Troubles with my GZ's engine, please assist.

[bergreen]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum. Guess I'll start off with a bit of introduction. My name is Daniel and I've owned my 2008 GZ250 for 6-8 months now. She's my daily commuter (30 miles a day or so) and has taken me on a few road trips that average 300 miles round-trip. Kinda hard on this little motor. She has about 8,000 miles, regular oil/filter changes, clean and lube the chain, wash the bike, etc. I usually use mid-grade gas, and always give her Suzuki performance 4 10W40 oil as suggested. I just replaced the spark plug a couple days ago.

Now on to the issues. I got in a minor wreck over Christmas vacation. Some guy in a truck went very far out of his way to make sure I hit him, but that's an entirely different story. Hit his bed with my left handlebar and dropped it on the right side. No tilt sensor - brilliant - so the bike kept running. I had her standing up again in less than 10 seconds, so I don't think there was much damage as far as having the bike running while sideways. Brake pedal was bent, fender/tank/muffler scratched, front right blinker mount got bent. That's about the extent of the cosmetic damage.

Here's the engine trouble. I'm not sure if it is related to the wreck, but I figured I would include that story just in case. I will list out the problems in bullet form.

1) High-pitched whiny sound from the engine while at cruising speeds.
2) Feels off-balanced in the back.
3) Front forks and steering column are not perpendicular to the frame.
4) Backfiring out the intake/airbox when cold (probably needs a valve adjustment).
5) Slipped the clutch, hearing a metal-on-metal sound from that side, cannot recreate the sound now.
6) Noticed a small leak from the front-right of the base gasket.

Any ideas?

[bergreen]

Oh also the old spark plug looked good, burned at a nice light tan color.

[blaine]

Welcome.Your bike not tracking properly,feeling unstable,and the whining sound,sounds like your back wheel is not running straight.Your base leak will probably need retorquing the bolts on the pan,or a new gasket.I think you are right about the valve adjustment.You can check your wheel alignment by checking the marks on each side of the frame.
:cool:

[Water Warrior 2]

2 quick questions. Did you do any damage to the clutch lever when you hit the truck ? Is there any damage or bending done to the handlebars ? Either side higher or lower, further forward or back ?

[bergreen]

To answer water warrior, no damage to the shifter, no damage to the handlebars.

To address the balancing issues, my alignment is fine, and it has felt imbalanced since the day I got it.

Thank you guys for the fast responses.

[jonathan180iq]

Backfiring and popping is more likely that when you wrecked a vacuum hose may have pulled loose under the tank. (Since you did mention the tank being hit, i's worth looking at.) Pulling the tank is all of 3 bolts and 5 minutes. Do an inspection under there to make sure that all hoses going into and coming out of the carb are securely attached and not road rashed or something funny.

Everything else you mentioned needs a once over. Are you saying that your forks and handle bars aren't lined up properly when you hold them straight? Like when you misalign your handle bars after biffing it on a bicycle?

Stand back and have someone slowly roll the bike forward in a straight line to make sure everything is lined up the way it should be, back to front.

[bergreen]

No I mean when I'm riding in a straight line, my forks and steering column are angled slightly to the right.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by bergreen

No I mean when I'm riding in a straight line, my forks and steering column are angled slightly to the right.

Was the forks like that when you bought it?(you said it felt unbalanced since you bought it.)or just since the accident?It's starting to sound like the forks are bent,or the frame is twisted.Either way,it shouldn't be rode till you find the problem.
:??: :whistle:

[Water Warrior 2]

Originally Posted by bergreen

No I mean when I'm riding in a straight line, my forks and steering column are angled slightly to the right.

Hmm, I need a better explaination of steering column. Are you referring to the steering head that is a solid part on the front of the frame ?

[alantf]

Originally Posted by bergreen

I usually use mid-grade gas,

Hi there,
Don't waste your money. The geezer's designed to run on cat's piss if necessary. Just go for the lowest grade you can get. :2tup: