Can they fix it? NO THEY CAN'T

[lostinflyz]

you cant service 20 year old bikes that have been thrashed by everyone at a bike shop. u gotta learn to do it yourself. youll be much better off in all areas if you learn to sort it out yourself.

and yea things like overheating are a bit vague in mechanics terms. hes gonna open it up see some old oil and old filter and a crummy coolant and change that (how was that 500 bucks???). he cant just straight out assume its a head gasket or blocked pump ect. ect. - or youd be 10 grand outta pocket for a new engine and cooling system ex japan.

But the best solution is always to learn to do it yourself.

[Richi]

'Rip you off'?

Bullshit.

Workshops only do what you ask them to. They don't employ psychics.

Don't blame the mechanics for the fact that you bought a well-thrashed twenty year old piece of crap.

I told him to fix the overheating problem...and paid $60 p/h for him to do it. $60 an hour is probably the highest price for a tradesman you will pay in chch. I expect a professional service for me to hand over my hard earned cash. Secondly I am not a bike mechanic, far from it in fact, and I cannot diagnose a problem for them to fix

You're going to fit in here poorly if you disrespect people, noob.

Yes im new. Im sure you didnt start with years of experience either. Congrats. I dont see why anyone should get my respect without earning it esp if they say something out of line.


Also cheers for the advice to the people who did actually suggest things..

I just was asking opinions whether or not it is worth fixing it or just gettin a NEW one. As jrandom said yes it is a 20 year old bike that has probably lived at 14000 rpm its whole life...

[madbikeboy]

Yes im new. Im sure you didnt start with years of experience either. Congrats. I dont see why anyone should get my respect without earning it esp if they say something out of line.

On second thoughts, you sound self righteous... You're gonna fit in here just fine Noob.

[Pedrostt500]

Well its a nearly 20 yr old bike, Its not worth fixing, its going to cost atleast the deposit on a reasonable bike, quiet possible the deposit on a mid range new bike. $60 an hour for a trades man is quiet reasonable, scream when the price is twice that.
If you want to play with old bikes it pays to learn how to fix them your self. I suggest you part the bike and put the bits on trade me, this way you will make someting out of it to put into a better bike, you will probably end up with a few bits that will just be scrap metal.

[Ixion]

Pretty near every four cylinder fairinged 250 has been thrashed to an inch of the grave. They are zombies kept in a undead state by the unrealistic expectations of young squids.

Prolonged overheating, engine boiled dry. Yep, odds are head gasket's gone, probably head's warped too. And if the bottom ends been running on emulsion , like as not your big ends and mains are toast too.

Seems to me that the bike shop did exactly what you told them . They don't have magic wands they can't just magic away 20 years of neglect and abuse.

I wouldn't want to have to run a business on a $60 charge out rate.

Cut your losses, part it out and invest whatever you get back into a Yamaha Scorpio. Do your time , and if you survive (most squids don't but you may be the exception, remember , Gene-O-Kleen, evolution you can see, I get a commission on every bottle) buy a big bike when you get your full.

[Richi]

I guess the way the place is at the mo $60 is probably the going rate. Im a sparky and SOME charge that, most are btwn 40-45 an hour. I guess I just thought it could be fixed hmmmm

Anyway Im just wondering if they would trade it like it is? Im thinkin if i get a new one itll be a ninja or something I suppose by the time i save that money itll be winter...yay.

[slimjim]

mate why not pull it down...gees its only a litle time and effort...by accounts the bike overall sounds solid... gees you've waited five weeeks one part there...why not wait a few more while you do the head and gasket...planing a head is simple tooo. plain flat piece of glass.that the head will lay on for grinding flush, won't be warped badly..grinding paste, chance as well to clean all gullies in head, done the raditor all ready, chance even to change hoses too,

[Forest]

Pretty near every four cylinder fairinged 250 has been thrashed to an inch of the grave. They are zombies kept in a undead state by the unrealistic expectations of young squids.

This is exactly right.

[niero]

I trust only one guy in Christchurch, KG Motorcycles, Call him up he is very good. Maybe there is still some hope for your poor girl. (Just like my ZXR750 that got mashed up the other day :'( )

[Fatjim]

I am not a bike mechanic, far from it in fact, and I cannot diagnose a problem for them to fix

Here lies the problem.

If you can't be arsed, or don't have the tools/skills to fix a 10+ year old bike then DON'T BUY ONE!

Sorry, might sound harsh, but you seem to have learnt this lesson the hard way.

Good time to learn about your cooling system. Drain the thing and pull all the hoses of. Clean/replace all the hoses and hose clamps. Flush the radiator, engine and overflow tank if there is one. Refill with the right coolant mixture.

At least after that when you look in the overflow tank you'll see a nice green colour.

