need set-up info 2002 xc250 gas gas please

[motorhead]

A proud day for me just picked up a "still has showroom shine,less than 10hours" 02' xc 250 and a memorable day for my almost 15 yr. old son whom we purchased it for. Just looking bike over in shop and wondered if there are any tips or tricks I could get the heads up on,it has a few differences between my 05' 300. W.p. fork feedback? Should I replace metal snapring with husky plastic wear guide as i did on 05' to keep lower fork guard from rubbing forktube? Looks like one comp. adjuster on ohlins (05' has hi-low). Anyone know heaviest flywheel weight?,want to tame it for him. Ignition wires exit @ 10am like my 05',means mc ignition right? Is it desirable to install counterbalancer? If so will it aid in tractability? Should I be concerned about waterpump impeller on the 02',is it plastic? Granted it's a gas gas and my plans are to keep clean air,oil,and gas in it,put a flywheel weight on it and maybe a tamer throttle cam and let him get used to a full size bike,but anything I can do now to get him comfy or save headache down road would be greatly helpful. Sons 6' ft. tall and weighs 180 lbs. Thanks

[GMP]

Congrats, '02 is a good year, I thought better turning than my '03 and a lot snappier stock. No counterbalancer, just the old cases but you would have to have machine work done to do it. Weakest link is the WP43 fork, not bad but not as good as the Zokes IMO. Valve to suit your son. Yes the fork wear guids are a great idea. Shock is good, and stock springs should be good for starters. G2 throttle, 14oz weight on the 2K-2, and a JD jet kit make it excellent. You can also bump the timing back a degree for a softer hit if needed. 250s hit a little harder than 300s and rev quicker, but are eaiser to manage off the bottom after a long day. Bike should have good strong wheels too. Good luck!

[motorhead]

Thanks gmp! Seems like when I bought my 05' all I could find (on smackover) was info on the older models. Now that we have a brand new old model,all the info is on the new models. Halls had a 10.oz flywheel weight and I've got g2 throttle cam on way,his first big bike so I'm tryin to ease the transition for him a little (or me)! Rode our club grounds a week ago and after a few stalls of the motor he was rippin' all the trails right with us! If anyone has a 14.oz factory flywheel they want to swap???

[GMP]

Try the G2 with the #200 and #400 cams first. Chances are he will be fine. If not try a 14 oz weight. You can move the stator plate 1mm counterclockwise on the circumference to retard the static timing and mellow the low end hit a bit. Very easy, no need to remove flywheel, and free. Jet it clean so it has a decent idle off the pilot ckt and it should not stall. Very easy bike to set up, good luck.

[jefgil123]

Get those forks fixed, and a CCK Needle, Flywheel Weight.

Talk to Les at LTR Racing, he does good work on the WP's !

I've ridded no better "rock" forks than Dick's Suspension in CA. ( $$$ )although Bruces' in Carolina (?) is supposed to know how to turn the WP's into good woods forks. The forks have a bad mid range spike and too little rebound damping, (supposedly), and would not let me hold a line climbing rocky hills.
Otherwise, absolutely no problems on my 2001 EC300

Oh, add the cooolant tank behind the headlite plate for a little extra cooling
system volume, it has worked well for me !

Jeff