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Jamiepo
5th October 2005, 14:05
OK, well I found a bike that I like and it's in my price range I have talked to the guy who is selling and he said he can deliver it to me with a brand new wof for $2000. It is a 1990 SRX250 with just over 20k on the clock, all of the other bikes that are in my price range (2.5k and under) are in the the high 40k's and over , is this a good deal, does anyone have any advice/experience with this model and a similar year?? Seeing that I have a couple of hundy left over from my top dollar I might take it in for a service when it gets here, what kinda price am I looking at??
Thanks for all of the info in my other threads,

James

Sniper
5th October 2005, 14:07
They are a good bike and I think you are getting a good deal for $2000 with 20k on the clock. I would run a history check though and see what condition its in though just to be sure. Otherwise I would say go for it and if you need any help scruitenising it, there are a few of us here who can help ya.

Jamiepo
5th October 2005, 14:13
How would I run a history check on it?? Get the rego number and go into a post shop kinda thing and what does that cost??

Sniper
5th October 2005, 14:14
Check out aalemon.co.nz It costs a wee bit but it will tell you if there is money oweing, if its stolen, its a bloody handy tool.

Jamiepo
5th October 2005, 14:18
oh and also is there any way to make sure that the KM's are genuine?? The guy is down in southland so I won't really be able to have a good look at it until it gets up here and by then I will of payed for it. Worth the risk, cause it sounds a lot better than anything else have been able to find and the single cylanders are uaually pretty reliable right?

FROSTY
5th October 2005, 14:18
very cool little bike ol son :headbang:

Sniper
5th October 2005, 14:21
oh and also is there any way to make sure that the KM's are genuine?? The guy is down in southland so I won't really be able to have a good look at it until it gets up here and by then I will of payed for it. Worth the risk, cause it sounds a lot better than anything else have been able to find and the single cylanders are uaually pretty reliable right?

Yep thats true, it will tell ya all about the KM's.

Single cylinders are great unless they are a CG125, then they are arseholes. Anyway, you will have great fun on it and as long as it runs well and isn't a tip bike, as frosty says, they are really cool.

Jamiepo
5th October 2005, 14:21
this is the bike HERE (http://www.trademe.co.nz/structure/0001-0026-1255-2509-/auction-37353329.htm)

Jamiepo
5th October 2005, 14:22
Tip bike???? Been fallen off of?

gamgee
5th October 2005, 14:23
they aren't as quick as some of the other sprot bikes, but in exhange for that you get a great learners bike and most importantly if your on a tight budget, reliability, and low fuel costs, i used to have the sr250 which is the less sporty version, but they are still a lot of fun for a learner and a great starting place, how far is this person delivering the bike? $1500+ is about normal for a tidy SRX with 30,000km on it, so yeah depending on how far the delivery is, I'd be asking that they chuck a years rego on as well as the wof, don't rush in and pay to much

Sniper
5th October 2005, 14:25
Tip bike???? Been fallen off of?

Looks neat. Yep, a tip bike is a crashed or ugly looking thing. Almost like a rat bike but with class :whistle:

marty
5th October 2005, 15:21
certainly the numbers on the odometer look a bit suspect - they should all line up nicely. 20000kms in 15 years is a pretty low annual amount....

Sniper
5th October 2005, 15:23
Also there is some nice grazing on the instrument console I would want to check out.

bungbung
5th October 2005, 15:52
Also there is some nice grazing on the instrument console I would want to check out.

That looks like the kind of thing a bunch of keys will make.

Sniper
5th October 2005, 15:55
That looks like the kind of thing a bunch of keys will make.

It just looks rather black with some deep grazing. Might have been dropped which may have something to do with the speedo being misaligned

bungbung
5th October 2005, 15:58
It just looks rather black with some deep grazing. Might have been dropped which may have something to do with the speedo being misaligned

Are we talking about the lower left corner of the speedo shot? I've got that around my key hole on my vtr.

Motu
5th October 2005, 15:59
They are a luverly bike,if I was gunna stoop to owning a sprotbike it'd be an SRX600.....I'd have the 600 coz I'm a grown up see.That's the TTR250 motor,a well sorted unit - the heads on early models cracked badly,but 1990 should be good.Keep up with the oil changes,nothing kills a single quicker than not changing the oil.

