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Veda, I'm actually more scared of riding a scooter than a bike! So I respect you for it. Either way though, I'm sure you'll have fun, and if you end up progressing the way most do, you'll end up with a VTX 1800 or a Goldwing! lol
Wrider

Mr Fast Eddy B, I hear a lot about everybody saying about only using 87 octane grade fuel but nobody gives a reason why? I see no harm of any engine using any higher octane, I use a 92 octane grade in all my bikes and I see a noticable difference in power and less black smoke from the exhaust, I do know a higher octane will give a slightly less mpg, but the advantages are more power and a cleaner burning engine. In any 2 stroke bike its a requirement that you use the highest octane fuel you can get or it don't run at all.

MotoF150 wrote: I see no harm of any engine using any higher octane, I use a 92 octane grade in all my bikes and I see a noticable difference in power and less black smoke from the exhaust, I do know a higher octane will give a slightly less mpg, but the advantages are more power and a cleaner burning engine..

If your engine was not designed to run on higher octane fuel, the only benefits to doing so are in your mind. Of course, I'd expect a "pro" like you to know that. Why am I not surprised.

BTW - If your bike is blowing black smoke, it's broken. Running 92 octane isn't going to fix it. For a self professed mechanical genius, such as yourself, it shouldn't take long. Certainly less than the year you've been whining about it.

Well, guys, I checked out the bike today.

I'd fully read though this article (http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike-content.html) many times, but on the day of it really didn't seem to help - my inexperience and general noobity showed when I didn't realize that the bike was up on the centerstand. (I'd never dealt with one before, and only noticed that the kickstand was down.) It went even further when I didn't realize that the EX250 can lock the handlebars in a certain position. (The bike I rode in the MSF sure didn't do this!) But I did my best, as I couldn't find a friend who rode, to do a quick inspection myself. I couldn't do a lot of the things that that article mentioned, but I figured that since it's a 2005 model a lot of the issues mentioned in that article would have little chance of existing on this particular bike. (I hope that wasn't a bad assumption.)

At any rate, I checked the shocks, and the front fork had very smooth operation, and whatnot. The back shock, however, went down and stayed down. There was resistance, but nothing like the article said - it did kinda feel like a spring. IT didn't push me back up. I don't know if it's the way they've got the rear shock configured, or what. Any advice?

The other thing...I checked the tires and they seemed to check out alright (some fine cracking inside the tread, is that alright? Dry rot or no?) but the date code said they were from the 15th week of '04...this is a 2005 bike. So...no, wait. A 2005 model would come out the year before, duh, so yeah...those tires are three years old. They've got to be replaced. Right? Or is there some reason a 2005 bike would have 2004 tires?

Overall, however, the bike seemed to be alright; it started up well, all the lights worked, and it seemed to be in pretty good condition except for the whole back shock thing and the tires. I'm gonna go back next week once I've found a friend (or some random dude I can pay, if I can't find a friend) to go back, check out and inspect the bike, and give it a test ride so I know what I'm getting into.

So yeah...advice about the tires and the back shock? Oh, yeah, the brake rotors seemed to have some type of dry oil residue on them, is that a problem? I thought it was rust at first, but when I looked at it it wasn't.

Man, I make long posts. Help me out! Thanks.

lunchmeat wrote:Well, guys, I checked out the bike today.

The back shock, however, went down and stayed down. There was resistance, but nothing like the article said - it did kinda feel like a spring. IT didn't push me back up. I don't know if it's the way they've got the rear shock configured, or what. Any advice?

You mean as long as your weight was on the bike, the rear suspension stayed compressed? That's normal.

lunchmeat wrote:The other thing...I checked the tires and they seemed to check out alright (some fine cracking inside the tread, is that alright? Dry rot or no?) but the date code said they were from the 15th week of '04...this is a 2005 bike. So...no, wait. A 2005 model would come out the year before, duh, so yeah...those tires are three years old. They've got to be replaced. Right? Or is there some reason a 2005 bike would have 2004 tires?

It's not an emergency. But replace them sometime in the upcoming year. They're starting to dry out, which means they're loosing the ability to flex as the bike leans. The effect is probably slight so far.

lunchmeat wrote:Oh, yeah, the brake rotors seemed to have some type of dry oil residue on them, is that a problem? I thought it was rust at first, but when I looked at it it wasn't.

Brake dust? (IOW normal dust from the friction of pads on disks?) Dark colored?

Well, I put my weight on the back of the bike...I was pushing down on the little handlebar on the tailpiece of the bike, above the brake light. (odd that it has that - I assume it's to make centerstand use easier.) There was resistance when I pushed, but not so much - I tried to push it all the way down, but I guess I didn't.

I figured the tires needed replacing. How much is it for a new set of street tires? I'll see if I can subtract that from the price of the bike. And how much for labor? The article had some numbers but I'd like statements from actual people.

As for the brake rotors, the stuff was tea-colored, or maybe honey colored, somewhere in there. Thing is, the marks were in the shape of water droplets, which is why I wasn't sure about it - I wasn't sure if some type of brake fluid was leaking onto the rotors. It was on the back one as well, but there it just looked like dust. I think what I saw on the front rotor was a mixture of brake dust and evaporated water; it'd rained a lot for a couple of days before I saw the bike, and it was under a cover, so water probably condensed on the rotors (drawing the dust with it) and then probably evaporated, leaving the residue in the outline of water droplets. That sound reasonable?

Sorry this is tedious - I'm just trying to make sure I'm not getting something that will cause a lot of problems in the future. I'm trying to be as careful as possible, since I'm a newbie.

1) don't worry too much about the rear shock, it should be fine
2) tires are about 150-200 each for the ninja 250 and you're looking at an hours labour to replace both
3) sounds like rust on the rotors, use them a couple of times and the pads will scrape them clean, though you should wipe them down with brake clean first DO NOT use a lube of any kind on them