Kyr - Harrisburg, PA

[kyraeus]

Hi guys,

Kyr here, I'm a new, relatively proud owner of a '99 GZ250 that I picked up locally from a gentleman who'd gotten it in trade for some chopper parts. He didn't have much use for it, so he'd tapped it up on craigslist for about $500. It's a bit beat up, and there's some (hopefully minor) problems, but it seemed a decent deal to me, because I needed a working vehicle, and fast. Here's the rundown:

I got ahold of the original owner of the bike, which was necessary because the current owner had only a signed (not notarized) copy of the original title issued for it. I was taking a chance, but it paid off there. It so happened I JUST started going to kung fu classes with someone who not only was the original owner's kung fu teacher, but also (although unrelated to) share the same last name as the original owner. He told me the story of the bike. Back in '01 when it was last inspected, he'd slid it going over a gravel patch in a parking lot. Messed up his leg pretty bad while in shorts, dented the tank (you can see that in the photos below). After that, he said he basically garaged it, left it sit for awhile. He didn't specify when, but at some point sold it to a buddy, who after one or two other trades ended up with it in the hands of the guy I got it from.

So what I have after all that is a bike with under 2600 original miles on it, about 13 years old or so. Still running, thankfully.

The issues I know about are a problem with the front brake caliper, which was removed when I got it, but included. I'm probably going to just replace that entirely to save any issues. The other thing was that the guy mentioned he couldn't get it to start using the electronic ignition, and was sparking it with a screwdriver over the terminals. Thanks to info on this board, I realized he either had the stand down or wasn't holding the clutch when he tried it. One shot after I got it home, and the ignition switch started it right up. The pipes on it WERE cut and rewelded at one point, poorly. I don't know what they had in mind, but they welded the pipes back on such that the end isn't in place properly to line up to bolt to the frame.

Bike starts good, idles a LITTLE off, but I'm attributing that to the LONG storage and carbs that are probably still a little gummy. I haven't taken anything off really yet, or had time to look at the gas tank inside or anything. I'm a completely green rider, I have my permit, but not my license yet. As far as mechanics, I've worked on cars before, but nothing really serious. With bikes I'm still a bit mystified. So I'm hoping to get a lot of good advice on here from the pros. If I need a little clarification please don't be too hard on me, it's a bit of a jump from simple stuff like changing the brake pads on your '89 CRX to cleaning out the carbs on one of these things.






If anyone has suggestions of what to start off with doing to this bike, first off to get it running in good order and preferably cheaply, and then just for kicks to give better performance overall, or to make it pretty, I'd appreciate it. I'm already looking at running a bottle of gumout through it, although it probably needs a proper carb cleaning which is above me. Additionally, I was considering the 16 tooth sprocket change on the How To's page, as well as possibly a few other minor ones like the light changes/etc or a tach.

Especially if anyone knows how I can EASILY paint or cover up the ugly covers I have on there, I'd appreciate it. Some people were telling me plasti-dip was an option, others said even a simple spray can wouldn't be terrible, or at least better than the blank ones on there now. Otherwise, if you notice anything wrong just on offhand glances or want some detailed pics of areas, let me know. Thanks all!