Back in June I did a day trip on my Suzuki TU250X but what I did not mention at the time but it was really just a test run for a much longer road trip later that month. In fact a big reason I bought a motorcycle at all was to participate in this trip. For those of you who are not really into motorbikes fear not this is more of a road trip travel log with plenty of curbside classics spotted along the route. Speaking of the route I will say only that it is a touch over 4,500kms (or 2800 miles) long and will be revealed in each daily segment.
The first order of business is converting a motorbike designed for the city into one fit for traveling. The design of the TU250X Suzuki appears to actually discourage mounting of bags with how they positioned the turn signals so the first step is to relocate the signals to the rear. There are kits available to do this but they cost money and I had some L-shaped brackets lying around that looked like they would do the trick. The wiring had to be cut and then extended with some old Mercedes wire I had left over from my old 220D parts car. So far my only cost was a little bit of heat shrink tubing. The turn signal on the left is stock with the right one in the modified position.
I am not sure how many of you have bought proper motorcycle accessories but are they expensive. There are 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 is a company that offers racks for my bike but they would have been several hundred dollars to buy and ship here. I was not into that so I started with some aluminum that I had lying around with an angle grinder and tape measure.
The stock turn signal mount 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! Now I just need something to prevent the bags rubbing on the metal. I spied my son’s old pedal bicycle with a flat tire in the corner …
The faulty inner-tube was cut up to give a nicer mounting surface. Luckily the bags 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. Normally I have a factory accessory retro seat on but I swapped it out for the front stock section and left the rear off.
I also performed a quick oil change and took note of the starting odometer reading.
Pre-Day 1 was a short ride out to my friend’s trailer in the Crowsnest Pass. He was the one that had put together and planned this whole trip. An uncle of his had done a similar trip years ago so this was a long term dream of his. A Fargo Power Wagon on the prairie on route.
A lot of this section overlaps with the test day trip so I will gloss over it but there are plenty of windmills before hitting the mountains.
And a few old vehicles about like this Canadian market Fargo 300 truck.
This Jeep Wagoneer is a perfect fit for this area.
Now in the Crowsnest Pass the good news was the bags stayed on the bike with this small test. We would start out for real in the morning with the promise of spectacular mountain scenery.
The full trip log:
Road Trip: Part 1 – Preparation and Starting a 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 2 – Best Laid Plans on a 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 3 – Making up Time – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 4 – The Miles Pile On Up North – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 5 – Heading for the Coast – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 6 – A Coastal Ferry Cruise – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 7 – Vancouver Island and Rain – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 8 – Rain, Rain and More Rain – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 10 – Riding Nirvana – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 12 – Beer, Dune Buggy and a Ferry – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Road Trip: Part 13 – Finale – 4,500km Road Trip on a 250cc Motorbike
Ooh, I’ve been been waiting for this since you first teased it some months back. I love the idea of taking a small bike a long distance (as one used to do), no need for a 1500cc behemoth RV on two wheels unless intergalactic daily mileage is the goal. Although my own single longest ride was probably a 370 mile round trip on a GS450, that was in CA on mostly freeways and at the time I felt that was probably the lowest powered bike I’d feel remotely comfortable doing it on; the roads that you appear to be on (and similar to what I could easily access now as opposed to CA) make this much more realistic and enjoyable.
Since we know you made it back, this’ll be a fun read.
Oh, and that Wagoneer shot is absolutely perfect in all respects. Well, maybe if there was a family on a blanket next to it that’d be even better but still.
i am not a motorcyclist myself, but look forward to experiencing a long ride through you!
The idea of a long ride on a small bike is oddly appealing to me.
This is really great, and in some ways even more impressive than the Beater Challenge. I will echo what Jim said, that doing this on mostly 2 lane and secondary highways/roads (or so I assume) is the key element. I cannot imagine wanting to ride this size bike on the freeway for any longer than necessary.
