Roadies vs GS’s

Baie dankie Drix!! Sal bietjie by hulle gaan uitvind.

Is daar dalk nog ander lede met goeie idees?

JCM,

Ek het 'n ride report gelees op AdvRider of WildDogs, nie seker nie van 'n ou wat geur Lesotho en ook Sani Pass gedoen het op 'n 650CS.

Brian Canoo het Sani Pass al met sy RT gedoen.


So die moeikile goed kan gedoen word, maar vir gewone grondpaaide is daai 650CS fine.

To each his own - ek reken weer die LT - weens obvious reasons - is die beste toerfiets - op teer natuurlik. But once again - as Jamie always says - whatever rocks your boat.

@ JCM - Perhaps you want to bring the CS for the informal trip tomorrow (Irene to Que Sera)? I understand that it's a true level 1 road, so the CS would sail through and you'll get a better understanding of the handling on gravel, etc.

Read more at >> this thread <<

Marnus wrote:@ JCM - Perhaps you want to bring the CS for the informal trip tomorrow (Irene to Que Sera)? I understand that it's a true level 1 road, so the CS would sail through and you'll get a better understanding of the handling on gravel, etc.

Read more at >> this thread <<

Marnus,
Tx......got your message too late.......on the ST today......maybe to Que Sera.

JCM, lees nou weer jou post dat jy agterband moet vervang. Net vir interessantheid - met padbande (vir die pad) werk voor en agter verskillend hang af waar jy in 'n draai of straight is, maar dit is nie so drasties verskillend nie en dit help as jy dieselfde tipe band voor en agter het met dieselfde compound. Hoe hoër die spoed hoe belangriker raak dit dat jy weet altwee het dieselfde tipe grip.

Off-road (spesifiek fietse swaarder as plastics) is anders - dit gaan als oor die voorband eerste - veral as jy ry soos jy op Country Trax leer. So die agterband kan maar rondspring en gly en tekere gaan, maar jy wil nie die voorwiel verloor nie.

Die agterband se grip begin meer belangrik raak as jy sand, modder en tegniese klippe doen, maar nooit ten koste van die voorwiel nie. Wel, behalwe miskien in modder en vinnige spoed op sand, waar jou gewig agtertoe skuif en die voorwiel begin float.

So, daai CS het 'n bitterklein voorwiel - as jy 'n padband voor het en 'n agterband met meer off-road grip, kan jy dus 'n probleem hê met grip op die verkeerde plek.

Hoop dit maak sin!

Maar soos die ouens sê, jy kan baie plekke met 'n padfiets ry. My eerste fiets op skool was 'n Suzuki 200 X5 padfiets. Het nie van beter geweet nie en 'n trial band (off-road band met klein knobblies) agter opgesit en teen die scramblers gejaag, deur die lug gevlieg en als! Het nie mooi geklink met alles wat afval en rattle nie, maar die 50's en 125's het gesukkel om by te bly!

En dan kry jy natuurlik vandag se supermoto konsep...

JCM wrote:

Marnus wrote:@ JCM - Perhaps you want to bring the CS for the informal trip tomorrow (Irene to Que Sera)? I understand that it's a true level 1 road, so the CS would sail through and you'll get a better understanding of the handling on gravel, etc.

Read more at >> this thread <<

Marnus,
Tx......got your message too late.......on the ST today......maybe to Que Sera.

JCM dude, "more" is Maandag Tensy jy bedoel jy wil nie 2 keer in 2 dae Que Sera toe gaan nie!

Marnus wrote:

JCM wrote:

Marnus wrote:@ JCM - Perhaps you want to bring the CS for the informal trip tomorrow (Irene to Que Sera)? I understand that it's a true level 1 road, so the CS would sail through and you'll get a better understanding of the handling on gravel, etc.

Read more at >> this thread <<

Marnus,
Tx......got your message too late.......on the ST today......maybe to Que Sera.

