Newbie Questions (please dont hurt me)

[Greg]

I am the proud new owner of a '94 250 bandit (my first bike) but I have a couple of questions for those of you with more bandit experience. I did not get any paperwork with the bike.

1. Revs - what rpm is normal for cruising? I am keeping to 6k.
2. What tyre pressures are normal?
3. What fluids and filters should I use when I need to change them?
4. Is there any way to top up the radiator fluid without removing the fuel tank?

Thanks for any help you can give.

[aussiebandit]

Great to have you on board Greg.
 
I'm sure that the guys here will be able to help you out.

In the mean time here are some Aussie sites you might want to have a look at.

http://www.suziparts.com.au/

http://www.madmotorcycles.com.au/Suzuki%20Manuals.htm

http://www.netbikes.com.au/sparesshop/manuals-suzuki.htm

http://www.amcmotorcycles.com/

[PitterB4]

Yeah - Welcome!

1)  Unless there is some other inherent problem with the bike, I don't think there are any revs you need to "keep" to.  These bikes were meant to have the snot revved out of them.  
2), 3) and 4) - Check out Echomadman's link to the manual (stickied in this forum).  I'm sure some other 250 members will chime in with their preferences too.  For the tire pressure, in the US we have a sticker on the frame of every vehicle with the manuf.'s inflation recommendation.  Not sure about OZ, though.

Good luck!

[echomadman]

Welcome to B250 ownership.
6k   wtf
the engine only starts making decent power at 10k.
I cruise at 13~14000 rpm, see that red line at 16000, as long as you're below that everythings peachy  
6k's ok for pottering around town, but you have to learn to love that scream if you want to get places fast.

top up your coolant under your seat, not under the tank.
Tyre pressure varies according to the tyre, look on the sidewall for its reccomended rating, i check mine weekly, as even 2~3psi off makes the handling a bit dicey over whitelines/badly patched road surfaces

[Red01]

Pressures on the tyre's sidewall are the tyre manufacturer's maximum, for the tyre's maximum load. It's a rare day you should ever need to inflate the tyre to that pressure for 99% of the bikes out there.

[Greg]

Thanks for the input... much appreciated.  I am going for a long ride on easter monday so I will see what the bike can "really" do.

[Greg]

I did a little over 300km no dramas, only got up to 140k/hr.  had heaps of fun.

[aussiebandit]

140km/h, that's not bad for a 250.  Besides, even on the 1200 I rarely go over that, it's not worth the fines and loss of points.

How close are you to Queensland Raceway - it may be worth your time to get some track time.

[Greg]

The lingering concern about my license was the main factor as to why I didn't go faster....  I am looking at going to the 1/4 mile at Ipswich and doing a few passes.

[aussiebandit]

Good idea, unfortunately from where I am it's 2-3 hours to the nearest track.  

Although they've started holding 1/8th mile drags at the Narrandra Airport, it's a fair time between drinks.  The last one was Easter Sunday, the next one is the last weekend in October (long weekend for us cockroaches)

[raptorsc]

My Bandit turns 8000 rpm at 100 km/h, what about everyone else?

[Greg]

Cant remember at 100 but at 60kph I am going at 5.5K in 4th or a bit over 6K in 3rd

[aidos]

At 100k's mine does spot on 8000.  Good to see that someone elses bandit is revving its tits off!lol..ohh and i concur with greg aswell

[Greg]

Ok two more rather newb questions....

1. what and how do you use the pri fuel setting for?
2. Where is the mark on the rear shock to line up preload with?

The things you ask when you dont have a user manual........

[Red01]

The prime setting is for priming the carbs with fuel after they've been drained - usually for storage or maintenance. Could also be used to run the bike if the vacuum portion of the petcock should fail to open.

The 250's petcock may be the same or similar to the B4's unit, and at least the US versions, don't have a marked prime position and IIRC, a screw must be removed to get the selector to turn to the prime position. I'll defer this part to owners of 250's & 400's though as I have never worked on them. Likewise with item 2.