Looking for suggestion

It's a good idea (if you are seriously interested in a bike) to buy the UVIP before you even see the bike. All you need is $20 and the VIN and you can pick one up from any Service Ontario. Also note that for "selling price" the ministry has no database for bikes. You can read between the lines on that one.
 
Do you have any friends who are motorcycle mechanics? The fitness certificate part can get real expensive fast if you suddenly discover the bike needs tires or brakes to certify. They are basically going to charge you 70+ $ per hour to remove the brakes and inspect them, if they have new pads on hand add another 30 or 40$ in parts per wheel. They won't even look at things like the air and fuel filter (when you look at the bike, look at the air filter, it tells a lot about the previous owners attention to service, you might even find a mouse nest in there) Does it need a new drive chain, add another 60 to 100$ (if the front sprocket looks worn the chain is probably done), I can almost guarantee the oil in the front forks is the same oil that was put in there by the factory many years previous. add another 14 bucks there, is the battery older then 4 years old? add another 60 bucks there. Do you have a helmet?

... not looking to discourage you but if you budget 1500 for the motorcycle you better have another 6 or 7 hundred on hand to cover the extras, if all that stuff has to be covered by the 1500 you will have a problem.


One of those bike suggestions is in Porcupine Ontario :/ that's a 9 hour drive from Toronto, I could drive my truck that far for a couple of hundred$, hopefully you have a more fuel efficient means to transport a motorcycle that you may or may not buy after driving that far to look at it. Take somebody with you who really knows motorcycles and has 2 days to contribute if you possibly can.
 
Trials said:
Do you have any friends who are motorcycle mechanics? The fitness certificate part can get real expensive fast if you suddenly discover the bike needs tires or brakes to certify. They are basically going to charge you 70+ $ per hour to remove the brakes and inspect them, if they have new pads on hand add another 30 or 40$ in parts per wheel. They won't even look at things like the air and fuel filter (when you look at the bike, look at the air filter, it tells a lot about the previous owners attention to service, you might even find a mouse nest in there) Does it need a new drive chain, add another 60 to 100$ (if the front sprocket looks worn the chain is probably done), I can almost guarantee the oil in the front forks is the same oil that was put in there by the factory many years previous. add another 14 bucks there, is the battery older then 4 years old? add another 60 bucks there. Do you have a helmet?

... not looking to discourage you but if you budget 1500 for the motorcycle you better have another 6 or 7 hundred on hand to cover the extras, if all that stuff has to be covered by the 1500 you will have a problem.


One of those bike suggestions is in Porcupine Ontario :/ that's a 9 hour drive from Toronto, I could drive my truck that far for a couple of hundred$, hopefully you have a more fuel efficient means to transport a motorcycle that you may or may not buy after driving that far to look at it. Take somebody with you who really knows motorcycles and has 2 days to contribute if you possibly can.
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Yea... I have mixed feeling about this one. When you go to do a safety, they'll let you know what needs to be corrected for it to pass. That work does not need to be completed at the same place you are doing the safety at. Going with your brake example, it's a 250. They are super basic to work on and there is a TON of info online on how to do pretty much anything to the bike. You should learn to do the work yourself. It's not rocket science, use your brain and take your time. It's also a great opportunity to get familiar with the bike you just bought and also potentially find other hidden issues. Never head of having to change a fuel filter on a 250, but that's anecdotal. Often times, these bikes don't really seem to get to the mileage that warrants replacement. Air filter is a good idea to at the very least inspect. It's super easy to get to on the Ninja 250. Drive chain is a huge one for me. It's such a basic maintenance piece. If they couldn't be bothered to keep that in good shape, don't have high hopes for the rest of the bike!
I wouldn't bother with the fork oil. You're not making this a track bike (presumably) and it'll most likely be ok. If seals are leaking, that's a different story. Hell, I have 10+ years on my R6's fork oil and 60k km's. I'll be doing the seals this spring since they finally failed. I'll be curious to see what the difference in suspension feel is. Battery is also a mixed bag. Age doesn't necessarily indicate wear level. If it was regularly used, it shouldn't degrade in 4 years. The strain on a 250's electrical system is relatively small.

