First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Good evening fellow GZ Owners. My name is Calvin and I recently bought a 1999 GZ250 w/6900 mi. for $325.00. I put a new rear tire on, new battery in, changed oil and filter, cleaned it up, carb cleaned and have been riding for two days now. You guys on this forum have been a tremendous help. This is my first bike and it couldnt have worked out better. I have learned more on this forum than I learned in my entire school career. I hope to be able to figure how to post pics of the bike soon. Its all stock. Dont know that I want to modify much. Exhaust maybe. The wife and daughter have both already been burned. Thankful to have such a great group to learn from. Let me know if I can help with anything. Thanks again! Be careful!
Calvin

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Yay, welcome to the forum ! :2tup:

That's a great price for a GZ250, about 10% of the new price. It should have many more miles left.
Mine is a 2005. Stock plus tach.

Two words of caution (wow I'm starting to talk like many others here :whistle: ) if your front tire is from 1999 as well, better change that one too. Second - I assume you cleaned & oiled the chain too? :roll:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Thanks for the welcome. Front tire is a bit newer and not quite ready for replacement. I did in fact address the chain issue. Ive given the whole bike a good once over. Brakes, cables, lights etc. I had a lot of trouble with the fuel tank. Nasty,nasty. I cleaned and rinsed several times. Gas, water, bearings, muriatic acid, more gas. Its as clean as I can get it. I installed an inline fuel filter and all is well so far. I also had a lot of rust on most of the chrome. Rims were the worst. Finest grade steel wool worked the best followed with some polish. Next thing I intend to do is switch to synthetic oil. Rotella 5w40. Then maybe needle shim mod.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Well that pretty much covers any advice i can give :lol:

oh, i found a thin rough-sponge and elbow grease worked better at removing rust that a wire sponge and all those crappy rust removal products i bought.....i just could get a good enough grip on the wire sponge pads

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

For the rims I use chrome cleaner, applied with a plug brush made of some sort of soft brass/copper(?) material. It was useless for cleaning the plug (too soft) but great for removing rust. :2tup:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Scroll down to "post reply" click on it. "browse", "upload", "place in line". Hey presto - even us old timers have learned how to do it (eventually) :cry: :2tup:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Welcome.Very good deal on a low mileage bike.I just sold my 99 model for $2200.00 a little over a month ago.Would not find a deal like yours around hear.Safe riding,Good luck.
:2tup: :)

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Hey Guys. Thanks for the advice. My buddy works on airplanes and also suggested the brass brush idea. He says it works wonders. For now its clean enough to be seen on so Im ridin. Today I switched to 5w40 synthetic. Only put a few miles on it so far but seems smoother. I also put a little B-12 in the tank and turned the pilot screw in 1/2 turn. I rode about 100 miles with the screw at 2.5 turns out and it seemed ok but I cant be satisfied with ok. I adjust till its really outta whack then find the sweet spot again.(hopefully). Thank again guys!

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

You are adjusting the pilot screw with the bike running I assume.Adjust in or out to achieve the highest idle.That is your sweet spot.
:roll: :yes:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Yea, Bike running. What a hot job. Havent found the perfect screwdriver yet so its not been the easiest of adjustments.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

I found the small straight bit out of a 5 in 1 screwdriver works best.

:2tup: :rawk:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Ive been using a straight bit but turning with 1/4" wrench. Cant turn by hand.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Try using a 1/4" socket on the bit.It should be large enough to turn by hand and less awkward than the wrench.

:2tup: :cool:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Thanks Blaine. Good thinking. Way to stinkin easy for me. I just posted a question about shock adjustments. Have you found one setting better than the other. If so, easiest way to adjust?

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

I found the 3rd setting the best for me,but I only weigh 140lbs.Any less than 3rd is to soft,any more is to stiff.I use a center punch to turn the adjusters,It fits in the hole perfectly.

:tup:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Welcome aboard Calvin! Ride safe and keep the shiney side up.


:)

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

I was always taught to screw it in until it starts running rough, then screw it out until it starts running rough. Halfway between the two is the ideal spot. :2tup:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Having gotten pretty adept at tuning simple engines, like older VWs and Land Rovers, the best way I've found to adjust the mix is to smell the exhaust. An acrid oder, it's too lean. A heavy oily oder, too rich. Kinda' like steam up your nose, spot on. I haven't tuned up my GZer yet, but the same should hold true… Oh, and if you do try this method, don't go riding straight away :)

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

That might work a bit better Alantf

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

And one day you will cross a threshold where you just drop unconcious next to a running engine. The results could be fatal, please stop doing that.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Next time an older car passes by, see if you can tell if it's running rich or lean. You don't have to go and stick your nose in the exhaust :)
P.S. (edit). I'm glad you made that comment, W.W... My 'don't ride just after doing this' statement was meant to be a lighthearted warning, but I don't think it was made strong enough.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

I thought it was funny

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Welcome and happy riding

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Whats up guys. Today I turned the screw back out .5 turns. Right where the manual and most "RESPECTED" riders have said and its running great. Before it was really sluggish on the bottom end. Just got back from a ride tonite. Its about 70degrees F here. Really nice out. My idle still seems a little low. I dont have a tach yet but Im guessing somewhere around 800 now. Idle adjust screw is so darn iffy. Adjust and its great, ride and its crap. Maybe not crap, but not what I want to hear.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Be sure you have the idle mixture set to were you get best Idle between lean & rich.
Make sure bike is completly warmed up before setting the idle,it should be around 1200 to 1300 rpm.Check out some videos on u-tube to get a idea of proper speed at idle.
:2tup: :lol:

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

That's about the only complaint I had with my GZ.

After cleaner in the gas, lube'ing all the cables and throttle parts and adjusting the mixture......I finally gave up and decided that the final idle speed was just going to be "variable".

I ended up setting mine when it was thoroughly warm but not really hot.

That way, I could turn the choke completely off in a reasonable amount of time without it stalling.......but then on a really HOT summer day after a long ride, it would idle a bit high. I just learned to live with it.......except for my road trips.....when I just couldn't stand it and had to tweek it back down just a bit.

I suspect it was still "in range" but I just wasn't comfortable with it.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Since carburetors control air volume, but the fuel/air ratio is a matter of air density, and since air density is determined by humidity, altitude, and air temperature, could any of those three elements (humidity, altitude, temperature) have changed significantly between tune-ups?

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Sure, could have.

In my experience, it changes from morning to afternoon.
Mostly that it just runs better on the lean mixture when HOT.......I think.

I also suspect that the "European" models and those with the jet changes and needle shim mods won't notice it nearly so much.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

[quote=3-D Video]Since carburetors control air volume, but the fuel/air ratio is a matter of air density, and since air density is determined by humidity, altitude, and air temperature, could any of those three elements (humidity, altitude, temperature) have changed significantly between tune-ups?[/quote:2fiujfse]
And that is one of the main reasons FI is so sweet. No more messing around. The TU 250 would be a nice ride with it's FI.

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

Um, after I adjusted the valves recently, I noticed it seemed to idle much more regularly - so, cb3 have you checked the valves ?

Re: First Bike! Best Forum Ever!
 

No sir. I sure havent checked the valves. I guess I have something to do this weekend. Just when the list was getting short. Oh, well. at least its fun stuff right? Thanks!