Used TC 250 Question...

[rover7]

Looking at buying 2005 TC 250. I think the bike might have 70hours on it. Is that a high or low number for this year and this bike. Any major service things to be worried about or look for? I know valve adjustment, but anything else?

Thanks

[Ride]

Solid bike. 70 hours is low for that year. Heck i got almost that on my 2011 in three months. ?

[rover7]

Thanks! I think the bike is on it's 3rd owner and that scared me a bit. I have an smr510, so I think I'm familiar with the bike for the most part, but just wasn't sure what a high or low hour would be. I assume the tc 250 has the digital read out that shows all the info?

[rover7]

Actually from the pics of this bike, I don't see the digital read out, how would I know how many hours are on the bike? Trust?

[Ride]

Actually from the pics of this bike, I don't see the digital read out, how would I know how many hours are on the bike? Trust?

No meter. Maybe he installed a hour meter from new? Are these track hours? Trail hours? how does the bike look around the frame (boot ware), are the wheel bearing and head bearing good? Give it a good once over, check everything (water, oil, filter, etc) ride it and run it through the gears. Solid bikes but buying used is always a crap shoot. Do your due diligence and make sure you know everything you can before popping on it. Also an 05 TC should come pretty darn cheap.

[rover7]

From the pics, the bike looks really clean. No scuffs on swing arm or anywhere else, but I'll obviously get a better look in person. Usually when a bike is older and very clean I think 1 of 2 things. Great bike and not used much, or clean and something is wrong with motor. I'll give it a good look. Asking $2500

[rover7]

Anyone know where on the bike the year is stamped? Is it part of the serial number? On my smr there's a black sticker on left side of frame in front but on the tc I'm looking at, I can't find the year

[sandyeggoxj]

Should be encoded in the VIN. Does the owner have a manual? My te450 had a decoder ring in the manual.

[rover7]

Yeah he said he had the manual. What do you mean by decoder ring? Is that just a page in the manual to decode the vin?

[ray_ray]

If it truly only 70hrs, it's just broken in ... since it is a MX bike, maybe harder than usual hrs but that is very low for a 5-6 yr old bike

[Full-Throttle]

Thanks! I think the bike is on it's 3rd owner and that scared me a bit. I have an smr510, so I think I'm familiar with the bike for the most part, but just wasn't sure what a high or low hour would be. I assume the tc 250 has the digital read out that shows all the info?

Most ppl do at least 2hrs of riding in a session. So with 70hrs use, that's roughly 35 rides. It's 6yrs old & there are 52 weeks/yr. Thats 312 weeks. 312 divided by 35 equals 8.9 which means the bike has been used every 9 weeks on average. This isn't accurate because it's more likely that each owner rode it a lot at 1st then not so much as the novelty wore off but you get the picture.

And of course no one ever knows if the hr meter was disconnected & of so, for how long. So you use the hr meter, along with the condition of the bike & some basic tests to determine whether it's genuine.

Don't be put off by 3 owners. You never know why someone sold it. It could easily have been cash flow issues. It's been owned on average for 2yrs by ea person so that's not really bad.

[rover7]

Well I bought the tc250. Really clean bike. The guy said he hasn't used it in the past 2 years, but it was all serviced around the same time. Fluids look good, I'm gonna change oil and filter. During my test ride, I did notice a bog on the first bit of throttle turn, but once it got through that, the bike ripped. I know the gas is old, so I'm gonna flush it out and put new fuel in it. Not sure if the carb is rejetted or not, but I know I had a slight bog on my smr510 before I put a jd jet kit in. Took some tinkering on my 510, but it's very responsive when I crack the throttle. Maybe the jets just need some cleaning since it's been sitting for so long. If the bike isn't rejetted, I'll throw a jd in there.

What is a good jetting setup for my tc250?