Bike wont start!/ fouling plugs?

[JWR]

Originally Posted by feltner58

..on another note what is the average lifetime of the gz motor, how many miles?

A rider in Nashville had over 30,000 miles on his, then made a 9,000 mile Alaska trip.
Far as I know he is still riding it.

[Water Warrior 2]

A GZ engine will last a long time if you treat it like a friend and don't abuse it. You can not run them wide open throttle and expect a long life engine. Proper maintenance and some TLC will get you a long way on a GZ.

[mrlmd1]

Glad you got it running and the problem is resolved. Most of the time it's operator error, not the bike's fault.
Every 3 or 4 tankfills, put 1 oz/gal of gas of Seafoam or Berryman/s B12 Chemtool (1/3 the price) into the mix, and your carb will stay clean and you won't have to fuss with that.
Your bike should outlast you with oil changes and valve checks at the recommended intervals and the only other maintenance thing you will have to do is renew brake pads and tires when needed. You should think about replacing your tires if they are the originals as they are 10 years old and the rubber gets hard and brittle and doesn't have the same grip on the road as fresh ones. Check the date stamp on the sidewalls in a little rectangular box, it gives the week and year of manufacture and if they are more than 6-7 years old, replace them for safety. You will also need new tubes and probably rim strips inside the wheels.There are innumerable threads on here about replacement tires.

[feltner58]

sometimes it sounds like it misses once or twice at idle, but Ive heard that this is just because it has a carburetor and one cylinder, I actually didn't notice it until my buddy told me to listen really closely, is it just me being paranoid or could it be an actual problem, its only at idle and you really have to pay attention to hear it

[Water Warrior 2]

The miss every so often is okay. Just a side effect of a single cylinder and lean jetting. Don't sweat it. Always buy your gas from a major chain as they tend to have a better quality refining process and additives that will keep the carb system a little cleaner.

[blaine]

I don't think it's a problem.Just keep some SeaFoam in the fuel for the next couple of tanks and I think you will be fine.
:cool:

[feltner58]

Now its running at a really high idle even when the idle screw isn't even touching the throttle its almost like its running with the choke on but I have the joke completely off please help, is my choke sticking this is driving me nuts

[bonehead]

Make sure your throttle cables are'nt binding anywhere and are moving freely thru the cable housings.

[jonathan180iq]

All those cables do need to be lubed once in a while to make sure they don't bind or stick. Since your bike is now a decade old and it didn't get used that much, I'd say it's time for a good old fashioned "Maintenance Saturday!"

For lubing cable, I personally prefer the tiny oil feed from bicycle cable lubes, which you can find at Wal-Mart for about $4.58.

Properly adjusting throttle play and clutch cable tension should be something you do at this time, since I'll bet money your high idle is caused by a sticky cable.
(Bookmark this service manual link. It's a God-send.)

http://www.gz250bike.com/gzfiles/manualserviciogz250.pdf

Just reading the words, it can sound complicated to a beginner but it's really not.

Basically, all you are doing is loosening a lock-nut, twisting the adjuster one way or another to set proper tension/play, and then retighten the lock-nut to hold everything in place.

It really should only take maybe 10 minutes total to do both. Also, don't freak out when you realize you don't really know how to gauge 1/8" of play or whatever. Don't get caught up in the numbers. Just snug it up a bit. Then shoot some lube down under the cable covers and you'll be set.

Good luck.

EDIT: One more thing, with straight pipes coming off that little 1 cylinder, you might want to have a mechanic friend make sure it's properly been jetted. Lots of people get the jetting part wrong and then wonder why their bike doesn't act the same after they put new pipes on...

[feltner58]

Where would it most likely be sticking it only idles high after I give it gas, could it be in the carb