First ride

[ator]

So...I bought my 250 about 6 weeks ago and haven't been able to ride it due to the weather. Well, yesterday was a nice dry day, still a little cold, but dry. So, I decided to take it out.

I have owned many bikes in the past, this is my first 250. It was 40F out, so I let it warm up with the choke on for about 10 minutes. Tried to turn the choke of and go, that didn't happen. So, I restarted it, used about 50% choke and I was off. Bike seemed sluggish off the get go but I was quickly through that point and then it was fine. Rode for 4 miles or so, bike never seemed to warm up enough to take the choke off, but was still ridable.

I had an R6, GSXR 750 (and a couple others) a while back, and those bikes would never run in this temperature with or without the choke, so I was pleased that the 250 was rideable. Had a FI CBR 600 and that bike did work fine in the cold.

Anyway, I'm sure that when the weather warms up I will be shimming the neddles so I can get this thing to run as well as it possibly can.

Overall, I'm happy with the 250, not too fast but very fun to ride, should be a good summer!

[csmith12]

Nice Chris!

Although, I think something else is at work here. I have ridden mine at 20F and 2Up with no choke (with a few mins of warm up) without issue. Others have ridden in much, much colder as well.

Try running some seafoam through those carbs. If that don't work, might be time for a good carb cleaning.

[NDspd]

Yeah I've been riding in 25F with only a 3-5 minute warm up. Do what csmith12 said

[ator]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Nice Chris!

Although, I think something else is at work here. I have ridden mine at 20F and 2Up with no choke (with a few mins of warm up) without issue. Others have ridden in much, much colder as well.

Try running some seafoam through those carbs. If that don't work, might be time for a good carb cleaning.

Really? It only has 50 miles on it, well 54 now. I personally think it just never really fully warmed up. I'll try it again tomorrow, take it for a longer ride, and see what happens.

[csmith12]

OH SNAP! My error for not reading.

You have a brand new 2012, so cleaning carbs shouldn't be needed. Bad gas maybe???? Yea, try that longer ride and let us know.

[gilmorec61]

I bet its been killer waiting that long to ride such a beautiful thing!!
Nice getting it on the road huh?

And yeah I ride mine in 20-30F with maybe a min. of warm up, then ride on down my neighborhood going slow, with the choke on, and it seems thats what works pretty good for me.

And once she gets nice and warmed up even in that weather, she responds just fine.

[ator]

Yea, I haven't rode a bike on the street in atleast 5 years. Still have a couple of dirt bikes I reide all summer, but not on the street.

Hopefully tomorrow is a nice dry day and I can take it out, I'll let you know what happens.

I'll still shim the neddles when it's warmer, probably when I install my exhaust.

[gilmorec61]

Wow, i bet riding yesterday or whenever it was was a great feeling

Oh and btw, forgot to tell you that i HAVE shimmed my needles with 2 washers, so thats one reason she warms up a bit faster i imagine.

[greenaero]

Sounds like you fouled your plugs letting it idle that long and riding with the choke on.. Idling is the slowest and worst way to warm up any vehicle. Use the choke to start, back it off to the point that you can accelerate with a little throttle and began driving it gently , backing off the choke as soon you can. Usually I'm totally off the choke by the end of a block,even on cold days . old down the RPMs until you come to operating temperature, then drive ride normally. My cents, YMMV

[koenigcitizen]

Originally Posted by greenaero

Sounds like you fouled your plugs letting it idle that long and riding with the choke on.. Idling is the slowest and worst way to warm up any vehicle. Use the choke to start, back it off to the point that you can accelerate with a little throttle and began driving it gently , backing off the choke as soon you can. Usually I'm totally off the choke by the end of a block,even on cold days . old down the RPMs until you come to operating temperature, then drive ride normally. My cents, YMMV

Thats how I do it as well.
I follow this guide for warming up my Ninjette.
Credit to Ninja250.org (lots of useful stuff there)

One of the more enduring automotive myths is that you have to let a vehicle idle to warm up for a while. This is the worst way you can get your motorcycle (or car) to the proper operating temperature. Your bike should be under a load (moving) to get it warmed up well, and also to extend its life.
There is zero harm to starting a cold engine and putting it under a LIGHT load right away. On a bike this means choke it, start it up, and then as soon as you can give it throttle without dying (usually just several seconds) ride away. This does not mean bash the hell out of it as soon as you're out of the driveway.
Close the choke (enrichener) as soon as you can. There are lots of good reasons for this, but just do it. You may have to turn the choke down in increments during the first couple minutes of your ride before the bike will run fine without the choke. This can often mean having it applied halfway for the first few minutes, but if the bike is in a good state of tune you shouldn't need more than a few minutes before you can turn it off for good. Just remember that it is a manual choke and you have to remember to shut it off.
Why shouldn't I let it warm up while I'm putting on my gear?
Engines warm drastically faster when under load than when under no load (idling). The evils of idling are ultra low oil pressure at a time when the oil is at its thickest and doesn't flow very well. That means that right after starting is the point where you have the worst lubrication. By riding you're forcing the oil to move more and provide lubrication to the points that aren't bathed in oil (think heads). Using a good synthetic oil with a low 'cold' number, such as Shell Rotella T 5w-40, will mitigate this as much as possible.
The engine also needs a higher concentration of fuel to air at startup, as the atomization of the gasoline is poor in a cold engine. This means that the sides of the cylinders are getting hosed down with gas, which washes off the little lubrication that was there (and isn't being replaced at idle, due to the factors discussed above).
The last, and most important, issue is that you create localized hot spots by idling. The engine does not warm evenly. When a mass of metal is bolted together, as an internal combustion engine is, it heats rapidly in some places and not in others. This makes it more susceptible to warping and seizing/galling, which is where two metal surfaces stick/weld together, then rip apart, leaving both surfaces weakened.
So, take it easy until you can see that the engine is warmed up; then you can ride like your normal squidly self.

