New to me 2002 EC250
 

I have some pics and questions that will I will update as I start to go through this bike. My plan is to get what I can ready before the riding season starts here in the cold north, although setting up the suspension and carb. will be hard since I don't know anything about the bikes history and what's been done. I can check sag. What is recommend for this year? I understand Sag is a little different on a GasGAs.
Here is the bike. It looks to me to have 2003-2006 plastic. There is a small dent in the pipe. Is a pipe guard a good idea? It looks like some people have them and some don't. In Minnesota we have some rocks, but it's not mountain riding.
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...psd5277269.jpg
The fork seals are leaking. What brand of fork seals would be best? They are 43mm WP forks. I thought about ordering KTM seals and bushings if needed. On my Yamaha I've only had luck with the OEM seals.
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...ps92b45323.jpg

I was wondering about this steering damper and if it was a good mod on the 02's. I understand that the 02's were more stable that later models. Also I want a different number plate. Any recommendations?
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What's going on with the gas tank. It looks like in has two gas tank holes that don't line up. Difficult during a race to fill up fast.
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Is this a stock throttle linkage. It feels nice. Also, the brake switch is falling apart. Can I just use a bolt from my Yamaha brake line to replace it. I'm going to bleed the brake line anyways.
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This opening in the "airbox" cover, is it because my subframe is bent?
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Last question. On a lot of bikes I use the rub marks on the frame to guesstimate how many hours are on the bike. The other side isn't scuffed at all. Is this a lot of scuffing? The finish seems really tough. Also, It has an LT-racing sticker on the frame and I'm wondering if they did any work on the bike. Does LTR put stickers on the frame when they do suspension work?
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2cdf4d21.jpg

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions. I'm new to the world of GasGas and pretty new to offroad riding and last year was my first year to try enduro's and harescrambles. :)

Congrats! Welcome aboard. I'm gonna refrain from answering questions since I'm into my favorite. Scotch:D

I have a 2002 I bought brand new.

Looking at the side panels and clutch cover casting on that bike, I'd say it is a 2003. Read your VIN, write it down and do a search here on this site for VIN to confirm what year. Sag, try 105mm and play around. Again, search for the sag threads here. Before you do that, I'd pull the entire swingarm and linkage off and service it. This is an old bike, could be rusty, dry bearings.

Pipe guards, I like my eline here in Iowa, no more rocks than you. Probably could find a used one on here with a posting.

I've used WP seals from GG, and a buddy has used a kit from Pivot Works, both seemed to last. WD 40 on the sliders after a long sitting is a tip that helps keep seals alive longer. From the pics, I don't think yours are leaking, I'd try dropping the dust seal, cleaning in there, and running a seal saver around the oil seal. You should check your fork oil though, it could be dirty.

I have the same damper on my 2002, it helped at high speeds. Make sure it isn't leaking around the shaft. If so, it needs a new seal and can be sent into WER for service.

Gas tank, that is a byproduct of having a black top molded to a translucent bottom, it hasn't been a problem for me for fills. My 300 never needs fuel in a 2hr HS. Don't worry about it.

Brake will be stronger and firmer if you replace that banjo fitting with one from a Japanese bike. Nissin brakes are pretty good even back then. Your throttle is going to kill you BTW. Run the rubber sleeve up tight against the adjusters, then safety wire it to the rubber Domino cover. Without that, they can and will get pulled by a branch and yank the slide wide open. Do a search on this here too.

Your subframe isn't bent, its just the sloppy fit these side airbox covers had. Seen lots of them with duct tape, and the filter just gets removed from the top.

Wear marks on the nickel plated frame, I can't comment on. In general, that probably isn't a good way to measure hours. Better to pull the ignition cover and check for play up and down, that measures bearing wear. Pull the pipe and look up the exhaust port with a flashlight to check piston wear and cylinder scratches. Finally, do a compression test to check ring wear.

In general, I'd say wear out the search function on this site, you'll be amazed at what you learn.

Thanks good information. I'm worrying more about the bike then I'm working on it because I'm in the doghouse for buying it and it's winter.

Glad I can do a HS on one tanks. If it's an 03 that would explain the plastics also. I use the search function and get distracted by all the other posts and forget what I'm looking for.:D

I bought an e-line skid plate on ebay already and will keep my eyes open for the pipe guard.

I see you have the 2k2 ignition. Do you have a fw weight?What size if so?
Your bike looks clean. congrats.Nice wheels too.

You are speaking "GasGas." No Habla GasGas.:confused:
Oh, I get it. FW is flywheel. I have no idea, yet. I plan on taking the front end apart this afternoon and checking steering head bearings, fork oil, and spring weight.
How do you know I have a 2k2 ignitions? Is this good?

