Fixing the NZ250 - Help!!

[T.W.R]

Whoever deserves my business most will get it. I was thinking of using cycletreads... or is it street and sport? It's the place we bought the brake pads at last time anyway... for the rear brake and was gonna get the tyre there at the same time. But yeah, I've learned it's probably best to take it where you point me...


It's not too bad I don't think, but really I don't know. I'll take a pic for you tomorrow if you want, but it prob won't show the extent of the damage very well. Still. I'll take it tomorrow if the weather plays ball! Still haven't taken pics of it since I binned.

Cheers mate, you're a legend

Pitlane is Cycletreads

Either way doing the tyre & shoes at the same time is the best bet and either place will be able to do it. tyre will be cheap as it's only a 100/70-17.
The fork seals will be a bit of headache mainly because you'll have to have them out before you can get new ones. Otherwise it's a matter of seeing whether the Suzi dealer has a listing for them.

If there's any pieces missing off the bodywork it becomes a bit of a hassle but if they're just fractured then it's a piece of piss to fix.

SM's offer sounds interesting too

Timing was way off though you could have waited till you decided to put the NZ down the road a month or so further down the track and I might have let you borrow 'Filthy' for a ride or two

[Deviant Esq]

Either way doing the tyre & shoes at the same time is the best bet and either place will be able to do it. tyre will be cheap as it's only a 100/70-17.
The fork seals will be a bit of headache mainly because you'll have to have them out before you can get new ones. Otherwise it's a matter of seeing whether the Suzi dealer has a listing for them.

The tyre on there at the moment is a 110/90, but it's too big for the rim anyway! Will be good to have the proper size tyre on there. Yeah, I'll get them to do the rear brake and tyre at the same time... hopefully this coming week, then it'll be done for when I ride out to you.
The fork seals could be a bit of an issue? Dar - I won't be able to take them out. I suppose I could ask at the shop while it's in there if they can get some for me - I'm sure they'll know what the right ones will be.

I don't think there's any bits of bodywork missing, but I'm not too sure - there could be a couple of pieces chipped off. I'm sure you'll know when you see it, though I didn't see any plastic on the ground where I went off.

Timing was way off though you could have waited till you decided to put the NZ down the road a month or so further down the track and I might have let you borrow 'Filthy' for a ride or two

LOL, bloody rotten of me I know, must work on the whole timing thing! Just couldn't wait any longer though, just had to chuck it down the road... You're just saying that now coz she's (Lil) not fully overhauled yet!! Once she is you'll be like a protective Daddy with a teenage daughter - noone gets to ride!

Just wondering - assuming I'm able to get the bits for the fork seal job, when do you think we'll be able to have a crack at it? Probably best if you PM me a list of everything I'll need for the jobs we're doing on it, and I'll make sure I don't leave anything obvious behind! Fork seals and oil obviously... anything else?

Cheers dude.

[T.W.R]

The tyre on there at the moment is a 110/90, but it's too big for the rim anyway! Will be good to have the proper size tyre on there. Yeah, I'll get them to do the rear brake and tyre at the same time... hopefully this coming week, then it'll be done for when I ride out to you.
The fork seals could be a bit of an issue? Dar - I won't be able to take them out. I suppose I could ask at the shop while it's in there if they can get some for me - I'm sure they'll know what the right ones will be.

I don't think there's any bits of bodywork missing, but I'm not too sure - there could be a couple of pieces chipped off. I'm sure you'll know when you see it, though I didn't see any plastic on the ground where I went off.


LOL, bloody rotten of me I know, must work on the whole timing thing! Just couldn't wait any longer though, just had to chuck it down the road... You're just saying that now coz she's (Lil) not fully overhauled yet!! Once she is you'll be like a protective Daddy with a teenage daughter - noone gets to ride!

Just wondering - assuming I'm able to get the bits for the fork seal job, when do you think we'll be able to have a crack at it? Probably best if you PM me a list of everything I'll need for the jobs we're doing on it, and I'll make sure I don't leave anything obvious behind! Fork seals and oil obviously... anything else?

Cheers dude.

110/90 lols that'll be taking the zip out of her.
Unless they have access to what size the seals are supposed to be it'll be a bit of headache
Info on the NZ is a scarce thing.
Another option is take the rear wheel and the forks into the shop and get it all done at the same time but A) It'll cost a bit more & B) hope they have the seals there.

lols you're a rude bugger scaring up the NZ like you did nah Lil isn't a solo bike the ZXR though

[Deviant Esq]

Unless they have access to what size the seals are supposed to be it'll be a bit of headache
Info on the NZ is a scarce thing.
Another option is take the rear wheel and the forks into the shop and get it all done at the same time but A) It'll cost a bit more & B) hope they have the seals there.

What if one happened to have a factory Service Manual for aforementioned NZ250? I just so happen to have one of them right here in front of me. Have had a look through but can't find a part number for the fork seals. Still, it does give a diagram of all the parts you need, how long the fork springs are supposed to be, how much oil to put in each leg, etc etc, so I suppose it will be useful anyway.

Still, I'm happy enough to get the shop to do the forks if it'll be too much effort tracking down all the bits... I'll just take the whole bike in there since that'll be my way of getting in there in the first place! So yeah, if you still want to have a crack at doing the forks, no worries, but if it's easier the shop can do it. What do you reckon?

[nudemetalz]

I replaced the fork seals in your NZ when I had it.
From what I remember it was an absolute prick to seperate the staunchions.
They did not want to budge.
However, after some serious Arnie Schwartzie efforts I did get them there and after that it was very straightforward to reassemble.

