New Motorcycle CHAIN & SPROCKETS - 3 Things I noticed since getting my BIKE fixed

[@johnelliotte5195]

A pleasant surprise to get your notification. Glad you are back and glad you are riding. Enjoy the warm weather while it's here. Hope your bike continues to perform well. You really produce good videos. Your voice overs are excellent. Stay safe and stay warm and ride while you can.

[@ALICATMOTO]

Thank you John. It's been driving me crazy not being able to ride. It was making me feel stumped for content so it was nice to be able to shoot a video again. Happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching! 😊

[@geraldscott4302]

Glad to see you are still riding the Rebel 250. I have a 2016 Rebel 250, same as yours, only mine is red. 2016 was the last year for what I call the "real" Rebel in the U.S. I also have a 1994 Yamaha XT225 dual sport bike (basically a street legal dirt bike) a 2002 Kawasaki Vulcan 750, which I bought new, and have put 118,000 miles on during the past 20 years. And I have a 2006 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200, which I bought used about 6 years ago, it still has just under 10,000 miles on it. My 2016 Rebel is my 4th Rebel 250, and my second new one. I bought the first new one in 1985. The first year the Rebel was available in the U.S. I currently have about 3200 miles on my 2016. This one I will not be getting rid of. I am 63, and partially disabled. Because of its small size, light weight, and low seat, it may be the last motorcycle I can ride at some point. I keep it parked in my living room. A worn, loose, dry, or rusty chain can cause all kinds of issues. especially noise and jerkiness while riding. It can also cause poor shifting because it can cause a lot of sloppiness in the drive train between the transmission and rear wheel. However, it won't affect the position of the shifter. That actually has to be adjusted at the shifter. The Rebel shifter uses a rod linkage with joints on each end to connect the shifter pedal to the shifter shaft coming out of the transmission. Some people use that adjustable linkage rod to adjust the height of the shifter, but that tends to throw everything out of whack and cause shifting issues. The shifter height should be adjusted by moving the arm that fits over the splines on the shift shaft coming out of the transmission. Because I have a 34" inseam, I found the stock pegs, shifter, and brake pedal to be too close, and my knees were way too high to be comfortable. I solved that problem by installing this kit. It moved the pegs, shifter, and brake about 6" farther forward bluecollarbobbers.com/shop/forward-controls-1989-newer-will-not-fit-450-rebel/ I doubt the dealer adjusted the shifter, though it's possible. Maybe they tried to ride it, and needed to raise it up to get their boots under the shifter, so they adjusted it and forgot to put it back the way it was. But it's more likely that changing shoes/boots may be the cause of the shifter feeling different. I used to ride a bike to work, and my job required steel toed work boots, which were quite a bit thicker than what I generally wore to ride in. I had to adjust the shifter to fit those boots, which made the bike difficult to ride when wearing my normal boots. Also check to make sure the rubber is still on the shifter. If it came off, that would cause there to be more room between the shifter and footpeg. I generally put gas in my bike while still sitting on it. On bikes like the Rebel, which do not have centerstands, I also like to fill up the tank with the bike completely upright. I found that on the Rebel, since the key cannot be removed from the gas cap while the cap is removed, I just attached a little hook to the key, and hang the gas cap, key and all, on the mirror stem when putting gas in the tank. As far as spilling gas on the tank, that has always been a problem. It varies from pump to pump. Some pumps you can just barely squeeze the handle, and gas just dribbles out as you finish filling up the tank, and some are either all the way on or off, making filling the thank without spilling gas on it just about impossible. There is a way to do it, that I have used on a few nice, new bikes I have owned over the past few decades, but it is complicated, and requires carrying a bunch of stuff with you all the time. You can fill the tank most of the way up, then use something like a 1 quart Gatorade bottle and a funnel, put gas from the pump in the bottle, then, using the funnel, carefully pour it in the tank. Also, having been an auto mechanic for 41 years, I don't mind getting gas on my hands. In fact I have often used gasoline to wash car dirt off my hands. I use 87 octane regular unleaded in all my bikes except the Harley Sportster. The Rebel will run fine on 87 octane regular. The problem we have where I live is that it is impossible to get non ethanol gas. Ethanol gas is BAD for motorcycles, no matter which grade you use. Over time it will cause damage to the fuel system, including the petcock, fuel line, and all rubber and plastic parts in the carburetor. Fortunately the Rebel has a fairly simple fuel system. I have seen some very expensive damage caused to EFI bikes by ethanol gas, especially the in tank high pressure electric fuel pump, which stays submerged in fuel all the time. After so long the ethanol melts the rubber and plastic parts. Cold and snow is something I don't have to worry about. I live in the Phoenix, AZ, and winter is the riding season. During the LONG summer here, temperatures can reach 110-120 degrees F, way too hot to ride in my opinion. I will sometimes get up just before sunrise and ride a couple of hours before it gets too hot, but I no longer even try to ride during the day in the summer. Please keep riding, please keep making videos, and please keep the Rebel. It's nice to know that someone else out there besides me rides a Rebel. It seems that in the U.S. most Rebel 250s have been chopped up and turned into bobbers. And most of the time it is done by someone who has no idea what they are doing, and they wind up making a totally unsafe bike that is likely to break in half the first time they hit a bump. Keep the rubber side down and ride on.

