Tips on buying second hand

[giorgio]

Hi fellow nx250 lovers.

First of all, let me thank all of you for the amazing forum- a lot of useful information here! I’m today new, so please forgive and correct me if I’m doing something wrong with my post.

I never owned a nx before, but I’m looking to buy one soon. (I’m also generally quite new to bikes, only owned a CB250 before). Today I saw a first candidate. It is a 1993 dominator with a MS21 engine (which seems to be not uncommon here in Portugal, see viewtopic.php?p=6402&hilit=Hi+from+Portugal#p6402), with 55k kilometers on the counter.

The bike seems to be in pretty good condition, as in it looks, drives and sounds as it should, as far as I can tell. However, I noticed that on idle the rpm needle was fluctuating a bit - it would stay around 1500, but oscillating say 100 rpm up/down. The sound of the engine seemed stable though. Is there any known issue to consider that would show up like this?

Also, and more generally, what are the main things to consider when examining second-hand NXs?

Thanks a lot in advance for your attention and greetings from Lisbon!

[scrambler]

Hello Giorgio,
welcome to the club. We would be happy to help you find an NX250. The most important thing when buying: the engine must not make any suspicious noises. As reliable as the engine is, it is difficult to repair these days because many parts are no longer available. With an MD21 engine you could check the engine number - from engine number MD21E-1008478 an improved crankshaft is installed.
The rpm needle shaking doesn't seem to be a big problem if the engine speed doesn't also change. Probably just the cable connectors need some contact spray.

You should check the oil level (sometimes a driver forgets this and even an NX250 engine doesn't live long without oil) and after the test drive you should look at the radiator and engine to see if coolant is leaking somewhere. You should listen to the exhaust closely, if it is loud it is rusted through and replacing is expensive. You should check that the gear lever is firmly seated and, if the owner agrees, remove the sprocket cover. You need a ratchet with extension and M8 socket to loosen the cover screws. Incorrectly manufactured sprockets can cause damage to the gear shaft viewtopic.php?p=2290#p2290 , the correct attachment is shown right.

Good luck with your search and if you have any questions, please let us know.

ps. I will move this thread to the international section later viewforum.php?f=20.

[giorgio]

Thank you very much scrambler! This was a detailed buying guide!

In terms of engine sound, would you recommend any reference source online? I know there are plenty of videos on YouTube but it’s a bit hard for me to tell apart which one is a good example, and I don’t have the chance to listen much in the real world here…

Sorry if I missed the international section.

Cheers and thanks again!

[scrambler]

The video here gives a very good impression of the noises an NX250 makes with over 40,000km. The timing chain rattles a little, but doesn't need to be changed yet. It is also important to pay attention to klacking noises (which sound different from the rattling of a timing chain) when driving when the engine is warmed up.



My Marlboro NX250 with 12,000km sounds like that, the timing chain rattles less but audibly