New member. My first bike!

AustinFitz90
Edited Date/Time 12/28/2015 3:30am
Hello all! I'm new to the forum, and to dirt bikes as well actually. I've wanted one ever since I can remember, but my parents could never afford to buy my brother and I bikes. My dad rode motorcycles all throughout his life, and I'd always beg him to take me with him to the local cycle shops when he went so I could sit on the dirt bikes as a kid. I grew up in the '90s and consequently I love everything about the '90s! Especially all the crazy colors and graphics of the dirt bikes from that era!

Now that I'm older, I decided I'm not waiting any longer. (still can't really afford a bike, but I decided to buy one anyway lol) I started looking for an affordable bike from my favorite era. I had kinda given up after watching Craigslist for quite a while with no luck though. A few days after I had stopped looking I stubbled across a local Facebook swap shop ad for a bike that I liked the second I saw it! I had to have it!!!

A few messages, and a quick trip to town later I'm now the proud owner of my first bike! A fairly clean 1990 YZ 250!!!







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vmx3
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vmx3 12/23/2015 6:33am
12/23/2015 6:33am
Good for you, that thing actually looks to be in really good original shape.
nicko-31
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nicko-31 12/23/2015 6:43am
12/23/2015 6:43am
Good year. !!
newmann
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newmann 12/23/2015 6:47am
12/23/2015 6:47am
Nice. Looks familiar to one I just started up the other day....

RyanLester761
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RyanLester761 12/23/2015 7:27am
12/23/2015 7:27am
Sweet bike! Congrats. So, who's got the newer YZF parked next to yours? Is that your second bike? LOL.

The Shop

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AustinFitz90 12/23/2015 4:00pm
12/23/2015 4:00pm
Thanks guys! Those 2 pics are actually from the for sale ad. It's been raining here nonstop since I bought the bike, so I haven't gotten a chance to clean it up and take any pics of my own. The 2007 YZF was also for sale, but a little out of my price range at $1,200. I'm more of a 2 stroke guy anyway though lol.
vmx3
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vmx3 12/23/2015 4:56pm
12/23/2015 4:56pm
AustinFitz90 wrote:
Thanks guys! Those 2 pics are actually from the for sale ad. It's been raining here nonstop since I bought the bike, so I haven't gotten...
Thanks guys! Those 2 pics are actually from the for sale ad. It's been raining here nonstop since I bought the bike, so I haven't gotten a chance to clean it up and take any pics of my own. The 2007 YZF was also for sale, but a little out of my price range at $1,200. I'm more of a 2 stroke guy anyway though lol.
Good Christ if he was only asking $1200 on a 2007 YZ250F, How much was he asking for a 1990 YZ250! lol
AustinFitz90 12/23/2015 5:11pm
12/23/2015 5:11pm
Yeah I'd have grabbed it to resell if I would have had the cash! It's still for sale though. I saw the guy bump the ad today. I gave $450 for the 1990
vmx3
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vmx3 12/23/2015 5:18pm
12/23/2015 5:18pm
AustinFitz90 wrote:
Yeah I'd have grabbed it to resell if I would have had the cash! It's still for sale though. I saw the guy bump the ad...
Yeah I'd have grabbed it to resell if I would have had the cash! It's still for sale though. I saw the guy bump the ad today. I gave $450 for the 1990
Wow I would say that you scored there dude, well done.
http://macon.craigslist.org/mcy/5322391012.html
AustinFitz90 12/23/2015 5:48pm
12/23/2015 5:48pm Edited Date/Time 12/23/2015 5:49pm
vmx3 wrote:
Wow I would say that you scored there dude, well done.
http://macon.craigslist.org/mcy/5322391012.html
Thanks! After checking it over it seems to be pretty much all original except for some new radiators the previous owner had put on. The worst part about it is that it looks like the plastics and tank were painted white sometime in the 90s, and then again sometime in the early 2000s. A few spots on the frame look to be touched up years ago with white paint as well.
vmx3
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vmx3 12/24/2015 5:15am
12/24/2015 5:15am
AustinFitz90 wrote:
Thanks! After checking it over it seems to be pretty much all original except for some new radiators the previous owner had put on. The worst...
Thanks! After checking it over it seems to be pretty much all original except for some new radiators the previous owner had put on. The worst part about it is that it looks like the plastics and tank were painted white sometime in the 90s, and then again sometime in the early 2000s. A few spots on the frame look to be touched up years ago with white paint as well.
All that stuff can be fixed though with a little elbow grease, I still think you got a bargain there bud, any time you can get a running bike for under $500 you are doing pretty well for the most part and yours looks really good in the pictures, the red anodizing on the forks hasn't faded too much at all, most 90's that you do see out there have pink forks because it has faded so bad.
To put it into perspective here is a pic of my '90 project that I bought last year, not running for $200, that I was quite happy with but I would have paid an extra $250 in a heartbeat for one that ran and looks as well as yours.

