Can A CSC TT250 handle long distance highway?
 

Hey everyone! Just got over 1000 miles in less than a month on my CSC TT250. I'm having a blast riding it on road and off. For the most part I'm thoroughly impressed with the bike. The more I ride it, the further I want to take it. Which leads me to my question. I'm thinking about doing a little traveling with the bike. I'm going to buy the 47 tooth sprocket to lower the RPM's a bit, and hopefully get a little more top speed out of it. Is the CSC TT250 capable of handling long distance highway riding?

The local highway speed limit where I'm at is 65 mph. For the most part the TT250 is wide open, full throttle at this speed. Has anyone rode the bike for long periods of time wide open like this?

I could easily take country backroads, but sometimes you just want to get to your destination. I guess what I'm asking is, Is riding 2 or 3 hours at a time wide open too much for the little engine? Anyone got any experience with this?

There's a link here somewhere that tells a tale of four guys taking TT's out of the crates and rode them from Mexico the Canada, if I remember correctly. I'm sure they did a ton of back-road tho.
That said, I don't feel the TT was designed to be a touring bike.

I would get a cylinder temperature monitor. Air cooled motors do run hitter than water cooled bikes. With a temperature reference you can have some feedback about how long and hard you can push the bike.


In my experience they can hang at highway speeds ok until you meet a hill or a stiff head wind. That's when the temperatures climb crazy high and you need to back off to avoid damaging the motor.

That is a great idea. Nice accessory to have regardless.

I would personally gear the bike up a bit more if long distance 60 to 65mph speeds are desired. A 45 or 43 rear sprocket is great for that, especially the 43. I would also consider an oil cooler. The head gets a lot of cooling from the oil, so keeping the oil temps lower will keep the head temps down a little better.

Too bad there isn't a hi and lo range selector like the Honda CT's.

Hell, I'd be happy with a thumb paddle like a eighteen speed mountain bike. :crazy:

I'm going to look for that thread 2LZ mentioned.

Joe Berk has organized rides for the TT250, similar to how he has organized rides for the RX3. In other words, gear it for cruising with a lower 40 tooth vs. the 47 tooth you want, as Megadan pointed out, and prep it a bit (i.e. fresh oil change, check the chain, spark plug and consider carrying an extra chain, spark plug, and perhaps a CDI--maybe a little overdramatic? Or just good proactive measures?) and you should have little to nothing to worry about. :tup:

i just would not take such light bike on the highway ,its a personal thing choise up to you when that 18 wheeler blows by at 80mph i would not feel one too comfy,i like back road riding more myself an the slower the better the view i have of whats in front me ,though at one time i used to buy bikes for speed ,what i found after 150mph ,is speed has its place an a great rush ,an that i missed so much at 75 mph ,35 45mph or less is great for me now ,otherwise i want a touring bike for highways

I used my Hawk on the highway all the time. 60-65mph is not scary at all. 5 lanes wide at rush hour on my Hawk, no problem.

I do agree that the slower back roads can make for a more enjoyable journey, but sometimes you just need to make some time and put some miles under you.

Maybe I am just so used to highway riding that I don't see it as a big deal.

I'd have no concerns about touring a TT250 across the country, but I would not try to maintain 65mph, other than for short bursts. I'd limit myself to 55-60, take all secondary highways and enjoy the journey. Sometimes I don't actually want to get to the destination.

If the rider is small enough, a 17/43 would allow them to cruise at 60mph all day long on flat ground (and no head wind) with the throttle at about 3/4 or maybe a bit less with the engine singing along right at 6000rpm. Toss in a hill or wind and that changes very quickly, but for the most part, as long as the engine isn't trying to pull along too much weight or wind resistance, it could easily handle long highway miles. I would still want an oil cooler just to keep things in check, because that little motor will still be under a decent amount of stress.

I know some smaller-than-me people on here have run as high as 17/39 sprockets, which would drop the revs even more and had great results from it. Me being so big really limits my gearing options since I live in an area with lots of hills. I need the grunt to pull me up them lol.

With the right gear ratio and oil cooler you shouldn't have any issues. I only weigh 180lbs. and run 17/40 sprockets with an oil cooler. I took a 150 mile trip a few weekends ago running 55-70 mph. With the tall gear ratio I can cruise 60-65 mph just above 1/2 throttle. But the engine is not exactly stock. Just a few mods that will help it breath better such as adding a free flowing exhaust and a well tuned carb will make a big diference.

My Shark (it has the same motor in it as the TT) is happy to cruise all day long at 60 -65 . recently I did have a issue with stalling after longer runs at 60. Turned out that MegaDans suggestion to check valve clearance was correct those puppy's had tightened up way to much. After the tune up zero issues.

just a personal choise i guess ,i did so much travaling on freeways in cars ,an the way people drive today ,just not for me you all guys that want to do it go for it,just going by the title of the thread,an so have fun ,but be careful in big cities like RI they drive like 85 in the slow lane

I have a Shark too, 17/45 gears and I've cruised at 60 - 65 for over 80 miles and it did fine. Oil cooler def helps if youre going to be cruising at 6 grand or more for long periods of time. Are you still on your stock tires?