I'm so bored, early 20's doldrums.

[ashman]

So here I am sitting out the fall semester working 4 or 5 days a week. BORED as hell just broke up with the G/F thinking I made a mistake. Any of you older farts on here hit a mid mid life slump back in the day not really sure where your life was going  or what you want to do? Or anyone else can relate???

On a actual motorcycle related note, how many miles should I expect to get out of my chain, plus what size chain and what to look for in a replacement? Also should my front and rear sprocket be replaced together???

-ash

[shiplemw]

I'd say you'll be alright.  We all definately go through the highs and lows of life.  My best advice from someone who has wondered if a "mistake" was made is to really get to know your friends.  They will be there for you no matter what and a good friend is a great thing to have down the line.  If you realize that you did indeed make a mistake, just admit it and let the lady know how you feel.  Ultimately it is all in her hands if indeed it is ment to be.  Good luck. Sorry I don't know about the chain / sprocket questions.  Definately know about making mistakes though.

mike

[cernunos]

Ashman, I have had so many ups and downs in my life that if I plotted the highs and lows the graph would look like the topography of the Appalachian mountains. Shiplemw is right, know who your friends are and be good to them. And things do get better. The chain for these bikes is a 520VS2 by the book. You should be able to get 10-15 thousand miles out of an O-RING chain from what I have heard. All my previous bikes had normal non-o-ring chains and I would get about 6-10 thousand miles. As far as replacing both sprockets it depends on the shape of the sprockets. I have replaced one at a time on my older bikes and never had a problem. If you can get the sprockets cheap enough then you might as well replace them while you have everything apart. Hey, maybe part of the doldrums is like you said...you're bored. Just do something, learn a musical instrument, build a model airplane, learn to cook...just do something. We're with ya dude, hang in there. Love the baby G and the forum.

C........

[nl_carey]

Yeah - take up a new hobby. Helps to distract you from present circumstances, you meet a bunch of nice people generally and find extra things to spend money on. Martial Arts are a particularly good past-time.

[Kerry]

The early 20's seem to be just a step or two below the mid-teens as far as anguish goes.  Are you at the age yet where you're GLAD you're not a teenager anymore?  The same will be true of the early 20's someday.  (Sounds like you're there already!  )

Anyway, hang in there.  Nobody's crystal ball works very well, so just do your best.  If nothing else just concentrate on BEing your best ... since you have no control over other folks.  Believe me, it will all work out eventually.

Now, to pop you out of the "woe is me!" rut for a second....

The GS comes stock with:

* A 110-link, 520-width, D.I.D. O-ring chain (or X-ring, depending on the year)
* A 16-tooth front sprocket
* A 39-tooth rear sprocket[/list:u]

gsJack testifies that he has NEVER replaced a rear sprocket in 100's of thousands of miles on various bikes.  But like C says, check the wear on both sprockets and see what you think.  Here are a pair of diagrams to give you some idea of what you're looking for.

From the Clymer manual:


From the Haynes manual:


See my Chains & Sprockets list for vendors and prices.

[Von Vester]

The greatest tragedy in life is a wasted youth. Your 20's are the years when you'll have some of your greatest adventures. Don't worry about life's little B.S., there's plenty of time in the future for that. Let go and have fun just use a little caution so you don't get hospitialized, catch an uncurable disease, or get a criminal record.

If you can imagine it and affort it then give it a try. There's lots of room in the future for responsibility, save it for then.

Oh yeah, change the chain when you run out of take-up on the swingarm. If you use a new chain on old sprockets it will prematurely wear the chain. Replace both sprockets with the chain and they'll last a good long time.

[octane]

Yeah, you're in one of those transitional periods. My last 2 years of school I went to school full time and worked full time til I burned out, finished school, got a real job, then I moved to a whole new state with a good buddy. Had a blast closing down the bars every night for a while, then that got old, he got married, yadda yadda. Ups and downs my man, you'll be fine. My advice - figure out some stuff you enjoy, set some goals, and start accomplishing some crap!

If the sprockets don't look like chinese throwing stars, don't worry about them. Chain life varies with quality of chain and your maintenance habits. I wouldn't recommend buying one of those generic cheap chains though, they're crap in my experience. I like the DID o-ring.

[perfdrug]

hey bro, it's all good. i'm in the same situation. I've got a little bit of the summer blues. I'll have a great weekend up at the bars in Milwaukee, hangin out with gorgeous girls and great friends, and then the work week will drain me, followed by a boring weekend, filled with carb problems and head gasket changes. Then suddenly the stress sits in. Life is wierd man.

Activities and learning get me through the stress. I have a leaky head gasket. bike comes apart, fun weekend. I've never played guitar in my life, but i've got one sitting at my house. I made an appointment for lessons and now i can't believe i waited so long. I call college friends and see what's up with them. I hop on my bicycle and ride to close by neighborhoods that i never really have been through before. I just try to stay as busy as possible, cause otherwise I sit and convince myself i'm unhappy (which i shouldn't be).

I guess my advice is somewhere in there... get busy. Do things you never got around to doing when you were busy with school. Take up an instrument, get in shape, someone said cooking, that's an awesome idea... you only live one life man, so do whatever the hell you want to do.

[raylarrabee]

Without fail, every single person I know had a 1-year slump after they got out of college.  Adjusting to the new (and often less exciting, in terms of girls/booze/free time) phase of your life isn't an easy task.  Lots of questions and doubts about the direction you're going, both personally and professionally, etc.