Sniper
5th October 2005, 16:00
Are we talking about the lower left corner of the speedo shot? I've got that around my key hole on my vtr.

Yep, thats where I was thinking. I could be wrong though but thanks for pointing out the key thing :niceone:

gamgee
5th October 2005, 21:28
my bike's only done 23000km (as of yesterday :apint: ) but then it wasn't bought into the country until 1996 and from memory had only done about 2000km when it was bought in

Ixion
6th October 2005, 02:07
.. It is a 1990 SRX250 with just over 20k on the clock, all of the other bikes that are in my price range (2.5k and under) are in the the high 40k's and over , is this a good deal, does anyone have any advice/experience with this model and a similar year?? ..
James

Li'l Ratty is an 87 SRX250. I reckon they're a damn good little bike. Very economical (80 - 90 mpg), VERY easy to ride, excellent in traffic. No vices , fast enough to handle motorway and open road cruising at moderately illegal speed (top is probably about 150/160 on the flat, but they are very overgeared for relaxed cruising - 100 kph is only 5500 rpm on a motor that revs to 11000, so if you found a downhill you could wind it off the clock , to maybe 180, 190) , excellent traffic light acceleration to keep you away from the cages. Don't need to be revved like the 4 cylinders , you can easily cruise at 3000 in 6th gear, and accelerate away from that.

Reliable, except for the electrics which are crappy like all Jap electrics, mainly the switch gear which is very cheap, check that all the lights etc work.

Maintainance is dead easy, only a single cylinder to worry about, and most stuff is easy to get at.

Nimble, quick, cheap as chips to run, easy and an absolute TON of fun. I often take Ratty instead of the BMW on shorter trips just for the fun factor. I'd recommend them unreservedly.

Watch out for rust in the fuel tank, and leaks, the tank design is stupid with a blind dead corner that water accumulates in. Otherwise, nothing is particular to watch out for, the cam chains are a weak point as they are on every OHC engine, but they are easy to change, unlike some designs.

One of the best bikes around for a learner (or an experienced rider !) I reckon.

Jamiepo
6th October 2005, 10:16
Thanks for all of the quality feed back on the bike guys, by the sounds of it I have found myself a great wee bike!!! Few things that I would like to know though. I am going to change the oil and filter and put in a new spark plug, can anyone recommend what type/brand to use for this. Also I have heard that these bike tend to vibrate a fair bit and that it is a good idea to tighten everything once in a while, was that just a problem with earlier models or would it be the same on the 1990? The guy I am getting the bike off said that he is repairing the tank as it already has a leak in it, so I will keep an eye on thet.

Thanks again.

James

nudemetalz
6th October 2005, 10:40
If they're anything like the NZ250 (which I assume they would be), then go for it. Light, punchy, great around town and economical.

Jamiepo
6th October 2005, 11:01
Ok well I am feeling even better about the bike now that I put it through LemonCheck. It has been in the country for about 3 and a half years and in that time only show 4,500KM done. 3 owners, two of them were ladies, 1 of them only did 500KM on it in the year that she had it. All of the ODO readings seem to add up od this side, although you never know with the JAPA side of it!!! I should have it up here before the end of Next week!!!

Lets hope the sun stays shinning!!

Motu
6th October 2005, 11:23
They have a balance shaft,so are pretty smooth...NGK or Denso plug and genuine oil filter,they are cheap enough.

Jamiepo
6th October 2005, 15:06
One other thing, I am going to be doing about 1500 KM a fortnight, does that mean that I should do an oil change every 2 weeks or so?? Is 1500km a good weigh point for oil changes, and if so, how often should I change the filter?? every oil change as with cars?? and should I do the plug at the same time?
Does any body do this type of milage per week??

Jamiepo
6th October 2005, 20:37
Anyone got any ideas??

gamgee
6th October 2005, 20:40
oil change every 6 months or 2500km whichever comes first, change the filter at the same time

Motu
6th October 2005, 21:17
So that's 3000km a month? Long hot run is good for a motor,so change every 2 mths with a filter,use the best oil you can afford,these motors use bucket followers so aren't as prone to cam and rocker wear like the earlier motors were.

