New biker from Auckland (biketimus_prime)

[biketimus_prime]

Hey everyone,

I recently bought a bike and just today acquired my learners licence. I sorted out insurance after that and went for a ride. It has been a very steep learning curve but after my first legal and proper ride today, all I can say is I LOVE IT! What a life changing thing it is to have a bike! I've always been into my cars and have done a few track days and worked on my own car since I was 16 but a bike is a whole different ball game in terms of riding and mechanical work!

I had to do a lot of research about gear, and the process of buying all the way to riding the bike and I hope to make a thread to guide other newbies through it so they don't have to search all over the place for the basic info.

First order of business was checking everything was okay with the bike and I found the chain was a bit too loose, I also found that the nut holding the axle was finger tight! So after watching a youtube video I managed to get the right tension on the chain as well as aligning my rear wheel up again (what a mission that was initially!).

Anyway, here are some pictures of my bike, it is a 2004 Suzuki GSX250 with 35,000km on the clock.





Hope to have a fun time on here and meet a few of you at events or whatever you do

[Akzle]

Hey everyone,

Hope to have a fun time on here and meet a few of you at events or whatever you do

no one here has a bike. They just come here to slag each other off and remember the good ol daze.
Now youre here, we'll slag you off.

[rustyrobot]

no one here has a bike. They just come here to slag each other off and remember the good ol daze.

Psychological projection was conceptualized by Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) in the 1900s as a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously rejects his or her own unacceptable attributes by ascribing them to objects or persons in the outside world. For example, a person who is rude may accuse other people of being rude.

Welcome to kiwibiker BP,

Sounds like you've done some good research and are ready to spend some decent time on the road. That's a sweet first ride.

Enjoy!

[biketimus_prime]

no one here has a bike. They just come here to slag each other off and remember the good ol daze.
Now youre here, we'll slag you off.

Haha sounds like every other car forum I'm on. There must be some great fights on here

[bogan]

Nice bike, chain looks a little tight though

[biketimus_prime]

Psychological projection was conceptualized by Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) in the 1900s as a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously rejects his or her own unacceptable attributes by ascribing them to objects or persons in the outside world. For example, a person who is rude may accuse other people of being rude.

Welcome to kiwibiker BP,

Sounds like you've done some good research and are ready to spend some decent time on the road. That's a sweet first ride.

Enjoy!

Thanks, I have never been so alert on the road before, you learn to spot a bad driver who may make idiotic manoeuvres from ages away!

Nice bike, chain looks a little tight though

Haha please don't say that, I check it after every ride now to make sure I haven't messed up somehow!

[bogan]

Haha please don't say that, I check it after every ride now to make sure I haven't messed up somehow!

Just make sure you check it to the model specific specs, not some general measurement often given in vids. Better slightly too loose than slightly too tight imo.

[biketimus_prime]

Just make sure you check it to the model specific specs, not some general measurement often given in vids. Better slightly too loose than slightly too tight imo.

Yeah the last owner gave me the manual for the bike and I went off that
I need to sort out the clutch lever. Clutch only engages/disengages when the lever is only a few mm away from rest (whatever the right term is for that). Is that normal? I feel like it should be halfway between fully pulled back and at rest.

[Akzle]

Psychological projection was conceptualized by Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) in the 1900s as a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously rejects his or her own unacceptable attributes by ascribing them to objects or persons in the outside world. For example, a person who is rude may accuse other people of being rude.

Welcome to kiwibiker BP,

Sounds like you've done some good research and are ready to spend some decent time on the road. That's a sweet first ride.

Enjoy!

are you trying to tell me im a fuken jew?

Ive got a sneaky suspicion im not who youre thinking i am.

[bogan]

Yeah the last owner gave me the manual for the bike and I went off that
I need to sort out the clutch lever. Clutch only engages/disengages when the lever is only a few mm away from rest (whatever the right term is for that). Is that normal? I feel like it should be halfway between fully pulled back and at rest.

That comes down to personal preference mainly (as long it is fully engages/disengages through the stroke), should be an adjuster on the lever/cable join.

[BigAl]

Looks like a tidy bike BP, also check the chain for tight spots and set tension on tightest section.

As bogan says better on the loose side than tight.

[rustyrobot]

are you trying to tell me im a fuken jew?

Ive got a sneaky suspicion im not who youre thinking i am.

I've got a sneaking suspicion you used the wrong turn of phrase. I could be incorrect though.

As an aside, did you know that fuken is Japanese for 'a husband's marital rights'. Fuken funny.

[biketimus_prime]

That comes down to personal preference mainly (as long it is fully engages/disengages through the stroke), should be an adjuster on the lever/cable join.

Yeah the owners manual shows how to do it, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I like how it is now, but I'm worried that it may get looser and not disengage completely but I won't notice because my weight stops the bike moving forwards even if the clutch is slightly engaged still.

Looks like a tidy bike BP, also check the chain for tight spots and set tension on tightest section.

As bogan says better on the loose side than tight.

Yep I made sure that I checked many different spots and they are all within 25-35mm.

Oh also another question, when you guys come to a stop and you're gearing down and braking, what is the right way of doing it? I do this:

*Apply rear brake then front brake
*Lightly hold rear brake, let off front brake so I can rev the engine
*Downshift
*Apply front brake again, all the while holding rear brake slightly on.

Is that okay? I also gear down as much as I can (without skipping any gears, I skipped from 3 to 1 once and almost died) first sometimes and then apply the brakes for the last bit to come to a stop.

[Akzle]

I could be incorrect though.

wouldnt be the first time...

As an aside, did you know that fuken is Japanese for 'a husband's marital rights'. Fuken funny.

except we're spriching anglais.
But no, i did not know. Thanks for tha learnering.

[bogan]

Yeah the owners manual shows how to do it, I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I like how it is now, but I'm worried that it may get looser and not disengage completely but I won't notice because my weight stops the bike moving forwards even if the clutch is slightly engaged still.



Yep I made sure that I checked many different spots and they are all within 25-35mm.

Oh also another question, when you guys come to a stop and you're gearing down and braking, what is the right way of doing it? I do this:

*Apply rear brake then front brake
*Lightly hold rear brake, let off front brake so I can rev the engine
*Downshift
*Apply front brake again, all the while holding rear brake slightly on.

Is that okay? I also gear down as much as I can (without skipping any gears, I skipped from 3 to 1 once and almost died) first sometimes and then apply the brakes for the last bit to come to a stop.

No need to let off the front break when you downshift, you should probably start off with a rider training day or Auckland Street Skills session if they still do em, better to get into the right habits from the start, rather than try and change bad habits later.