All I can say is that you have to remind yourself that you're only twenty-whatever, and there's a lot of road ahead of you.  Have fun, don't run up your credit card debt, try not to drink too much and try not to get anybody pregnant.  Other than that, things will fall into place faster than you think.

Try to finish school, too.  You'll kick yourself for it later if you don't get your degree.  My brother dropped out of William & Mary after two years; he's been pretty successful, but at 33, he still finds that certain doors just aren't open to him because he doesn'thave a college degree.

[johncam4]

So here I am sitting out the fall semester working 4 or 5 days a week. BORED as hell just broke up with the G/F thinking I made a mistake. Any of you older farts on here hit a mid mid life slump back in the day not really sure where your life was going  or what you want to do? Or anyone else can relate???

On a actual motorcycle related note, how many miles should I expect to get out of my chain, plus what size chain and what to look for in a replacement? Also should my front and rear sprocket be replaced together???

-ash

ive been there for like year....so i bought an xr250 and im gonna run some hare scrambles this fall.  Im still going back to school and i totally understand where your coming from.

[Michael]

Lots of good advice there about finding fun things to do.  Sounds like what you're saying, though, is that the fun just isn't satisfying any more.  Remember this- the service you render to others is the rent you pay for your space on the planet.  I got the same doldrums in my 20's.  The cure for me was some community service.  I joined the Red Cross and spent some of my time doing first aid- football games, surf lifesaving events, the local ice rink every weekend.  Made some really good friends who I'm still close to more than 20 years later, developed an interest in acute care that has subsequently turned into a career, and actually felt like I was doing some good for someone.  Everbody wins.  

[dmp221]

In addition to all the other good advice...if you're so minded...and can be a responsible pet-owner...get a dog, and train it.
A good dog will:
Never lie to you
Always be your best friend
Never judge you
Always be happy to see you
Get you out of the house for a walk (whether you really want to or not)
Will listen if you want to talk (and won't talk back)
Play fetch with you
Go for a swim
XC ski with you
(ride in a side-car???)
Be your silent chick-magnet (awww look at the cute doggie..can I pet him?  What's his name? yadda yadda).

good luck, bro
Don

[Muldoon]

Im going to echo what everyone else said. If part of the problem is not knowing what you want to do for a career, I dont think most people have a clue until their 30's. But in this day and age, you can change careers anytime so dont get piegon holed.
Sounds like a need for adrenalin too. Go rock climbing. You get buff, meet excellent people, get back to nature (everyone should do this more often) and push yourself mentally and physically.
And if you get a dog can we have some pics please??
Good luck and dont stress, life is an adventure to be lived not a problem to be solved.

[johncam4]

smoke some pot

[ashman]

This is why I love Gstwin.com mechanical help plus some good advice on life. As for the chain I'm putting my budget at around 75 dollars and whats the diff. between X and O ring chains?

As for my rut I'm sticking by my friends for sure, doing a trip to FL next week just the guys. I planning on getting back in shape starting running and working out ect ect here soon. Also I already do have a dog. My wing dog   aka Blew (one blue eye) also from Old School, YOUR MY BOY BLUE!  I'll try to put some pics up, hes a loveable idiot. One big thing is a lot of my friends, similar age, are graduating and moving off to start careers. Here I am still 2 years from graduating...  Its hard to see past the college life and on to 401k's and eventual marriage and kids Anyway thanks for all the advice guys I appreciate it.

-ash

[octane]

Its hard to see past the college life and on to 401k's and eventual marriage and kids Anyway thanks for all the advice guys I appreciate it.

-ash

Don't look past. Enjoy the trip. It all happens faster than you realize. Don't miss any opportunities in between.

[Kerry]

I'm putting my budget at around 75 dollars and whats the diff. between X and O ring chains?

See my posts in the thread what size chains are on the gs stock.  It might make more sense if you read my 2nd post and THEN my 1st post.

[vtlion]

Hey ash.

what you are describing is what is now commonly called the "quarter-life crisis"

I know you've heard alot of good stuff already, but I had to toss my two cents in as well, because it sounds like you are describing my life six years ago.

I just graduated college, was starting a new job and a new marriage.  The job was going well, but the marriage collapsed after about 6 months and my wife left me.  Soon after that I started to feel unsatisfied with my work even though I was getting rave reviews from my supervisors (I do NOT recommend work-aholism to cope with a breakup, but it was all I had in a strange town with no family or friends neaby).

I chose to look at my situation as a newly acquired freedom to do something new and exciting that I would never have done had things gone my way.  It was my way of turning the whole episode into something positive.  So I applied to grad school and my life changed forever.  Its not perfect all the time... its life, but its amazing and fulfilling in a way that my original job/career ever could have been, and I never would have done it if things had gone my way.  Sometimes in life when we are having trouble seeing where we are going, whatever higher power is looking down gives us a gentle push in a new direction... sometimes its a violent shove  The point is... sometimes things have to get shaken up for us to see what the next right thing is to do.  Its painful, but that's normal.  Don't let it get you down, challenges like this build our character and make us better people if we respond to them properly and responsibly.  Things get more focused with time.  I never thought I would say this, but I'm looking forward to turning 30 next year :lol:

I wish you all the best.