ninjette.org - View Single Post - Bought first bike and 1 day later it won't start: do I have a junk bike?

brendandubs · November 4th, 2012, 09:26 PM

I bought my first bike last night, a 2005 ninja 250 from a guy on craigslist. My buddy, an experienced rider, took the bike for a test spin, inspected it, and didn't notice anything majorly wrong. It was obvious that the bike had been dropped at least once, minor dent on the side and handlebar damage, but my buddy advised that snagging it for $2k was a solid deal. I now am wondering if I bought a junk bike.

The seller was trying to jumpstart the bike when we showed up to buy it (claimed to be selling it for his brother who stopped riding it 2 months ago), which should have been a warning sign. But we rode it around for 15 minutes after getting some juice in the battery, and the bike seemed fine. I then took it on the highway for a solid 40-50 minute spin to get it back to my place in SF. Someone honked at me in SF to let me know the tail light was out (scary, but easily fixable).

When I took it for another spin this morning, I'd have to wait a significant amount of time after starting the bike in neutral before I could switch to first gear. If I changed gears too soon, the engine would just stop. The next hiccup came at stop lights. Speeding up from a complete stop, it'd take the bike 4 seconds to accelerate above 5 mph. I'd go from stop sign to 5 mph, wait 4 seconds, and then I'd feel the bike give me some power.

I park the bike and an hour later I notice that there is a small puddle below the kickstand and exhaust. I googled and it looks like a lot of other people have reported similar issues and it can be fixed.

I tried taking it for another spin this afternoon and made it 2 blocks before it sputtered out. I couldn't get it to go above 5 mph and it would slow down then speed up like it was about to die. I pull over to the side of the road, hit the kill switch, and then try starting the bike again and couldn't get it to first gear without the engine dying. Tried this for half an hour to no avail. I street parked the bike and walked 3 miles back to my apartment. I am hoping I can fix the bike, but my gut is telling me I should have done better due diligence.

Does this sound like something that I can fix on my own? Or should I get it towed and have a professional check it out tomorrow?

November 4th, 2012, 09:26 PM	#1
brendandubs ninjette.org newbie Name: Brendan Location: san francisco Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2005 ninja 250 Posts: 5	Bought first bike and 1 day later it won't start: do I have a junk bike? I bought my first bike last night, a 2005 ninja 250 from a guy on craigslist. My buddy, an experienced rider, took the bike for a test spin, inspected it, and didn't notice anything majorly wrong. It was obvious that the bike had been dropped at least once, minor dent on the side and handlebar damage, but my buddy advised that snagging it for $2k was a solid deal. I now am wondering if I bought a junk bike. The seller was trying to jumpstart the bike when we showed up to buy it (claimed to be selling it for his brother who stopped riding it 2 months ago), which should have been a warning sign. But we rode it around for 15 minutes after getting some juice in the battery, and the bike seemed fine. I then took it on the highway for a solid 40-50 minute spin to get it back to my place in SF. Someone honked at me in SF to let me know the tail light was out (scary, but easily fixable). When I took it for another spin this morning, I'd have to wait a significant amount of time after starting the bike in neutral before I could switch to first gear. If I changed gears too soon, the engine would just stop. The next hiccup came at stop lights. Speeding up from a complete stop, it'd take the bike 4 seconds to accelerate above 5 mph. I'd go from stop sign to 5 mph, wait 4 seconds, and then I'd feel the bike give me some power. I park the bike and an hour later I notice that there is a small puddle below the kickstand and exhaust. I googled and it looks like a lot of other people have reported similar issues and it can be fixed. I tried taking it for another spin this afternoon and made it 2 blocks before it sputtered out. I couldn't get it to go above 5 mph and it would slow down then speed up like it was about to die. I pull over to the side of the road, hit the kill switch, and then try starting the bike again and couldn't get it to first gear without the engine dying. Tried this for half an hour to no avail. I street parked the bike and walked 3 miles back to my apartment. I am hoping I can fix the bike, but my gut is telling me I should have done better due diligence. Does this sound like something that I can fix on my own? Or should I get it towed and have a professional check it out tomorrow?