I made some small cross-country excursions in Iowa in 1973 on an elderly Yamaha 305 that I found moldering in a garage and managed to get started. It was great rolling along at 45-55 on the many back roads of rural Iowa (paved, not gravel though), with the wind blowing through my hair (helmet?? what’s that?).
My first bike was a Bridgestone 90, and I even took that on a few trips, but pretty short ones. It would top out at about 60 or so, but it really didn’t feel all that great doing that for any length of time. It preferred running around town and short trips out the quarry or such, at about 45 or so.
You live in a great part of the world for this kind of excursion, and I love your minimalist and improvised approach to things, like rigging up your travel bags. I can relate.
Looking very much forward to the trip write-up.
I was in graduate school in the fall of 1967, and rode a friends Yamaha 250, 2-stoke, twin from St Louis to Danville, KY (+/- 350 miles). No saddle bags, so just a small backpack. Not a bad ride and certainly worth the effort to see a girl friend from my senior year. The rain the last 50 miles wasn’t fun (no windshield) and the bridge over the Mississippi River a little slick! But then I was young.
Dave
Looking forward to reading more about this.I’ve always liked the TU250X Suzuki but I think it’s only 49-state compliant so hasn’t been sold in California. A friend downsized from a GSXR1000, one of the fastest bikes on the road, to a Honda CB250R. It was fun but really struggled with the necessarily high speeds needed to get in and out of the Bay Area. I rode through Crowsnest Pass on my single over 30 years ago, on a much longer trip, but my bike was over twice the displacement, though my two companions were on 350 singles. Those bikes are perfect for the slower rural backroads.
May your gluteal muscles exhibit the required fortitude!
Oooh! Looking forward to this!
The longest trip I made on my Suzuki GS550ES was about three hours from Atlanta to Spartanburg to visit a friend around Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas. Woke up to 6″ of snow the next day! I was a block of ice by the time I arrived – I stopped and bought a cheap zip-up windbreaker about an hour into the trip, which lasted about an hour, so I stopped and bought another one to at least keep some of the wind out.
Never did any bike camping myself. Had a friend who had done some (shorter) trips like yours on an old Honda. He said he was at a rest area (the old picnic-table style, no facilities) when a group of Hell’s Angels rode in. He was a bit anxious, so decided to take the bull by the horns and walked over and introduced himself and complimented their bikes. That worked, as one of the bikers offered to swap bikes with him as they rode the next stretch!
I too have been waiting for this series.
I have not been able to hoist sail on my galleon-esqe Concours C10 this year to do a big trip, so this year I shall voyage vicariously through you…
Also, since we sold Mrs DougD’s motorcycle my replacment suggestion is a Honda CBR250R. We will both be interested to know your thoughts on 250cc travel.
I’m not a motorcycle guy, but I do respect the riders and their machines.
..I’m looking forward to this series.
The funny thing is I am not really a bike guy either. It is a totally different way to travel though.
I’m another of the used-to-ride guys who will get to enjoy your journey. I don’t keep track of current models, and so detoured online to learn a bit about your Suzuki.
I admire the resourceful modifications, keeping everything reliable and spartan.
I was the early 70s custodian of my brother’s ’70 Triumph Daytona (500cc) for several years while he served in the Army. With our without a lady friend on the back, it **would** cruise the interstates, but was happiest on a meandering state route, around 45-50mph. Here in 2018, I resist the urge to buy another, though my wife’s joke is, “get a zillion-dollar life insurance policy, and you can ride anything you want.”
Glad to you know you returned intact, David–I look forward to your chronicle! (Nice to see the garage-mate Laurentian, BTW.)
I bought a smallish motorcycle when I was 21, a new 1981 Honda Hawk (CB400T). I wouldn’t have dreamed of taking it on a 2800 mile road trip. Wow, I guess THAT was my first Honda, not my current Civic, but I digress…
Doing that distance on a 250 is quite impressive David. I am really looking forward to this travelogue as much as I look forward to reading about the Great Beater Challenge each year.
