Buying a used bike...what would you do?

If you bought a used bike as your first trail bike (1999 WR250)... What would be your check list of things to go over?

So far I have:

Replaced tank with fresh gas/stabil
Disassembled and cleaned pet cock
Replaced air filter
Changed oil
Replaced tires
Replaced wheel bearings
Greased all zerks
Adjusted suspension
Changed front and rear brake pads
New sproket/chain


Am I missing anything? What other items would you suggest inspecting?

Flush brake fluid
Clean carb has to be dirty if petcock was
And ride it a ton lol

Thanks are those two thing relatively easy to do? Would I need any special tools?

Disassemble, clean, and regrease linkage, swingarm, and steerer tube bearings. Change fork oil and shock fluid. And repack the silencer.

Utopia! Thanks for the added info. Any suggestions on the type of repacking material for the silencer? My parts shops says there are a few kinds: sheet like material, and more of a cotton candy type/consistency. He also says there are different weights/ratings for the baffle material... Do you know what I need to go with ?

Also. What type /weight fork oil, and how much goes in each stanchion?

Thanks for the help in advance. I'll post up pics of the process in order to help newer members like myself when they run into the same problems!

Exhaust packing - my preference is sheet material, more even pressure when wrapping. Weight/ratings? So long as it's for motorbike's is fine, l have used steel wool for a 4t road once....

Fork oil - consult a manual (pm and l can email), need a fork level tool or steel ruler, syringe and clear tube works as well, plenty of vids on how to dissemble and measure forks (RMATV has a good one). I use 5wt and 100mm airgap for my forks.

Rear Shock: if you don't have the tools (most don't) send it to your LBS and have them service the shock (fresh oil, gas recharged).

Don't know your riding ability or type of riding, but the best bet is to send your forks and shock to a suspension tuner to do a complete service, springs to your weight and possible valving - THE BEST mod that a rider can do to a bike (new or old).

Make sure to torque the fork clamps to OE specs, sometimes guys over tighten them which causes binding as well as the front axle bolt - all about fork alignment and saving you from leaky fork seals and binding.

I always pull the pipe and pull the reed block in order to have a good look at the piston and ring wear. Some engines are more prone to stress crack a piston on the intake side so why not have a look while the carb is off. I also do all of the above listed. You will have piece of mind if you find nothing wrong and save big if you catch a problem early

For packing, I have been using the red FMF stringy stuff and it works well. The sheet stuff is easier to use. Both work fine. Just don't pack it too tight or it will be loud and not work properly. For fork oil, I recommend finding a manual and go by the recommendations for oil weight and level for your year and model.

inspect adj innerclutch.allother recommendations are excellent.

You don't really need a tool for brake bleeding, but a Mityvac works pretty well IMO.
http://www.amazon.com/Mityvac-MITMV...4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1364091031&sr=1-24