Back to biking newbie now with a Honda VTR250 (fyrgem)

[fyrgem]

Hi!
After a two year gap in riding i've bought myself a Honda VTR250, big improvement on the GN250 I used to own.

The saying 'it's just like riding a bike' doesn't always apply. :o
She's bigger and heavier than the GN, which didn't help the little confidence I did have. (someone cut me off, raining, wet paint, both GN and I went down)

Took her down the (steep) road, pulled into a driveway to turn around and thanks to the angle, deep gutter and moi not thinking it through... down she went. :cry:

injured parties, including my pride:
footpeg, clutch lever, bar-end and it seems that some oil may have leaked out, not dripping, but visible. no visible damage to the engine or tank, was my first check.

When I first tried to start her, nothing. a day or two later and she turned over, there was a CLANK and smoke out of my muffler (most likely from oil), not sure what that almost-metal-on-metal sound means. ?? :scratch:

did a bit of research, going to clean her up to better inspect her, check oil levels, sparkplugs, etc. (just put a new battery in)

I did all the oil/filter/plug changes on my GN, so I should be able to get my head around this beast too. :p


and yes, 'back to biking' confidence course... booked for this week. :rolleyes:


and that's my drama. I mean story.
Thanks!

[BigAl]

Good to hear you've got back in the saddle so to speak.

It is unlikely that you've done any damage to your vtr from a slow speed drop unless it rev'd it's nuts off for a sustained period.

You are right when you say that you suspect a little oil has seeped into head and that is why it will smoke a bit.

Give it a good fang and she should be right :2thumbsup

[fyrgem]

Awesome, thanks BigAl !

The bike was stationary at the time, although still running, so I hit the kill switch and hauled her heavy ass up.

I can't wait to build that confidence back up and feel what she can do

:msn-wink:

[Dragon]

Should post some pics of yourself and your bike :)

Was going to say me and a few guys go riding now and then but your in Auckland lol so not much use for you :p

[Grashopper]

Welcome to the forum and awesome that you went back on the bike.

The vtr seems to be a nice little bike (in my totally qualified looked at/sat on opinion :) )

[fyrgem]

Good news! She lives!
Gave her a clean, and started her up. Smoked out the garage and driveway. Haha Planning to give her an oil change tomorrow.
Excited!
One step closer to getting her back on the road. :)
Thanks everyone

[BigAl]

Cool, she'll still smoke until the oil in head is burnt away even after an oil change.

Give it a good run and then clean or replace the plugs if they look worn/old.

[nerrrd]

Had my '86 (I think) vt250f for about 8 years, never let me down. Great bikes.

[hayd3n]

i had THE 98 VTR250 great bike!!!! rode up to chch a few times, id still own it if i diddnt need the $$

[ducatilover]

The VTR is a great little bike :2thumbsup
Welcome to the forum

[Mushu]

My brother in law bought a vtr250 a couple of months ago. I test rode a few for him, great bike I find it feels very strange to ride because the bars aren't very wide but he's used to it now so I guess it just makes it easier to split and around town it's probably a better bike than my ninja (that cost twice as much) cos its so nippy it feels even smaller than it is.

Congrats on the upgrade and good on you for returning to riding, don't worry about having dropped it that's the beauty of naked bikes. I'm sure the motors fine as long as it's got oil in it and wasn't running for too long on its side.

Does yours have hazard lights and front indicators that are on all the time?

Sent from my XT535 using Tapatalk 2

[fyrgem]

[QUOTE Does yours have hazard lights and front indicators that are on all the time? [/QUOTE]

No, it doesn't have hazard lights and only the headlight stays on. indicators don't stay on.

[Mushu]

No, it doesn't have hazard lights and only the headlight stays on. indicators don't stay on.

That's funny, I rode 2 of them while my brother in law was bike shopping, I wonder if it was just a particular year or if it was a modification and just a coincidence that both did it, in any case I found it a good bike to zip around town on.

Sent from my XT535 using Tapatalk 2

[ducatilover]

That's funny, I rode 2 of them while my brother in law was bike shopping, I wonder if it was just a particular year or if it was a modification and just a coincidence that both did it, in any case I found it a good bike to zip around town on.

Sent from my XT535 using Tapatalk 2

Depends on what market they were destined for, some of our "nz new" ones were unwanted, or over stocked overseas ones.