Hi all,

Bought brand new Honda XR250 few days ago and just put 100k on it! I noticed chain was a little dry, and then had horrific thought that dealers leave it to you to put engine oil in! No dealers would let you drive away with no engine oil right?!


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

I would guess they wouldn't be in business long if they did!

sent with tapatalk.

__________________
Regards Tim

Learning my craft for the big stuff, it won't be long now and it's not that far anyway

Yeah seems there is oil! But how lubbed should the chain feel?


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

I would not trust a dealer to do ANYTHING correctly. It's your life on the line, get down on your hands and knees and check EVERYTHING yourself.

After 15 or so new bikes I can attest to multiple **** ups by dealers ... even on very expensive bikes. IE:
New KTM Duke ll ... Front caliper bolt missing, other one loose.
New VTR1000 Honda ... Steering stem top nut finger tight, plastic body work loose, axle nut loose!! Tires inflated to 50 PSI
TDM850 ... levers and handlebars loose, tool kit missing, low tires.
Vstrom DL1000 ... over inflated tires to 45 PSI

Always go over your new bike with a few wrenches, allens and Phillips ... grab, feel and pull on everything to make sure it's tight and OK. Double check routing of things like cables, hoses, Wire looms, battery installation, check lighting, make sure seat is installed correctly. Double check axle nuts, chain slack, brake caliper bolts, handlebars bolts.

Check that all handlebar switches are positioned correctly and tight. Set up bars, controls and levers to suit YOU ... not the guy who set up the bike.

Tire Pressures are frequently screwed up or ignored. forget what it says on tire sidewall (that is MAX pressure under MAX load). Use what the bike manufacturer recommends in the owners manual. Sit down, read it cover to cover. You'd be surprised what you might learn.

Most new bikes come with a factory dry lube on the new chain. This is really only to prevent rust during transit, not really a chain lube.

Use a bit of diesel and clean it all off, wipe clean ... then apply chain lube or 90 wt. gear oil. Wipe down and clean everyday, re-oil daily, more in rain.

XR250's oil level should be checked when engine (Dry sump system) is HOT ... not warm, but HOT. When cold, it will always read low. In this case many owners OVER FILL engine. NOT GOOD.

Once the engine is HOT ... turn off, wait just one minute, now check level with bike on level ground, following owners manual method. Add if needed. If it shows way over filled, siphon some off. Over filling causes a variety of problems ... some serious.

Your new bike may use some oil in the first 2000 miles. So check level twice day until oil use stabilizes. Then, check just once a day when bike is HOT. After long highway runs at high speed you may find OIL in your air box, in your air filter.
This could indicate oil is over filled ... but also can happen on brand new engine. So don't panic. Just make sure oil is FULL ... but not over filled! Wring oil out of air filter, clean up air box. It will go away soon enough.

Ride Safe!

Never had a bike dealer not put any oil in (but that's because it's been about 30yrs since I let one near any of my bikes) but I've had a car dealer do it.

My wife took her new car back for its first service and mentioned to me it was making a funny noise when she got back. That was the big ends knocking because not only was there no oil in it, there was no sump plug either. The dealer first tried to say it was our fault (!) and then said bring it back and we'll put the oil in. .

After a bit of we ended up with a new engine, but no apology, no here's a loan car while we're fixing yours, nothing. Just one ex customer after we got it back.

Jesus! That was my fear. I feel less stupid now. In out here in Latin America as well and my language skills are intermediate at best, I'll check the bike over today.

Can anyone tell me how oily my chain should feel? Ive only driven older bikes, mainly Enfields and the sort, so I am used to chains being soaked in a crude black oil. The chain on my Xr feels kinda dry by comparison, though there is defintely a bit of an oily feel to it when you run your fingers along it.

Any suggestions? Thanks again for all the sage advice for a newbie!


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

See my previous post above ... new bikes come with a sort of dry lube. Clean off dry lube, wipe clean then re-oil with chain lube. I prefer 90 wt. gear lube, which is cheap & available everywhere.

Clean/wipe down chain daily, re-oil lightly, wipe of excess oil.
Ride Ride Ride.

Yup thanks all. Read it cover to cover!


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

OK, I did not know, he said "XR250".

My XR250R always had to be HOT to get an accurate oil level reading. The Dip Stick was at top of frame tube by handlebar. It was "Oil In Frame" design, same as XR600, XR400.

But perhaps these Brazilian bikes are different? Without pics I can't be sure about the Tornado.

here is my XR250R doing some "lite" off road work!

99% of new bikes are delivered to the dealer with all their fluids.

It's usually a case of just connecting the battery, bolting on mirrors and checking the tyre pressures along with a load of safety checks...

__________________
Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Sorry yeah it's a Tornado made in Brazil. The dipstick is at the base of the engine. In the manual it tells me to warn the engine and then take a measurement. Last night with the help of the manual, despite it taking 3 hours, I managed to change my back tire!!


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

gee
I know customer service standards vary widely around the world, but really I would have expected if I walked into a dealer and bought a brand new bike/car/boat/whatever they would at least walk you through a daily pre-ride checklist, along with a little chat about regular maintenance...

:confused1:

Language.
He's in Chile.

So basically, you were right on both accounts Mollydog!

Seat not bolted on.

Right wing mirror loose.

No oil on chain accept for factory dry lube.

Tires both over inflated to 27 (should be 22 for both front y rear).

So definitely worth checking over a new bike. I bought mine directly from Honda, I expected better to be honest!


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

No surprise. Bikes are uncrated and put together in a rush. Typically the head mechanic won't be doing the assembly, but a low paid apprentice or "ayudante". In the USA usually someone would check the bike over once assembled ...
Chile? Maybe not?

Daily chain cleaning and oiling is a good time to check things out on your bike, look for missing, lose nuts, bolts, parts. Inspect the rear wheel, chain/sprockets. Cop a feel of the wheel (wiggle) make sure not loose and that wheel bearings holding up.

Cleaning is always a good quick way to do a basic check over of your bike. I've found so many little things I would not have noticed otherwise.

¡Que le via muy bien!