HI members, ok to try to make it short, i planned to buy an FZR 250 1988, seen on internet, i reside in lebanon. this is my first bike ever. i have zero whatsoever experience in mechanic. i made a 4 hour bus trip to go and visit the guy who was selling it... first of all, the exterior ( plastic ) is in wonderful condition. i haven't notice anything unusual with the frame ( maybe accidents, etc...) it was clean, no rust....and when i started the bike, it was cold, not heated before i come over. the startup went smooth, a little bit of gaz, and the ignition worked like charm... no smoke from the exhaust ( blue, white).... i opened the radiator cap, it was filled with a mix of anti-frost and water. i was able to see the fluid level properly....waited till it warmed up for about 10 minutes, and didn't notice any change in the fluid level going up and down...except the expension of the fluid in the tube due to heating wish i think it was normal... from there i said to myself, there must not be anything wrong with the motor ( expansion of gaz back to the radiator), wish will indicate maybe a leak maybe in the gaskets. beside that, i noticed a ticking sound, comming from the 4th carburator ( well i thought it was that) ..... the guy told me maybe the carburator need cleaning or maybe tuning, wish seemed fine.. however i don't know, and im not sure due to lack of knowledge if it might have anything to do with the gasket or maybe valves ( i dont really know how u call the area just below the carburator... the only thing that wasen't working was the fan after reaching 3/4 of the mark on my heat gauge, i think i will have to replace the thermostat. but the guy said when i will drive it back home ( 4 hour trip) it shouldn't heat due to the air that will be coming in due to the ride itself. the speedometer indicated a total of 8 thousand kilometer, wish is certainly wrong but however, i have read somewhere that in japan, they use to take off that cable so they don't pay taxes and stuffs like that.. the guy was asking for 1000$, and finally made my deal to 800$. any suggestion please, information, or something i MUST check, in order to feel a bit safer about my purchase. Thank YOU.
Running the gauge at the 3/4 mark (in Lebanon!) is fine. The fan doesn't come on until the gauge is nearly at the red mark.
I will try and make a boiling water test for the thermostat once i buy the bike. however, any clue about what that ticking sound might be, or comes from ?....u can hear it, when you start the bike, in neutral position, and goes louder when u raise the rpm (throttle), then goes back to its normal ticking sound, once idle again.....should i worry about this issue i mean, as to be takin into consideration when buying, or will it be a quick fix ? thanks !
Ticking or rattling can be leaking exhaust header pipes, cam chain, EXUP valve. There may be other causes.