I learned to ride on a friend’s old Yamaha 250, but it had two cylinders. The only single-cylinder bike I ever got to ride was a Yamaha 600 dirt bike. I loved the vibration of that engine and its sound.
Your Suzuki is a nice looking bike, and great job on the mods!
Couple of items since it sounds like you’re new to riding…
If you don’t already, sit on your sit bones which will arch your back and be more comfortable long-term, They are those points that stick out where your leg meets hip, center on those.
The bars should meet your hands at a comfortable angle to the wrist, often tilting them back a few degrees makes a large difference by the end of a day.
Learn to counter-steer which could save your life if you need to swerve quickly and also is the easiest way to corner. Push the bar lightly in the direction you want to go (push right to go right), which seems counterintuitive but can let you switch lanes very quickly. Practice little moves at first, subtle pushes until you trust it, it’s very satisfying and quick once you get over the feeling of “steering” the wrong way. It’s how the cops make those sharp moves and lane switches, now you can too.
Practice “looking where you want to go” e.g. instead of at the brick in the road, look at the way around it and you won’t hit it. Working on this to condition your responses plus being able to counter-steer may pay off at some point during your trip. Even if you don’t need it, it’s something to do on the long stretches, you can use any blot on the pavement as an “obstacle” to practice not looking at.
Thanks. I am certainly more beginner than not. I learned to ride just last summer on a well worn Honda 250 Nighthawk. I did practice that counter-steer method quite a bit. It certainly is a bit odd at first but works well. I’ll give that look at something else method a try as well.
First street bike was a well worn 1966 Honda 305 Scrambler, never really tried to road trip this one. It soon got almost impossible to downshift, the shifter soon got so stiff it would blister the top of my toe. Sold it for what I paid, about $60.00
On Wow! Those 305 Scramblers were the dream machine of mine back when I was in eighth grade (1969). In my opinion, one of the best looking Japanese bikes of the 1960s. I would love to have one now. Back then, a 305 was considered a full size motorcycle suitable for a trip of any length. I later had a 305 Superhawk when in high school which I predictably built into a chopper. A few years later I was going on long trips on larger machines, A Kawasaki Mach Three 500cc and Honda 750 four.
I think that on the proper secondary roads travelling on a small bike could be fun. Not really suitable for almost any roadway in California. I found a picture of my 305 chopper.
Nice bike! I loved those early japanese bikes too. As I mentioned, I had use of a Yamaha 305 for a while, just like in the image attached. But I was very fond of the Honda 305. You did very nice job there; a great period piece. Wouldn’t it be a trip to have one like that now? I wonder if there’s any Honda 305 choppers left in the world?
That chopper is insane, love it!
Good for you for taking this adventure. There is nothing like a bike trip. I’ve been on a few long trips on my BMW (not quite an RV on two wheels as previously mentioned, but almost). Backroads, and in some cases dirt/gravel roads are the way to see your respective county. Good on ya and be safe!
Owl Creek Pass, CO
My 1970 Honda CB 450 was powerful enough to road trip even with a passenger. It handled the SoCal mountains and freeways well. Looking forward to your road trip updates. The “look where you want to go” suggestion is good advice. That is a really long haul for such a small bike, quite an adventure.
I’m impressed. The last time I tried something like this was with my ’72 CB350 twin back in the late Seventies, and I was 28-29 years old at the time. In 1980 I got my first Triumph Bonneville, and have never considered something under 500cc worthy of anything more than local bar hopping.
Of course, for me it’s the Interstate, and 600 mile days are the norm. In my thirties and early forties, 750cc bikes were nice, although I did get spoiled with that BMW R90/6 I had for a couple of years. Starting in my mid 40’s and going for the next twenty years the T3 Triumph 900cc triples were the standard touring bike (and I still consider them personally the best motorcycle ever made for my uses). Having hit senior citizenship now, where that Triumph would have been perfect a decade ago, I’ve settled into a 2016 Gold Wing, and can’t see using anything less for 600+ mile days.