[@ALICATMOTO]

I never thought to add a hook to the key to hang it. That's actually a good idea because you're right, it doesn't come out when the cap is removed. It's good to know too that the Rebel not only makes or a good starter bike but also a great last bike as well 😊 Happy riding this season! Stay safe!

[@georgechambless2719]

Rebel 250s are like friends. They can last forever with easy maintenance. Riding in that cold makes you a warrior! More riding videos, please...new fan in Texas

[@ALICATMOTO]

Hi George. Yes, I have another great adventure planned for this season which I'm excited for. I'm just waiting for the snow to go away and for it to warm up a little. Thanks for watching! 😊

[@scottmoran1721]

Great to see you back baby love you beautiful ❤️❤️

[@larry68hd11]

I put a rag around the gas cap.

[@ALICATMOTO]

That is a good idea. I just don't carry much on my bike. Maybe once I get some bags that could work.

[@larry68hd11]

Hey Ali. This is Larry from Yorktown Va. Saw you on What's up Bob channel. Just subscribed to your channel. Hope you have great 2023. Great video.

[@ALICATMOTO]

Hi Larry, thanks for the sub! Happy new year right back at ya! 😊

[@crumblymal8479]

The guys would have taken your gear lever off to take of the sprocket cover so put it back a in a slightly different position .Lookin cool and going well enjoy while ya can 😉👍

[@ALICATMOTO]

So it was good maintenance then? Very nice! Thanks for clarifying how they did that for me. 😎 Makes sense.

[@slatermd7607]

As far as gas goes, you won’t get much more performance out of premium gas because the compression of the 250’s engine isn’t that high. It usually does have added detergents which help keep your engine clean though, so there’s that. You will, however, get a noticeable boost if you can find ethanol-free gas. Great videos and thanks for the content! 👍

[@ALICATMOTO]

Yes, I use it for the ingredients so it stays clean over time especially since I have an older bike. I don't know where to get ethanol-free gas; I'll have to look for it. Thanks for the tip and for watching! 😊

[@jimlogel3972]

Hello,. Like watching your videos. I have the same rebel I am curious where did you get your mirrors?? Thanks

[@ALICATMOTO]

Hi Jim, the link for the mirrors has been provided in the description for the video "Universal Windshield Motorcycle Mount" I hope that helps! Thanks for watching!

[@WhatsUpBob]

I put my gas cap on top of the pump on a paper towel from the dispenser...I'm anal like that LOL. Hey, just want you to know, you're videos and editing skills are really getting up there! Very enjoyable to watch. So many times when someone is doing a voice over, it seems to come over as disconnected and canned. But you have a natural talent, maybe it's the inflection in your voice, or whatever, that makes it sound so natural !! Well done! Stay warm!!

[@ALICATMOTO]

Putting the cap on top of the tank is a great idea 👍 And thank you for the compliment on editing; I try my best to speak directly to the viewer. I'm happy you enjoyed it! I appreciate having you as a subscriber.

[@WhatsUpBob]

@@ALICATMOTO top of the PUMP, not tank silly :) And I do the tink tink tink also so I don't get any gas on my tank..

[@ALICATMOTO]

@@WhatsUpBob LOL! Yeah, that's what I meant 🤣🤦‍♀️

[@MichaelH416]

Hello, do you know if the sprocket you replaced was the same size as the original? Did you go up a size? That could give a bit more zip.

[@ALICATMOTO]

I'm not sure exactly but that is a good point. Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!

[@CaptLawrence]

So first the bike will have more pep because the teeth are well seated in the chain whereas an old sprocket and stretched chain take that milisecond longer to grab and go. Second premium is only giving you a placebo and is in fact making your bike run worse. I know thats tough to hear because its counter intuitive. Please check out Arri Hennings video at Revzilla for gas grade and octane detonation in motorcycles its a short video that will clear this up for you forever. Lastly I fill the gas with one finger pulling the trigger and the other 4 behind the trigger preventing it from being pulled more than 30 percent thus giving me a good slow flow and my tank is 6 gallons. Oh and I tap it as well its ritualistic and Ill fight the person who says I should stop lol

[@ALICATMOTO]

I'll have to check out that video. Thanks for watching and commenting. 😊