New boy, South of the River!

[Strong Bear]

Hey guys,

Name's Perth, named after the city, it's great to see such an awesome community. Finally decided to make a post after a few weeks worth of reading here on the forums.

Just recently bought a Hyo gt250r '05 and it happened to have a PSB sticker on the fairings.

I'm thinking about getting it serviced and checked to make sure it's up to the best it can be. Where should I go and how much should I expect to be paying? I've gotta watch my wallet as I just bought the bike, need to pay for tests, have to get gear, gotta pay transfers and need to renew the rego.

While I'm asking questions, could someone highlight the do's and don'ts of lanesplitting? I've used the search function but there's nothing too detailed. Is it legal? How fast or slow should I be travelling? Should I avoid doing it altogether?

Ill ask more questions when they come to mind. In the meantime, thanks for having me here.

[Barfridge]

morning, welcome along.

For mechanics I like mobile guys like Derek Ball, K_tec or Gavin Carlini.

Lanesplitting has been covered lots of times. The basics are it's legal as long as you are passing stationary traffic (moving traffic is questionable depending on the copper at the time), you indicate every time you cross the centre line, and you do not cross solid white lines.
As a new rider on a 250 I'd develop my roadcraft a bit more first, make sure you can take off ahead of traffic, while having the awareness and skill to do it safely. All you need is somebody in a 6-cylinder car who wants to play, and things can get nasty very quickly.

[Strong Bear]

Cheers bar. How much would I be expecting to pay for a full service on a mobile mechanic?

And in regards to lanesplitting, after you've indicated and commenced the 'split' do you keep your indicator on or turn it off? But yeah, I don't plan to lane spit too often. Just along the freeway in standstill traffic.

[Sharky]

Welcome. ^^^^ What Barfridge Said - Especially watch out if you lane spit to the front on a hill, I find that I can get away nice and quick down hill and flat, but my bike just can't pull my fat ass up a hill quick enough Mum's in their SUV's are some of the worst at traffic lights, generally they aren't looking and always have 2 speeds, either flat or slamming on the brakes as late a possible prior to a stop. with around 160-200kw in most of those SUV's they get moving quite quick!

Lane splitting is fun your choice if you do it or now, but it adds a little flare to my morning and afternoon each day on the Mitchell parkway

[SOLID]

Welcome! The fridge summed up your questions perfectly^^

[Barfridge]

Cheers bar. How much would I be expecting to pay for a full service on a mobile mechanic?

Depends on how many km's the bike has done, what condition it is in, what additional work needs to be done. eg, if you need chain and sprockets the price will jump up, ditto if brake pads or other consumables need replacing. You're best off phoning and getting an estimate, you won't get a concrete price from anyone until they have seen the bike. But the guys I mentioned won't go out of their way to rip you off, being sole traders their name is their reputation.

[Virt]

Welcome to PSB and the 2 (sometimes 1) wheeled joy that is motorcycling, enjoy!
I would just like to suggest, in my opinion, try to avoid lane splitting until you're 100% confident, I've seen alot of amateur splitters wobbling around lately and it makes me cringe.
Also might I suggest practicing emergency braking from time to time, when safe of course, I still practice them myself after riding for 5 years, its a good skill to have.

[shan]

yer G-Day
split if ya wont, dont crash and check your mirrors , some peeps split fast like
always check the front row of the grid for racers, they can hurt or even kill you untill dead.
If trafic is mooving be very very cautious, infact leave that out till your well and trully compertant and a few years up.

[Strong Bear]

Cheers for the heads up guys, will definitely be cautious. Like always, when you're life is on the line, you can never be too careful.

So about my bike; the right foot stand has a weld in it. The guy I bought it from said that was there when he bought it a year ago and it's lasted fine. Should I replace the foodstand or will the weld hold up for another year? I'll post pictures soon to show.

My chain is a little slack. Not enough to kill me, but enough to rattle every now and then. Where can I get a hyosung centre stand around Perth? I'd like to get one this week instead of buying one online and having to wait.

[shan]

Most bike shops, causway for sure

[Strong Bear]

Most bike shops, causway for sure

Sweet as. What's the proper name for this type of stand? I only know of the ones that are directly fitted to the bike.

[Stoneville]

Hi and welcome along, see on the road sometime

[Strong Bear]

Cheers guys!

Bought a rear stand from kim britton, helped me tighten my chain it worked great. Wish it had a bit more leeway though, there's just enough room to allow free spin of the back tyre. Haven't tried it with the front though, we'll see how it goes when I clean the bike later this week.

How long does it take someone to learn to service a bike themselves? I'd love to learn to take care of my own bike instead of having to rely on other mechanics. Knowing the ins and outs of what brings me to and from work must be a good feeling.

[DrShan]

Sup Perth.. welcome..

[Virt]

How long does it take someone to learn to service a bike themselves? I'd love to learn to take care of my own bike instead of having to rely on other mechanics. Knowing the ins and outs of what brings me to and from work must be a good feeling.

Mate, all you really need is a bit of mechanical/tooling know-how, some common sense and a workshop repair/service manual for your bike, the latter can be found on-line, don't get fooled into paying for one from eBay though, you can find them free 90% of the time.
Parts are easily gotten from just about any bike shop, the main thing you will need to have (if not already) are proper tools, usually the tool kit that comes with the bike is 'adequate' but pretty bad quality.
A good spanner and ratchet/socket set is a good start, and obviously some screwdrivers, you might need a few odd sizes to get particular parts off (axle nuts to name one), the only other thing I can think of is an oil filter remover/installer.