On Monday, September 1, 2014 9:17:11 PM UTC-4, Quang Do wrote: > First ever motorcycle! > > It's a 93 maroon cb250 with lightning strikes (going to paint it) and > 19000 miles. I think I got it for a song at $650! It runs fine though I > haven't been able to take it past second since the front brake lever is > missing and I'm too scared to do more than take it down the street so I > have ordered that. I'm Incredibly excited - I think she's a fixer upper > but I think I'm up to the task! Here is my todo list for her, I would > absolutely love some feedback on what is most important or if I'm missing > anything! I'm planning on doing most of this myself except replacing the > tires. > Congrats! The CB250's a great little bike!
> 1. Buy and replace a new battery. Not sure if it's the alternator (dear > god hope not but I think it is) or the battery but it won't start unless I > precharge the battery. I left the bike running idle for about thirty > minutes and got about one crank from it before it died agin. Do it myself. > Second the suggestion to check with voltmeter. > 2. Buy a brake lever (done). Do I need to replace the brake line? Do it > myself. > Does the brake line look frayed? If so, replace. If not, it's probably fine. (I'd suggest an OEM part if needed. I tried an aftermarket cable -- maybe Motion Pro -- which was noticeably less sturdy and only lasted a couple years) Good time to lube the cables. > 3. Replace rear and front brakes when I take off wheels to replace. Do it > myself. > Second suggestion to only replace if needed. If you open it up, you can put a little grease on the cam (but not the shoe!). > 4. Change the oil and run b12 cleaner through the next tank of gas. Do it > myself. > For what it's worth, I got better results with Techron (noticeable improvement) than B12 (no difference). Seafoam seems pretty popular, though I haven't personally tried it. You might consider a magnetic drain plug since the 250 doesn't have an oil filter. Mine did pull a little crud out of the oil. Felt worth the 5 bucks for just the warm fuzzies. > 5. Buy a new chain. The old one looks rusty and old. Do it myself. > Second suggestion to replace the sprockets as well. FYI, the OEM chain on my CB250 was endless (no master link). I used a dremel and chainbreaker to remove a link when I took it off. > 6. Replace tires. I'm going to take the wheels off the bike and take it > to a professional. The only sizes I can find are K657 120/90-16 for rear > and K657 100/90-18 for front. It's not exactly manufacturers sizing but > should it be okay? > You can probably order the exact size online and just have the shop do the install. I did run on a slightly offsize front for a few years, and nothing terrible happened... Anything I'm missing? > Don't think so... The CB250 doesn't have a whole lot to break :) When you get to accessories: IMHO, a GPS and some luggage are highly convenient. Cheers, -ntd -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nighthawk_lovers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to nighthawk_lovers@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
