Picked up a 2000 YZ250, have some questions...

[GSXR_Drew]

Hey all, I just picked up a 2000 YZ250 yesterday. Being that I am extremly new to the dirt side of the sport, I have a few questions. The bike did not come with a service manual, or owners manual for that fact....

1. How much air should I run in the tires? I checked them today, and they were at like 10lbs. Is that normal? For street I would run 31 to 32 lbs on a tubeless tire, so 10lbs seemed really low to me.

2. After running the bike today, noticed a tiny bit of oil leaking from in between the exhaust and the cyclinder head. The exhaust is held on with springs so when I went in there to check things out, the exhaust moves a little bit. Is this something I should be worried about or is it a simple fix like a gasket and some stiffer springs.

3. How loose should the chain be? Street bikes would need about an inch of play, where should the chain be set on this bike?

Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[bclapham]

10-15lbs is good for tiresand depoends on conditions

dont worry about the oil leak, but at some point there is a o-ring between the cylinder and pipe you can replace.

put the bike on a stand, you should have about 3 fingers worth of play just behind where the blackk plastic swingarm protector goes.

2 important things you will need

1. service manual- maybe you can get an aftermarket one for that bike now.

2. the book by Eric Gorr- best $25 you will ever spend on your dirtbike- covers everything.

have fun, thats a great bike

 

[rairden]

To reiterate, you should have about 10-15lbs. in them. Being new you'll probably be riding on hard pack. So put them at about 14lbs. If your riding in mud, you'll want them a little softer like 11 or 12 to increase your contact pouch with the ground so the rear tire can get more traction.

I think he was meaning to say the "chain slide". It's a black piece that the chain "slides" on. On the end of it there will be a allen wrench bolt(thats how it is on my'01yz250). Not everones fingers are the same size, so.... Pull the chain up as far as you can and measure from that allen bolt to the bottom of the chain. My manual says it should be from 1.6"-2.2".

I dont think you should be able to wiggle your pipe around(is that what you said).

 

[GSXR_Drew]

Thanks for help guys! The pipe doesn't really wiggle around, but with enough pressure I can move the pipe. Looks like what I am seeing is what everyone calls "spooge". Guess Iwill have to find me some o rings for it.

 

[cdtbrown]

i had to buy o rings for my yz 125, there are 2 and only cost a couple of dollars each

 

[jmitchell]

just curious if you fouled any plugs yet. I have a 2000 250 and it ate plugs until I got the jetting straightened out.

 

[tbrooks]

if you want to stop the spooge at the pipe cylinder junction when you put in new o-rings put high temp silicone on the inside of the pipe where the o-rings are and install. use a good amount, this will form a solid seal that will come off when you want and give you the correct back pressure for best power.the o-rings will also last until you remove or damage the pipe. as far as the jetting mine was off and everyone I know that has a yz250 has needed rejetting.

 

[YZ250Guy]

I think I have a factory service/owners manual laying around. If you are interested e-mail me. Also I just bought an 01' YZ250 that I have just started to learn how to ride in the dirt/mud. I also came from a street riding background so I know where you are coming from. The one thing I hate is having to learn standard shifting (I use GP on my GSXR, Duc & SV). It is alot cheaper then street bikes though and fun as hell. (Except I kind of killed the bike on Sunday so I am here posting to find out what to do about it).

On another note what shold I do to a bike that got soaked in mud/water? I kinda went down in a mud pit and the bike fell over on me. That means that the whole bike was under water for 30 seconds. I plan to pull the top end off, rebuild the carbs, clean the exhaust system out, and I do not know what else. Any ideas?

 

[YZ250Guy]

Opps. my e-mail is res20fn8 at verizon dot net (just put it into normal e-mail format)

 

[rairden]

YZ250guy, I've went down into some muddy water twice. Both times I just cleaned the carburetor and everything was dandy. The bike sounded really weird after that. It ran though. It was becuase water had gotten in through the intake. The air filter just absorbed alot of water and gulped it down through the airboot into the carb. So my bike was runnin' on gas and water. Not good. Didn't run til I cleaned/drained the carb.

 

[RAH RAH]

You should probably clean the carbs float bowl or just drain it, clean the air filtr and air box, change the oil for safety, pull the plug and spin it over a few, adn water might have gotten past the flywheel cover pull it, it never hurts to clean it either. there shouldn't be any moisture in that area.
If you find water every where you should run a compression test onit to see how much that water and mud helped.
In mud about 12psi would be the least you would want to run the harder or rockier the more psi.
Speakin of mud, if you ride in the sand or mud you will want to run your chain a little bit looser.
YOU DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT TO ADJUST YOUR CHAIN ON THE STAND. U NEED TOO BE SITING ON THE BIKE THEN YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE THE CHAIN ABOUT 2 1/2 IN OR 2,3 FINGERS.

 

[RAH RAH]

someone just hit enter.
your chain being too tight could cause your countershaft seal or rear wheel bearings to go if you dont checkit while your on your seat. Don t find out the hard way it could take some folks years to figure it out.