Hey all, new member here. I've been hovering on this site for at least 8 months as a guest, but I finally decided to make an account.

I bought a 2000 Ninjette last August from a family member of my girlfriend. It was a good price and it only had 92 miles on it. Yes, 00092.3 miles.:dancecool: With that, as many of you know, a motorcycle that sits for almost 15 years is bound to have a few things it needs in order to perform as well as it can. I come from a mechanical background, and I know my fair share in turning wrenches. I was an Audi technician, and I still work on cars as side jobs. That being said, I'm much more familiar with fuel injected, force inducted engines as opposed to these tiny twin cylinder carbureted engines. My little beauty of a ninja has had the carbs cleaned, although they were as clean as a whistle when I took them apart. I brought them to the shop I was working at last summer and put them in the parts washer after removing all rubber parts, etc. The bike was running well, but I had an issue with the fuel tap not working properly. I assume it was because the bike sat for 7 1/2 years with absolutely ZERO fuel in the tank or the carburetors causing the tiny paper-like gasket in the diaphragm to dry out, along with the o-ring. I bought a used fuel tap from a guy on craigslist and also bought a new o-ring. All was well for roughly a month, then the bike started to pour fuel out of the over-flow line while it wasn't running. Well, thereafter I installed a brand new fuel-tap; OEM Kawasaki PN#51023-1393. Now the issues I still have with the bike and its running is that I notice white smoke from the left cylinder exhaust. It does NOT smell like coolant, and I've only noticed it from November until last weekend. I'm sure it's just condensation and due to the due point, etc, but I'm curious as to why it only comes from the left cylinder. The bike will idle well, however it only runs with choke currently, and even after warming up, it bogs out without choke. I would assume that I need to adjust my carburetor air/fuel ratio, at least on the idle circuit. Also, when the bike idles, say I have the idle adjusted to around 2000 RPM, if I blip the throttle, it will usually hang up around 4.5k-5k for anywhere from 1 to 3 seconds before it slowly settles back into idle.

There was some rust in the fuel tank, as most of you have dealt with. :doh: I poured white distilled vinegar in the tank with a bunch of nuts and bolts and shook it around like a mad man, cleaning most of the rust out of the tank, but there is still a tad bit of surface rust in the tank as well as I can see. I could bring it to the shop and take a scope into the tank and actually visually inspect the tank but I don't feel that is necessary. I'm thinking that might also have something to do with the current condition of the bike.

As for mileage and that information, the bike currently has 1127 miles on it, there are new fuel lines and I also installed an in-line fuel filter as per a recommendation from one of the FAQ articles I've seen on this site. If anyone could help point me in the direction I'd need to go, that would be appreciated.

The valves have not been adjusted yet, but that's going to be done before the spring comes, I've just been really busy this winter, along with having the flu from the end of December until last week. I plan on adjusting the valves before I order new tires and have them installed on the bike.

If needed I can take and upload videos. I might have some from my GoPro that I shot last November when the bike stalled out on me while I was riding.

Thanks so much in advance guys and gals. I really appreciate it!!

92 miles in 14 years, that might be a new record. :) I imagine you got a great deal on it as well, so hopefully these little slightly annoying issues with rubber seals can be dealt with successfully. I'm sure someone will chime in shortly about the white smoke coming from one cylinder.

The good deal will include my Dianese jacket for a few hundred dollars less than $1,000. :thumbup:

You could have an intake leak from what you've described.

It should idle at 1300 fully warm. The idle mixture screws have caps over them that hopefully were removed when the carbs were off. They are at the bottom of the carbs in front of the float bowls and should be set to 2 1/2 turns out initially. Colder weather might require more turns out.

Is the fuel fresh? Use 87 octane without ethanol if you can get it. You could add 1 oz per gal of Techron Concentrate to the fresh gas if you felt the system could benefit from a cleaner.

If the white vapor stops when it's fully hot I wouldn't worry about it.

Possible vacuum leak? (Vacuum hose to fuel petcock is in good shape?).

The vacuum line from the carburetor to the fuel tap is in good condition. There are no dry spots, it's not falling apart. The idle screw does adjust the idle, and I've adjusted it but the idle will stick around 4k unless I manipulate the screw, either direction will drop the idle to where it's set. This is a video of the idle hanging. Don't mind the random sounds I made. I was going to upload it to my youtube channel, but I decided against it. The temperature outside was roughly 42° outside.

Forgot to post about the fuel. The fuel was put in the bike the last ride I took, around the end of November. I knew it was going to be the last ride so I also put fuel stabilizer in the tank as well. When I replaced the fuel tap, I poured some of the fuel into a storage container, which happens to be a clear 2 gallon bottle, and the fuel is not separated. It's the correct color and has the correct odor, as well. I never removed the idle mixture screw caps, unfortunately. :doh: It's okay though, because when I do the valve adjustment, I suppose I can pull the carbs off and remove the caps/ check the adjustment position. I did modify the air box/battery box when I removed the carburetors to clean them out. I made sure to cut on the battery box side, so there are no air leaks coming in from the air box. I'm positive of that.

With it running, spray carb cleaner around the intake boots where they connect to the carb and engine. If there's a leak the idle speed will change.

If you don't find a problem there I'd look at the possibility of something hanging-up with the throttle mechanism.

Read through this info from ninja250.org on carbs - http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Intake. The carbs may be way out of sync also.

I was going to take some carb cleaner and spray around the intake boots. My jette is in my girlfriend's garage under a cover right now, but I can always check it out on the weekends. We're supposed to get something like a foot of snow here tonight into tomorrow and more this weekend, so I don't think I'm going to do anything with her this weekend. Thanks for the tips so far everyone. I really appreciate it. As fellow motorcycle enthusiasts I'm sure you all like seeing ride pictures and videos over thread posts regarding to making a motorcycle run. I know I'd much rather see a fellow motorcyclist riding and posting threads about said rides they've taken as opposed to seeing them trying to hunt down a problem.

The running problems you describe point to a plugged pilot jet. They are very tiny and will plug up. Take the carbs back off, completely disassemble them, and remove the jets. Be cautious to use properly fitting screw drivers. The pilot air bleed jet is not removable. It lives in the front inlet side of the carb body. I use a strand pulled from a wire wheel to clean it out.

Make sure the inlet needles and seat are in good condition, and set the float levels at 17MM with the needle spring uncompressed.

Cleaning: Get two bottles of pine-sol (regular pine-sol, not lemon scent or other type). Mix the two bottles with a quart of water and soak ALL the carb parts including the jets in it for at least 4 days. Rinse well while scrubbing the parts with a toothbrush. Then rinse down with Brakleen, and blow out with air.

Inspect all the jets to make sure they are clean. Blow brakleen thru the carb body passages to make sure all the internal passages to the idle and transition ports are clear. Set the idle mixture screws to 2.75 turns out from light seat.

Note: when you take the idle mixture screws out, the components will be: needle, spring, tiny washer, tiny o-ring. The o-ring seals, the tiny washer keeps the spring from killing the o-ring. They are easy to loose, so be aware.

As to the "smoke" It is either condensation in the exhaust, or possible poor oil sealing from rust because the bike sat so long. The spark plugs will tell you what is going on in the cylinder. I would get the carbs right, do an oil change, and go run the freakin livin complete snot out of it and see how it goes.

If it will be sitting for a while (sounds like it might), add stabilizer to the tank and fill it to the top with 87 octane ethanol-free gas if available.

Drain the floatbowls if it will be sitting for more than a month. Don't start it up just to "warm it up" unless you need to work on it or can go for an extended ride.

Changing the oil and filter is also a good idea when you are done riding for the season to prevent internal corrosion.

The running problems you describe point to a plugged pilot jet.


When I had the carbs off last summer, I brought them to work with me and let them soak in mineral spirits for like 9 1/2 hours, then proceeded to clean the snot out of them. I thoroughly inspected and cleaned the idle and pilot jets on both carbs. I didn't measure the float hight, nor adjust it, but the carbs were SPOTLESS when I removed them from the bike. I've got a picture on my macbook of them. It's not the most detailed, but it's before I had even brought them to work and cleaned them off. I believe the issue arose from the fuel tap sending too much fuel into the combustion chamber.

I should have posted earlier, but it slipped my mind because it was so long ago.. -__- ..

Before I changed the fuel tap the first time, the reason that I initially changed it is because I found a small puddle of fuel from my float overflow, and upon inspection found that my engine was flooded entirely with fuel. I DID NOT turn the engine over with fuel inside the combustion chamber. I removed the spark plugs, placed two (fresh from the shop CLEAN) rags doused in kerosine into the intake manifolds, and let the bike sit under the cover for 2 days. After 2 days, before reinstalling the carbs and plugs but after removing the rags (obviously), I cranked the motor over to make sure that there was no fuel in the cylinders. Like I said in my first post, I am a mechanic, I'm just familiar with FI, not carburetors. I know what causes hydro-locking and went above and beyond to prevent bending any rods.

I read on someone else's post from here that they had similar symptoms as me, minus the engine hanging up at higher revs for a few moments, that they leaned the carb on the cylinder that had light smoke and enriched it on the cylinder that did not produce smoke.

Just to clarify, if I remember correctly from a video I saw on youtube of someone rebuilding one of these pre-gen engines, the timing chain is on the right side of the engine, correct?

Based on that knowledge (which I think is correct), cylinder 2 is what has the smoke coming from it. Cylinder 1 does not. I smelt extra fuel in one of the cylinders from the exhaust, if I remember correctly I believe it was from cylinder 1.

I haven't noticed any misfires, but I intend to change the plugs on the bike just because I know I might have fouled them out when initially flooding the engine, although I did allow them to dry for 2 days, and also cleaned the tips of them with brake-kleen.

Am I steering myself in the right direction here guys? My brain is telling me this, in order to get my bike running as smooth as possible that these are requirements..

1) Adjust the valves
2) Replace sparkplugs
3) Lean cylinder 2 out slightly, enrich cylinder 1 slightly
4) Change oil and coolant due to sitting over the winter
5) New tires
6) Beat the high-holy piss out of my little lady (respectively, of course) ;-)

As for the carb picture.. enjoy! Sorry it's the only one I took, but you can see how shiny the needle is in that picture. I assure you, there was ZERO build up in the carb. It was left sat dry for several years.

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=28391&stc=1&d=1391661354

If it will be sitting for a while (sounds like it might), add stabilizer to the tank and fill it to the top with 87 octane ethanol-free gas if available.

Drain the floatbowls if it will be sitting for more than a month. Don't start it up just to "warm it up" unless you need to work on it or can go for an extended ride.

Changing the oil and filter is also a good idea when you are done riding for the season to prevent internal corrosion.

I changed the oil right before the winter because as stated in the last post I just wrote, the engine flooded with the fuel tap that was stock. I maybe put 400 miles on that oil. It's non-detergent conventional. I was intending to keep that oil in the engine for another few hundred miles, because around the 2000-2500 mile mark, I'd like to switch to full synthetic. The engine is still breaking in, (although they say the first 500 miles does 95% of the breaking in) I'd like to keep the conventional oil in there for a little bit more to allow the rings to seat properly to the cylinders. Once I'm comfortable that there was enough allowed friction I intend to switch over to either Rotella diesel oil, or mobil 1 motorcycle full synthetic. I've heard excellent things about both.

The fuel has what I would consider to be still fresh fuel in the tank. I added stabilizer to the tank less than a week after filling it. When I changed the fuel tap I inspected the color and smell of the fuel. Everything appears to be in order. There's no separation of ethanol and petroleum based product and the smell is correct.

Has anyone ever used the Kenda k671 front and rears? I've read reviews on them, and have heard a lot of positive things, however I wanted a first hand report from someone. My Dumb-lops are dry rotting, and part of my winter check list is new tires. I priced the K671's out for less than $140 shipped to my house. That's a damn good price if you ask me!

So with that.. any first hand reviews? I ride a mixture of twisties and highway. It's pretty split, because where I live you have to take some sort of highway to get to the good spots. Thanks!

Has anyone ever used the Kenda k671 front and rears? I've read reviews on them, and have heard a lot of positive things, however I wanted a first hand report from someone. My Dumb-lops are dry rotting, and part of my winter check list is new tires. I priced the K671's out for less than $140 shipped to my house. That's a damn good price if you ask me!

So with that.. any first hand reviews? I ride a mixture of twisties and highway. It's pretty split, because where I live you have to take some sort of highway to get to the good spots. Thanks!

I have kenda k671's for both tires and they work great. They feel a lot more stable then the stock tires and hold their pressure well. I ride mostly in the city and commute on the highway on occasion. If you like riding the twisties a lot most people will probably recommend the Pirelli Sport Demons. You can use them on and off the track which is nice and they are arguably the best performance tire for the Ninja 250. Of course they don't last as long as the Kenda's and cost more.

I have kenda k671's for both tires and they work great. They feel a lot more stable then the stock tires and hold their pressure well. I ride mostly in the city and commute on the highway on occasion. If you like riding the twisties a lot most people will probably recommend the Pirelli Sport Demons. You can use them on and off the track which is nice and they are arguably the best performance tire for the Ninja 250. Of course they don't last as long as the Kenda's and cost more.

I've heard that about the Pirellis, but I intend to do a lot of various riding. The mountains are in my back yard but in NY one needs to take a highway or state route to get anywhere. Thanks for the input. I think I'll order the k671s.

Imagine my disappointment when I opened this thread and didn't see this:

Imagine my disappointment when I opened this thread and didn't see this:

:rotflmao:

New tires ordered, as well as tire irons and rim protectors. All together $166.90. I love good deals. I also ordered a new helmet today! Should be here on Tuesday! :D

In my experience, getting carbs truly clean can be difficult. Clean looking carbs don't mean a thing. If the internal passages have deposits in them, the carb won't function properly, and such deposits are impossible to see. Sonic cleaners do a good job of getting carbs clean the first time.

I use Berryman's Chem Dip carb cleaner, which is around $16/gallon at WalMart and auto parts stores. It's comes with a parts basket and can be reused until it gets too dirty. I've found it superior to any other solvent I've used. Put only metal parts in it because it will eat rubber and plastic. Let them soak for a minimum of 24 hours (2-3 days is better), rinse well with water and blow out every orifice with high pressure compressed air from a compressor. Air in a can does not have enough pressure to be effective.

I use Chem Dip, which is flammable, in my sonic cleaner and monitor it closely. I'm not recommending that anyone else do so as it could cause a fire. Without the sonic cleaner heater on, vapor will usually begin to come off the surface of the Chem Dip after about 45 minutes as the sonification process produces its own heat. At that point, the carbs are clean and ready for rinsing.

Thanks for that! I'll look into the chem dip.

Hope that helps solve your problem.

Depending on how humid it is where you are, you can use several methods to get rid of the rest of the rust in that tank. The Works toilet bowl cleaner, available at walMart, is about 18% hydrochloric acid. Swishing it around inside a sealed tank will eat moderate to light rust pretty fast. Just don't get it on the paint. Drain, rinse well with water, follow with WD-40 to prevent rust, and allow to dry. If humidity causes flash rust before the tank dries, you can put some OsPho (green liquid containing phosphoric acid) in the tank and swish it around. The OsPho will convert the rust to a black, inert material that won't come loose.

Usually the humidity is around 40%-60% this time of year aside from when it snows. It's not like the summer when we have 90%+. I'll check that stuff out.

Here comes an update! Tires are on the bike! They came in a few weeks ago, and I mounted / balanced them myself! Check! New helmet came in a few weeks ago. Gopro mount is applied check! Last on the list of winter maintence is valve adjustment. It's just so cold.

And for your viewing pleasures..

http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m494/tbanksphotography/34E57072-0916-4F88-8C4F-F86110840962_zpsrot7mqwm.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/tbanksphotography/media/34E57072-0916-4F88-8C4F-F86110840962_zpsrot7mqwm.jpg.html)
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m494/tbanksphotography/AFC1EEFC-3112-4C3C-ABC4-3408346F85EB_zps5mzsvba2.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/tbanksphotography/media/AFC1EEFC-3112-4C3C-ABC4-3408346F85EB_zps5mzsvba2.jpg.html)
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m494/tbanksphotography/059DBF68-6193-4109-B849-CB776C687DC6_zpsj5lhovao.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/tbanksphotography/media/059DBF68-6193-4109-B849-CB776C687DC6_zpsj5lhovao.jpg.html)
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m494/tbanksphotography/450C0C44-84C4-423B-8D03-DF6E7F9D3729_zpsgv7h0vuo.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/tbanksphotography/media/450C0C44-84C4-423B-8D03-DF6E7F9D3729_zpsgv7h0vuo.jpg.html)
http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m494/tbanksphotography/E9887F5C-C572-449C-A577-5EB3B2DB07C7_zpsb1yshlxz.jpg (http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/tbanksphotography/media/E9887F5C-C572-449C-A577-5EB3B2DB07C7_zpsb1yshlxz.jpg.html)


Can we have warm weather yet? Please??

Nice! Hope your weather gets better soon.

I saw the sticker on the oem dunlops and was like "WTF? Did he not read anything on the internet about those horrible tires???" :D

I saw the sticker on the oem dunlops and was like "WTF? Did he not read anything on the internet about those horrible tires???" :D

Those dunlops sucked terribly. I have k671s on my jette now. (I use the term jette so she sounds faster) :rotflmao:

Nice! Hope your weather gets better soon.

Thank you. I do too! I'm over the North East. I'd rather be fishing and riding, or riding to a fishing spot. Hmmm.. :thumbup:

Did you measure the float height in your carbs and are the float needles and seals still good? I had a similar problem with my petcock except the gas was leaking out of my intake. Replaced the petcock and the float needles then no more leak.

Just an update, cause I haven't posted on this topic in a few weeks.. My little ninjette has been running fantastic since I installed the new fuel tap. The bike runs very well when its cold out with choke for the first minute or two, then graciously lets me know when it's time for her to run without the enrichment engaged. I put about 100 miles on the new tires, and I must say it's like she had 90 miles on her again! :D