1992 Ninja 250 died while riding

[LT505]

I was riding my 1992 Ninja 250 on a 45 minute ride after work. Saw the oil light flash on and off a few times but I figured I could just check it when I got home. About 2 minutes away from my house the engine died just at the bottom of the last hill I had to go up (Got a rope and pulled the bike to the top of the hill then just drifted down to my house in N).

I really have no idea what the problem is, gas seems fine and I switched it on reserve and put a bit extra in just in case. The battery is brand new and the bike sounds like it wants to start when I try it just won't turn over. Right now my plan is to just let it sit over night, check the oil tomorrow, and go from there. Any suggestions on what I can try?

Thanks!

[crazymadbastard]

what kind of maintenance have you done lately? You have fuel it seems so do you have spark?

[LT505]

Originally Posted by crazymadbastard

what kind of maintenance have you done lately? You have fuel it seems so do you have spark?

Not sure, I guess the sparks would be the first thing I should check. Is it hard to do that by yourself? I have not had the bike that long so I am not very familiar with maintenance practices yet other than changing the oil.

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by LT505

Not sure, I guess the sparks would be the first thing I should check. Is it hard to do that by yourself? I have not had the bike that long so I am not very familiar with maintenance practices yet other than changing the oil.

pull the wire off the spark plug remove spark plug make sure it has the right gap if it looks fine hit the starter if it sparks its fine. repeat on other side

[LT505]

Originally Posted by fishdip

pull the wire off the spark plug remove spark plug make sure it has the right gap if it looks fine hit the starter if it sparks its fine. repeat on other side

Thanks, I will give this a go tomorrow.

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by LT505

I was riding my 1992 Ninja 250 on a 45 minute ride after work. Saw the oil light flash on and off a few times but I figured I could just check it when I got home. About 2 minutes away from my house the engine died just at the bottom of the last hill I had to go up (Got a rope and pulled the bike to the top of the hill then just drifted down to my house in N).

I really have no idea what the problem is, gas seems fine and I switched it on reserve and put a bit extra in just in case. The battery is brand new and the bike sounds like it wants to start when I try it just won't turn over. Right now my plan is to just let it sit over night, check the oil tomorrow, and go from there. Any suggestions on what I can try?

Thanks!

When you say it won't turn over, do you mean the starter works but it won't fire, or the engine won't crank over (pistons are not moving)?

[LT505]

Originally Posted by CC Cowboy

When you say it won't turn over, do you mean the starter works but it won't fire, or the engine won't crank over (pistons are not moving)?

I am not sure honestly, it sounds like it wants to start but the engine won't start up. Should I be able to hear the difference?

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by LT505

Not sure, I guess the sparks would be the first thing I should check. Is it hard to do that by yourself? I have not had the bike that long so I am not very familiar with maintenance practices yet other than changing the oil.

How are the color and level of the oil now?

[LT505]

Originally Posted by Motofool

How are the color and level of the oil now?

I just went out and checked and the level is really low, I need to top it off tomorrow. The color looks good, probably have 200-300ish miles on it since my last oil change.

Should I just top it off and try to start it again? When I originally filled it the level was right at the bottom part of the recommended level. I guess its not good that it is losing oil somehow. (Filled it up in November)

[Motofool]

At this point, you should drain it out and inspect it really close for metal particles.

I hope it is not the case, but the engine could have starved when the light was on and you continued riding, just lucking up.

If the oil is clean, you could re-use it as well as the filter.

[LT505]

Originally Posted by Motofool

At this point, you should drain it out and inspect it really close for metal particles.

I hope it is not the case, but the engine could have starved when the light was on and you continued riding, just lucking up.

If the oil is clean, you could re-use it as well as the filter.

Okay, damn it. I figured since it just flashed quickly once or twice I'd be okay to get it home.

If there is metal particles in the oil how should I proceed?

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by LT505

Okay, damn it. I figured since it just flashed quickly once or twice I'd be okay to get it home.

If there is metal particles in the oil how should I proceed?

Sorry that I alarmed you; it is the worst scenario.
Let's hope nothing bad has happened, until we see any evidence.

It just occurred to me that keep cranking the engine with contaminated oil and clogged oil filter could be no good.

All depends on the time that those flashes lasted, how many of them, as well as how loaded the bearings were when the pressure was low.

It could also work the other way around: engine was dying momentarily, which caused the oil light to be on (much better situation).
In that case, the problem would be lack of sparks, lack of fuel, etc.

Please, feel free to disregard my advice and try the other options posted above.

Others members with more experience will probably post more details about the type of metals: some aluminum is normal, abundant steel is not but not too bad, while bronze layers will indicate damaged main bearings (I may be wrong here).

