Just picked up my 03 yz250. Please comment on my questions!!

[Markopolian]

thanks for the advice all! I picked up a 2003 yz250 :) Its a really clean bike. No cracks or broken fairings, Low hours, and a new top end last fall. He was religious with oil changes and maintnence. Bike is all stock. And now the cons. The air filter wasnt in the bike. The guy was selling it for his brother because his brother moved. I guess his brother had the air filter out and had cleaned it and oiled it but forgot to put it back in and the guy who was selling it didnt know where his brother put it. He said the bars on it right now are crappy because he said the old set was bent so he threw on that set for the time being. The bars look normal to me but i dont know much about dirtbikes ive rode street my whole life. There are no yamaha decals on the swingarm , front shocks or tail. Ive seen pics of others like that. Do people just take them off or would that mean it was crashed and new fairings were put on? Other then that the original graphics are on the bike. Also there was no kill switch on it because he ended up swaping it out to put on his old bike then forgot to put a new one on this one. That doesnt seem like to big of a deal to me cause you can just stall it to stop it. But again i dont know much about dirt. Anyways I knocked off $100 for the airfilter and kill switch. And paid $3600 US for it. Ive been looking around for awhile and that is the best price ive seen and for a clean bike! Please comment and let me know your thoughts on the condition of the bike. Should I put a kill switch on the bike or just leave it off? Air filter suggestions? OEM or K&N etc..? He also gave me a list of suggestions for what he runs in the bike. tell me what you guys think. For the premix Yamalube 2-R 40:1 For tranny oil Bel-Ray 80 weight oil. Filter oil belray, chain lube maxima chain wax, spark plugs BR9ES. He said i can get better plugs if i dont mind the cost of swapping them out frequently. Again sorry im a newbie to dirt and you guys will have to show me the ways. Ill get pictures here soon and try to get them posted.

Mark.

 

[FruDaddy]

There are no yamaha decals on the swingarm , front shocks or tail. Ive seen pics of others like that. Do people just take them off or would that mean it was crashed and new fairings were put on?

Not necessarily, not all bike come with these labels. For example, the 02 KX65 had a Kawasaki decal on the swingarm while the 06 does not.

Should I put a kill switch on the bike or just leave it off?

I would go ahead and put one on.

Air filter suggestions? OEM or K&N etc..?

Twin Air

For the premix Yamalube 2-R 40:1 For tranny oil Bel-Ray 80 weight oil. Filter oil belray, chain lube maxima chain wax, spark plugs BR9ES. He said i can get better plugs if i dont mind the cost of swapping them out frequently.

If the carb is tuned correctly, you shouldn't have to swap them out more frequently. The ES is less expensive than the EG plug.

 

[ls1cameric]

2003's didnt come w/ swing arm or fork decals.

Got any pics? sounds like a decent bike! good luck!

 

[kelsorat]

Definitely replace the missing kill switch. Use a Twin Air Filter, and Torco 80w. Yamalube is fine. If this were my bike I would do the following before the bike sees some time on the dirt. If your mechanical skills are decent all these suggestions should be easy to accomplish.

1.Purchase a compression tester and a shop service manual. Complete a compression test and compare the spec to the service limits. If out of spec, then the owner probably is fibbing on the top-end job. If the specs check out then you are good to go.
2. Take the chain off hold it up and see if it bends side to side. If it does replace it and the front and rear sprockets.
3. Grab to Front and rear wheel and see if you can move them side to side, and spin the wheels. If you have any stiction or play, your wheel bearings need to be replaced.
4. Tear down the bike.
5. With the engine out of the frame, check the clutch basket, springs and plates. Check the reeds for cracks or rounded edges.
4. Check the movement of all the rear suspension parts, grease those bearings with some quality Torco or Bel-Ray grease.
5. Go ahead and clean the carb.
6. Check your rear suspension and linkage for stiction and play. You have a 03 so the bearings should be ok, but use a quality grease like Torco or Bel-Ray and grease the bearings.
7. Grease your headset bearings.
8 If the forks were leaking oil, get them serviced. If the shock looks like it was leaking oil get it serviced as well.
9. Inspect the frame for cracks.
10. Inspect all your water hoses for wear. Look on the inside of the hoses. If they are white you need to inspect your water pump impeller and bearing for corrosion.
11. Put the bike back together, invest in some Myler's radiator flush, flush the cooling system Fill the Fluids.
12. Go ahead and lube the cables and flush the brakes, and you should enjoy your bike for a season.

 

[Markopolian]

wow thanks for all of that. I have alot of work ahead of me. Ive basically checked all the major things and they have checked out. But truthfully im not going to do all of that before i take it out even though i know i should. But I am going to do the rest asap. I looked and cant figure out how to post pictures here directly by the forum... i dont think you can but can someone confirm that for me. Also do you guys know of any websites that allow picture uploads for free. I will try to put some pictures up today or tommorow! again thanks for all the help and suggestions!!!

Mark