New GZ250 owner and member

[GZ250MC]

Hi all just bought a used 2002 GZ250 with 172 miles on it. Yup you read that right 5 years old and only 172 miles on it looks just like new after I washed off the dust.

I bought the bike as a first bike for my other family member to learn to ride and to get their licenses. I have been using it to scoot around town and it is a nice little bike. I want to get some miles on it and break it in. That usually makes the gears shift better so it hopefully is easer for them. Plus I wanted to get some fresh gas in the system and let it run through the system.

Only had one strange problem the bike was missing and I found that the spark plug cap was leaking. I took it off and looked it over and it was fine just cleaned it put it back on but still leaked. So went to Suzuki and they wanted $25 for a new one (sold as 3 pieces cap and 2 rubber ends that’s crazy). The old cap looked just like a NGK XD05F so I bought one of them for $3 (complete cap and both rubber ends) and it worked just fine. More or less they are the same cap (NGK one has NGK in white letters only diff) and no more voltage leaking. Not sure why the old cap was bad but it was, it had no cracks and again had only 172 miles on it.

I was wondering if I should change the oil or just run it till it’s broke in and then change it. The oil looks perfect and I was not sure if Suzuki used a break in oil or not first. The previous owner said they ran the bike every few weeks to keep the battery up. They must have since when I put a charger on the battery it did not take much to bring it to full and it seems fine.

Also I was thinking about the tires too they look fine don’t have any visible problems but are old as in time. The bike was covered in a garage the whole time so it was not outside or in the sun. I hate to buy new ones since these still have the prickly tabs even in the center.

Also does anyone know if it is ok to go highway speed during the break in? The owners manual say half throttle first 500 and three quarters till 1000 miles. I took the bike on the highway and seems that at 55 it’s at least half throttle and really screaming. Seems to me that to do 65-70 you would need to be at full throttle so I am guessing that is out for the first 1000 miles.

Thanks

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by GZ250MC

I was wondering if I should change the oil or just run it till it’s broke in and then change it.

Also I was thinking about the tires too they look fine don’t have any visible problems but are old as in time.

Also does anyone know if it is ok to go highway speed during the break in? The owners manual say half throttle first 500 and three quarters till 1000 miles.

Welcome! We all love our big little bikes!

Yes, change the oil. It's 5 years old and you can't tell the condition by looking at it!

Sun and heat are the biggest enemies of tires. Since yours weren't exposed to either, they should be OK for conservative riding (no screaming sharp corners). Watch the sidewalls carefully for hairline cracks.

Follow the manual as far as break-in, as near as you can. I think I'd keep it under 50 until 1000 miles.

Pay particular attention to the chain for a while, especially if you are using real oil on it. It may have a few links that are a little "tight".

The best information I found on here was about the 16 tooth front sprocket.
Consider that after your break-in.

[Water Warrior 2]

GZ250MC, welcome to the forum and congrats on the new bike. I am amazed that some one would keep a bike for 5 years and not ride it. Their lose but your gain of course. Thankfully the previous owner did take care and attend to certain things. About the tires.........they might be flat spotted from being parked so long. As suggested, change oil and filter soonest and ride it. Take care now.