New to me 2000 EC 200?
 

New to the forum and will be picking up a 2000 EC 200 this weekend and wondering if there is anything I should look out for and do to get it going correctly. Got a pretty solid price on it, but don't want to spend a ton of money on it either as I run a Beta majority of the time. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Ben

It is a solid designed bike and it also tends to wear pretty similar to other dirt bikes.

I would put the bike on a stand and check the headset bearings and check the rear suspension linkage for play. Look for loose pivot bolts in the suspension. This is a sneaky way to hide bad bearings.

Maybe pull the ignition side cover and look for rust and smell for gas.

Kick the kickstarter several times. A known issue is slipping of the kickstart pinion gear. Not super expensive but it will run you between $60 and $120.

It may needs crank seals if they have never been changed.
Bent shift shaft.

If it has lots of miles on it look for loose elongated foot peg holes.

Sloppy kickstarter pivot.

Subframe cracks or bent.

Look in the oil sight window for milky oil. The waterpump seals can fail after a while.

Look for wet spots around the gas tank where the radiator shrouds are screwed in. Sometimes people use wood screws that are too long and create a leak.

I have a 2000 XC300 which is very similar and it has been AWESOME reliable!

Thanks Zman! Once I get it in my garage Ill start to check into all that you mentioned. Is there anywhere directly that you get parts from or just search the internet abroad?

You are very welcome! Getting parts depends where you are located. I am in the Midwest and get GG parts from Halls-cycles in Springfield, IL Note there are many crossover parts to other brands. You can find details throughout the forum.

If you're pretty well removed from any dealers, motocrosscenter.com in Spain is not a bad option. I spent a long time looking for a good online source of parts before coming across them.

Thanks fellas. Ill take a look into both. I am out in California but planning on moving back to Vermont within a year or so. Im pretty excited to get the bike in my hands so I can start to put some wrench time into it! It will be my first 2-stroke as well! Always grew up riding 4-strokes. I don't even know what ratio of gas-oil I have to run haha. I've done a bit of reading and seems like 40:1 is right. I'm going to run Motul as that's what I run in my Beta and might as well kill two birds with one stone if you will.

Where in CA??

I'm in Napa. Just back into riding after 5-6 years away. Mostly just ride to work and back with a few dual sport spots. Haven't hit a real trail, but looking forward to it as I get a more reliable vehicle other than my Beta haha.

I'd pull the swingarm & rear linkage & clean, lube &/or replace as needed.

I did the same on my new to me '01 XC200 and it was dry as a bone, bordering on starting to wear out. I was able to clean, lube & re-use everything, except the shock needed servicing. It was time & money well spent.

I love the bike, I'm sure you'll like your's too.

RB

RBrider,

I've never gone that deep into pulling apart dirt bikes, only snowmobiles. If I'm remotely mechanically inclined is it something I can do fairly easily haha? What do you run for oil and at what ratio?