Couple quick questions: How often should I clean and lube my chain? I don't ride through dirt or anything, but after one week my chain looks kinda dirty already... just the factory lube attracting dirt and pollen I guess.

Also, how long does it take tires to warm up? 3 miles, 10? Thanks.

Couple quick questions: How often should I clean and lube my chain? I don't ride through dirt or anything, but after one week my chain looks kinda dirty already... just the factory lube attracting dirt and pollen I guess.

Also, how long does it take tires to warm up? 3 miles, 10? Thanks.

Frequency of chain maintenance? Easy, as needed. If it looks dry, it most likely is, if it's dirty, clean it. and if it's rusty, you're late! :)

How long does it take tires to warm up? Hmmm... good question. But lemme ask you this. How do you warm up your tires, because depending on how you do it will denote how long it takes.

For example;
The first few miles of my solo, street rides are to warm the tires AND the rider. I start with the front by slowing loading the front brakes and progress to the point of getting on the front brakes pretty hard. A minute or two is normally enough to warm the tire and me as the rider. I do the same thing with the rear and throttle, starting with gentle acceleration and progress to hard acceleration. Again, a few minutes is enough... but take into account and adjust based on the air/surface temps and rain.

Hm ok. I thought my chain longed dirty but a buddy I just went out to berryessa with thought it looked pretty clean, so I guess that's a matter of perspective lol.

I've been taking much longer to let my tires warm upbefore leaning very far over, it's goodto know I can get it done quicker with some hard braking/acceleration. Thanks!

Flexing of the tire's carcass warms the tire much faster than rolling friction. :)

I never warm up my tire to ride in the street. If your breaking traction on a 250 because of cold tires during this weather then your doing many things wrong. By the time I get out of town my tires are plenty warm.

And for those of us that live .8 miles from the twisties? There is literally 1 stop sign and zero traffic from my garage to the fun. :p Let's say it differently because not everyone lives in town so the stop and go traffic basically does what I do purposefully. Also, I am not saying what I do is right or wrong, it just gives me peace of mind.

"When you throw a leg over, take the time to find your flow. By the time you're ready as a rider, the bike will be ready too."

Edit: Jason, remember this is John's first bike. ijs

I clean and lube the chain every 500 miles. I dont do anything special to warm up the tires. In town braking and accelerating will get them plenty warm before I get to my spirited riding destination. Even on cold tires I've never lost traction on a dry road and on a wet road I slightly have drifted the rear in first. On my 600 I wouldn't dare take turns aggressively on cold tires.

Depends if you have a garage or not. I don't, so my bike is subject to the weather, and trees dropping crap, as well as spiders making their homes in my rear seat (and exhaust... too bad for you, my 8 legged nemesis)

If it rains, I re-lube the chain, just to be safe. You don't want the chain to break off and smack you in the arse... or smash someone's windscreen

Basic checks you should do every 2 weeks (at least, weekly if your bike is exposed to the elements)

Tyre pressure (especially with weather changes. You will notice crap handling)
Oil level (get the bike on the rear stand and check it level. You'll notice the bike running rough if the oil is low)
Chain lube + cleaning. Preventative maintenance.

I never warm up my tire to ride in the street. If your breaking traction on a 250 because of cold tires during this weather then your doing many things wrong. By the time I get out of town my tires are plenty warm.

I haven't slipped the front or rear yet, I just wanted to be sure I got the tires up to temp before leaning over too much. Trying to be safety conscious here!

Sorry for the down vote, fat thumbs an sleepy :(

I haven't slipped the front or rear yet, I just wanted to be sure I got the tires up to temp before leaning over too much. Trying to be safety conscious here!

Lube your chain after each fill up (~200 miles).

Don't lean over too much; it is not necessary or safe for street riding.

I haven't slipped the front or rear yet, I just wanted to be sure I got the tires up to temp before leaning over too much. Trying to be safety conscious here!

