February 14, 2007
News, Tips
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Well, after sitting for more than a month I went for a ride Monday afternoon after class. The battery was ready to go from being on the charger. The bike took three-15 second bursts of the starter at full choke to catch, then stumbled around a bit before coming to life. It was very cranky. I mainly think this was because I didn’t drain the float bowls and the gas in the carbs had gunked up a bit. I didn’t expect it to sit that long. A few laps of the neighborhood later, full power was back and I had a nice long ride. Back in the garage for a while though, thanks to the following:
February 9, 2007
Modifications
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This was the first thing I did after buying the bike. Those huge, ugly, protruding front turn signals had to go. This one is as simple as unscrewing the old signals, drilling a small hole (don’t worry, even if you go back to stock signals, you still can’t see it), and attatching the new ones. Some minor wire splicing is involved. Got them, color matched, from Keith. He used to sell on eBay but now has asiancycle.com set up for orders. You can customize which color and baseplate you want. Even though they are shipped from Thailand, I still got them faster than most things I have ordered online. Also, I replaced the bulbs with 1156’s, since they are brighter and don’t cause the fast flashing that the smaller bulbs will. Here’s before, during, and after shots.
February 3, 2007
Tips
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There has been a lot of controversy regarding how to properly start the EX250 when it’s cold. Here’s how I like to do it. First of all, it’s important to note this changes quite a bit depending how long the bike has been sitting and what the temperature is like.
Normally I will start with about half choke, unless I have already ridden that day. If the engine doesn’t start with half, I gradually bring it up more and more until it does start. You should never have to touch the throttle to get it to start. As soon as it starts with the choke, bring it back down to get the revs to around 3K. You don’t want it spinning halfway to redline (which it will with full choke) with thick cold sludge for oil. Keep stepping back the choke as it warms up, keeping it around 3K. After a minute or so, you should be good to ride off. Keep the revs low, under 6-7K for the first 5-10 minutes of riding while everything warms up. After the first couple minutes you should be able to turn the choke off.
If it is difficult to start with full choke, you most likely need a carb cleaning and/or a valve adjustment.
February 2, 2007
Maintenance
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When I realized that my bike hasn’t moved in a couple of weeks, I finally broke down and picked up a cheapie battery charger. It’ll keep the battery in good shape until this crappy weather finally clears. I don’t mind riding in the cold, but when there’s salt/sand/crud all over the roads, I’d rather take the car. I pulled the battery out of the bike since there isn’t an outlet on that side of the garage, but when I reinstall it I’ll leave the quick connector in place so I can always plug it in while the battery is still in the bike if I need to.