JCM dude, "more" is Maandag Tensy jy bedoel jy wil nie 2 keer in 2 dae Que Sera toe gaan nie!

LOL.....ouderdom, ouderdom......!!!!!
....Se dalk net hello by Que Sera......sal nie hele pad saam ry nie.....moet iemand elders ontmoet.

I think you need to check out the 650CS on off road. Not too sure if is it wise with a belt drive.

Must be a reason why the 800S and 800ST have belt drive and the 800GS has a chain drive.

What damage/problems could be caused with stones getting caught between the belt and 'sprockets'??

Had a quick search, doesn't seem like anyone knows for sure:

"Supposedly, the belt that they used in the Buell Ulysses underwent extensive testing for suitability in offroad situations, and is rated for the life of the bike. I presume that also takes into account that some of them might be taken on trails or gravel roads."

"Gravel will still punch a hole in a Uly belt. Belt breakage has been an issue on a small but still significant number of Buells of all models (it's significant if it happens to you, believe me). Chain conversions have been so popular, a few Buell enthusiasts started a small group called, 'The Chain Gang';. Most of the members have had belt failures, some more than once. I've personally had very good luck with my belt, though... no issues at all at 36,000 miles."

"I blew a belt off my old RK due to a pea size pebble getting between the belt and pulley and apparently breaking a few of the cords."

"Belts are more reliable than anything else IF they are kept in alignment, Most belt failures are due to alignment problems. The belts are so wide that it is more critical than chain alignment. If you have the wheel off for tires or brakes when you put it back on, you adjust the belt. IF you don't get the wheel even on both side so that the rear pulley is not in PERFECT alignment to the front pulley you WILL break or shread a belt. Belts can deal with rocks and pebbles MUCH BETTER than they can deal with OUT of ALIGNMENT."

"You guys obviously know nothing about these belts. It's not just a piece of rubber. It's a super strong carbon and Kevlar interwoven belt. It will last longer than a chain, and for the mud shedding thing, just like a chain the cogs are going to push the mud out of it."


And from http://faq.f650.com/CSFAQs/CSBeltFAQ.htm
http://faq.f650.com/CSFAQs/CSBeltFAQ.htm:

Can it [the F650CS] handle dirt/debris?

A. Yep, but be aware.

* I've had it through ditches, down jeep trails, through deep puddles (pipe was steamin' pretty good), on 40 km stretches of gravel roads, in fields of grass/rock/etc, and up some very steep/twisty gravel roads. With the amount of gravel/rocks/sand/etc I've had the bike on I've come to doubt the statement that any rocks in the belt drive will stop me dead. While I don't have proof that it's happened, I'd bet it has. Sure, if it's a sharp rock on the proper angle it could probably nick/cut the belt. But a rock of the 'proper' size jammed into a chain/sprocket could damage/dislocate either of those. Jesse CG #1583
* I got a small rock between the belt and sprocket. It now has a "pimple" in the center of the belt. I now have 18k miles on it. The belt still looks the same as the day I got the hole in it.
I also ride my CS down any road I want to, paved or gravel. Tom McCallum BBG #5
* I picked up a pebble which punched a hole in the belt at 6,000 miles. I now have 21,000 miles and there is no change in the size of the hole. I plan to run it to at least 36,000 miles. tschroer
* Since a lot of the dirt roads I ride are in granite country, I find I get fine granite dust / gravel caught in the belt, and once there it "creaks" around the pulley when I push the bike. These are small gravel, almost 'grit' consistency, and quite abrasive. I'd have the same concern about coarse sand. I use soapy water and a stiff brush to get it out, which works well. CaroanBill BBG#67
* The chain and sprockets are hard enough to crush most rocks, the CS belt and sprocket isn't. On the other hand a broken chain should be capable of causing much more damage, (and danger), than a busted belt. rakaD


Q. How long will it last?

A. How does 90 000 miles sound?

I was doing the 90,000 mile service yesterday and found quite a fewbelt teeth broken loose on the leading edge, time for a new one!! I would have thought they would have broken loose on the trailing edge, because of the countershaft sprocket being smaller and having more pressure on the back side of the teeth. Needless to say, there's some other force working there that I haven't thought of, because every one that was broken loose was on the front side of the tooth. None of the teeth were missing, but you could flip them with your finger and they were just hanging by the rear fabric of the tooth. Dailyrider

Generally seems to be favourable comments though.