Yeah since your a new rider making odd mistakes and over corrections comes with the territory. I guess what I was saying but failed to elaborate on is for us good, I don't use experienced because you can do something for years the wrong way and that won't make you any better at doing it right. So anyways good riders at street pace even a little spirited don't need to warm up their tires in ambient temps of like 60degs and up because they are smooth when applying pressure to the tires right from the get go.

Tires aren't made of ice when they're cold and have good traction but doing something stupid like dragging the rear brake through a turn because you don't know what your doing will F**K everything up in a hurry.

I'm up in your area every so often for mtb races so if you want to go for a quick ride or just come check out my setup(its unique) and shoot the **** just come on by.

Please, John, read these:

http://www.ridinginthezone.com/pages/Sample%20Pages/Traction.html

http://www.ridinginthezone.com/1-reason-for-motorcycle-crashes-in-corners/

Please, John, read these:

http://www.ridinginthezone.com/pages/Sample%20Pages/Traction.html

http://www.ridinginthezone.com/1-reason-for-motorcycle-crashes-in-corners/

Thanks for the links. One thing I have been able to stay on top of is keeping my grip on the bars relaxed... Every few min I wiggle my elbows to double check if I'm too tight. The only time I've found myself gripping them too hard is when I practice emergency braking... I try to grip the tank with my knees but a lot of my weight transfers to the bars anyways.

The second link is an eye-opener for sure. This excerpt in particular:

"We made good progress, but the eagerness and drive Josh has for rapid improvement seems to cause him to push harder than he should. This is common with highly motivated people. I can name two other very good riders who are motivated to ride at a top level, but have not yet learned and applied all the information necessary to be able to ride at that level…yet.

All motorcyclists who are eagerly developing their physical skills must also develop their ability to monitor their attitude, self-evaluate their real progress, and use judgement that is in line with their true capabilities."

It's a reminder that I need to always keep myself in check... I am very eager and motivated to improve my skills quickly but I need to stay realistic and take it slow.

I clean and lube the chain every 500 miles.
That's about right. When I lived in Seattle and was commuting, I would do it more frequently. Now that I'm back to being a fair weather rider, I pretty much just lube the chain about every three times I fill up the tank. I give it a good cleaning about every other time. (Always wipe it down good after spraying though.)
I dont do anything special to warm up the tires. In town braking and accelerating will get them plenty warm before I get to my spirited riding destination. Even on cold tires I've never lost traction on a dry road and on a wet road I slightly have drifted the rear in first. On my 600 I wouldn't dare take turns aggressively on cold tires.
Most street tires come up to temp pretty easily on their own, as long as the asphalt is moderately warm. Ask yourself this: do you worry about how warm your tires are on your car? If you're just commuting or riding around town, don't worry about it. If you're going to be pushing hard enough to really worry about your tires being warm, you might want to think about a couple of track days first so you can explore those limits gradually and more safely.

Most street tires come up to temp pretty easily on their own, as long as the asphalt is moderately warm. Ask yourself this: do you worry about how warm your tires are on your car? If you're just commuting or riding around town, don't worry about it. If you're going to be pushing hard enough to really worry about your tires being warm, you might want to think about a couple of track days first so you can explore those limits gradually and more safely.

It's all about knowing your vehicle. A stock 250 can easily be pushed to its limits with a good rider. I have pushed the 250 to its limits on cold tires and it simply doesn't have the power to slide the rear aggressively. Even at the track you will see a difference between 250s and the bigger bikes. Most of the 250s will begin very aggressive on the first laps and you won't see much of a difference through out the laps. The bigger bikes start off very calm and gradually pick up the aggressiveness as the laps go. On my car, (Evo 9) that I have used for road racing, I would also start off some what aggressive do to the AWD and the under steer. With cold tires it would create some oversteer and make the car slide around which was fun and I would have to take advantage before the tires warmed up. But on my GSXR even with warm tires I have yet to push it hard on a turn because taking it easy on it is making me smile just as much as if I were pushing the 250 to it's limits.

I clean and lube the chain every 500 miles. I dont do anything special to warm up the tires. In town braking and accelerating will get them plenty warm before I get to my spirited riding destination.

+1 on the clean/lube frequency and tire warm-up.