A couple of noob maintenance questions...

**Crisis management** · 30th November 2009, 07:15

Don't panic.

The GN is built to a very low budget so the running gear is a bit shitty, accept these foibles a sign of it's character and ride the pants off it.
Rusty chain? The moving parts are the pins and rollers, lubricate those and ignore the rest, yes they will get surface rust, thats ok, it rubs off when you ride it.
Flat battery? As you did, jump start it and recharge it, if it is a wet cell type you can put water into feel free and top it up. If the battery has had a work out it will have evaporated off some fluid and will need replenishing.
Cleaning? What is this, doesn't it rain down your way?

(good on you, cleaning and maintaining is the best thing you can do after riding the thing)

Just remember, the GN will absorb all sorts of abuse, ride it anywhere and everywhere.

**howdamnhard** · 30th November 2009, 07:21

Originally Posted by magicmonkey

That's over the other side of the bike and quite a bit forward of the rust spot. The only bit that had rusted was where the chain was exposed to the elements, at the bottom before the rear sprocket so I can be reasonably sure it wasn't that...

Use a different chain lube if it's rusting after only 2 days. Also don't leave a chain unprotected to long after after cleaning it as metal wants to return to it's natural state - metal oxide.

**glegge** · 30th November 2009, 10:24

try not cleaning your chain, and just lubing it, the lube will protect it. road bike chains don't need to be cleaned (in my humble opinion - and years of not cleaning a chain on my bikes - although i must admit - they where all o-ring chains).
a tight spot will cause the wheel to be hard to turn, but to verify it is the chain (not something else), just keep pushing the chain up and down like you do when you adjust it, while slowly turning the wheel, if there is a tight spot in the chain, you will notice the chain go tight and you wont be able to move it up and down so much.

as for battery charging, general they will only draw the current they need and if you just leave it on for a night, by morning it will probably be all set to go, although you need to be a little more careful with non lead acid type's (gel etc). it is recommended to disconnect the battery from the bike before charging. (I've tried both connected and disconnected, it does not seem to bother things, but you try at your own peril! - manuals etc will state 'damage to motorcycles electrics may result')

great stuff - workin on your own bike. well done than man!.

**The Pastor** · 30th November 2009, 10:38

Tight spots will wear your sprockets out quicker, i wouldnt worry too much but bear in mind you might need a new set of sprockets in a year or so.

**crazyhorse** · 30th November 2009, 10:41

Only way to learn is by doing it yourself - good on ya

**magicmonkey** · 30th November 2009, 10:44

Originally Posted by renegade master

Tight spots will wear your sprockets out quicker, i wouldnt worry too much but bear in mind you might need a new set of sprockets in a year or so.

well, that's good to hear as I very much doubt I'll still own the bike in a years time

**The Pastor** · 30th November 2009, 10:45

Originally Posted by magicmonkey

well, that's good to hear as I very much doubt I'll still own the bike in a years time

You sir, are the reason I hate buying or selling bikes!

**magicmonkey** · 30th November 2009, 10:46

Originally Posted by crazyhorse

Only way to learn is by doing it yourself - good on ya

I've been doing all my own work on my cars for over 10 years and most of it carries over so it's not that much of a big deal really, just a few new things I need to learn about. I do intend to get a project bike soon though, rebuild it from the bottom up so I can get a really good handle on how things work as I think the mechanics is more important on a bike than a car, and it'll be some fun for when it's raining outside

**magicmonkey** · 30th November 2009, 10:47

Originally Posted by renegade master

You sir, are the reason I hate buying or selling bikes!

nah, if I'm going to sell it I'll tell the next owner, I fucking hate buying motors and then finding out how much of an idiot the previous owner was after the sale!

**The Pastor** · 30th November 2009, 10:48

Originally Posted by magicmonkey

I've been doing all my own work on my cars for over 10 years and most of it carries over so it's not that much of a big deal really, just a few new things I need to learn about. I do intend to get a project bike soon though, rebuild it from the bottom up so I can get a really good handle on how things work as I think the mechanics is more important on a bike than a car, and it'll be some fun for when it's raining outside

You wont get much cheaper than a gn250.

**magicmonkey** · 30th November 2009, 12:38

Originally Posted by renegade master

You wont get much cheaper than a gn250.

I was thinking more along the lines of a completely crapped out BSA or something, a complete restore project which I could pick up for pennies, probably spend a fortune on in time and parts and then maybe sell if I haven't got too attached to it

**Flip** · 3rd December 2009, 20:34

Originally Posted by magicmonkey

I wonder if my idea of what a tight spot is could be wrong. When I was turning the wheel to clean the chain I noticed it was the wheel wasn't moving as easily at some points on the chain, is that a tight spot or something completely different?

Seems funny but chains don't wear evenly. When you spin the rear wheel you will see that the botton of the chain, the loose bit tightens and slackens. A bit is ok and normal as the sprockets and chain are not perfect, but a lot is usually a worn chain.
I know it seems funny but water and lack of lube kills chains very quickly. If the water finds it way into the pins and bushes in a chain, it corrodes and the chain wears very quickly.
A tight bit may be the brake binding, wheel bearings or a worn chain. Look closely and listen to the noise the wheel makes as you turn it round.

**magicmonkey** · 8th December 2009, 08:20

well, i've topped up the battery and although the charge was reading 12.4 on my multimeter I left it on a maintained charge for 24 hours to make sure it has a proper deep charge on the plates rather than just the surface charge which it got from riding. I've oftne found that a little battery maint on cars can save a whole lot of problems further down the road so I presume it's the same with bikes, can't see any reason why it shouldn't be...

The chain is another matter though. Taking the bike for a ride did smooth out the tight spot (I think it just needed the lube to spread properly) but even now I'm oiling the chain twice a week I'm still seeing rust spots. At the moment I'm putting this down to keeping the bike outside and living in wellington (salty sea air). I'm going to move into a place with a garage early next year so I don't see the point in changing the chain until then as it'll just rust again but is it safe to ride for a while? As far as I can tell there's no pitting and the rust comes off with a bit of kerosene (I'm only cleaning once a week though, can't be arsed doing that twice a week and I don't think stripping the oil off that often is going to do it any good).

Someone mentioned the lube I'm using earlier, I'm pretty sure the stuff is decent as welly motorcycles told me it was and they're pretty good down there. However, it's always good to get other opinions, it's the foaming spray lube in a yellow can, haven't got it on me at the moment to confirm the manufacturer but I'm under the impression it's one of the main brands sold over here...

**CookMySock** · 8th December 2009, 08:46

Originally Posted by magicmonkey

[...] even now I'm oiling the chain twice a week I'm still seeing rust spots. At the moment I'm putting this down to keeping the bike outside and living in wellington (salty sea air). I'm going to move into a place with a garage early next year so I don't see the point in changing the chain until then as it'll just rust again but is it safe to ride for a while? As far as I can tell there's no pitting and the rust comes off with a bit of kerosene....

That might be a fair assumption, but you should measure the chain pitch properly and see if its not really really stretched. If it is, it might fuck out at any moment and whip around and smash your engine casing, or lock your back wheel and ditch your bad arse on the concrete.

Originally Posted by RDjase

Maybe the battery overflow pipe had driped acid on the chain causeing the rust?

Doesn't sound very harmful, but apparently its fatal for any chain to have one drip of acid on it.

Steve