Thumper Club Forum
Club House => Chatter => Topic started by: Itsme on March 20, 2021, 07:35:53 AM
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Hello all
After finally deciding that I don't like my CBF500 (really good to ride but booooring as hell) I have bought another GN250. I just can't enjoy riding anything but air-cooled singles. I also really like smaller bikes for some reason. I'd be more inclined to buy a Tiger Cub than a Gold Star for example. I suppose it is something to do with the challenge of riding a smaller bike to far-away places.
Anyway it is coming on Thursday (why do some bike shops take ages to sort delivery?) and I have taken Thursday and Friday off to go for a play. I am very excited which just proves I refuse to grow up.
Spartacus
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As the saying goes Ian.... eeer sorry Spartacus. “You can grow old but you don’t have to grow up” 😉
Enjoy your new steed and hopefully we can meet up at some point this summer and go for a spin again. Hopefully I’ll be on the spitfire, which I’m told (sharp intake of breath) is getting delivered to my garage door next Tuesday 🤞. We’ll see.
Cheers Michael
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Photo please..... I like gn`s ;D
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They do look quite nice... I may be looking around for a runabout when I've completed the Fanny-B and decided I don't like it. The GN250s do seem to go for reasonable money.
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Hi Guys
Thanks for your comments. Michael we definitely need a catch up ride over the summer and I will be so excited to see the Spitfire in person. Tuesday is only 3 sleeps away!
Rufus, I will post a pic or two when it arrives but to whet your appetite it is in Antares Red rather than the black one we both owned. Very attractive.
Ian you could do worse than a GN, as you say still reasonably priced. The performance isn't bad for a 250 and having an electric start I find to be a great bonus.
Blimey we could become a branch of the GN Owners Club at this rate (if there is one).
Spartacus.
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Excellent, well done that man! I too have decided I need another air cooled single in my life, so I'm going to see a Himalayan Monday or Tuesday...
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Yes Ian, don't know what it is about thumpers but they seem to get under your skin. One of the mates picked up a tidy GN250 recently for £650 and has done a mild custom job on it and seems well pleased with it - he has other bikes but recon's it's perfect for his camper van. As for the Himalayan I had a run on Timbo's a few years back and liked it. Probably closest in feel to some of the older singles and with the lower power and cc doesn't suffer from the snatchiness of the bigger thumpers. I think you either get them or don't. Some folks couldn't live with the modest power but doesn't really bother me as I prefer the backroads anyway.
Regards and good luck with the new bike
Tony
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I'm sure you will have seen this very tidy version on fleabay this week.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114725407235
A friend of mine has the TU250 and he loves it to bits. You don't have to have masses of power to enjoy biking. I loved the BMW G310 but they really need to get the reliability sorted out. (Sorry for going off topic)
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Oooo Himalayans, TU250s and air-cooled singles generally, now I'm excited! The one I'm waiting for is identical to that ebay one which is £300 cheaper. Bugger.
Spartacus
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i had a tu 250 for a while there great little bikes loved mine great fun on country back roads ,,,, tommy
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This is the fastest gn I had, the red one I got from Tommy was the cleanest, there was only one I didn`t really get on with, it just wouldn't rev, but they were all great fun, better that the pos kawasaki 250 singles i ended up with...
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Hi Rufus
Is there anything you can do to improve the running of the Z250? What is it that makes it so much worse than the GN? I've never tried a Z250 so have nothing to go on but can't help wondering why two big manufacturers can use the same format and be so different.
My CBF500 is so much nicer and has more power than my ER5 had and yet they are both 500 twins of roughly the same age. Odd isn't it.
Spartacus
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It would be nice if it would actually started ! It was running poorly at low revs so I put a carb rebuild kit on, now it won`t do anything, hopefully the carb from johnr will give me a back to beginning point to work from with correct settings, I will compare it with my `rebuilt` one and see what i have done wrong.
gn250`s never gave me any trouble, my first z250 was very slow, even though it revved well but often jumped out of gear, so that went. Then the one i have now has carb problems and has some awful starter /starter related noises if it is spun over for ages, which at the minute is happening a lot... i hate it... it will probably be ok when carb sorted :-\
GN250, probably the best bike I don`t have anymore :(
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Hi Rufus
Wow that sounds like a real pain, I hope you have success soon as I know how continual issues can make a bike a real drag to own.