[akima]

Originally Posted by csmith12

OH SNAP! My error for not reading.

You have a brand new 2012, so cleaning carbs shouldn't be needed. Bad gas maybe???? Yea, try that longer ride and let us know.

For some reason I assumed it was a used bike too. I pictured it in my head as a pre-2008 ninjette... not sure why!

Originally Posted by greenaero

Sounds like you fouled your plugs letting it idle that long and riding with the choke on.. Idling is the slowest and worst way to warm up any vehicle.

I was gonna comment on that idea! Glad you pointed it out. I see experienced riders warming up their bike on idle all the time: I'm not going to tell them what I've learnt, because I'm a noobie and a girl so they'll probably just ignore me. Also: I don't properly understand the intricacies of the engine so for all I know warming up at idle could actually be ok. Right now though, the reasoning I've heard behind your suggestion makes more more sense to me, so I'm in that camp!

@koenigcitizen: thanks for the ninja250.org snippet. Good read.

[ator]

OK, Lets revisit my ride yesterday. Went out to the garage, started the bike with the choke on. Moved my truck, then went inside to grab my helmet. Came outside, pulled the bike out of the garage, closed the door, then took the choke off, put it in gear, Tried to take off, but it stalled. Put the choke back on, started it again, adjusted it to 50% choke and I was off. Rode it for roughly 4 miles, only though my subdivision. Right before I was about to pull down my street, I took the choke off and attempted to start from a stop but it felt too slugish, like it wasn't wamed up enough.

I'm gonna have to take it out for a real ride and see what happens. I'll keep everyone posted

[ator]

Was able to take it out today. Was a little cooler today, about 35 out, but still dry. Did things a little different this time. I started it will full choke and only let it warm for a minute or two. Then, lowered choke to half and I was off. Rode through my sub and by the time I hit a main road I turned the choke off. Rode for about 4 miles before my first stop, bike must have been fully warm by then because I has no issues. I can definitely feel where shimming the neddles is needed. I was going to wait to do that but I'll probably do it when I take my vacation in a few weeks.

Overall I am happy with the 250. Nice ride, adequate power, and nimble. Rode for about 20 mile today. Only issue was ME being too cold. Think I'll wait till its warmer before riding again.

[akima]

Originally Posted by ator

Overall I am happy with the 250. Nice ride, adequate power, and nimble. Rode for about 20 mile today. Only issue was ME being too cold. Think I'll wait till its warmer before riding again.

My ninjette didn't start this morning. Guess she was too cold It's snowing outside now, I'd bring her indoors if I didn't have white carpets!

[ator]

Originally Posted by akima

For some reason I assumed it was a used bike too. I pictured it in my head as a pre-2008 ninjette... not sure why!

Here's a photo

[akima]

^ OOOoooooOoooooo. Shiny!

[Malicious Logic]

Edited my post. Saw that you said you have reason to believe it does need it. What exactly are you feeling that tells you it needs the needles shimmed? *shrugs* Just curious.

[ator]

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

Edited my post. Saw that you said you have reason to believe it does need it. What exactly are you feeling that tells you it needs the needles shimmed? *shrugs* Just curious.

This should about sum it up for ya

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9465


1- Who needs it and what will it do for my bike?

Shimming the needles will get rid of a nasty lean spot coming right off idle. If your bike stalls, hesitates, hacks or coughs when you are trying to pull off from a stop, you could use shimming. Also, if your bike needs to have the choke on to start it, when the engine is stone cold, and needs the choke on for long periods of time, you should shim.

[greenaero]

Beautiful!! very nice

[Malicious Logic]

Originally Posted by ator

This should about sum it up for ya

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9465


1- Who needs it and what will it do for my bike?

Shimming the needles will get rid of a nasty lean spot coming right off idle. If your bike stalls, hesitates, hacks or coughs when you are trying to pull off from a stop, you could use shimming. Also, if your bike needs to have the choke on to start it, when the engine is stone cold, and needs the choke on for long periods of time, you should shim.

Seen this, just making sure you did. Also, you said the 2nd attempt, you didn't need the choke very long at all. Sorry, just hear it from almost everyone on here nowadays about how they're gonna 'shim them needles' so either Kawasaki really did mess up that many bikes or some people are just doing it to say they did it->

[ator]

Originally Posted by Malicious Logic

Seen this, just making sure you did. Also, you said the 2nd attempt, you didn't need the choke very long at all. Sorry, just hear it from almost everyone on here nowadays about how they're gonna 'shim them needles' so either Kawasaki really did mess up that many bikes or some people are just doing it to say they did it->

On the second attempt I kept the choke at 50% all the way through my sub, (about 1.5 - 2 miles) then took it off as I entered a main road. Bike still "sputtered" or " coughed" from a dead stop, just had to use more throttle to get going smoothly, but otherwise ran fine. I've never owned a bike that felt quite like that. Could be the cold, could be that the needles need to be shimmed. As it gets warmer out, I'll know for sure. But, it sounds as if the needles do need to be shimmed as other have had the same issue and corrected it with a needle shim.

[Malicious Logic]

Ah, ok. Hopefully you'll get to the bottom of it, whether it be the needles or just the cold. Did you modify the gray part under the tank where your knee would sit? Don't think I've seen a Ninja with it shiny like that. Looks really good imo.

[ator]

Yes, its carbon fiber, and the front fender is as well

[Malicious Logic]

I like.