Looking to avoid making the same mistakes this go around

[shanesterb]

Since the end of summer last year I have enjoyed perusing this forum community for answers to every question regarding my new 2009 Kawasaki Nina 250. Unfortunately, once Winter hit and the terrible spring that we have been having continued I just couldn't let my bike sit, so I found myself in the DIY section.

The good news is the well written articles gave me an abundance of confidence. The not so good news is that confidence doesn't necessarily directly translate into mechanical ability. Luckily, I'm stubborn and hopefully with some direction I can get my little project back on track.

I started this spring off by upgrading my front sprocket from a 14T to a 15T. The clear naturally progression down the DIY list was to next install a pod air filter and rejet my carberator...eesh.

I was able to install the factory pro jet kit (K04-3.0) and looked through the jetting database for the best setup to start tweaking things. The problem was, my bike wouldn't idle and required throttle to stay running (although throttled very nicely). At this point I was kind of stuck and tried everything from adjusting the idle mixture screws to priming the engine (which I thin was my downfall). Basically, I believe I ended up hydro-locking my engine and broke my starter motor gear...woo! (although, the post I found with pictures of someone else's starter gear looking identical to mine was at least comforting that I am not the first).

After acquiring a series of fancy new tools the engine is now back together and we are back to the previous problem. My engine turns over, but will not fire up without giving it throttle. As soon as that throttle is let off... the bike dies.

My main concern is repeating my previous mistake and busting gears again. Does anyone have any good places to start the investigation and tips for doing so safely?

Your feedback is much appreciated. Thanks.

Sorry for the long post, but who doesn't love a good back story and shaking their head at an overambitious newbie rider.

[kkim]

will the bike at least start when using the choke?

what are your jetting specs?

[shanesterb]

Kkim...thank you for the quick reply.

I don't know what you did, but I went out to the garage, put the choke on, and the sob fired up and started idling. It was short lived, as it quickly puddered to a stop, but it's progress. I promise you I had the choke on when trying to start it previously.

Considering I didn't change anything on the carberator and had no where near this result as of yesterday, could this have been fixed or be a result of running it for an extended period yesterday with the throttle on?

If this continues to be the case I may just start screwing down the idle mixture screws and see if this was a "fluke" to lure me into my first posting.

My jetting specs:

110 main jet
Needle clip at middle position
fuel screws are out 2 turns

[kkim]

Shane,
to isolate the problem, try this. turn the fuel petcock to "pri" and also, leave the gas tank cover open. now try and start the bike as usual... that is, use the choke and hit the starter. does it start and keep running?

do you have clean/new fuel in the tank?

[shanesterb]

With the choke on, petcock set to prime, and gas cover open the bike was able to start idling, but died much quicker then it did previously.

The fuel was replaced with new fuel at the beginning of this month. Only been in the tank for three weeks.

[kkim]

recheck to see that you have the vacuum hoses and vent lines properly connected. have you tried raising the idle speed by turning the idle speed control knob clockwise (in) a couple of turns?

I'm sorry, but where exactly are you located?

[almost40]

+1 on the idle knob. Go Kkim its your birthday. lol

[kkim]

Originally Posted by almost40

Go Kkim its your birthday. lol

huh?

[almost40]

Well its not really your bday is it?? But you should get a birthday cake anyway. With a million candles on it.

[kkim]

lol... saw this post, did you?

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showp...&postcount=280

[almost40]

[greg737]

The thing that sticks out when I read the Original Post is that it appears the bike sat without running throughout an entire winter and a "terrible spring."

Spend enough time here on the forum and you'll see there's no knowing whether a bike will come out of winter storage runnning well. There are so many threads you could reference about bikes that were running wonderfully at the end of summer and by springtime wakeup time they were gummed-up nightmares.

[shanesterb]

Everything you could possibly want to know about the lovely city of Kent, Washington can be found at the URL below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent,_Washington

I am glad you mentioned the idle speed control knob because I had not even touched this while troubleshooting this thing. We'll see what happens when I get home.

Also, I would never let my bike sit ALL winter/spring. I was only able to get my fix in every few weeks

[Havok]

What exaust are you running? If stock why the jets and pods?

[shanesterb]

OK, thank you for the tip kkim. I have been tweaking things for the past week again and it is actually running really well. I have one last question I'm hoping someone may have some insight.

I am able to get my idle speed to sit at 1500rpm once it is fully warmed. Strangely, after I have been running the bike for a while I can't seem to get it to idle at lower than 2500 rpm at times. Alternatively, I've had it straight die on me when coming to a stop.

Is there anything in particular to look at with this kind of inconsistency with idle speed rpm?

[almost40]

wondering if its the cdi false tach reading..........

[kkim]

Shane,

sounds like you might have a vacuum leak somewhere in the intake tract or in the carbs.

fill a windex type sprayer with water and as the bike is idling, spray different sections of the intake tract and carbs until you hear a difference. once there is a diff, you've found the general area of your leak. investigate and find the problem.

let me know what you find.

do you know what you did that cleared up your previous problem?