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99blackturq · September 6th, 2019, 03:53 PM

Hey everybody, I recently purchased a 99 Ninja 250 as a project bike/college commuter. It hadn't ran in a while (probably 4 or 5 years from the 2014 sticker) due to a hole in the gas tank which has now revealed a slew of new problems. After putting the bike together/new fuel filter/oil change/new battery it hardly ran or idled so I took the carbs off, cleaned them and it finally idled. However, I did notice that the right carb's diaphragm rubber had expanded and it didn't really want to get back into place correctly. Whatever, I put it back together and it ran a bit better but still had the same problem of cutting off upon throttle and it won't rev anywhere above 6k.
Also, I should mention that when I cleaned the carbs I didn't touch the air mixture screws at all and I didn't sync the carbs. I assumed Kawasaki had them correct from factory.

Alright, so I buy a new diaphragm off eBay (78 bucks?!!) and wait. Today when the part comes in and I'm taking apart the carbs I notice that the diaphragm had fixed itself! It literally had gone back to it's original shape and fit the grooves correctly! When I took it out the rubber even retained the shape its supposed to be in! Either way I still replaced it, put the bike back together and it's running better still. Idles well, throttle is there but it STILL won't go above 6-7k and if you try to push it the engine dies suddenly. I can actually ride the bike out of my garage and I go around the culdesac a few times to get the engine up to temp.

Now that it's warming up it's starting to smoke a bit out of the tailpipes. FUUUUUUUU. Oil level is still alright and it doesn't seem like too much smoke and it does appear white, not blue so I don't think its burning oil. The bike is warm and I shut it off, white smoke is still dribbling out of the right tailpipe.
What are the chances its piston rings or a head gasket? I'm about to go do a compression test now.

I was really hoping to get a good bike running since it only has about 5400 miles on it. Really didn't want to spend the money but I suppose I'm going to have to get my carbs sent out to ducatiman so I can eliminate that as my failure point. Any input is very welcome, this is my first bike and I'm super excited to ride!

I am located in San Marcos, TX and I do think this bike has lived in TX its whole life. Thanks!

September 6th, 2019, 03:53 PM	#1
99blackturq ninjette.org newbie Name: James Location: San Marcos, TX Join Date: Sep 2019 Motorcycle(s): 99 Ninja 250r Posts: 6	99 Ninja 250 revival problems Hey everybody, I recently purchased a 99 Ninja 250 as a project bike/college commuter. It hadn't ran in a while (probably 4 or 5 years from the 2014 sticker) due to a hole in the gas tank which has now revealed a slew of new problems. After putting the bike together/new fuel filter/oil change/new battery it hardly ran or idled so I took the carbs off, cleaned them and it finally idled. However, I did notice that the right carb's diaphragm rubber had expanded and it didn't really want to get back into place correctly. Whatever, I put it back together and it ran a bit better but still had the same problem of cutting off upon throttle and it won't rev anywhere above 6k. Also, I should mention that when I cleaned the carbs I didn't touch the air mixture screws at all and I didn't sync the carbs. I assumed Kawasaki had them correct from factory. Alright, so I buy a new diaphragm off eBay (78 bucks?!!) and wait. Today when the part comes in and I'm taking apart the carbs I notice that the diaphragm had fixed itself! It literally had gone back to it's original shape and fit the grooves correctly! When I took it out the rubber even retained the shape its supposed to be in! Either way I still replaced it, put the bike back together and it's running better still. Idles well, throttle is there but it STILL won't go above 6-7k and if you try to push it the engine dies suddenly. I can actually ride the bike out of my garage and I go around the culdesac a few times to get the engine up to temp. Now that it's warming up it's starting to smoke a bit out of the tailpipes. FUUUUUUUU. Oil level is still alright and it doesn't seem like too much smoke and it does appear white, not blue so I don't think its burning oil. The bike is warm and I shut it off, white smoke is still dribbling out of the right tailpipe. What are the chances its piston rings or a head gasket? I'm about to go do a compression test now. I was really hoping to get a good bike running since it only has about 5400 miles on it. Really didn't want to spend the money but I suppose I'm going to have to get my carbs sent out to ducatiman so I can eliminate that as my failure point. Any input is very welcome, this is my first bike and I'm super excited to ride! I am located in San Marcos, TX and I do think this bike has lived in TX its whole life. Thanks!