AustinFitz90 12/24/2015 9:41am
12/24/2015 9:41am Edited Date/Time 12/24/2015 9:46am
Well it WAS running... Rode it once or twice and had nothing but problems since. I can't even get it to start now. I've pretty much done all the easy things like a new plug, clean carb, clean air filter, new fuel line, etc. I'm kind of worried the top end may be toast... Here are a few pics with the pipe off
NOTE: the weird finger print lookin lines on the piston in the second pic are something to do with the camera. They're not actually on the piston




RyanLester761
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RyanLester761 12/24/2015 4:07pm
12/24/2015 4:07pm
Check for spark. You may have lost the stator or cdi unit.
Matt Fisher 12/24/2015 5:15pm
12/24/2015 5:15pm
No blowby or scoring, top-end looks good; at least through the exhaust port.
x2 on spark.
AustinFitz90 12/24/2015 5:15pm
12/24/2015 5:15pm
RyanLester761 wrote:
Check for spark. You may have lost the stator or cdi unit.
Just pulled the plug and checked it against the head. It's got a blue spark
AustinFitz90 12/25/2015 2:42am
12/25/2015 2:42am
Think I found my problem lol. I believe a leaking petcock, and a worn out o-ring on the float valve seat inside the carb have filled my crankcase with fuel. I noticed my tank was almost empty after I rode it the other day, but just figured the bike wasn't the most fuel efficient. I filled it a bit more than halfway after that. I haven't gotten the bike to run since I added that fuel, and I just checked to find I have a near empty tank... What would be the best way to go about getting that fuel out? Should I gently flip the bike, or?
Murph
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Murph 12/25/2015 9:59am
12/25/2015 9:59am
I had a Husky 390 that was prone to filling itself up with fuel like that and my dad and I would turn it almost upside down to pour the fuel out of the engine.

I have heard of guys drilling a hole in the bottom of the crankcase, tapping it and then putting a suitable plug in to allow the engine to be drained if this problem happens regularly.

When my Bultaco flooded at an event a couple of years ago, I pushed it along in gear with the spark plug out and that seemed to clear enough of the excess fuel to allow it to start but you need to make sure there is no chance of a rogue spark igniting the fuel as it is ejected out of the plug hole.
notme
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notme 12/25/2015 5:02pm
12/25/2015 5:02pm
Fuel drain plug for the crankcase........too funny!

Nothing wrong with $450 for that yz, looks like a lot of usable parts on it at least.
ebers
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ebers 12/25/2015 9:34pm
12/25/2015 9:34pm
AustinFitz90 wrote:
Yeah I'd have grabbed it to resell if I would have had the cash! It's still for sale though. I saw the guy bump the ad...
Yeah I'd have grabbed it to resell if I would have had the cash! It's still for sale though. I saw the guy bump the ad today. I gave $450 for the 1990
That's awesome! Welcome aboard. Looks like you got a good deal even if it does need a little TLC! Have fun with it!

Pit Row

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AustinFitz90 12/26/2015 2:26am
12/26/2015 2:26am Edited Date/Time 12/26/2015 2:30am
Oh yeah I'm happy with what I paid for it, even if it does need a little work like you said. I can't wait to get it running right! I had a HUGE grin plastered across my face the couple of times I have ridden it. The only other 2 stroke I had been on before this was a tired old Yamaha RT100 lmao! The YZ feels like a Ferrari compared to that thing!
AustinFitz90 12/28/2015 3:30am
12/28/2015 3:30am Edited Date/Time 12/28/2015 3:30am
Got it started!! The crankcase was flooded. I had the carb off already, so I pulled the reed cage, the pipe, and the plug. Pushed it around in gear a bit and got some of the fuel out, but ultimately ended up almost flipping the bike to get it all out. I took the petcock apart and cleaned it out. I stretched the spring a bit to put some extra pressure on the plastic stop inside. It seems to be holding up so far, but I'm going to buy a new one, or a rebuild kit for this one asap. I also replaced the o-ring that seals the float valve assembly to the carb body. It's a good snug fit now. After it dried out I put it back together and it fired after some blubbering, and a good loud backfire. It was pretty smokey once it fired

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