NX250 Thread -- official ADV owners manual

[alpinegroove]

I am shopping for tires for my 89 NX 250.
At this point, I ride only on the street. There seem to be three options:
1. There are a few options for a rear street tire, but a front street tire at the correct size does not seem to exist. So this option entails a street tire in the back and a dual sport tire in the front.
2. Since a front street tire does not seem to exist, there is the option of getting a front tire that is a different size. What about getting a 100/90-19 instead of 90/100-19? Or any other configuration that people can recommend?
3. A pair of Trail Wing dual sport tires that are the correct size both front and back.
Again, I am using the bike only on the street at this point. Any suggestions? Thanks

[valvecrusher]

Welcome AlpineGroove

You've found the best resource on the web for the NX250.

The chain and sprockets are pretty easy, if you have the right tools..
I'm sure someone can write up a chain/sprocket change...

Also, in the first few pages of this thread, there is a tire discussion..

More on that later, i gotta bounce for now..

Glad to have you, read this thread from the beginning, and maybe some of the answers will be clear...

[Papa Pete]

Make sure when you call your order in, you let them know your with Jeff and the Quad shop group buy. We need to have all orders in for the best price break down.

[alpinegroove]

Thank you, ValveCrusher.

I am eagerly awaiting a guide for the chain and sprocket replacement as well as any current info on tires.

Happy weekend to all.

AG

[Honda Scoot]

Alpinegroove Wrote:
I am shopping for tires for my 89 NX 250.
At this point, I ride only on the street. There seem to be three options:
1. There are a few options for a rear street tire, but a front street tire at the correct size does not seem to exist. So this option entails a street tire in the back and a dual sport tire in the front.
2. Since a front street tire does not seem to exist, there is the option of getting a front tire that is a different size. What about getting a 100/90-19 instead of 90/100-19? Or any other configuration that people can recommend?
3. A pair of Trail Wing dual sport tires that are the correct size both front and back.
Again, I am using the bike only on the street at this point. Any suggestions? Thank

Just took off Kenda Challengers (Left overs from another project)

Rear 130/90-16, same Outside Dia. as TW40 - I know, but it is!
Front 100/90-19, way bigger than TW39 but it fit under the fork brace

Wet paved roads felt greasey.
These tires are a lot heavier, percentage wise, than the stock size TW's. Slower to accel. & decel., and the bike was not as nimble.

Conti. Blitz in 130/90-16 and 90/90-19 might be good? I have not used them.

I tried the street tire route and am back to the TW for 80% pavement use. You can lean them way over. A very good tire!

[ArthDuro]

HondaScoot thanks for posting the pics,
a little tid bit, it looks like duplicolour owns VHT.

Buckshot - great pics, looks like a great ride too, keep them coming, love the beer can stand support, I have had to do that myself a few times.

VC - as usual always good info and advice, we need more pics of your adventures, you are always out and about and I love seeing them. As far as tabs go I remade my one broken side using the other side as model from a piece of L shaped fiberglass that I shaped a bit with a dremel and then epoxy-ed into position and then used some more glass for support. I used a plumbing bushings with a tight fitting bolt to connect them. It looks great and is pretty sturdy. It didn't bust when my bike fell over in the garage.

Alpinegroove - welcome, few things about the chain and sprockets, real easy job, but you do want to do it right. There isn't any info in the manual about this but there are instructions on removing the wheel. There are also correct torque specs for all the fasteners in the manual. A good idea always is to take a picture of the way things were before you take them off, it helps big time if you forget how to put them back together, but this is pretty easy.

Take of the chain (c-clip chain - pop clip out and it comes apart, other chains are a little tougher, but you can always cut them with a cut off wheel )and use it to measure out your new chain length.

Rear wheel comes off pretty easy. Disconnect rear break (one nut). Loosen axel alignment bolts, loosen and remove the axel. The wheel should drop out and so should the break assembly.

Once the wheel is off, the sprocket is held to the wheel with bolts, I think there are 8 of them. You take those off using a wrench on one side, and a hex key on the other, be careful no to strip any of them. Clean everything real nice and put the new sprocket back on and tighten the bolts to the correct spec. (forgot what that was but I can look it up if necessary - it is in the manual). Then put the wheel back on and but leave the axel nuts and alignment bolts pretty loose so you can adjust chain slack later.

Front sprocket is super easy, 2 bolts take off the sprocket cover and a few more to take the sprocket off. Bunch of little tabs will off the sprocket, save those and put them back on the new one. Correct torque again.

