First time Rider and Owner

[dvsDave]

Just completed a MSF course (offered by Apex Cycle Education, great instructors!) and just bought my first bike today!

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/230087_567304460659_50802695_31919874_963557_n.jpg

2000 GZ250, has about 13k on it, was well-loved by previous owner. Can't wait to get it registered and insured so I can get out and ride!

(btw, the camaro is my neighbor's, not mine :sad: )

[5th_bike]

Congratulations on passing the exam and getting a bike !

Wow that bike sure looks like new, well taken care of indeed. :tup:

Happy riding, keep the shiny side up !! :rawk:

And - welcome to the forum of course :2tup:

[dvsDave]

Congratulations on passing the exam and getting a bike !

Wow that bike sure looks like new, well taken care of indeed. :tup:

Happy riding, keep the shiny side up !! :rawk:

And - welcome to the forum of course :2tup:

Thanks much!

I'll actually be up in your neck of the woods tomorrow. (Unfortunately, won't be taking the bike) whole family is meeting up with in-laws and then going over to the sheep and wool festival at the fairgrounds. (it's what my wife wants to do for Mother's Day.... as long as I get some fresh lamb kebabs, I'm good :2tup: )

[5th_bike]

Oh the fairgrounds are only a couple miles from my house, and I have been to the sheep & wool festival several times. It's really nice. We may go there as well tomorrow, don't know yet.

You could also try the lamburgers. :yummy:

[dvsDave]

mmmm...

Mary had a little lamb,
It's fleece was white and pasty,
But made into the Sunday roast,
It was extremely tasty.

[alanmcorcoran]

Bike looks nice. Have fun.

[Water Warrior 2]

Good looking bike. I have always liked the older bikes with the pin stripping to add a little class.

[mole2]

Welcome aboard from South Carolina. Ride safe.


:)

[dvsDave]

Alright, Bike is Insured, now off to the dreaded DMV to register it.

[alantf]

Did the previous owner remove the licence plate? or do you have to get a new one for each new owner? Where I come from, the plates go through life with the vehicle. :)

[Water Warrior 2]

The license plate stays with the previous owner. North America is probably the only place in the world where the plate belongs to the owner and not the bike.

[dvsDave]

Water Warrior is correct, the plates are registered to the owner, not to the vehicle. Another reason, when getting a bike, to bring or rent a motorcycle trailer to pick it up, since it shouldn't have plates on it when buying a used bike.

[dvsDave]

Done! Class-M Permanent License, Registration and Plates! Only an hour and a half at the DMV. Not too shabby.

[blaine]

Done! Class-M Permanent License, Registration and Plates! Only an hour and a half at the DMV. Not too shabby.
Congratulations.ride safe. :) :cool:

[Water Warrior 2]

:2tup: :2tup: :2tup: :2tup: :2tup: :2tup: :2tup: :2tup: :2tup: :2tup:

[geezer]

thats the nicest stock gz ive ever seen :2tup:

[dvsDave]

Went home for lunch, rode the bike back to work (only about 6 miles) Got up to 55mph for about a mile. Absolutely thrilling and slighting terrifying at the same time. The sheer amount of wind resistance against my body was more than I was expecting. Got to work safely, am going to wait till evening rush hour traffic dies down a bit before heading home.

[bonehead]

After living in No.VA. for 2 years, rush hour is'nt going to end until midnight. :lol:

[alanmcorcoran]

Depends on the state. Plates stay with car in CA. With owner in NY.

[dvsDave]

After living in No.VA. for 2 years, rush hour is'nt going to end until midnight. :lol:

Thankfully I only live a couple miles from where I work and I can take all local roads. I route-planned and took a different way home than I usually do, but there were 3 less intersections to deal with. Worked out great.

[mole2]

Depends on the state. Plates stay with car in CA. With owner in NY.

That's because Kalifornia is a different country than the US.


:)

[Water Warrior 2]

dvsdave, soon the ride home will be 20 or 30 miles with a StarBucks tossed in for good measure.

