Hi, guys. Totally new to this. As I was riding to work the other day I was riding at about 60mph & suddenly my bike just slowly began descending in speed... I pulled over to the side let it coast and it turned off, placed it in neutral and I could not start the bike back up. (Judge me, I'm pregnant and still riding so I did not kick start because I did not want to fall in the process) That could've been a gas issue as my gas gauge does not work properly but not sure. I literally never check my gas or mileage! The tank had very little gas that day but I was just clueless overall and no, I didn't consider reserve and just strapped it on the truck and dropped it off at home and left to work. Well, the next day I added about a gallon in fuel and made an attempt to turn the bike on and I was unsuccessful. I suspect I need a new battery as my 250 was making a ugly clicking sound. I took the battery out, charged it for about an hour (or maybe more) and the battery began to slightly gargle acids from one of the terminal ends. Could it be overcharged or flat out fried? I haven't tried it since then as I don't want to mess anything up. I don't think it's the starter either but what do I know? IF I did need a battery... What brand? When I bought my bike it came with a TMS. I've heard that brand wasn't very dependable. Any help would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!

Hi, guys. Totally new to this. As I was riding to work the other day I was riding at about 60mph & suddenly my bike just slowly began descending in speed... I pulled over to the side let it coast and it turned off, placed it in neutral and I could not start the bike back up. (Judge me, I'm pregnant and still riding so I did not kick start because I did not want to fall in the process) That could've been a gas issue as my gas gauge does not work properly but not sure. I literally never check my gas or mileage! The tank had very little gas that day but I was just clueless overall and no, I didn't consider reserve and just strapped it on the truck and dropped it off at home and left to work. Well, the next day I added about a gallon in fuel and made an attempt to turn the bike on and I was unsuccessful. I suspect I need a new battery as my 250 was making a ugly clicking sound. I took the battery out, charged it for about an hour (or maybe more) and the battery began to slightly gargle acids from one of the terminal ends. Could it be overcharged or flat out fried? I haven't tried it since then as I don't want to mess anything up. I don't think it's the starter either but what do I know? IF I did need a battery... What brand? When I bought my bike it came with a TMS. I've heard that brand wasn't very dependable. Any help would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance!

Sounds like you ran out of gas. Running the tank low when temps are fluctuating will allow condensation to form. You may be running off of old gas with water in it - and it won't want to start - especially if the temps are lower. Best thing to do is drain the tank and refill with fresh 87 octane. Gas without Ethanol is always the best choice IMO. You could also drain the floatbowls to get rid of any moisture and bad gas. If you will not be riding for a while, add stabilizer (Stabil or Seafoam) 1 oz per gal. Best thing to do is drain the float bowls of all gas before storing. If you don't, the gas that's in there may not have enough stabilizer to keep it from going bad and gumming-up the carbs. That means they would need to be removed and cleaned in spring...

As far as the battery - sounds like it's weak. If you used a standard auto charger you were overcharging it. Cycle batteries charge about 2 amps. 1 hour at 2 amps won't do much. A fully charged battery reads 12.7- 12.8V, and should stay over 12V when checked during cranking - which is the only way to really tell if it's good or not.

I just replaced the original battery in the '06, and I bought another Yuasa. It's significantly more expensive than other brands, but has the best lifespan from what I've seen and heard.

Hi, guys. Totally new to this. .............

Welcome to our site, Stella !!!

If you run out of gas, re-starting is sometimes difficult and takes a lot of cranking.

Our little batteries don't like lots of cranking or lots of amperes when getting charged.

It is possible that you used a charger that delivers more than one amp, which was too much for your battery and the liquid inside boiled.

It may be permanently damaged or not, probably not.
Try to find a charger limited to one amp and charge the poor thing at least for one whole day.

These articles may help you evaluating the current condition:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Battery_stuff

Thanks y'all! I'm simply going to purchase a new battery & fill up! :)

no, I didn't consider reserve

Just as a point for future reference, the '08 and up Ninja does not have a reserve. So once you figure out what your mileage is, that's what you've got.

One of the few changes I was bummed to learn about. :(