New "old" bike run through maintanece Q's

[Pushdeck1]

So I picked up an 2000 GZ250 and have an Idea of what to go through but thought I would run it by you guys to make sure.

1. New Gas, Drain old (What octane should I use? 87,90,93)

2. Clean or replace air filter

3. Change oil (says weight on cap, does it need to be motorcycle rated oil?)

4. Tire Pressure (says 40 cold but I know that is too high, hear 25 Front, Rear 30ish?)

5. Chain is loose (any words of wisdom before tightening?)

6. Check Brake fluid

Anything I am missing? :??:

Thanks for the help in advance!

[Viirin]

Battery and tire wear - i'm out of ideas after that but don't worry - there'll be more...

vii

[blaine]

Welcome.You should use 87 octane fuel,if you use the higher grades you are only wasting money.Oil should be 10-40 without friction modifiers to prevent clutch damage.SHELL Rotella-T is a common one to use,or a motorcycle specific oil.When adjusting the chain be careful to keep the rear wheel aligned with the marks on the frame.I found the bike handled better if both tires were set to 30 P.S.I.You should also check the valve adjustment as it should be checked and or adjusted every 5000 miles.Make sure when you clean air filter that you only blow air from the outside in,if you put compressed air to the inside of the filter it will be ruined.Good luck.
:2tup: :cool:

[dentheman]

Study the owner's manual for specifics, it will answer the questions you have asked and more. If you don't have one it is downloadable at the top beginning of this forum. (Note that manual is for european version so it will list a higher grade of gas than what is needed, use gas as blaine stated).

[Pushdeck1]

I wouldn't have thought that about the air filter thanks. The oil cap fill point says something way different in weight. Will check in morn. Thanks for the tire pressure input and chain suggestion, doing all that about noon after class.

Thanks for the input.

Oh, and just got the manual download but would much rather have paper back manual. Any good sites to get it from? Had a hard time searching it...

[alantf]

Originally Posted by blaine

I found the bike handled better if both tires were set to 30 P.S.I.

Whilst in no way saying that this is wrong, I think that it's more a matter of finding what suits you. I, personally, ride 2-up or heavily laden, most of the time, so I put 33 in the rear, & I find that it steers better with 25 in the front. But,like I said, find what suits YOU (within reason) :2tup:

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by Pushdeck1

I wouldn't have thought that about the air filter thanks. The oil cap fill point says something way different in weight. Will check in morn. Thanks for the tire pressure input and chain suggestion, doing all that about noon after class.

Thanks for the input.

Oh, and just got the manual download but would much rather have paper back manual. Any good sites to get it from? Had a hard time searching it...

The oil cap fill point probably says 1300 ml or some such thing. That would be 1.3 liters in the GWN. As for oil you may just go with a 10-40 weight oil that is suitable for motorcycles. 15-40 is also a good number. Check the back label on the bottle for a circle to see if it says Energy Conserving. It should "NOT" read Energy Conserving. Typically oils that are Energy Conserving are 10-30/5-30/5-20/0/20/0-30 etc. They will contain molifiers that are damaging to clutch plates in motorcycles. Also pick up a Hi-Flo 136 oil filter, it is cheaper than Suzuki and is good quality.

[Water Warrior 2]

Tire pressures are like oil opinions. Everyone has one that works for them under their own circumstances and riding habits/needs. With Lynda's GZ I set the rear at 33 and the front about 3 over specs. This gave good handling and excellant tire wear. The tires looked very good after 12,000kms/7450 miles. The recommended pressures are for OEM tires. A little experimenting with other makes of tires might make a world of difference.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by Pushdeck1

The oil cap fill point says something way different in weight. Will check in morn.

It will say 10-40 on the oil cover,that is the recommended weight and 1300ml on the block beside the cover,that is the amount of oil.
:2tup: :cool:

[alantf]

Originally Posted by blaine

1300ml on the block beside the cover,that is the amount of oil.

And that is for OIL CHANGE ONLY. With oil & filter change, it's 1400ml. :2tup: