Maintenance on my Aprilia RS250

[martin987]

I just imported an Aprilia RS250 pre 1999 model with the Chesterfield colours from Japan.

There are a couple of things I'd like to fix up.

There's a scratch on the front left fairing, so does anyone have an idea of where I can get that from, ideally with the Chesterfield logo already on it?

The chain is a little rusty, so I'd like to replace the chain and sprockets. Can someone please tell me where to get a good quality chain and sprockets, and how to replace it?

I don't know what brand of two-stroke oil it has in it, and I have heard that you shouldn't mix two-stroke oil, so does anyone know how to bleed the oil and replace it?

Lastly, I'd like to give it a wheel alignment. All I know about that is its something to do with a piece of string and a white sighting board, and adjusting something on the back wheel

[imdying]

Just top it up all the way with something like TTS, you can empty the oil tank if you like. Cycletreads for your chain and sprocket, they'll wheel align it when the fit them. If you're a new biker, leave the fairing panel for 6 months and fix it then.

[F5 Dave]

Clean the chain up with kero & toothbrush then rotate it & assess if it is really trash. There should be no tight spots.

DO NOT get fingers in the way. A 2nd person helps.

String is hard to use, get a length of ally square tube from M10 and hold against rear wheel while someone supports the bike. Get them to measure how far it is away from the front disc. Swap over to the other side. Adjust rear wheel until equal. Make a note how accurate marks on SW are.

Helps to tape 2 thickness together at the disc end on bikes with fat rear tyres.

[martin987]

Thanks for that. I'm guessing that TTS is a brand of oil? If I empty the oil tank how do I make sure that I don't get any air in the engine? That is really bad isn't it?

[martin987]

Are you saying that I should remove chain and clean it? What's the best way to do that? Do I need any special equipment or will there be a link that can be unlatched?

Can you please explain what I adjust on the back wheel?

[imdying]

Nope, just a tooth brush and an ice cream container of kero.

Buy a paddock stand, or get used to moving the bike forward so you can do a section at a time.

[xwhatsit]

Thanks for that. I'm guessing that TTS is a brand of oil? If I empty the oil tank how do I make sure that I don't get any air in the engine? That is really bad isn't it?

He said just to top it up, not to drain it as well. I thought the issue with using different oils in two-strokes was a matter of mineral vs synthetic, or something -- something like an RS250 has probably been run on decent oils anyway, at a guess?

Are you saying that I should remove chain and clean it? What's the best way to do that? Do I need any special equipment or will there be a link that can be unlatched?

Can you please explain what I adjust on the back wheel?

You can leave the chain on to clean it, it's only slightly more clumsy to do. At least if you've got a pit stand, or some other way of raising the rear wheel? Otherwise getting the chain off may be a simple matter of undoing a clip-style link, or it could be riveted on which would make your life difficult. The best way to do it would be to buy a pit stand ($100 or so?), as you'll probably want one anyway for the bike, allowing you to lift the rear wheel and clean the chain in situ. Alternatively, just wheel the bike backwards a few centimetres at a time.

Adjusting the back wheel can be very different between bikes. But generally, you undo the axle bolt (don't take it out, just loosen it). Then there should be a couple of adjuster bolts on each side of the swingarm, probably with lock-nuts keeping them in place. Loosen the lock-nuts, and then you just turn the bolt clockwise to lengthen the swingarm on that side. You'll want to make sure there's about 30mm or so of chain slack after you've finished aligning the rear wheel.

[martin987]

Thanks for all your help here. I have downloaded the Aprilia manual which has informed me how to change the mixer oil (nothing about swapping the chain or aligning the wheel).