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]

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]

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]

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]

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:

[Pushdeck1]

70W40 is what the oil fill cap says, crank says 1300ml for volume. Anyone else running 70W40?

[Sarris]

Owners manual is listed on this page. I got my replacement from here.

Owners Manual (http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/2/Make/Suzuki/YearID/41/Year/2000/ModelID/7030/Model/GZ250/GroupID/303356/Group/LABEL)

:)

[Easy Rider]

70W40 is what the oil fill cap says, crank says 1300ml for volume. Anyone else running 70W40?

No such thing. You are mis-reading a 1 for a 7.

And, as far as volume goes, I found that it is best to start out putting in about 100 ml less than the recommended amount.....which should put it "in range" in the window, and then ride a few miles and check again after sitting a while. I don't think I ever got the full suggested amout in, probably because it's not possible to get ALL of the old oil out.

[Pushdeck1]

Well I'm an idiot, Good thing I'm a Newbie status, the one didn't have a line under it, but I got to thinking and looked again, it is 10-40.

Far as the chain goes how tight should it be about? Similar to dirt bike tension?

Low RPM cruising it has a little hesitation pop like the carb is gunked. I changed the gas and no change. Going to ride for a few days and see if it clears on its own before opening it. I worked on small engines (h***a primarily) for a rental company for 3 years and this is the same symptom as a gunked carb and or bad fuel/water but I drained the gas so should be it.

Easy Rider, you read my mind. Your right its impossible to get it all out of any engine. Appreciate the heads up and not rootin me for the oil (should have though!)

[Water Warrior 2]

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:
I stand corrected. :cry: At least I was in the right neighborhood.

[blaine]

Far as the chain goes how tight should it be about? Similar to dirt bike tension?

Low RPM cruising it has a little hesitation pop like the carb is gunked. I changed the gas and no change. Going to ride for a few days and see if it clears on its own before opening it.

The free-play in your chain should be between 1/2 & 9/16 inch.When you tighten your chain spin the wheel to make sure you are at the tightest part of the chain.Put a good quality carb cleaner in the tank.Berrymans B-12,or Seafoam are good quality ones to use.
:) :2tup:

[Easy Rider]

Far as the chain goes how tight should it be about? Similar to dirt bike tension?

Low RPM cruising it has a little hesitation pop like the carb is gunked.

There is a standard for chain slack; you REALLY need an owner's manual; it's in there.
And there is a manual on here for download.
In general, regardless of bike model, about 1/2 inch of slack is usually good.

A thumper doesn't really like to run good at really low RPMs; thus the fairly high idle speed recommendation.

AND mechanics don't like to hear this but a healthy shot of Berryman's B12 Chemtool and then riding a couple of days ........along with upping your idle speed a bit will probably solve that low speed problem; a extra half turn out on the idle mixture screw might help too.

Even if you know how, no need to rip the carb apart if you don't have to.

:tup:

[Pushdeck1]

That's my philosophy, I don't like to mess with any carb unless its a last resort. I'm very knowledgeable and experienced but will definitely try carb cleaner first though.

Thanks for the input!

I saw that manual on here, but some people had some skepticism about it on the thread so wasn't too sure bout it. I'll try my local dealer when I get oil and see what they are asking for one.

[Water Warrior 2]

Chain slack can be different on different bikes. There is no standard measurement for all bikes. The amount of chain slack is determined by chain length, swing arm length, and rear suspension travel among other things. It is better to be a little slack than a little tight with the chain slack on most bikes. There are no hard and set rules written in stone that apply to all bikes.
Oh, that was a lie about rules. They all get dropped eventually. :whistle:

[blaine]

I saw that manual on here, but some people had some skepticism about it on the thread so wasn't too sure bout it. I'll try my local dealer when I get oil and see what they are asking for one.

The manual for the G.Z is expensive,I paid $90.00 for one from the dealer before I found this forum.I could not find one to buy from a aftermarket source as none of the major printers seem to print one.
:cry: :itsokay:

[Easy Rider]

The manual for the G.Z is expensive,I paid $90.00 for one

I assume that is a service manual.
An owner's manual should be MUCH less....probably around $20.

[Easy Rider]

I saw that manual on here, but some people had some skepticism about it on the thread so wasn't too sure bout it.

I do wish you would point out where that is.....so maybe Patrick can review and remove the negative comments. It is, after all, just a copy of a "real" manual. What is there to be skeptical about ???

[blaine]

The manual for the G.Z is expensive,I paid $90.00 for one

I assume that is a service manual.
An owner's manual should be MUCH less....probably around $20.

:oops: You are right. I thought he was talking about the service manual. :2tup:

[Pushdeck1]

I meant service manual (break down, disassembly/assembly, ect.)

[Pushdeck1]

One on ebay right not for 39.95 I think but for a 99. Used but great condition with binder backing.

[Water Warrior 2]

Those in the know can confirm this but wasn't the service manual here online a European version with just a few minor changes compared to the U.S. manual. That appeared to be the only bad thing but not really a disaster by any stretch of the imagination.