New Owner from Chatham, Ontario

[CBGZ]

Hey there guys and gals, just recently purchased my first bike a '99 GZ250 - Also badged as the "Marauder", up here in Canada.

I've done a lot of reading on these forums the last month or so, learned lots, and eager to learn more. Just ordered JTSprockets 16t, as my first upgrade. And even did it locally, even though it would have been cheaper ordering from Amazon. Have adjusted my brakes and suspension from the great guides here, and thinking about tweaking (half turn) the idle mix (pilot screw) a bit, as I find that the idle RPM's are inconsistent at times during city driving.

Haven't completed any formal training, but have been around bikes my entire life (hopefully not picking up bad habits). I made sure to invest a good chunk of money into some decent riding gear, and on almost every outing I take 5-10 mins to do some parking lot practice. I've nearly put on 1200-1500km in the last 3 weeks :)

Will be posting some pics soon, even though I am not a huge fan of the "Forest Green" and gold-ish pinstriping, on the '99. The bike has been roughed up a bit, but no major flaws. A couple scuffs on front and rear fender, and I swear the footpeg's or peg brackets are slightly bent... They just don't look right from above.

Anyhow... enough rambling....
"All right ramblers ... lets get rambling" (Pop-Quiz - Which cult classic movie is this from?)

Chris :whistle:

[alantf]

Just remember that your Canadian bike is set up the same as my European bike. (the carb, that is) This is because the American nanny regs mean that the carb is set up so weak that it's almost impossible to ride (they've even banned carbs from now on, so all new bikes have to be fuel injected) That means that the information given for carb settings on the American bikes may not apply to the Canadian/European bikes.

[CBGZ]

Thanks Alantf, I've been eyeballing the underside of the carb to see if I could locate the Pilot Screw, but haven't managed to 100% identifiy it yet, even using the guides and service manuals.
Pretty sure the Carb ID is 13F3, any tips/suggestions to make this identification (the pilot screw) easier ?

[mole2]

Welcome to the forum from South Carolina. Ride safe.


:)

[Water Warrior 2]

Welcome Chris. Forest Green is actually one of the best paint jobs with the pinstripes and the Marauder logo. No formal training is not a good thing.......believe me. I also spent decades riding and not crashing but only because my Guardian Angel was working "overtime" on every ride. Take some real training, read Proficient Motorcycling by David Hough. I did at 62 years young and my abilities and skill level went beyond anything I could imagine.


pop quiz: 3rd rock from the sun.

[Goose51683]

Alan,

Since you mentioned the US regs a question came up. Since I love tinkering with my bike as much as I enjoy riding it, (which is good cause it seems I've had to tinker in order to ride) I've been seriously considering building my own bike. What determines if a carb is legal on your bike or not?

[alantf]

What determines if a carb is legal on your bike or not?

I don't know if you have to have regular inspections in Canada, but in England there's the M.O.T. (Ministry of Transport) exam, every year after the bike's third birthday, and in Spain there's the I.T.V. (Inspeccion Tecnica Vehiculo) every two years after the bike's fourth birthday. The common factor is that there's an emissions test. Can't remember what the limit is, but as long as the bike passes, the carb's legal.

[Goose51683]

I was referring more to years. If I build a bike off a 2013 frame does it need fuel injection as compared to if I built off a '75 frame could I use carbs.

I think there are a few states that require emmisions test prior to registration, luckily Indiana is not one Woohoo! At least not yet.

[Water Warrior 2]

The older the frame the less emission requirements. I'm sure the EPA will tell you what you can and can not do. Google is your friend.

[Goose51683]

So is riding until you get pulled over, but to each their own.

[jonathan180iq]

Even on a modern frame, sometimes you can get them to register the bike as a custom, and it's not going to be subject to the modern laws that the other stuff is.

[Goose51683]

I'm gonna start a new thread regarding building a bike since this isn't exactly the right thread for it.