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newbie with some general maintenance questions

By Rezamade,
in General Dirt Bike Discussion

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Rezamade

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Hey All,

My name is David, I'm new to the forum. I just got my first bike, 05 yz 250F. I rode it for the first time on some trails this past weekend, 3 times for a total of 4-5 hours. Rode strong with no issues, usually starts up first or second kick cold. How often should I change oil/clean air filter? Keep seeing various suggestions on the web. I siphoned the leftover gas out using a tube, still hear a little bit in there when I move the bike around, is this ok? How long is too long to store gas in the tank? Any feedback/suggestions would be cool.

Thanks!

yz250f.jpg

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SnowMule

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For maintenance intervals, look in the owners manual.

If you didn't get one with the bike, you can download them from the manufacturer's website or ask a dealer.

Oil changes .... For the first few times, do them at the manufacturer's recommended interval. Take a sample for two or three oil changes and send it out for analysis, that'll tell you how long you can actually go on the oil change. I've gone through Blackstone Labs, they do a good job for cheap. Their analysis doubled the mfgr's recommended interval saving me a -lot- of money in the long run.

Clean the air filter when it gets dirty. This depends a lot on how often you ride and the conditions you ride in.

In general, fuel's good for 6mos. If the bike (or in my case sled) is going to be sitting for a while, I'll siphon the tank out before I run it, dump that old fuel into the truck, and top off sled (or bike) with fresh fuel. Get non-ethanol fuel if you can find it.

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SnowMule

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Appreciate everyone chiming in here, I'll take all the advice I can get. What about changing the oil filter? Does my bike have one?

Again, take a look through the owners manual. It'll have the locations and procedure for doing the basic maintenance.

Yes, I have no doubt your bike has an oil filter. At least one. Owners manual will tell you for sure.

I've got a set of the stainless filters in mine, you can hose them down with carb spray and reuse them instead of buying paper ones all the time.

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maboomboom

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Why are you guys siphoning gas out? If you want the gas out just undo the hose from the tank to the carb (you know the one under the fuel valve) and drain it with good old gravity.

You have to pay attention to how you ride and as you get to know your bike you will notice things if you pay attention. Ride easy or just putting around... change oil every two rides. Ride hard at the track and change every ride. Filter should be cleaned every ride.

Congrats on the new bike!

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jp-lightning

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Welcome david!

I've got an 03 250f. 03-05 are basically the exact same bikes im pretty sure. I've got the manual, yami recommends you change the oil every 2hrs and oil filter every 5 i think? Those are race specs though. I dont go by them because im a trail rider and rarely hit up the track besides home made ones. So i change the oil about as often as these other guys do. Air filter the same also; every ride.

Gas stays good for quite a while without the ethanol in it. Only thing is your carb may get all gummed up after a while of just letting the bike sit. I empty out my float bowl if the bike's gunna be sittin for a while, and drain the tank anyway. Which reminds me.... i forgot to do that to my sled this year...

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Rezamade

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Thanks guys! Glad to be part of the forum, I'm sure I'll have lots of questions. Lol I'll have to try that to take out the extra gas that was left in the tank. How long is too long for it to sit with gas in it? Its a red sticker bike (stupid Cali emissions law). Have to wait until oct to ride at a local park nearby, unless I drive a few hours up to the mountains. Guess I'm due to change the oil n clean air filter soon. Any links on changing the oil on the 05yz 250f?

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motoxvet

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You can download a FREE service manual from Yamaha of Australia but someone moved the link in the Yamaha 2t sub forum. I'm sure if you googled Yamaha of Australia, you'll get to it. It's in PDF form. As someone said, some recommendations may be for a race situation and if you don't race OR beat the piss out of it, intervals may be longer. You should be a regular reader of the Yamaha 4t sub-forum. Live there!

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ruleej32

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There's no black and white answer to your question. There's people that ride in such dirty conditions they should swap filters for a clean back up in the middle of the day. Other people who ride on grass and hard packed dirt that isn't dusty can stretch it way longer. Sometimes I just hop on my bike for some fresh air on a nice day and ride on some pretty grassy trails behind my house So I'm not going to clean the filter after every ride and change the oil if I barely rode hard. However if you do ride hard/dirty conditions then you should be pretty meticulous about filter/oil ESPECIALLY on 250 4-stroke. Nice bike btw ?

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Oldsmar55

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Hey man just figured I'd chime in. I have an 04 yz250f and I love it. Treat it right and you won't ever have a problem. Clean the filter after every ride. IMO it's one thing that people make a mistake on. Even if it doesn't look dirty what's the harm in giving it a good clean. With oil I usually go 2 rides but I usually just trail ride so like others said above if you plan on racing probably look at do it after every day at the track just to be safe. Congrats on the new bike. If its anything like mine I know you'll love it. Good luck

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