Jip, if it was my bike I would not have hesitated for a moment. As I said earlier, lots of people expected the 800GS to come with a belt and I would not have worried one bit to ride it off-road like that. I also only started getting some second thoughts when it was launched with chain.

.......Ok, die belt lyk dus nie na 'n groot probleem nie, maar die kleinirige voorwiel van die cs dalk tog..........

OK - now that Sharkie's post has been thoroughly hi-jacked, lets try to get it back on topic.

See that there have only been 25 responses at this stage - that is about 10% of the membership. And of that there are only 10 stofdonkies.

So only 4.0% of the club riders do dirt roads - the rest don't care!!!

Well, they say 36,7% of all statistics are wrong...

....and that also an approximation...

Mens kan sien die 'baas' is weg. Julle is weer lekker van die punt af.

Groete vanuit Calitzdorp Spa (Canopy tour). Ons geniet ons gate uit. Sal later 'n 'report thread' begin

Ja - vryf dit nou in - hoop julle het lekker bike weer.

good to hear from you guys

tj wrote:........Groete vanuit Calitzdorp Spa (Canopy tour). Ons geniet ons gate uit. Sal later 'n 'report thread' begin

oh, oh.........a report of a road trip????

Please speak to Wahl before you post - he may be able to give some insight into what not to do in a report. Don't want to bore anyone.

I really do apologize to the purists for pushing the Draadsitters to 12 votes.

I do enjoy taking my little 650 to speed on the open tar road, of course trying my best t avoid speed traps and cops.

Even though I still a novice (well I do sport some injuries to me and my bike as proof) at off road riding, I enjoy the freedom off road gives in getting to unusual places that roadies fear to go with their road bikes. I found nice waterfalls and the like while doing off-road riding. Going off-road brings me closer to nature, which most often makes me a happier person in the end. Of course I still have to deal with the stress of off-road riding at this point in time. Hopefully that will be cured soon with the purchase of a more off-road little 250 bike to build up my skill and confidence.

Then back to the black stuff. South Africa is a large country to go exploring, so getting to one end to the other the black stuff is nice way to travel in a relaxed manner.

Yet I must say I enjoyed the Dec 2008 trip to Cape Town and back with Kobus, which was a mixture of black stuff and lovely dirt roads (except by Lamberts Bay, those corrugations were huge for an injured shoulder at the time).

So I am a proud Draadsitter, enjoying the experience of either surface that I have chose for the day.

Maybe we should have some more fun by creating a third group in this bantering, which is good for the club spirit anyway, the Draadsitters in competition to the GS and Roadies groups.

I guess I better shut up now before I get into more trouble.

Happy-go-lucky wrote:
I do enjoy taking my little 650 to speed on the open tar road, ......

You do??

Yep, like between Kenhardt and Brandvlei in the early morning, sunrise.

Happy-go-lucky wrote:Yep, like between Kenhardt and Brandvlei in the early morning, sunrise.

Remember that stretch - myself and DotP got from Kenhardt to Windpomp restaurant in 58mins (including 3 photo stops)

Happy-go-lucky wrote:
I do enjoy taking my little 650 to speed on the open tar road, of course trying my best t avoid speed traps and cops.

Unfortunately one cannot use the words "speed" and "650GS" in the same sentence.

I once managed 165km/h on the GPS, so that is what, 180 on the clock, down a moderate downhill on the N14 on my way to a Friday Morning breakfast at Cuppa Cafe, on my 650, and I was flat taps. When I rode the 800ST, 800GS and the 1200GS, I got to that speed without even realising that I had done it.