I practiced the search option. I don't think I'll worry about flywheel weight until I ride the bike and see if it's an issue.

You Win! I have the owners service manual for a 2002 but the bike is a 2003 according to the VIN Number.

It was 40 degrees today so I thought I'd try to get the bike started. It wasn't easy. After it started, I thought it was funny. The bike was in neutral but with the vibration it was creepy backwards. See scratch in the cement
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The fork caps were a little stripped. I wanted to get them off to changed the fork fluid. I don't think the seals are leaking anymore or at least I'll give them a try. But, this is not a good way to take the fork caps off. They were a little tight. I had to use the impact and heat.
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In reference to the pic of your airbox-door plastic...it would only require a slight tweek of the subframe, to keep that seam from lining up. I have two bikes with the same trap-door style side plastic...mine line up fine. That said, I prefer the one-piece side plastic. Makes keeping water out much easier.

my 2002 did the exact same thing. If I had a big enough slab it would have been a perfect circle.

Careful using the impact on the caps, I did the same and started to round off the aluminum nut on the top.

Here are some finer points of your bike- The ignition is the 2K2, or "lightweight flywheel." You don't have a lot of power for accessories, so pick your battles if you are going to plate it and need lights. I recommend getting a nice heavy flywheel weight to keep it from stalling in the technical sections. I had a 2002 with no weight and had issues in root fields. I added a decent sized weight and it helped. I then moved up to a 2011 with the 2K3 flywheel, and noticed an immediate difference in the same root fields in that I stalled less with the heavier flywheel. I am a convert for a heavier weight in the technical stuff.

Also, you will want to check squish. RB Designs will help with that. Well worth the ~$100 (after shipping) to help tune the bike and increase the engine potential.

Enjoy the bike, they are great machines when maintained.

Congrats on the bike toadl. Is that the one that was "mechanic owned" and only listed for around $995.00 at a dealership in MN?

Yes, but mechanic owned usually is not a good thing. Rear tire is on backwards.:confused:

I need to get some 5w fork oil for the works and the WER stabilizer.

I guess some people like to mount this tire backwards, helps it shed mud faster.

I found a download for the WER steering damper from another post and replace the fluid in the unit. I'm looking forward to trying the bike with and without the stabilizer.:D
I'm going to try and bend the subframe straight. Looking down vertically at the bike you can see it is bent. Open to suggestions on subframe straightening.:confused:

...or you can replaced it with one from a 94-98 KX, if you can't satisfactorily fix it. That is, if you don't source a GG replacement.

It's already bent so the worst thing I can do is bend it more. Ya, I saw one on ebay for about 30 big ones.

I ordered a new used subframe today. No use trying to bend the old one back and knowing its going to be weaker then it was when it bent the first time.
Also ordered new front fork springs, .44KG/MM in place of the old .40KG/MM. Here is a link on how I measured the front forks.
http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/sho...561#post126561
The rear shock spring is 5.4KG/MM. I think this will work well for my 190-200 lbs. I mostly ride in the woods. I ride smooth but not fast.
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I was able to squeeze an hour in the garage. Is this the voltage regulator or maybe a blinker switch. It's mounted in front of the radiator. Anyways, I removed it along with some other parts of the wiring harness.
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When I was removing wires I thought I have everything written in memory. I'm not sure though if this black/white wire from the CDI goes to this Yellow Green wire. The plugs match up???:confused:.
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Here is the bike now. Rear linkage is ready to be dismantled and greased. I will also do a leakdown test on the cylinder. Next week will be cold so it might be a while before I get out there again.
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If you are going to run a light you may want to keep the voltage reg?

That is the voltage regulator, a zener diode that clips the voltage to ground (as I understand it) so you get a "max" voltage spike to protect bulbs and anything else on the circuit.
Agreed, if you plan on running anything on the lighting circuit, like a trail tech or lights. if not, then it can go in the spares bin. But just remember to install it if you want to run an accessory.

No lights. I hit too many trees.:D

Nice buy on that bike. I was considering buying it, but because of distance and the need for a bunch of paperwork to bring it over the border, you beat me to it. I have an '02 200 EC and the air box cover is just like in your pictures. No problem. Subframe is fine, but the bushing was worn out. As for the wiring questions, the wiring diagram for the Leonelli switch at GasGasRider forum has the complete wiring for that bike so you can follow the wires and figure what each wire on that bike is. I used that diagram on my bike. It was accurate.
http://gasgasrider.org/gg-wiring_Leonelli_switch.jpg

Thanks for the link on the wiring diagram. I had a downloaded diagram but the resolution was pretty bad. If I understand it right. The Black/White wire from the CDI box goes to ground?:confused: Which would make sense. I think.