[nosebleed]

Kinda what i was going to suggest fatjim...

Grab your self a Hanes and a box of tools and get stuck in. Strip her down and get to learning.
Most guys on here came through the ranks of keeping our cheap 250's on the road through a combination of sacrificed pay-packets and trial + error. (never look back at what you've spent keeping something going)

Your bike sounds ideal to cut-your-teeth on, so treat it as a learning tool.

If getting stuck in doesn't blow your hair back... then i'd suggest the best course of action would be to buy brand new, everything else is gonna need hands on, and if 'wrenching' doesnt interest you, then your gonna get sick of bikes real fast.

[Paul in NZ]

Oh gawd - I'm going to regret this.... Look - if you are a sparky you are clever enough to figure this out it aint rocket science. Its usually a matter of common sense and beavering away.

ALL those 250 / 400 fours are built to a budget and a hair triggers tolerance but in general they are quite soild. Where you started going wrong was not attending to the overheating the second you noticed it - they just don't tolerate that at all well and now you maybe have a much much bigger problem.

Will you get $3K for it? Not a friggin snowballs chance mate.

Yet - all is not lost because it could be pretty simple. If you put in some google time there will be a users group out there and if you ask nicely people will tell you whats likely to be wrong and where to get reasonably priced spares.

Minimum you are up for a couple of gaskets and a check that the heads still straight. Getting a shop to pull the head and do the work - forget it, even at a very reasonable $65 per hour it's going to take a couple of days minimum.

Sorry - it's a very old bike that was fussy when it was new and even finding a shop to look at it is rare. You learnt something from all this - it was painfull but you aint dead...

[Ixion]

Dude! Where y' been? I ought to insert some witty and sardonic jest about Triumphs and oil leaks here , but I can't think of one, so I'll just say it's good to see you back.

[lankyman]

Yea ZXR400's have a bad reputation for lunching head gaskets aye. I have a mate who did 1 (head gasket) just after he brought his ZXR400 , then another one 10,000k's later, probably due to warping of the head from the first 1. I was following him and could actually smell coolant, and was shittin myself thinkin it was my bike, until he got home and found milk in his sump I've also read somewhere before that this is a common problem with this bike. Sorry dude.

[dpex]

'Rip you off'?

Bullshit.

Workshops only do what you ask them to. They don't employ psychics.

Don't blame the mechanics for the fact that you bought a well-thrashed twenty year old piece of crap.

Jesus J, give the guy a break. He doesn't need to be told the obvious. He already knows that.

He's pissed at making a bad buy. Have you never made a bad buy, of anything, and just wanted some sympathy? Some unearned consideration?

Speaking of which, I watched a really quite amazing event this afternoon.

A guy drives past a car dealer's yard. Sees a bike he'd like to buy for his son. Nice thought.

The guy stops in. The dealer gives him the Billy. The guy goes for it. Trade older bike for newer bike. Brings trade bike, says, 'Be back tomorrow.'

Two days later.... The dealer has sold the trade-bike to another. Deposit taken, pick up soon.

Original owner turns up and tells the car dealer that he's spoken to his wife and she won't let the deal happen.

Dealer says, 'Mate. The deal was done. We shook hands on it.'

The guy starts getting a bit aggressive and tells the dealer he has financial issues.

The dealer asks if the guy knew about these 'financial issues' before he made the deal.

The guy reflexes to some more aggression followed by a bid for pity.

The dealer rerpeats, 'Mate. At the moment I'm really pissed off with you. You came in here. Made a deal. I then made another deal on your old bike and now you're saying you're going to bug out and leave me hanging with another guy who will be seriously pissed off when I tell him the deals off. He's gonna think I'm just a ratshit car-dealer who sold the bike for a better price. I'm really pissed at you at this moment for doing this to me.'

In the background are two kids belonging to the guy. A boy...the owner of the original trade-bike, and a dinky wee girl. Both looking seriously traumatised watching daddy get shit from the dealer.

Next minute the dealer says, 'Listen. At this moment I'm really fucked off with you, but it'll pass.' And like Alice stepping through the looking glass the dealer says, " Hey, I'm taking all my kids to the local dirt track. Why don't you come along and bring your kids?'

The guy is looking for the angle. The dealer is just going with his gut. One fucked up parent and two upset kids, and some bloke who thinks he will own a bike, and the dealer's thinking hey, 'The kids are upset and I can deal with this.'

Half an hour later, sundry bikes are fired up, the guys kid gets to ride his own bike. The wee girl is plonked on a quad, everyone hoves off to the small track down the road, and suddenly, everyone's having a good time.

I was there and saw the entire event.

I have to take my hat off to you Frosty. I don't think I could have sucked it up as well as you did today, buddy. But the way you dealt with that shit today was just awesome.