more or less)

I rode mine 2000 miles once, 3200 miles once and around 1400 miles once. The 1400 miles was when the bike had upwards of 90,000 miles on it and 700 miles a day. I always go at least 500 miles a day @70mph. Never had a problem, but it's definately not that great of a highway bike like the 1000MKII or my old GPZ1100.

Put a 17T sprocket on the front. That'll drop the revs about 250 or so.

Unless the top end is developing some sort of problem, I don't think you'll tax it greatly. How fast do they ride? If they maintain 60 to 70 MPH, it should run right along.

For a long trip I think I'd invest in a gel pad.

The first thing that get's tiring on a 650 for me is the fact it really doesn't have the power for the road, plus the light steering, that means any wind or road irregularity means adjusting to keep a line down the road. Believe me, this gets tiring on any smaller CC motorcycle, or even larger CC motorcycles that are built for "light steering" such as that wonderful Yamaha FJ1200 :X The seat never bothered me particularly. You have to gain endurance from the road. Just like anything, the more you do it the easier it is.

A group I ride with, planned this marathon trip to ride from Houston, Texas to California and then up the Pacific Coast Highway to Napa Valley, etc.
My '82 KZ650 CSR is stock, except for a windshield and gearing. I changed the rear sprocket from the original 33 tooth to a 26. The front sprocket is 13 teeth. 630 chain. RPMs are as follows: 60 = 3,850; 70 = 4,500; 80 = 5,135; 85 = 5,450.

We left about 6 AM and rode West on I-10 all day long. Stopped about 6 times for gas. We rode till after dark. After 15 1/2 hours, and 790 miles, we stopped in Las Cruses, New Mexico. Can you say zombied?

We were running between 65 and 80 MPH. The bike did beautifully, but my lack of knowledge shortened the trip for me. On hills, my clutch was starting to slip. I would immediately back off the throttle. The cable adjustment was correct, but I did not understand about the adjustment screw on the left side. The lock nut was corroded onto the bolt, so I wasn't able to make sense of the adjustment. We made it to Phoenix, AZ the next night. I finally decided to turn around at that point. Round trip mileage was about 2,600.

After limping home, I dismantled the clutch, only to find everything in order. The entire problem was the adjustment screw and lock nut under that small cover plate. I even had the necessary tools to do the job with me on the trip. Really felt sick after that. Oh well. After everything was adjusted, the clutch is now firm again.

Took another trip out through the Texas Hill country around Leakey, TX. Bike was trouble free. It also gets very good gas mileage. About 55 MPG at 70. I did a post about this ride.

So the engine was running 4,000 to 5,000 RPM all day long. The 20W-50 oil was fresh and clean, and the bike ran very well, and still does. If anything was harmed, I certainly cannot tell it. These are great old motorcycles.

Thanks for the tips, guys. Great story, WABBMW.
So the engine will handle the high speed which leaves the only worry being....can the rider handle it ??:laugh:
The weather is not looking very promising at the moment....possibility of rain for a most of the first day. I'm not big on riding in the rain if I don't have to.
Plus, my one knee has decided to start giving me grief and if that gets any worse then that's the end of the ride before it begins. Knee problems I don't need on a ride of this magnitude. Well, we'll see....

Keep the knees warm,Rick.
If need be,get yourself a pair of heated(electric) pants.
I've got a heated vest for the cooler seasons,and what a difference it makes.
My Joe-Rocket pants have knee protectors built in,and they really help with keeping the knee-caps warm.

Rick ! My friend " Metal Man" has old Kaw Voager ( Spelling) and their 17 year old Daughter has a 250cc Suzuki These bikes are also out of the 70s, Anyway they rode all the way from Tillsonburg On. to someplace in california ,. and back him and his wife on the kaw and their Daughter on the lil 250 .
no Problems is what they told me except for a rear tire blowout on the Kaw.

Back when i had my 650 i put one of those large clear windshields on for longer trips. It made the trip so much nicer. The wind can really beat you up!

Mcdroid wrote:

Well, WABBMW (a member here w/ a 1982 KZ650CSR) stopped by my place over the weekend and related a story where he fairly recently completed a round trip to California (from Houston) on his bike...maybe I can get him to chime in with the tale (it went well, more or less)

Does he still have that header on the bike?
I know he has put some good riding miles on since he got the bike.
years ago I rode mine to Altus ok. it was a 6 hour ride form where I started.