Looking forward to the reports of your travels. You’re a better (well, gutsier) man than I.
And the best part is you are probably getting better than 15 MPG that you said the other day you are getting driving your Pontiac.looking forward to hear more about your adventures.
Much better. 🙂 I own one of these, it gets 80-85 MPG in town, and 70-75 on the motorway where there’s a lot of WOT (wide open throttle) riding to keep up. Although, the best tanks I squeezed out of it were 91 and once even 97 when I’ve put many miles on 40-45 MPH country roads.
Another series I shall watch with interest! I did something similar a number of years ago, riding a Honda CBR125 from Lethbridge to Winnipeg and back, (at full throttle the whole way), and have a great love for small motorcycles.
Although not quite as economical as your mounting solution, you should check out Japan Webike next time you need aftermarket goodies. Those TU250X are quite popular in Japan, and called the Suzuki Volty there.
https://japan.webike.net/SUZUKI/VOLTY+%28TU250X%29/572/mtop/
I’ve ordered from them before, and the prices and shipping costs are very reasonable, and they carry a lot of things you can’t get here.
I took a quick look and they have some nice stuff. I think I might pass on the snow chain however – a step too far even more me!
I love road trip stories, no matter the vehicle!
And I have to compliment you on the photo taken at the RR crossing with the windmill in the background. Lovely!
I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment!
Here’s how I tour on my EX500. Who says you can’t tour on a small bike?
I recommend to take along an extra clutch cable. (A real one, not those ‘repair kits’). This is what always ripped first on my old Suzuki GN 250. And this one seems to have the same engine.
Thanks for the tip. I do believe it is the same engine. The later TU250Xs (like mine) are fuel injected.
Sounds like a great adventure! I look forward to hearing more. I had a ’76 Honda CB360 in the early 90’s.
My wife and I took many rides on it, but no more than 150 miles one way. My bike had a double seat from a 750 and “sissy bars” on which we hung a duffle bag for supplies. Not comfy for the passenger on that back half of the seat! A lot of fun though. I once ran into what must have been a bumblebee at about 70. Hit the visor hard enough to knock my head back! Left a big yellow splat on the visor. Glad I was wearing the helmet! My bike was a 6 speed and would only hit 100mph in 5th at 13,500 rpm. (Only did that once.) Anyway, safe travels!
I’m so jealous. Not only is that the exact bike I wanna get, but I’d dearly love to have the free time to be able to go on a road trip on it. I really enjoyed the Beater Challenge articles so I’ll be following this story for sure!
A friend of mine had a Honda 125 dirt bike when we were kids back in the 80’s. When he went into the Marines, his parents wouldn’t let him store his bike at their house, but a relative said it could go in their pole shed. 30 miles away! I offered to get it there for him, so I rode this (what I later learned) unlicensed, not-road-legal bike several hours to get it where it needed to go, all on back roads. It was peak fall color season in SE Wisconsin, so the whole trip I was thinking “Man this is pretty. Man I hope I don’t get pulled over. Man this is pretty. Man I hope I don’t get pulled over…” I’ve never really wanted a big bore bike, and it seems that’s 90% of what’s available here now-I remember <500cc being the majority of what I saw around, and now it’s all big Harleys, Gold Wings and “crotch rockets”…
Thank you for sharing your stories on here!
I miss bikes being like this. I really didn’t like when everything went to oversized bikes. All my bikes have been in the 100-883 size range. When I had my 883 Sportster I got remarks like “Riding your wife’s bike?” “You need at least a liter if your going to ride cross state.” I’m not a big guy. I don’t want an 800 pound bike. We used to ride everywhere on a 400 or so back then.
Nice fabrication work, btw. I’ll be reading more about your ride.