How much does it take to overheat a 250SX?

[filthyhat]

Hello all. I have had a couple of really worn out trikes over the years, that didn't last over a few weeks. Now I have got a nice running 250sx that I really like, and I want to try to take care of this one. So i'm here to ask advice from all of you trike experts out there.

Today I was riding in the woods around my house, for maybe like an hour or so. I was having a great time creeping along over fallen trees and rocks and what have you in the roughest parts of the yard, mostly in SL (Super Low gear, I usually think of it as 1st). Just kind of screwing around you know?

Anyway, at one point I touched the oil filter cover with my leg, and i could feel that it was quite hot even through my jeans. So I got out in the open and rode it up and down a few times high gear low rpm to cool it down a bit.

Well, that brings me to my first question. I really like just creeping around in the woods on my SX. Is this going to overheat my trike?

And secondly, while on the topic of overheating, how long can you let a 250sx sit and idle without it overheating? I can imagine that it depends some on outside temperature, but any insight on this subject will be much appreciated.

[ZacH_GrifF]

My 250es did the same thing if you were just putting around it got real hot like you could feel the heat radiating off the motor on your legs. Don't know why though?

[RubberSalt]

Make sure your jetting is right and your not burning lean. Lean burns will run hotter and have less power(leaner is not really meaner)

Pull your plug, it should have a tanish brown color to it. Black is rich white is lean. Best to test with a new plug. Old plugs are almost always black from deposits.

[dustrunner]

i dont think your gonna hurt it.. just keep good oil and air filters on it and enjoy it..

[userj8670]

well, just my thoughts, these engines are air cooled so putting around means less air moving (cooling) around the fins. I would think if you just idling around your not working the engine hard but then again that is not a whole lot of air moving against the engine either. Never had this problem but when she gets hot, shut her down, burn a smoke or have a beer and then get back on and ride for another 45 min or so then repeat. Keep good fluids in her and you should be good to go. These engines are virtually bulletproof!

[dougspcs]

A steamy, hot day in hell is what it takes to overheat the SX/ES..

Don't worry about it..just ride!

[redsox]

if you drain all the oil, refill with franks red hot, and then ride it redline in low while on the surface of the sun, you will smoke the engine.

[filthyhat]

Well thanks for your responses guys. All the fluids and filters are new, and I certainly don't think I hurt it yet, I just want to make sure that I don't. I'll just take periodic breaks when I feel the heat like userj8670 suggested. Better safe than sorry!

And don't worry redsox, I'll take even more frequent breaks when I'm riding on the sun!

[dougspcs]

Well thanks for your responses guys. All the fluids and filters are new, and I certainly don't think I hurt it yet, I just want to make sure that I don't. I'll just take periodic breaks when I feel the heat like userj8670 suggested. Better safe than sorry!

And don't worry redsox, I'll take even more frequent breaks when I'm riding on the sun!

You need to 'take breaks' when you are riding a Yamaha..this is a Honda.

No 'breaks' required!!

[userj8670]

Andddd there you have it! :welcome:

[matt22895]

I have seen these motors run full throttle in mud bogs with the cooling fins plugged with mud for hours on end with no ill effects. My motor go so hot one time the grass in the mud was catching fire on the pipe and the cases melted my boots. Those 250 motors will be running long after our time they might never die.

[Dirtcrasher]

I find my 350X to overheat while I take 3 laps to pack the snow down. Then I can fly but I don't like to go slow with 1000$ into my motor.

Rubber Salt mentioned a lean condition and I would start with that.

[Cornholio]

I did the exact same on my 200x, i dont really thing it will hurt your 250sx, My motor was freshly rebuilt, Either that or go find out how much it takes lol!

[filthyhat]

That's good info guys. I wasn't that worried before, but now I'm pretty much at ease.

I will check into that possibility of running lean, I have had a bit of a leaky carb but I think I've finally got it fixed. I wouldn't think that it's running lean, as the carb is clean and I haven't tried to adjust it at all, but who knows what past owners may have done to her.

I am going to be visiting mister Flyingw some time in the next few weeks, so if it's running lean then the carb wizard will know. Honestly I just got the bike running so there's bound to be a few kinks to have to work out!

Electric word life, it means forever, and that's a mighty long time.

[Flyingw]

Rock on Brother. I'm here when you're ready.

[Flyingw]

Hey, post up some pics of your SX.

[filthyhat]

Lol I was worried somebody would ask for pics! I'll see what I can do when I get home from work, but she's no beauty. And the dadgummed carb started leaking again this morning. Dread!

I've been sanding on the old pink fenders a bit, but I'm starting to think the fading is too deep on em. I hear that "sunburst red" or something rustoleum spray paint is supposed to be pretty close to the old honda red. I will probably end up painting the tank and fenders in time.

If I get home before dark I''ve got a new plug for it, and I'm going to change the fuel line and I guess I'll have to check the float valve again to see what's stuck in it this time. I'm getting pretty frustrated over here to say the least.

[Flyingw]

We'll get that carb squared away. I just wanted to see pics to see if there is anything you need that I might have in the attic. I have a new front fender in the attic you can have when you come out.

[Flyingw]

These are my SXs.

[filthyhat]

Those r some prettyt nice looking trikes u got there my friend! We'll have to talk about how u paionted them. Honestly, I'll take any parts u wanna get rid of, but thr front fender is probably the best looking part of my old atc.

