Forum newbie (ec250)

[gregtenerife]

Hi to everyone on the forum. I joined a little while ago after coming across it by accident surfing the web on a gloomy day. I'm an English guy living on the island of Tenerife and I've had my EC 250 from new (2003) I've picked up a couple of helpful tips from the forum such as changing my transmission oil for ATF (the clutch always dragged from new- not any more!) My GG is standard apart from a Gnarly pipe and a Turbine Core tail (which really made a difference through the range) Myself and a group go out most weekends on rides that take us from sea level to about 9000feet and back, averaging about 60 miles per ride. The counter gave up at 17000km about a year ago and that is the only thing ever to go wrong with my GG. Apart from 2 spark plugs and a few tyres (and the exhaust) the bike is as it left the factory. This is by far the best and most reliable bike I've ever owned and I still love it after 7 years. I'm looking for the record for a set of piston rings! Thanks to everyone in here for some good reading and when something does eventually fail I know where to turn for advice on fixing it.
Happy Gassin' ;-)

[roostafish]

Proof that you don't need a new top end every six months!

32:1 oil premix, proper air filter maintenance = long life.

[skid jackson]

yeah but .....
17000+ clicks on a top end .....
bet if you drop a new piston and rings in there it will be a whole new bike ....
new rod couldn't hurt ....
maybe freshen up the bottom end ....
you'll get another seven years anyway .....

what kind of riding do you do??? ever get on the pipe? or just chug along??

[gregtenerife]

I've had the bike from new and noticed no dicernable drop in power. It always starts second or third kick every Saturday morning. I confess that due to our routes taking us up the mountain the return, downhill leg means that the bike spends alot of time off the pipe. Also it runs a bit rich at these high altitudes and creates a bit of spooge. At sea level it's mean and clean. I don't think there is much I can do about that unless I'm gonna re-jet every couple of thousand feet! Between us we've got all the manufacturers on the ride and my 17000 mile top end performs as well as them all. I still enjoy it as much as the day I bought it. Thanks again to everyone in here who I've borrowed some hints and tips from.