[WowWhoaWeeWa]

Done! Class-M Permanent License, Registration and Plates! Only an hour and a half at the DMV. Not too shabby.

Hey, congrats on the "M" and passing MSF. I enjoyed reading about your experience so far with riding. Chuckled some when you mentioned getting up to 55. :-) I'm sure I will have my own stories beginning Wednesday or Thursday!

Howard

[dvsDave]

Well, took the bike this morning to work. Got about halfway there, and it stalled on me. Huh... only 115 miles on it. I'd better switch to reserve. Go another 3 miles to get to the gas station, (uphill the whole way) and it stalls out on me only 150 yards from the station.

*SIGH* Parked the bike on a side street and walked in my boots to get a gas can and gas. Not a fun way to start the day. Thankfully, my boss just thought it was hilarious instead of being upset that I was late.

[5th_bike]

Hm, it shouldn't stall out on you after only 3 miles on reserve; reserve should take you at least 30 miles.

And a full tank should last more than 150 miles before hitting reserve.

There could be something else going on, like dirt in the carburetor. Hope it cleans up by itself.

[dvsDave]

To be honest, I'm not sure how close I can get to the top of the tank when I top it off, I might not have had a full tank.

[blaine]

To be honest, I'm not sure how close I can get to the top of the tank when I top it off, I might not have had a full tank.
Reserve still should still take you about 30 miles not 3 miles.Sounds like you may have a petcock issue. (dirty pickup screens)
:) :cool:

[alantf]

I'm not sure how close I can get to the top of the tank when I top it off

Tank should be filled to level with the metal thingummy with the hole in it, under the filler cap. This allows for expansion. :2tup:

[geezer]

did you have the valve on the reserve postion the whole time? its missleading for me anyway and this happen to me once too, luckly i made it home but it was close.

[dvsDave]

I've got a 2000, does the short side or the long side point to the position?

[cayuse]

The long end points to the position:
Good photo here:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4351&p=48242&hilit=petcock#p48242 (http://www.gz250bike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4351&p=48242&hilit=petcock#p48242)

I guess the photo doesn't actually answer your question but the answer is the same.
Point the long end to what you want.

[blaine]

I've got a 2000, does the short side or the long side point to the position?
The long side points to the position.


http://s1.postimage.org/1y68dt1hg/GZ250_fuel_petcock.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1y68dt1hg/)

[dvsDave]

Oops, that would have been my problem! Lesson learned!

[Water Warrior 2]

I've got a 2000, does the short side or the long side point to the position?
The long side points to the position.


http://s1.postimage.org/1y68dt1hg/GZ250_fuel_petcock.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1y68dt1hg/)
Yup, the pic shows it in the "ON" position.

[geezer]

lol i knw it :lol: :lol: same thing happend to me! i was like my bikes broken!! :cry: take a good look at the valve you will see the tiny litte arrow! suzuki has a twisted sence of humor

[blaine]

The long side points to the position.


http://s1.postimage.org/1y68dt1hg/GZ250_fuel_petcock.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/1y68dt1hg/)
Yup, the pic shows it in the "ON" position.
Most petcocks are the same way.(long side points)The short side will only point to "on & res",it can't point to "pri".Only the long side will point to all three.
:) :cool:

[DeeDee]

Hi, I am A first time rider and new owner also, I have the very same Bike as you have
have had a few issues learning to shift and get it to run when I let the clutch out. any tips on this
are welcome. I am excited to ride.

[Water Warrior 2]

DeeDee, glad to have a new member join us and share our riding pleasure. Question for you. Have you taken a riding course from a decent instructor ? This is the best way to learn and develope good habit and not develope bad/dangerous habits. Also pick up a copy of Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough. In his writings he explains so many small details that you will be amazed. We can help with certain questions and I will it leave up to another to explain the clutch control etc but please do the course and reading. It is the best and cheapest life insurance you can buy.