I don't remember off hand, but that does make sense.

There is really no benefit to removing wiring other than you mess the bike up for the next owner if you plan to sell it LOL :D.

For the record the B/W from the CDI goes to the ground at the coil.

The wiring behind the number plate was in such bad shape I was worried about a wire grounding, anyways it was unusable.
"no benefit," What about all the weight I saved.:

I mentioned earlier that I greased the steering stem bearings. Well, I wasn't really happy with how they felt. I took them to work and cleaned them with parts cleaner, and they were obviously bad. I've never removed that lower bearing before, and I had good reason to be nervous. Fortunately at work we have lots tools for that sort of thing. Now I nervous about how good my judgement will be with the rear suspension bearings.

I want to thank everyone for your feedback. I appreciate all opinions, especially lessons learned from previous experience. At this point I feel like I should dive deeper into the bike to learn as much about it as possible before summer arrives. Most likely get into the top end and measure the rings and piston, and look into the carb to record jet sizes and needle shape.
I checked the linkage and swingarm bearings and found the hardness in most of the sleeves to be worn through. I could feel the ridges with my finger. I did think the rear suspension seemed stiff.:eek:
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New bearings pressed in. I slowly heated the linkage to 300 degrees Fahrenheit in a special oven. I used a torch to heat up the swing arm to about 250 degrees.
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I found an hour to work in the garage today. I was going to put the swingarm back on but I forgot the chain slide at work so I started digging around. I guess it does have a flywheel weight. Here is the pic. I have no idea what size it is. I could easily find out if I weigh it. What direction are the threads?
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Here is my biggest concern. You can't see in the picture, but the two of the reeds do not close all the way. Look at the lower left reed. This is not normal, is it? I read in the forum that someone turned the reeds around. Is this a good idea? Do they ever break?
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Second concern, I think my exhaust is bent and creased in the first turn. How much is this going to affect performance? I'm more concerned about this crease more then the other dents because its the first turn.
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http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...ps838be774.jpg
It looks like possibly the dent in the lower curve happened at the same time. I saw this when I bought the bike but am not as concerned about that one.
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...psdae57730.jpg

Pictures of the cylinder and piston from the exhaust port. The piston doesn't have any carbon built up on it and I can see the cross hatching on the cylinder wall. Should I still take the head off to inspect tolerances?
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Took the carb apart and recorded some sizes.
Here is the float. I was going to ask if it's supposed to be level but found the answer. No it's not. It is supposed to be level when the need seats in the valve.
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Here is what I recorded.
Main Jet 180
Pilot jet 45
Needle is a DDK 3rd position from top
Slide number is 6

Stripped down the top end yesterday. With how things were going I thought I'd probably be buying some new parts. Turns out everything looks pretty good. Ring end gap was .27 and .26mm, pretty tight. Cylinder and piston look good. At some point someone replaced the piston rod and bearings in the bottom end. Put everything back together. The only "no no" I did was reused one circlip on the piston.
When I first saw the writing on the Gasket I thought it must be original. Now I think it must be a dealers way verifying something.
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Japanese Vesrah crank.
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/...psb3c83160.jpg

I also ordered 1996 yz250 reeds. We'll see how they fit. I'm going to make the reed block and ignition cover gaskets at work. Avoid shipping costs.

11 OZ fly wheel weight is what you have .

One important question!!! When I was putting the cylinder back on I noticed there were no pins to center the cylinder on the bottom end. On the microfiche they list 4 "pins." Are these "pins" just the studs? Cylinder doesn't seem to really center down.

There are no locating dowels.
The pins are likely the studs, there is nothing to locate the cylinder but that's not really that important. If you put the cylinder on backwards that's your fault. :D

I was wondering why the exhaust went out through the reeds.::eek:

Keeps it out of the way so you don't smash it crossing logs.

Lol :) .

Photo request
 

Here's one of the photos you requested concerning the wiring details. It doesn't look like anyone responded.

requested photo
 

Hope they help.

photos request
 

one more

Thanks, that removes any doubt. I was concerned because, as you can see in the pic, the plastic around the plugs are a different design.

The 1996 yz250 reeds I bought didn't fit my Boyesen Reed cage. It's the design with three holes. The Reeds also have three holes bought the spacing is different and the reeds are smaller. I'm going to update the post that recommended them and maybe just buy the gasgas reeds.


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Those are labeled PRO-09, not PSR 21 or PRO 21 (If I remember correctly). You might have the wrong reeds. I believe that the GasGas reeds that cross with Yamaha reeds only appeared on the Yam for one year. I'll see if I can dig up the number from my posts on this.