Strange how we very often don't appreciate a bike until it is gone. I am really looking forward to owning and riding another GN250, but I am aware that when my CBF500 goes I will probably remember it more fondly than I have whilst I've owned it.
Odd lot aren't we!
Spartacus
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Wow that sounds like a real pain, I hope you have success soon as I know how continual issues can make a bike a real drag to own.
Spartacus
;D I've spent the last 18 months trying to get the Ducati 450 to idle once warm. At present I'm finally changing the cam, back to the OME one. Valve timing has been checked 4 times, ignition timing at least thirty. Three carburettors, each one with a pilot jet range from 20 to 40 in steps of 5, either a No. 3 and a No. 3.5 slide, pilot jet in the body or float bowl options, fuel level checks, one electronic ignition, three sets of points to make one good set, a Boyer ID unit, five exhaust combinations including an open pipe! And still it holds its revs at 3,000 - 4,000rpm after coming up to running temperature. On a run, after 5 - 10 miles, it's like riding a horse off the bit, as there is no tickover. ;D So, approaching bends or riding through urban areas requires control of the speed using the gears and brakes alone ::).
It would appear that there is nothing "wrong" with any of the component parts and the only thing that I haven't changed since the rebuild is the new cam. It would appear that the 32mm inlet and carb and increased valve overlap is sufficient to establish an increased pressure depression in the venturi above the needle jet and the only way of disrupting this is to stick your finger over the gap at the bottom of the slide! :( Not good when heading for the back of a stopped bus, having blipped the throttle to change down and too accelerate rather than slow. ;) Laxative anyone?
To add insult to injury, because of the enhanced depression, even with the 40 pilot jet and No. 3.0 slide in place, when hot, the mixture in the cylinder tends to be weak and requires an initial prime kick, with the cold start open. I have now blown the carb and rubber inlet off the inlet spigot over 40 times, resulting in large chips out of the frame powder coating and lumps out of the carb bellmouth.
And you wonder why some bikes in the race paddock are cantankerous? ;D
Have faith Rufus, made by man sorted by man! Sorry, that's a bit profound! :-[
I'll post if the cam change makes the difference.
Good health, Bill
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Bloody hell Bill you have waaaay more patience than I have, waaaay more. By now that Ducati would be a garden bench.
Suddenly I understand why my CBF500 is so good even if it is the most boring bike on the planet.
Spartacus
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Blimey Bill, you have more patience than me. I'm sure you'll get there in the end, after all, it has to be something, and it's always the last thing you try!
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Henceforth, St Bill 😬
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"Fear of the unknown does not mean the unknown needs to be feared"
Exactly! ;D
The purveyor of the cam and race engine/bike builder has not come across this in over 30 years of building race winning Ducati single motors that have won the Manx etc, etc, etc. My 'Mix 'n Match' tuning missed out on the latter! ;)
Rather than trying to do a 'paddock' cam change, I've decided to lift the head and then change the cam, re-shim the valve/rocker clearances, before re-assembling and then testing. My cam holder is not a snug fit and the flexing as I apply 35ft/lb through the cam nut is not a pretty sight, causing the helical bevel gears to flex! ::) Helical bevel gear pair replacements are as rare as rocking horse sh1te and a set of straight cut replacements start at over £600, if I break a helical tooth. :(
If the cam change makes a difference, then the next step is to lift and strip the head again, rough up the inlet port with 120 grit emery and the exhaust port with 60 to 80 grit emery, replace the 'White' cam, with the 173A and see if the problem returns! If it does, it would appear that the valve overlap is too much for my engine and I will strip again and install the 'White' cam for keeps. ;D ;D ;D
Hope the Himalaya is good, I have a friend who thinks they are the best since sliced bread.
As for the "Sainthood", no this is part of the family that just needs a bit of TLC to go cantering again. ;D
Good health, Bill
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I know it`s a red gn and we all know what a red gn looks like....but can we have a photo to look at please ?
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I know it`s a red gn and we all know what a red gn looks like....but can we have a photo to look at please ?
Hi Rufus
Yes sorry I will attend to that tomorrow. I've been really busy for the last few days but I am at a loose end tomorrow.
Spartacus