One area that I do want to stress is tires. They are the only thing keeping you from sliding your ass on the road. Tread level isn't enough. Look for cracks and age and do not be cheap here.

As for gear, realize a ~$150 helmet will often protect just as well as a $700 one. The difference is the expensive one will be lighter/quieter and usually more features. Kijiji is your friend when it comes to buying jackets/gloves/boots.

Good luck OP and welcome to the sport!
 
I only used 4 years on the battery because I never had one last longer then that ymmv. ... never had a heated garage before now either, so that might change.
I read that the fuel injected Honda 250 has an external fuel filter, that is very cool from a maintenance standpoint.
... actually meant to say oil filter in the previous post but might as well add that too. Thing about keeping fuel filters good is; it might prevent you from needing to clean the carburetors as often on a carburetor equipped bike and on a fuel injected bike the fuel goes around and around through the filter repeatedly under pressure. If the Fi filter is made of treated paper material (and I'm pretty sure they all are) water can accumulate in the filter canister and water destroy's treated paper filter material.

add: recommendation has been made to consider Kawasaki 250, be advised that twin cylinder bikes in this price range will likely have 2 CV type carburetors, any time you have 2 carburetors they need to be balanced to adjust them properly and that slightly complicates service relative to a single carburetor because you will need to build or buy a tool that works off the intake vacuum.

"I wouldn't bother with the fork oil." lol nobody ever does! That is why it is the most over-looked service item on practically every motorcycle. I know better only because I have destroyed a set of really nice forks, once your oil turns to grinding compound your aluminum lower fork legs (on an RSU type fork) will wear oval inside. (? R6 is fitted with USD cartridge type forks aren't they ?)

Always dump your engine or fork oil change into a clear glass container and examine it under sunlight to look for metal particles.
If forks have an oil drain screw in the bottom of the leg, drain off a few cc's of the sludge that is in there, do it after the oil has settled and you might only be draining off water! I seen that too.

Couple of things to quick and super easy check on a used bike:
Give the rear wheel a really good rock from side to side and if the chain tension changes <- either the swingarm bearing or the wheel bearings are shot.
Check the steering head bearing for axial movement or other then smooth movement. Steering head bearings in all of these models are marginal at best, consisting of loose ball bearings riding on a cheap race. Rarely will they be fitted with taper bearings unless it is a high end or competition bike. ... nobody ever lubricates their steering head bearings until they fail either.

"I'll be doing the seals this spring since they finally failed" <- Major cause of seal failure is because your slide bushings are worn out, fork seals can not tolerate any misalignment in the stanchion tube travel, all they do is hold back the oil pressure.
 
Trials said:
"I'll be doing the seals this spring since they finally failed" <- Major cause of seal failure is because your slide bushings are worn out, fork seals can not tolerate any misalignment in the stanchion tube travel, all they do is hold back the oil pressure.
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Or 1 wheel shenanigans ?
 
Sebi said:
Or 1 wheel shenanigans ?
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That's normal operating conditions on a dirt bike,
trials riding is so hard on forks we can't even use USD type forks, too fat at the top to turn the bars tight, too heavy, and carrying the majority of their oil above the seals USD's proved highly prone to failure.
USD forks are also horrible to work and more expensive for parts compared to RSU forks in my experience ymmv.
 
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Riceburner said:
It is? I've never supplied one...buyer always got it first or didn't care and got it after, but always got one when buying.
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Yep, it is.

But like many HTA things, there's zero enforcement. Show up at the MTO without one and they just soak you for $20 more to print it out while you stand there, and then they give it to you (they don't even actually look at it, typically) and continue the transaction.

The entire way that system was designed to work, to protect a buyer *before* the purchase, is effectively broken.
 
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