I know we'll get er fixed up, but I'm not a patient man! It's looking like if I don't make it before, I'm working in seminole on I think the 12th of jan, and I figured I'd just cruise on by after work. We'll have to talk ab out it, if u wanna go riding maybe I can come in the morning sometime so we can hit some trails or something. I don't reckon it'll take u long to sort out the carb, worst case I may just pick up one of those refurbs you've got

[Flyingw]

All three are powder coated but the green ones have Meier OD green fenders on them. If interested, you can get OD green fenders from Black Sheep. He still have 5 sets to sell.

[Flyingw]

Oh, and the black/white one (Storm Trooper) is for sale if you know anybody who might be interested. It has a 350X front end on it.

[filthyhat]

Well that explains why they came out so nice! It would seem as tho the owner of those beauties has a slightly less strict budget than yours truly lol. It's keystone light and and spray paint for me!

I've been trying to convince every friend I've got that they need a trike, but it doesn't seem to have taken yet. If anyone decisdes they're in the market, I'll dedfnitely point em trailprotrailpro way. I'll be honest tho, most of my friends are even more broke than I am... What are u looking to get out of it?

[Flyingw]

1800.00. It has less than 4 hours on it.

[filthyhat]

Haha when I saw the old gal I thought it might be something like that. I hate to say that that price has too many digitsin it for me! It looks well worth it though.

As she sits, I've got less than 300 bux in my ride, and surely it's worth at least half of that. It's no matter, as I am pretty much of a dead end for these old trikes. I'll ride it until it's not fixable anymore...

That's how I do with my offroad toys, I buy fixer uppers, get em going and ride em into the ground.

[tri again]

Lol I was worried somebody would ask for pics! I'll see what I can do when I get home from work, but she's no beauty. And the dadgummed carb started leaking again this morning. Dread!

I've been sanding on the old pink fenders a bit, but I'm starting to think the fading is too deep on em. I hear that "sunburst red" or something rustoleum spray paint is supposed to be pretty close to the old honda red. I will probably end up painting the tank and fenders in time.

If I get home before dark I''ve got a new plug for it, and I'm going to change the fuel line and I guess I'll have to check the float valve again to see what's stuck in it this time. I'm getting pretty frustrated over here to say the least.

I'll probably get yelled at for this but if I go through a carb and the float seems stuck, I'll loosen the float bowl drain and blow some 2 stroke oil or gas into the carb inlet.
Technically blowing chunks and small rust past the float needle.

I just haven't found a fun way to take those carbs off and back on so I'm real meticulous.
Not real smart, just lazy.

[filthyhat]

Sorry double post

[filthyhat]

Lol I'm not gonna yell at ya tri again that sounds like a decent idea to me! I actually hadn't even thought of trying to squirt some chemtool in the inlet, maybe that will knock out whatever's making tit stick now. I'm get ing pretty tired of yanking the carb off too, so I know what you're saying.

[Flyingw]

Well if you keep the oil full in the motor and diff, they should hold up to your abuse. I'm on the other side of the fence. My toy money is tight so I fix them, paint them to protect the metal, and take care of them. Mine should last another 25 years (I hope).

The motor, diff, carb, dash, and a few other little things makes it worth what you have in it.

If you are interested, I'll powder coat all the little parts for ya for the cost of the supplies. The frame and swinger are too large for me to bake but I have a guy that can do it for about 160(ish). The SX is a very robust machine assuming everything is working. The biggest challenge with these machines is corrosion control. The paint on all the parts has exceeded their service life so repainting all the metal parts will extend the life of the machine. I have a large pressure fed bead blaster at work I run all my parts through. It makes easy work of getting all that old paint and corrosion off. The offer is there is you're interested.

[filthyhat]

Lol Flyingw, I think we're going to be friends. We'll talk about all that cosmetic stuff later, but it sounds like a deal to me. I'm sure once I see how nice it is on your bikes that I'll be ready to go for it.

Right now, however, I'm having that stinking hesitation problem! It is driving me mad. If I open up the throttle full from idle, it dies. I have to kind of give it a tiny bit of gas, let it rev slightly and then jump on it. In my novice opinion it seems to not be getting enough fuel, so that when I open it up fully it gets a load of air and bogs. That is what the other guy said too the other day, lean condition. It's starting to look that way, even though it ran great (aside from all the leaking) when I took it out last weekend. It does seem a little low on power too though, I can't get er to even wheelie on me from take off.

I probably need to take the carb off YET AGAIN, and give her another thorough cleaning. Have you got new screws for the float bowl? Mine are starting to get weak. Also, I managed to lose a couple of the screws off the throttle cover plate on the handlebars, have you got any of those? They might actually be the same ones...

[filthyhat]

159490159491159492


In all its glory! Isn't it awesome how good things look in pictures?

[Flyingw]

Thats not in too bad of shape. Ive seen much worse.

[filthyhat]

Parts that I know I'm missing are;

Front brake cable, lever and perch
one frame engine mount bolt
two screws for the throttle cable cover plate on the handlebars
Tail light, but I'm not really worried about that so much
Ignition key switch

That's all I can think of right off the top of my head. I will be in the market for a new seat cover pretty much asap, or I may just get some vinyl and stretch it out myself for now. I really like the look of those embroidered dual color seat covers on ebay, I just wonder if they look as good once you get them.

I could also use a new front tire before too awful long, but the rears are fan freaking tastic! They do both leak though, which is distressing. I'm assuming they're both leaking around the rim, as they're brand new tires. The soapy water test results were inconclusive...

[filthyhat]

Naw she ain't bad, and she's all mine! I effing love this trike. I can't wait til summer so I can get out the old chainsaw and drag around logs in my yardcart. This thing's makes everything more fun!

I go check the mail about five times a day now.

[Flyingw]

Thats all that matters Brother