VTR250 - Hell of a first bike

[darkwolf]

I've been on this forum for a while now but for one reason or another buying my first bike has always eluded me. Until now:

Bought my first bike today. 1999 Honda VTR250. Pics are below.

One question I did have. I had a 100-0 stop then another say 800m later. Not an aggressive stop for either but it felt like by the second stop the brakes may have begun to fade a little. Is this likely to be the case or do I need to get a prescription for some harden up pills and pull the brakes harder?

[JustNick]

Nice looking bike mate. Shiny!

[curly]

Nice bike indeed.

I have a VTR 250 myself and there bloody awesome to learn on.

Some advice I got was work on getting your skills up in bite sized pieces,
and look at getting some training such as Pro-Rider or something similar.

[darkwolf]

Yeah I will be looking into one of the $75 courses that Mainland Motorcycle School offer. They were great when I did my basic handling skills test.

For now I'm just trying to get my basics right. Clutch, throttle, indicators, brakes, steering etc. Once I feel confident that I can ride without taking out oncoming traffic I'll book in to do a course. That way I can pick up any bad habits early.

I have however popped my first wheelie. Overestimated the clutch grab and underestimated the throttle. The wife was right behind me as it was only the third stop sign on the way home from collecting the bike... I don't think she was as amused as I was.

[otter]

I don't think it would be brake fade, not in that little use. I've taken my VTR250 to track days and not had a problem with brake fade that I can tell.
You can get bigger wheelies if you sit further back, even partway onto the pillion seat...you still won't get a substained wheelie out of it though
Great condition for an older VTR250, how many KMs does it have on it?

[darkwolf]

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I don't think it would be brake fade, not in that little use. I've taken my VTR250 to track days and not had a problem with brake fade that I can tell.
You can get bigger wheelies if you sit further back, even partway onto the pillion seat...you still won't get a substained wheelie out of it though
Great condition for an older VTR250, how many KMs does it have on it?

36,000KM

I figured out the "brake fade"... found this morning I have a tendency to slightly roll my thumb when braking. This means the bike is still trying to push when I apply the brakes. The harder I applied the brakes, the more I rolled my thumb.

Now I know. Working it out of my system.

[Shadows]

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36,000KM

I figured out the "brake fade"... found this morning I have a tendency to slightly roll my thumb when braking. This means the bike is still trying to push when I apply the brakes. The harder I applied the brakes, the more I rolled my thumb.

Now I know. Working it out of my system.

You could try braking with just your first two fingers while leaving your little finger around the throttle. Then as you reach for the brake, the grip you have with your little finger helps to close the throttle and keep it there. It doesn't work for everybody but it's something to try.

[darkwolf]

Awesome. Will give it a try.

[darkwolf]

Damn it. Learnt a new lesson today.

So I decided to follow the manual and pull out the air filter to see if it needed to be replaced. Going to be doing a service shortly as I always do with new stuff.

So I turned off the fuel tap. Pulled the tank off. Yep air filter needs to be replaced. Reinstall air filter and tank. Start bike up get down the road round the corner... hmmm throttle seems off... STALL & LOCK UP. Bit of a rear wheel slide, clutch in, but stop in the middle of the lane. Wave traffic behind me by. Push bike to side of the road. I realised immediately that I had forgotten to turn the fuel tap on. I had noticed it was a bit slow to accelerate but thought it was just cold...

I have now added checking the fuel tap to the start up procedure. Walk around bike, visual check of oil, coolant, fluid levels and tyres. Sit on bike, kick the stand up, check brakes and clutch movement, turn on, choke (if necessary), check in neutral, check fuel tap, start.

Is there anything else I should be checking?

I will be buying some chain oil this week too so I can oil the chain after every decent ride. Is there any type of chain oil recommended by anyone?

[Slyer]

Haha, nice dude.
It's a fun trick to play on other unsuspecting motorcyclists.

[MSTRS:Me]

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You could try braking with just your first two fingers while leaving your little finger around the throttle. Then as you reach for the brake, the grip you have with your little finger helps to close the throttle and keep it there. It doesn't work for everybody but it's something to try.

Depends. How near to the grip does the brake lever get when applied? In a emergency situation, the last couple of mm travel may be denied by a finger or two in the way.
Just learn to stop rolling the throttle with your thumb...

[JustNick]

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Damn it. Learnt a new lesson today.

So I decided to follow the manual and pull out the air filter to see if it needed to be replaced. Going to be doing a service shortly as I always do with new stuff.

So I turned off the fuel tap. Pulled the tank off. Yep air filter needs to be replaced. Reinstall air filter and tank. Start bike up get down the road round the corner... hmmm throttle seems off... STALL & LOCK UP. Bit of a rear wheel slide, clutch in, but stop in the middle of the lane. Wave traffic behind me by. Push bike to side of the road. I realised immediately that I had forgotten to turn the fuel tap on. I had noticed it was a bit slow to accelerate but thought it was just cold...

I have now added checking the fuel tap to the start up procedure. Walk around bike, visual check of oil, coolant, fluid levels and tyres. Sit on bike, kick the stand up, check brakes and clutch movement, turn on, choke (if necessary), check in neutral, check fuel tap, start.

Is there anything else I should be checking?

I will be buying some chain oil this week too so I can oil the chain after every decent ride. Is there any type of chain oil recommended by anyone?

Might want to check headlights, brake lights and indicators too mate.

[darkwolf]

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Might want to check headlights, brake lights and indicators too mate.

Good point. Will do.

[shrub]

My son had one when he was learning, and it was a cracker until he tried to get the ton out of it on the way back from the Greymouth Street Races in 08. All was good until he hit a bump mid corner and had a crash course in tank slappers thanks to 16 inch front wheel and 20 year old suspension and steering. He hit the deck at 160 and thanks to his old man lecturing him on ATTGAT, no road furniture or other vehicles he came out of it with a grazed elbow and a broken finger. He rebuilt the bike having never worked on a machine in his life, fell in love with fixing machines and is now training as a vehicle mechanic in the army, and rides a Street Triple.

But that's another story. I reckon they are one of the best learner bikes on the market. They deliver enough grunt to keep up with most sensible riders on the open road and have plenty low down so are easy around town. They are bulletproof mechanically and have been around for over 25 years, so there are plenty of used parts (as my son discovered) and they look and sound fantastic.

[jaffaonajappa]

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Might want to check headlights, brake lights and indicators too mate.

You might be over checking stuff. But one thing that used to get me as a learner.....
Kicking the stand up is a good one. Perhaps 'visual' check that the stand is up could be added down the list.