Hi guys... I haven't used my bike for a few months and now it won't idle if I turn off the choke. How can I fix this???? Can someone help me???... PLEEEEZE??!!
How many times have we read this on the forum? If the bike was running fine the last time you rode it and it's been a few months since then, the gas in the carbs may be the problem and could be gumming up your jets.
There are a few remedies such as a fuel cleaner/additive (seafoam, berryman's) that you might be able to get by with that will clean the clogged jets,
if you're lucky, but if not, removing the carbs and cleaning out the jets is the only way to be 100% sure your jets are clean and crud free.
I haven't ridden the Ninja since last May and knew the jets were clogged. The bike would idle rough when started with the choke and when I turned off the choke, the bike idled
really rough and no amount of playing with the idle speed knob would give me a nice steady idle once the bike was warmed up.
So, today I decided to clean my carbs.
This is how I did mine... your procedure may vary, but ultimately you want to get to the inside of the carbs, remove the pilot jets and clean them out.
First step, put the bike up on a rear stand...
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9810
Next, remove the bodywork...
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9933
and then the gas tank...
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10191
then, remove the carbs...
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=44330
At this point your bike should look like this...
parts removed and safely tucked away in a corner...
Find a clean working area and flip the carbs upside down and remove the float bowls. I use a JIS screwdriver on these screws and have no problems with stripped out screws. I highly recommend you purchase a set if you work on your bike a lot.
The pilot jets are in these "towers" at the bottom of the carb. Use a suitable screwdriver that fit the jets well as they are made of brass and deform easily if you use a loose fitting screwdriver blade.
once removed, this is what the pilot jets look like...
Sorry for the blurry pics, but I was trying to show that my pilot jets were blocked solid. If you hold them up to the light, you should be able to see a perfectly round hole when looking through the jet. As you can see, no light is visible in this jet.
Blast through the jet with compressed air with a nozzle attachment...
and the result after blasting it with compressed air... as you can see, there's light coming through the jet now. When clean, you should be able to see a nice round hole of light. The pilot jet hole is
very small, so they tend to clog up very easily, which leads to hard starting.
I checked the main jets just because I was in there. Again, use a suitable size screwdriver to remove the main jets.
Main jets required no cleaning...
Reinstall the main jets, pilot jets and carb bowls.
Reinstall the carbs, air filter and gas tank and start bike up to check your work. If bike runs to your satisfaction, put the bodywork back on.
Hope this helps some of you when you go to start your bike after it's winter hibernation. If you didn't prep your bike before putting it away for winter, I can almost guaranty you'll be doing this jet cleaning come spring time.