Now you can run the chain through and connect it using a chain tool or a punch. Adjust the slack to specs in the manual but adjusting the axel holder nuts. This does take some experience but basically make sure the wheel is centered and that the chain has proper slack. Then tighten axel to spec.
Rotate the wheel and make sure everything spins freely.
Reconnect the rear break and adjust the free play as it is likely to be different. Lube the chain well and you should be good to go.

hope that helps


A few of my new low budget mods include:

- bent back my headlight stays and created a bracket to support the headlight and ad a bit of sturdiness to the whole assembly.

- refurbished my license plate stay, used some bushings at the mounting bolts tom sturdy it up stop it form bouncing, Cleaned and sanded the scratches and used some plastic furniture paint to refresh it - now looks like a brand new piece I plan to do this with all the black plastics on the bike.

- found an old med kit in which all my newly collected and assembled on-the road tool kit fits. yay

- added a digital clock (cuz I got sick of looking at my watch that I dont even like wearing), well it is really a portable weather station. It has temp, humidity, barometer, weather forcast (haha), altimeter but most importantly it has time. The buttons I need to reach while riding are big enough to use with gloves on. I used an old bike headlight handle bar mount that I modified to fit around my bars. So now I have a removable digital clock that looks like a gps LOL - really I don't care. It looks half cool but I can now tell the time on the fly without a watch and even keep an eye out for pressure to see when the rain might come.

will post some pics soon, but single digits are in around here and riding is becoming less and less pleasant - I dont have heated gear.

keep the best NX thread going

[drexNX]

I'm going to look at an NX250 later today, for 80/20 street/trail riding.

its going to stay mostly with me in the city where I'll use it to commute to campus. its probably going to get an OD green or flat black paintjob.

[alpinegroove]

Thank you very much, ArthDuro, for the thorough explanation.
A real newbie question: how do I tighten bolts to the correct specification? How do I know how much to tighten? I am sure there is an easy way to do this (something to do with the ratchet?); I just don't know what it is.

In terms of tires, are the TW39 and TW40 the consensus?

Thanks again!

[alpinegroove]

Also, what's the best place to get parts for the bike?
Online? Local dealership (SF Bay Area)?

[Jeff@TheQuadShop]

Originally Posted by alpinegroove

Also, what's the best place to get parts for the bike?
Online? Local dealership (SF Bay Area)?

I get mine online from www.troy-racing.com

[Papa Pete]

Welcome to new riders. Not to bust your chops, but many times people have posted where to find and buy parts on line in this thread.
Please read a little.
Really any Honda dealer can oder parts for your bike if their still made. Only they can tell what is available.

Online tire options go to www.motorcyclesuperstore.com They have many ways to search,by brand,type IE dualsport,street and size.

[alpinegroove]

Thank you for the info.
The threads are so long and contain so much info. I am still working my way through them.

Any word on how to tighten to torque specs?

Thanks again.

[ArthDuro]

alpine - you would use a torque wrench - a wrench that has a dial built-in that allows it to limit its torque forces within specific ranges. Some experienced mechanics have a good feel for how tight things should be - I am not one of those so to me a torque wrench is a must. Lots of tool marks make them. Just look around, and make sure you get one that will do the ranges you need.

TWs on my bike with some new ones waiting to go on - my 2 cents, they suck in mud, but are still better then street tires in mud. They are a great for dual sport riding with lots of tar roads like we have here and light dry dirt and gravel. I like them cuz they last pretty good with my type of riding.

Basically if you offroad alot, take the knob route - you will probably want a bigger rear wheel. If you ride street more, stick with tws or look into some other dp options discussed earlier in the thread but wear seems to be a little of an issue on some of them from what I hear.

If you ride street alone, you will be surprised but there are some options. They are not street performance tires, mainly touring rubber. My local harley shop had a few options for a 16in rear. For street performance, get street or supermoto wheels but that is quite a project. It might be cheaper or better off with the options you get for the 17in rear wheel swap.

Again this is all just my 2c which isn't worth much with the inflation ahaha
but try and go with the choice that is best suited for your type of riding.

[Assfault]

I'm in on the shock deal.
Thanks again Jeff!
Assfault

[racingwoody]

Sweet, Lots of newbies recently. Hello to all.

Make sure your torque wrench is in ft/lbs and not inch/lbs. These are pretty expensive wrenches ranging anywhere from $20.00 no name at harbor freight to $200+ at Snap-On.

When replacing the rear wheel a good way to make sure the wheel is centered is to measure the distance from the center of the axle back to the end of the swingarm on both sides. Obviously you want the distances to be same.

Just some of my personal mistakes that I have learned from.