my baby is sick

[Blackwidow]

my baby is literally sick, I think she has something as bad as cancer or something. I bought the mixer for the gasoline and poured it in, ran the bike for about an hour still no go.

So I decided to take the bike apart again for the SECOND time and really focus on the carb again. I even decided to take one of the washers from the needle in case that had something to do with it, still no go.

see below pic of me being a grease monkey!

after i put everything back but before i put the fairings back on, I decided to run the bike again to see how it all turned out. while it was running, I decided to put the fairings back on and below is a photo of my booboo due to me accidently touching the exhaust pipe under the bike. OUCH!!!

At the very end, my bike idols fine, as soon as I put it in gear and try to give it gas, it dies. My only other option now is to take her to the doctors.

Unless you all have other ideas?

[g21-30]

Check this out:

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69471

You need to REALLY clean the carbs.

[Blackwidow]

g21 i did... it has to be something else. i don't know how much more i can clean that sucker

[kkim]

while you had the carbs apart, what exactly did you do?

couple of things jump out from your post... 1) never work on an engine that hasn't cooled down unless you are very careful and 2) when having the plastics off, lay them down on a blanket. too easy to scrape the paint on bare concrete.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

I bought the mixer for the gasoline and poured it in, ran the bike for about an hour still no go.

This worries me a bit as well. Nothing good comes from having a motorcycle engine idle that long. The mixer won't be doing anything in the main jets anyway at idle, the bike needs to be run under load for it to be useful.

But - I get that the moment you try and put it under load it dies. Something's not right, and it might be time to have a second opinion, if even from a shop.

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by kkim

while you had the carbs apart, what exactly did you do?

couple of things jump out from your post... 1) never work on an engine that hasn't cooled down unless you are very careful and 2) when having the plastics off, lay them down on a blanket. too easy to scrape the paint on bare concrete.

well I followed the following DIY to the T...

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65198

....and also cleaned every other hole and crack I saw.

to your observations: 1) i learned the hard way. and 2) i agree, i took the risk lucky for me nothing happened to the paint or anything.

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by Alex

This worries me a bit as well. Nothing good comes from having a motorcycle engine idle that long. The mixer won't be doing anything in the main jets anyway at idle, the bike needs to be run under load for it to be useful.

But - I get that the moment you try and put it under load it dies. Something's not right, and it might be time to have a second opinion, if even from a shop.

i was just following the directions on the bottle.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

....and also cleaned every other hole and crack I saw.

how did you clean them out? Did you use compressed air to blow out the passages? When I clean out carb body passages, I like to use compressed air set to like 100PSI with a rubber tipped air blower attachment.



also, I try to blow in from the opposite direction that fuel/air normally would flow through the carb body.

are you sure you have the choke cable reinstalled correctly with the proper amount of cable free play?

[Blackwidow]

no i didn't use such a fancy device, i used compressed air in a bottle...like the ones you use for your computer keyboard. I did blow air in every part of the carb, even the fiance did just to make sure it was all cleaned out.

I think i do, cuz the choke works fine. i'm confused with this?

[kkim]

the choke part... if it's misadjusted and is really still on when you think it's off, that could be the cause of the bike dying when you try to give it some throttle once it's warm.

with the compressed air... you may not have had enough PSI to clean out the carb passages with the canned air... I dunno how many PSI they produce.

[wtfh4xx]

Originally Posted by randomwalk101

Put your bf to work...bike no run = no sex. Woot!

Lol

[00NissanNinja]

Maybe I missed it but what are you idling at? Is it dying right when you pull the clutch in or when its given a bit of throttle? Can you rev it when its sitting around? Also what kind of washers did you shim the needles with (I know, I know, probably the right ones but its good to gather all the info you can)

[g21-30]

Paulette, since you have a few people trying to assist you, I will mention this and back out of the picture. Bottled compressed air will not do the trick. Most likely one or more jets is still clogged. If you take it to a shop, they are going to do what I'm about to recommend that you do. Get two (2) carb rebuild kits (I think I posted a link awhile back) and some Gunk Carb Cleaner. The cleaner comes with a basket to put small parts into. You submerse all non-rubber parts according to the instructions and then clean the parts with water and blow dry them (compressed air...check out Harbor Freight or Sears for a small compressor...it will come in handy for other things). As I mentioned the passages and jets are coated with a shellac like substance from the gas/alcohol mixture. The cleaner can be reused for multiple carbs (some people get 20+ cleanings).

Here is a video, which demonstrates the cleaning ability of the Gunk cleaner:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Good luck!

[DaBlue1]

Is your bike on a rear stand? I'm wondering if your clutch plates or gears are stuck. What is your oil condition and level like? With the bike on the rear stand you should be able to exercise the gears on the tranny with the bike idling. If it cuts off when putting it in gear it may be one of the safety switches.

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

Maybe I missed it but what are you idling at? Is it dying right when you pull the clutch in or when its given a bit of throttle? Can you rev it when its sitting around? Also what kind of washers did you shim the needles with (I know, I know, probably the right ones but its good to gather all the info you can)

i will have to recheck to see what it idles at.

when i pull in the clutch its fine, its when i let go of the clutch and give it gas when it dies, its almost like its not getting enough gas to keep the engine going.