Don't go too heavy on the fork oil as the bike is very light and it would upset it's handling.

If I was down there I would help you,..sorry can't.

[Spuds1234]

Seems things are comming along very nicely Deviant.

The finished resualt will surely be impressive.

Good luck with the repairs and may it all go smoothly and without a hitch.

[Deviant Esq]

Took the bike into Pit Lane last night, and picked it up tonight. Somewhere in the middle it got fitted with a new rear tyre (110-80-17), and new brake shoes for the rear brake. There's something about a brand new tyre that cheers me up...

Anyway, now the rear brake feels awful! It has a very weak bite, the pedal goes down about 3 inches of travel and only stops when it makes contact with the exhaust pipe! Is this common for a newly fitted rear drum brake? It had an awful lot more bite and an awful lot earlier in the pedal motion before this work was done...

[Trudes]

Good news about the tyre, brakes I have no idea about, but I'm going to ask you gorgeous.... does your bike have front brakes? If so, use those!

[T.W.R]

Anyway, now the rear brake feels awful! It has a very weak bite, the pedal goes down about 3 inches of travel and only stops when it makes contact with the exhaust pipe! Is this common for a newly fitted rear drum brake? It had an awful lot more bite and an awful lot earlier in the pedal motion before this work was done...

big answer

I'll sort it out for you when I see you on the weekend

[Deviant Esq]

Good news about the tyre, brakes I have no idea about, but I'm going to ask you gorgeous.... does your bike have front brakes? If so, use those!

Yes... but I'm a lazy arse around town and always use the rear brake pulling up to the lights. Being a single my bike has a lot of engine braking, so that combined with the rear brake is usually all that's needed. If I'm stopping in a hurry it's the front brake... which isn't that great on my bike anyway on account of a very small brake pad.... which I really should replace anyway. I guess lately I've become a bit lazy and have relied on the rear brake more than I should recently. Should break out of that habit!

Still, remember the crap Steam got for wondering if he should ride without his rear brake?!

I'll sort it out for you when I see you on the weekend

Cool, cheers Bill. Come to a decision with regards to the forks?

[T.W.R]

Yes... but I'm a lazy arse around town and always use the rear brake pulling up to the lights. Being a single my bike has a lot of engine braking, so that combined with the rear brake is usually all that's needed. If I'm stopping in a hurry it's the front brake... which isn't that great on my bike anyway on account of a very small brake pad.... which I really should replace anyway. I guess lately I've become a bit lazy and have relied on the rear brake more than I should recently. Should break out of that habit!

Still, remember the crap Steam got for wondering if he should ride without his rear brake?!

You're not riding a trailie

Cool, cheers Bill. Come to a decision with regards to the forks?

We'll get the other bits & pieces sorted on the weekend and make an executive decision on the forks and see whether you're game enough to play pillion

[Deviant Esq]

We'll get the other bits & pieces sorted on the weekend and make an executive decision on the forks and see whether you're game enough to play pillion

You should see my nice new rear tyre, it looks about ten times better than the old one that was on there! Heck, my confidence sure went up when the new front was whacked on there, I hope the same thing goes with the rear once it's nicely scrubbed in.

Good plan by the way. Oh, and I'm game!

Check your PMs by the way. Not sure if it's relevant any more but meh!

[xwhatsit]

Heheh yeah I barely touch my front brakes around town too, engine braking down to 10kph, then rear brake to bring me up precisely with the clutch in. Couldn't live without it!

Now, my bike's same set-up as yours -- when they replaced the rear shoes, they may have backed off the adjuster on the rear brake linkage, and they haven't bothered to adjust it up again. This often seems to be something you set according to your own personal preference (like where your clutch bites), so they might have left it on purpose.

If this is the case, just go down to the drum, and there should be a little spinning nut, possibly with a spring, on the linkage push-rod (just a piece of threaded rod that connects to your pedal). Just tighten it up until it's tensioned appropriately (not too much, otherwise the brake will be grabbing all the time).

[Conquiztador]

Heheh yeah I barely touch my front brakes around town too, engine braking down to 10kph, then rear brake to bring me up precisely with the clutch in. Couldn't live without it!

Now, my bike's same set-up as yours -- when they replaced the rear shoes, they may have backed off the adjuster on the rear brake linkage, and they haven't bothered to adjust it up again. This often seems to be something you set according to your own personal preference (like where your clutch bites), so they might have left it on purpose.

If this is the case, just go down to the drum, and there should be a little spinning nut, possibly with a spring, on the linkage push-rod (just a piece of threaded rod that connects to your pedal). Just tighten it up until it's tensioned appropriately (not too much, otherwise the brake will be grabbing all the time).

Then you just have to make sure that the brake light still works. If not, then what you do is adjust the switch further away from the brake leaver. It has a plastic nut on it for this.

Good Luck.

[imdying]

Anyway, now the rear brake feels awful! It has a very weak bite, the pedal goes down about 3 inches of travel and only stops when it makes contact with the exhaust pipe! Is this common for a newly fitted rear drum brake? It had an awful lot more bite and an awful lot earlier in the pedal motion before this work was done...

No, but isn't unusual for a variety of reasons (not just incorrect fitting and/or adjusting).

I'll sort it out for you when I see you on the weekend

If you guys find that the drum is oversize, and the activation cam cannot be adjusted sufficiently to work correctly, let me know and I'll sort out some custom oversize shoes radius ground to suit the size of the drum. Won't be expensive.