[alex.s]

certainly sounds like a blown crank.

test the oil with a lab. you'll know exactly whats wrong without having to open it up. when they tell you theres aluminum and steel and copper partlcles in it you'll know the crank is gone and you can start looking for a new motor.



burning oil to the point it runs out of oil and dies under power... if its not leaking oil (you would notice) its probably a blown crank bearing. maybe something wrong with the clutch overheating it, but you would notice a clutch issue pretty quickly.

[LT505]

I just tried topping the oil off and it started up for a second and I was able to rev it a few times then I stopped revving and it died.

I had to put like 1/4th of a quart of oil in there to get it to top off so it seems like its burning a lot of oil...

[lgk]

any smoke or weird smells?

[LT505]

Originally Posted by lgk

any smoke or weird smells?

No not that I noticed.

If it started up earlier does that mean the engine might be savable?

I want to get this thing up and running again but if I can't I might end up getting a new bike. At least I will be able to learn how to do more maintenance along the way so if I do end up having to get a new one I will be able to stay on top of all this.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by LT505

No not that I noticed.

If it started up earlier does that mean the engine might be savable?

I want to get this thing up and running again but if I can't I might end up getting a new bike. At least I will be able to learn how to do more maintenance along the way so if I do end up having to get a new one I will be able to stay on top of all this.

i would drain the oil, and check the screen.

[LT505]

Originally Posted by lgk

i would drain the oil, and check the screen.

Yeah I am going to do that tomorrow.

[lgk]

download the maintenance manual, and give it a look over.

when you changed the oil, how much did you put in?

[LT505]

Originally Posted by lgk

download the maintenance manual, and give it a look over.

when you changed the oil, how much did you put in?

A little over a quart and a half.

[choneofakind]

Hang on, maybe I missed it already, but when you changed the oil, did you also change the filter? manual says that it should take nearly 2 quarts with a new filter, only 1.6 without. So if you changed the filter and then only put in 1.6, that would explain why you needed another 1/4 of a quart. If it's not making funky smoke, it's not burning oil, you just didn't put enough in to start off.

[LT505]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

Hang on, maybe I missed it already, but when you changed the oil, did you also change the filter? manual says that it should take nearly 2 quarts with a new filter, only 1.6 without. So if you changed the filter and then only put in 1.6, that would explain why you needed another 1/4 of a quart. If it's not making funky smoke, it's not burning oil, you just didn't put enough in to start off.

Oh wow I didn't know that. Yes I did put a new filter in....

Damn now I have to hope I didn't screw it up beyond repair already.

Thanks for all the help guys! I really appreciate it.

[LT505]

Okay so I topped it off the rest of the way with oil today (It still wasn't full after before) and it started up no problem. I added around 1/6th of a quart i'd say this time.

So the good news is it looks like I didn't kill the engine. The bad news is I still don't know how it happened. I think I was low on oil from when I filled it originally (I am a dumbass) but it seems like there is still a pretty big problem.

I guess I still shouldn't ride it and try and find out whats wrong? The only problem is I really don't know what to do next.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by LT505

.........So the good news is it looks like I didn't kill the engine. .............The only problem is I really don't know what to do next.

Just ride away with a smile and the certainty of being very lucky !!!

Just keep an eye on that sight glass and be alert for weird noises or lack of power for a couple of rides.

[LT505]

Finally got a chance to ride it, got about 3 miles to the gas station, checked the oil again and it was low....

I think I spotted a leak near the top of the engine.... Any chance this is fixable? I will try and get some pics tomorrow.

[LT505]

Alright, here is a pic:

I noticed oil dripping from the spot I circled but I think its coming from higher up. Any ideas?

[lgk]

hopefully its just a valve cover leak.

have you removed it recently?

[LT505]

Originally Posted by lgk

hopefully its just a valve cover leak.

have you removed it recently?

No, should I just make sure its on tight I guess?

[lgk]

Originally Posted by LT505

No, how do I check that?

look at the front of the motor, and see if the oil is coming out there.
if it wet then it might where the leak is.

[LT505]

Originally Posted by lgk

look at the front of the motor, and see if the oil is coming out there.
if it wet then it might where the leak is.

How would I go about fixing that then? It kind of looks like that is where it is coming from.

[lgk]

Originally Posted by LT505

How would I go about fixing that then? It kind of looks like that is where it is coming from.

must be pretty bad to leak that much....

can you take a better pic of that spot so we can be sure?

[LT505]

I will see if I can do that tomorrow. I am getting frustrated with this bike now, might just sell it and step up to a Ninja 300 or 2008+ 250.