HELLO from new lady rider Nashville, TN

[TNCounselor4u]

Proud owner (two weeks ago) of a red 2001 Suzuki GZ 250. A Craigslist special by another lady rider who also bought it from the original lady rider. Drum roll on the deal...2450 original miles, windshield, excellent condition...$900.00 cash! :2tup: I completed MSF Basic Rider Class 12-6-11 and had TN "M" endorsement on my drivers license on 12-7-11.

I'm 49 and had never ridden a bike before though always wanted to let my "inner rebel" out to play (I'm a psychotherapist by day) :rawk: . I rode this weekend in my neighborhood and felt like a free bird (I know you are thinking guitar riff in Lynard Skynyrd song)

[blaine]

Welcome to the family.Ride safe & enjoy.

[JWR]

Welcome and enjoy.

:rawk:

[ecr959]

$900 cash, Wonderful deal. You will have FUN, with this bike and learning stuff on this forum. The great thing about this forum is that everybody has the exact same bike that you have, so if you ever have a question about tires, tuneups, brakes, shopping for saddlebags or helmets, you will get the best advice from friendly people.

[Jvacustoms]

Welcome to the Forum, Riding gear saves lives, consider it an insurance policy on your skin and bones... ride safe, enjoy

[alantf]

Hi there, With some of the money you've saved on the bike price, treat yourself to an engine guard. Dunno why they're called that because their job is to protect your legs when the bike goes down. They're the only thing that'll stop your leg getting squashed/burnt. Notice that I've put WHEN, not IF, the bike goes down. I'm not trying to alarm you, but I don't think there's anyone in the history of motorcycling who hasn't gone down at sometime in their riding career. One other point - if you do decide to buy an engine guard (and I wouldn't ride without one, and I've been riding for over 45 years) don't buy the Suzuki one. It's nothing more than an ornament! The Americans on this site will be able to point you in the right direction, as America has different brands to us. :2tup:

[mole2]

Welcome to the forum from South Carolina. Congrats on the new bike. Ride safe.

[greatmaul]

Great pics! Welcome! I'm sure since you just had the BRC that you know about gloves, armored jacket, boots, helmet etc. It's pricey stuff, but really worth it, especially since you got such a great deal on such a great bike!

Also, since it's very low miles but 10 years on, you should check the dates on the sides of the tires. Mine was a 2000 with 6900 miles and the tires were original. Good tread or not, tires shouldn't go for much more than 6 years. The rubber gets old and dried up and cracked. My bike rides so much different now that I put brand new rubber on it.

There are date codes stamped into every tire. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11 It starts with DOT and there are a bunch of numbers at the end. If it's newer than 2000, then the last 3 numbers will be the important ones. They are "week, week, year" as in "246" would be 24th week in 2006. Mine said "1799" at the end which meant 17th week of 1999, and had very fine cracks along the sidewall, which is dry rot I found out, and a very bad sign.

Anyway, just tryin to help! Ride safe and best wishes from sunny CA where it's 27 degrees last night.

[NonallaNostrum]

There are date codes stamped into every tire. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=11 It starts with DOT and there are a bunch of numbers at the end. If it's newer than 2000, then the last 3 numbers will be the important ones. They are "week, week, year" as in "246" would be 24th week in 2006. Mine said "1799" at the end which meant 17th week of 1999, and had very fine cracks along the sidewall, which is dry rot I found out, and a very bad sign.

Got that backwards. Prior to 2000 last number was year (3 digit) After 2000 it is 4 numbers, week,week,year,year. Not sure how yours said 1799, unless you are somewhere else. Not trying to be argumentative, just clarifying Very good point to check them tho, most people don't realize it.

[greatmaul]

Originally Posted by NonallaNostrum

Got that backwards. Prior to 2000 last number was year (3 digit) After 2000 it is 4 numbers, week,week,year,year. Not sure how yours said 1799, unless you are somewhere else. Not trying to be argumentative, just clarifying Very good point to check them tho, most people don't realize it.

Oh geez, you're totally right. I don't have the old tires any more, and was totally going off of memory, which is not good in my case. Thanks for the correction! Hate to be giving out wrong information.