[alantf]

I think America is the only country in the world with predominantly automatic cars. This means that no one with a car licence is used to using a clutch. In all other countries, car drivers who move on to motorcycles are used to using a clutch. In England, if you pass your test in an automatic, that's all you're allowed to drive. If you then want to drive a manual car, you have to take another test, in a manual car.

I think the best advice I can give you is to find somewhere quiet, get a few revs on the bike - in 1st gear with the clutch pulled in - ('til it sounds like there's enough revs for it to move off) then let the clutch out smoothly until the bike feels as though it wants to move off. Pull the clutch in, and try it again. Keep doing this until you can feel this point without having to think about it.

Next step is to find this point, then, simultaneously, get a few more revs and let the clutch out fully (smoothly) and move off, accelerating gently as you do so. Pull the clutch in, stop, and do it again, until you feel comfortable. Don't forget, you MUST pull the clutch in before you stop, or you will stall the engine.

Hope this helps to explain the basics. :)

[DeeDee]

Thank you for all the information. I have forgot to pull the clutch in. I will figure this out I took the riders course
That helped alot. Have been riding in the fair grounds. I had a miner tip and broke my tail light
Someone tell me it gets better

[geezer]

dee dee where you live? it gets better

[Water Warrior 2]

DeeDee it does get better. Mostly you are unfamiliar with the controls and are a might nervous trying to sort it all out. Don't get stressed out and panic. Just take a breath and relax. The bike is a patient friend and will wait till you are ready to continue.

[alanmcorcoran]

I second what the other Alan said. If you aren't familiar with a clutch, you have an extra level of learning you have to do on top of the balancing, the throttle, the brakes, etc. In the class they start with people just duck walking the bike for a while and then spend a few hours just in first gear. I don't think we ever got past second gear. For those of us that had already ridden a bicycle and were familiar with shifting (from cars) it didn't take long to get moderately competent. The people that had the most difficulty in the class were the two girls that had never ridden a bicycle and had only minimal experience driving an automatic car. They had a lot more to master in the short time of the course, and one did not make it. The key here is: TAKE YOUR TIME. Baby steps. There is no rush. Just work on one thing at a time and allow ehough time for the magic of the brain and repetition do it's thing. If you are falling off, you are probably trying to do too much too fast.

[DeeDee]

thank you, you have really answered a lot of what I and doing and feeling, I know I can do
this I think I just get impatient. The riders course was a big help too. But I was one of those
ladies who never grew up shifting a car so his all is harder.. I know it will come, thank you for
all your tips. Ride Safe! DeeDee

[DeeDee]

dee dee where you live? it gets better
Hi, I live In Minnesota,

[tcrave]

How high is it idling? Is the choke on or off? Check your throttle cables, and I know this sounds stupid, but check the kickstand and the kickstand spring.

To explain, my bike stalled on me while I was driving and it had plenty of gas. I couldn't get it to restart, so I put the choke all the way up and it started up. If the choke was on, it idled too high, but still ran, if I turned the choke down, it would die. After playing with the idle screw a bit, I turned the idle a little higher up and it was fine. You might just have the idle set too low.

Check your throttle cables, make sure they are not stuck and are working properly.

Check your kickstand and the kickstand spring. I know its a wierd and long shot, but these bikes have a killswitch on the kickstand to where you can't go anywhere if the kickstand is down. There have been plenty of times that my bike died when I tried to take off, only because I forgot to flip up the kick stand. You say you were riding the bike already, so thats not the problem, but I am wondering if maybe the spring is loose and when you hit a bump or something, the kick stand comes down just enough to kill the bike?

Also make sure your gas switch is on the "on" position and not "PRI"...and make sure there are no leaks.

[tcrave]

Oh, and I have the exact same color as you! Mine is just a year newer, half as much miles, and doesn't have saddlebags. And mine has a few scratches from the previous owner laying it down.

[tcrave]

oops, didn't see the second page before I posted, sorry.