I used metal washers.

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by g21-30

Paulette, since you have a few people trying to assist you, I will mention this and back out of the picture. Bottled compressed air will not do the trick. Most likely one or more jets is still clogged. If you take it to a shop, they are going to do what I'm about to recommend that you do. Get two (2) carb rebuild kits (I think I posted a link awhile back) and some Gunk Carb Cleaner. The cleaner comes with a basket to put small parts into. You submerse all non-rubber parts according to the instructions and then clean the parts with water and blow dry them (compressed air...check out Harbor Freight or Sears for a small compressor...it will come in handy for other things). As I mentioned the passages and jets are coated with a shellac like substance from the gas/alcohol mixture. The cleaner can be reused for multiple carbs (some people get 20+ cleanings).

Here is a video, which demonstrates the cleaning ability of the Gunk cleaner:

Link to original page on YouTube.

Good luck!

Thanks, I wish I knew that before I pulled apart the bike the second time. This may be a stupid comment but the jets looked fine, I could see through it without any issues.

honestly guys, i really really appreciate all the advice, but I think i've lost this battle, i've decided to just take her in. its time for her to get her first maintenance anyway.l

[ichibunkid.206]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

honestly guys, i really really appreciate all the advice, but I think i've lost this battle, i've decided to just take her in. its time for her to get her first maintenance anyway.l

Bummer

I maybe a dollar short, and an hour late.... But when you added the gas mix, and ran it for the hour..... did you drain all of the old gas out, and start with brand new gas? Just asking cause that wasn't clear to me in the thread...

I hope it's a quick and easy fix

[00NissanNinja]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

I used metal washers.

Opps, I meant what size like #4 washers or 3mm.

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by ichibunkid.206

Bummer

I maybe a dollar short, and an hour late.... But when you added the gas mix, and ran it for the hour..... did you drain all of the old gas out, and start with brand new gas? Just asking cause that wasn't clear to me in the thread...

I hope it's a quick and easy fix

no i didn't drain the gas out.

[Blackwidow]

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

Opps, I meant what size like #4 washers or 3mm.

3mm

[ninja250]

that Seafoam crap don't work.
You got the idle jets? they are hiding in the carb, kinda funky to find.
Like literally poke something through even if you can see through?
when my bike did this, it wasn't the main jets it was the ones that are hiding.
even though I could see through them, there was enough gunk in there (that I could not see) to keep the bike from running at idle or running wouthout the choke.

[DaBlue1]

I see where you said the bike has been in the car port for almost two months. you also say, " but as soon as I click it to 3rd gear it dies." So can you ride it at all?
Has it been exposed to varying temps and moisture or is the carport fully covered? Another member had a similar problem, but his bike sat a lot longer.
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=78333

I'm wondering if it's more of a clutch problem than a carb problem at this point.

[ichibunkid.206]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

no i didn't drain the gas out.

Well at this point I would defer to the more senior members, and racers of the board since I know squat about the mechanics of the bike other than what I've read on the board... BUT considering your options at this point what I would do is drain the tank completely, including the fuel bowls, and try running it with brand new clean gas.

A couple of assumptions I'll make is (1) the 250 worked perfectly fine when you parked it 2 months ago. (2) You correctly re-assembled everything after you cleaned the carbs. (3) Something else on the bike didn't decided to go south at the time you tried to start the bike.

If all of the above are true than you're basically at where you were to begin with. Out of everything I've read so far in the thread the only constant has been the gas...

I read in another thread somewhere on the board where another member was having some sort of problem with their 250 after letting it sit for the winter (or some period of time)... tired everything... couldn't figure it out and had a mechanic look at it. The first the thing the mechanic did was swap the gas tank with one that had new fuel in it... the bike started right up, he put the original tank back on, the problems came back... he drained the tank put fresh gas in it and the 250 ran like a charm from what I remember reading...

I'll see if I can find the thread.... not saying this is the cure for your bike, but it appears that you did everything else.. it starts up so your got electrical, it sort of runs means it's getting fuel... I'd try with new gas and see what happens. One other thing I would suggest is to pull the spark plugs and make sure they aren't all fouled up from the old gas not burning completely

Good luck

Update: Found the thread where the bike won't start after sitting..
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showt...ghlight=stabil , Look at post #39? (I think)

Basically the owner mixed in Sta-Bil, to winterize the bike, tried to start it up the following season... and had problems getting it to fire up, and idle smoothly... This problem, and the one you're having may totally be unrelated, But to me gas gone bad is sort of like milk gone sour... You can pour a bunch of additives in to bad gas, just as you can pour a bunch of chocolate powder into the sour milk, but in the end you still have bad gas with a bunch of additives, and sour milk with a bunch of chocolate powder in it... yuck

[ichibunkid.206]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

i was just following the directions on the bottle.

One other question for ya.... what was the name of mix you poured in with the gas?