New to riding.

[9mmPreacher]

Hey guys, I'm Drew and I am in Texas. I am a Navy Policeman and I just bought my first ever motorcycle-2005 GZ250. It had about 2000 miles on it and I paid about 3200 with tax/title.

I have been out riding a bit and I notice little things like the idling is never consistent. Sometimes it idles high and others low. I had some issues with the battery as well. When I pulled it off the truck it wouldn't start up until I jumped the battery, however it was working fine at the dealer. I bought a trickle charger for now and I am curious if that is going to be enough or if I should just replace the battery all together.

I know this bike is a starter bike and I am sure I will upgrade in the future, however for now I love it and I hope to gain some great knowledge from this forum.

Thanks all,
9mmPreacher

[Easy Rider]

I have been out riding a bit and I notice little things like the idling is never consistent. Sometimes it idles high and others low. I had some issues with the battery as well.

Check the throttle and choke cable(s) for free operation. If no problem there, then I'd run some carb cleaner through a couple of tank fulls. Gumout or Berryman's B12 are good; look for something that says "carb cleaner", not injector and not multi-purpose. The idle speed normally increases a bit after it is thoroughly warmed up.

A 3 year old bike with only 2K miles probably sat idle for long periods of time. That's hard on a battery if not kept fully charged. I think you should just replace. Alas, they are expensive......~$80-90 !!

[themarauderer]

I second the battery comments...

I bought my GZ - it had sat, unused. Battery was screwed. Note: check the terminals first tho - you MIGHT be able to breathe life into this battery then get some vaseline on to the terminals to stop corrosion and viola.

Failing that, replace the thing. I had to replace mine (cost £25 - about $50!) and its started on the button EVERY single time since. I cannot complain - this was from previous problems of having to recharge it every night....the old battery was capoot .... now, its a dream.

Idling - Easy Rider has it spot on in this regard....check throttle/choke cable. Also, give it a good choke before running it ... I STILL Need to choke my GZ a lot before a run.....

Good luck,

[9mmPreacher]

Hey thanks so much for the imput. I am really excited about this bike, just this afternoon I had to get on it just to cruise around before work. I am always skeptical when it comes to buying used when I don't know much about a product so I just want to be sure these guys didn't rip me off. I think they should have replaced the battery for me, there's no way they didn't know about it being low.

Other than that I am very satisfied and I look forward to getting to know you guys.

[Water Warrior 2]

Welcome 9mm. You will be very happy with the GZ as a first bike. Question about the battery charger you got. Is it a smart charger that will do a maintainence charge without overcharging ?? A Battery Tender is a great item for a bike. Cheap enough to buy and will maintain the battery at full charge over long periods of time. This will greatly extend the life of a battery.

[9mmPreacher]

yes it is smart enough to stop charging when full, it's a new Black and Decker one.

[Water Warrior 2]

yes it is smart enough to stop charging when full, it's a new Black and Decker one.

Excellant, how many amps will it charge ?? Remember if it is designed for a car battery it may be to large for a bike battery and cook it.

[turbo chicken]

Hey another rider from Texas... I'm in the Dallas Ftworth area!!!

Welcome and you should be able to find just about anything you need for your bike on this forum. Download the user manual and service manual... both are life savers...

see ya on the road...

[Easy Rider]

yes it is smart enough to stop charging when full, it's a new Black and Decker one.

Excellant, how many amps will it charge ?? Remember if it is designed for a car battery it may be to large for a bike battery and cook it.

I'm sorry but that is a myth.......mostly.

Unless you have a home-made charger or look real hard for something super-cheap from China, no modern chargers will "cook" a healthy battery, regardless of size. When the voltage in the battery rises, the current delivered from the charger decreases. You almost have to purposely TRY in order to cause any real problem.

Now, if one does something really dumb.......like set the charger to 100 amp start or fast-charge and leave it connected overnight then all bets are off. Even a shop-size floor model charger can be used on a small battery IF you use just a tiny few brain cells in the process. :tup:

[Littlethumper]

Hello and welcome 9mm!
I'm new myself and glad to be on this site....

Lots of info here and enjoy your stay!

Drive safe....

[Water Warrior 2]

[quote=9mmPreacher]yes it is smart enough to stop charging when full, it's a new Black and Decker one.

Excellant, how many amps will it charge ?? Remember if it is designed for a car battery it may be to large for a bike battery and cook it.

I'm sorry but that is a myth.......mostly.

Unless you have a home-made charger or look real hard for something super-cheap from China, no modern chargers will "cook" a healthy battery, regardless of size. When the voltage in the battery rises, the current delivered from the charger decreases. You almost have to purposely TRY in order to cause any real problem.

Now, if one does something really dumb.......like set the charger to 100 amp start or fast-charge and leave it connected overnight then all bets are off. Even a shop-size floor model charger can be used on a small battery IF you use just a tiny few brain cells in the process. :tup:[/quote:1ql5o14v]

That is very true but I would rather be safe than sorry. A bike specific charger is just a form of insurance and much cheaper than another battery if a larger charger goes a little nuts. Probably not gonna happen but I won't take that chance. Also a M/C charger is smaller and can be packed away in a saddle bag very nicely for a long trip.

[Easy Rider]

That is very true but I would rather be safe than sorry. A bike specific charger is just a form of insurance and much cheaper than another battery if a larger charger goes a little nuts. Probably not gonna happen but I won't take that chance. Also a M/C charger is smaller and can be packed away in a saddle bag very nicely for a long trip.

OK, I'll buy that........if and only if you can NOT go to the next shelf over.....or to the hardware/big box/auto store down the street....... and find exactly the same charger with no mention of motorcycle on the label for less money. :)

A battery is a battery. Any small charger should work fine. The fact that it does NOT say "Motorcycle" on the label means absolutely nothing.

No, sorry, apparently it does do something; it makes you FEEL better. If you don't mind wasting a few dollars to get that feeling, then I'm good with that.

[Water Warrior 2]

Easy Rider, believe me I did go to the next shelf over and there was nothing to see. Non-specific chargers were far too high priced, bulky in size, more than needed for my uses. The only smaller charger I saw had absolutely no information about being a smart charger and was a real shoddy piece of work. My Battery Tender came from the U.S. Even with shipping it was still much cheaper than a bike shop would sell it for here in the GWN.

[Easy Rider]

Easy Rider, believe me I did go to the next shelf over and there was nothing to see. Non-specific chargers were far too high priced, bulky in size, more than needed for my uses. The only smaller charger I saw had absolutely no information about being a smart charger and was a real shoddy piece of work. My Battery Tender came from the U.S. Even with shipping it was still much cheaper than a bike shop would sell it for here in the GWN.

Well there you go then! I have no problem with that at all. :tup:

Let me recap my point for the (possible) benefit of others: If you find a small tender type trickle charger that looks like it is well made and has a decent price, it does NOT need to be labeled specifically for motorcycles.

[Water Warrior 2]

[quote="Water Warrior":3f3taqyu]Easy Rider, believe me I did go to the next shelf over and there was nothing to see. Non-specific chargers were far too high priced, bulky in size, more than needed for my uses. The only smaller charger I saw had absolutely no information about being a smart charger and was a real shoddy piece of work. My Battery Tender came from the U.S. Even with shipping it was still much cheaper than a bike shop would sell it for here in the GWN.

Well there you go then! I have no problem with that at all. :tup:

Let me recap my point for the (possible) benefit of others: If you find a small tender type trickle charger that looks like it is well made and has a decent price, it does NOT need to be labeled specifically for motorcycles.[/quote:3f3taqyu] :2tup: :2tup: