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davenay67 · May 2nd, 2021, 06:33 PM

The bike is a non running 2007 250 bought at the start of the year as a project rebuild. The tank and bodywork, as well as the rest of the bike in general, is in pretty nice condition for a non-runner.
Other than a good head-to-toe cleaning of the frame, wheels and plastics, I was hoping it would just take a good carb strip/rebuild/clean, new oil, new spark plugs and we'd be good to go.

Not so much. The bike simply won't start. I confirmed that both cylinders are getting good spark, and just to prove it I was able to start the bike on some starter fluid. I pulled the airbox off the carbs and was able to start the bike by placing my hands over the carb intakes. It would die if I moved my hand away completely. It would restart easily if I covered the carbs with my hands again.
I was starting the bike from an auxillary fuel source, so the tank and petcock (which are very clean) are not part of the equation.

So, what do you think I'm possibly dealing with here? I thinking the choke circuit on the carbs could be a problem. Also the pilot jets. I originally cleaned the carbs in an ultrasonic cleaner, and was sure to make sure the all the holes in the main jets, pilot jets, and emulsion tubes were clear by using a fine guitar wire. I've done a few sets of these in the past, so I'm fairly confident navigating my way around these carbs. But there's always a firs time to screw things up....

Planning to pull and strip the carbs again, and pay extra special attention to jets and the choke circuit. Anything else I should really be looking at here?

TIA.

May 2nd, 2021, 06:33 PM	#1
davenay67 ninjette.org member Name: Dave Location: Lisle Join Date: Apr 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2003 Goldwing GL1800, 2002 Ninja 250, 2001 VFR800, 1999 Ducati 996 Posts: 107	250 only starts if intake covered. The bike is a non running 2007 250 bought at the start of the year as a project rebuild. The tank and bodywork, as well as the rest of the bike in general, is in pretty nice condition for a non-runner. Other than a good head-to-toe cleaning of the frame, wheels and plastics, I was hoping it would just take a good carb strip/rebuild/clean, new oil, new spark plugs and we'd be good to go. Not so much. The bike simply won't start. I confirmed that both cylinders are getting good spark, and just to prove it I was able to start the bike on some starter fluid. I pulled the airbox off the carbs and was able to start the bike by placing my hands over the carb intakes. It would die if I moved my hand away completely. It would restart easily if I covered the carbs with my hands again. I was starting the bike from an auxillary fuel source, so the tank and petcock (which are very clean) are not part of the equation. So, what do you think I'm possibly dealing with here? I thinking the choke circuit on the carbs could be a problem. Also the pilot jets. I originally cleaned the carbs in an ultrasonic cleaner, and was sure to make sure the all the holes in the main jets, pilot jets, and emulsion tubes were clear by using a fine guitar wire. I've done a few sets of these in the past, so I'm fairly confident navigating my way around these carbs. But there's always a firs time to screw things up.... Planning to pull and strip the carbs again, and pay extra special attention to jets and the choke circuit. Anything else I should really be looking at here? TIA.