MacD
6th October 2005, 21:23
They are a luverly bike,if I was gunna stoop to owning a sprotbike it'd be an SRX600.....I'd have the 600 coz I'm a grown up see.
Yeah, I miss my SRX600, wish I'd kept it when I bought the RF900. Singles are the essence of motorcycling, especially ones with kick-starts only :devil2: . It's really satisfying once you get the hang of starting a particular bike.

Jamiepo
6th October 2005, 21:28
Instead of driving my honda accord with a 2 litre DOHC engine I am going to use the bike. So the money I save on the petrol I can spend on top quality oil. Can you please tell me what brand of oil I should get. I will only use it over spring/summer and some of autumn so max kinda 6 months, so 3 maybe 4 oil changes in that time. I'm gunna do one straight away whay price am I looking at for oil, and is synthetic or mineral best? Sorry for all the questions but it is the best way to learn!!
Cheers for all the info guys!!

nudemetalz
6th October 2005, 21:57
One bit of advice often repeated here....

Don't use car oil, don't use car oil, don't use car oil, don't use car oil !!!

It will bugger your clutch up due to containing what's called friction modifiers.

Do a search here in Kiwibiker, you'll find lots of threads containing what people consider is the best oil, but to cut a long story short, I run Shell Advance 4-stroke Motorcycle oil available at any (or most) Shell Garages.
Works well in the NZ and VT 250's.

Cheers
Chris

Jamiepo
6th October 2005, 22:13
Yeah, I have read a fair threads about the friction modifiers and how they affect the clutch. Thanks for the info about the oil.

James

Motu
6th October 2005, 22:15
Don't use car oil, don't use car oil, don't use car oil, don't use car oil !!!

It will bugger your clutch up due to containing what's called friction modifiers.


Bullshit,bullshit,bullshit! ALL car engine oils DO NOT contain frictions modifiers,only some,and they will be marked as such.Motorcycle specific oils are higher in moly than car oils - moly is used as a ingrediant of friction modified oils,ester is also used as a friction modifier,the highest quality synthetics are esters.How about some facts before you use such a wide brush in your statements.

Jamiepo
6th October 2005, 23:17
So what specific weight of oil should I use, I don't have a manual so would it pay to ask a Yamaha dealer??

nudemetalz
6th October 2005, 23:34
Bullshit,bullshit,bullshit! ALL car engine oils DO NOT contain frictions modifiers,only some,and they will be marked as such.Motorcycle specific oils are higher in moly than car oils - moly is used as a ingrediant of friction modified oils,ester is also used as a friction modifier,the highest quality synthetics are esters.How about some facts before you use such a wide brush in your statements.

Umm,...actually you're right, they are marked as such. I should know this after working in the petroleum industry for 15 odd years.... :whistle:
(but thanks for the lovely way of telling me I was wrong, Motu......)


But as a general rule, use motorcycle oil , as just about everyone I know that has used car oil has had clutch trouble (and we're talking about wet-clutches of course). That I can vouch for !!!!

nudemetalz
6th October 2005, 23:42
So what specific weight of oil should I use, I don't have a manual so would it pay to ask a Yamaha dealer??

I use a 10w40 semi-synthetic in the NZ250. I get good results with that.
Once again, it is only my opinion.

XTC
7th October 2005, 14:33
I use delo 400 15-40 diesel engine oil in the XT and the YZF before that. Works a treat. Oh and I change it every 6000kms.

Jamiepo
10th October 2005, 15:46
OK, so I went to a couple of bike shops and ended up getting a 4 litre of Spectro 4, plus an Oil filter and a new Spark plug. I was just wondering if it is necesary to fill to oil filter before installing it or if I just chuck it in and it will fill up when I add the new oil??

Motu
10th October 2005, 16:08
The oil filter cover has a bleed screw,loosen it off and run the engine,when oil flows out lock it up - don't do this in your lounge,it's messy.