[2009 250R] Sticky Throttle (?) + Poor Idling

[255]

Hey everyone!

I got an '09 250R about a month ago.. Tried starting it for the first time today and it wouldn't turn on without the choke absolutely fully on (is that bad?). I let it idle for about 10 minutes because I was expecting it to start idling higher.. it didn't really. I had the choke backed off maybe halfway and it was somewhere around 1300 RPM. Any further and it would sputter. I took it down the street and back a couple of times and it still didn't change. I'm assuming that you're supposed to be able to back the choke completely off, yes?

Also worrying me a little is the throttle.. it clicks back no problem when I let go, like it should. But with the bike running, whenever I give it gas it revs up, and then takes a whiiile to get back down to idling. This is after I let go of the throttle completely. Perhaps it's a function of the choke only being halfway out? I watched the throttle cable as I twisted and let go, and it doesn't look like it's sticking at all.

I'm pretty sure the bike idled and revved fine when I bought it. It's only got 2800 miles on it and the seller seemed to have taken very good care of it. Her boyfriend winterized it last year and it seemed to run and rev fine when I got it. Didn't actually ride it since I hadn't taken the MSF course yet and had no gear, so that was my fault.. I was eager to have a bike and gear and everything so I could start riding right after the course. But she'd taken it out earlier and said it was fine.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated. I just got it registered the other day and it needs to be inspected soon.. I want to make sure the bike is safe to ride. I guess the inspection people can figure the rest out as long as I can make it there.

[bkh2]

How long has it been sitting? A bike I bought recently exhibits the same issues; it had been sitting for six months. I plan to clean the carbs soon (although it's completely ride-able now, so I'm in no rush) and I hope to see these behaviors vanish.

Just clean the carbs and see if the problem persists.

[lgk]

seafoam it

[lilmitchy777]

Originally Posted by 255

Hey everyone!

I got an '09 250R about a month ago.. Tried starting it for the first time today and it wouldn't turn on without the choke absolutely fully on (is that bad?). I let it idle for about 10 minutes because I was expecting it to start idling higher.. it didn't really. I had the choke backed off maybe halfway and it was somewhere around 1300 RPM. Any further and it would sputter. I took it down the street and back a couple of times and it still didn't change. I'm assuming that you're supposed to be able to back the choke completely off, yes?

Also worrying me a little is the throttle.. it clicks back no problem when I let go, like it should. But with the bike running, whenever I give it gas it revs up, and then takes a whiiile to get back down to idling. This is after I let go of the throttle completely. Perhaps it's a function of the choke only being halfway out? I watched the throttle cable as I twisted and let go, and it doesn't look like it's sticking at all.

I'm pretty sure the bike idled and revved fine when I bought it. It's only got 2800 miles on it and the seller seemed to have taken very good care of it. Her boyfriend winterized it last year and it seemed to run and rev fine when I got it. Didn't actually ride it since I hadn't taken the MSF course yet and had no gear, so that was my fault.. I was eager to have a bike and gear and everything so I could start riding right after the course. But she'd taken it out earlier and said it was fine.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated. I just got it registered the other day and it needs to be inspected soon.. I want to make sure the bike is safe to ride. I guess the inspection people can figure the rest out as long as I can make it there.

check you idle knob. mine was rusted really bad and got stuck. most likely the carbs need cleaned though if it is having trouble idling at low rpms.

[255]

Originally Posted by bkh2

How long has it been sitting?

Originally Posted by lgk

seafoam it

Mine's only been sitting about a month, in a garage. Do you think I should try clean them / seafoam myself? I don't really have any experience working on cars/bikes but I'd be down for a bit of a challenge. I do want to ride it soon though..

[lgk]

If its rideable, i would try to drain the old gas out of the tank.
And use new gas and seafoam.

If it starts/runs, post a video of the sound for us.
It'll help us determine the best course of action.

[bkh2]

I bought some seafoam today and I must say I am very impressed. It idles perfectly now and the response is good. I was going to pull the carbs out to clean them by hand but seafoam is just so much easier.

1. Buy seafoam.
2. Pour 1 oz of seafoam per 1 gallon of gas, which works out to be roughly 1/3 of the bottle.
3. Start it up and ride it (if possible) or let it idle for a few minutes. This lets the seafoamed gasoline to circulate throughout the system.
4. Wait ~half an hour so that the seafoam has time to break down the gunk.
5. Start it up and see if the response is better.
6. Once the response is good, go ride it until it's fully warm so you can set the idle properly.

[Alex]

Seafoam can't hurt, always worth a try. But if the bike was running fine a month ago, and is running OK now but sluggish with no other changes, often all it takes is a reasonably long ride to get the engine back in its happy zone. These bikes don't like sitting for long periods, as they have reasonably small carbs with tiny passages that start to get gummed up quickly. Taking at least a short ride every 3 or 4 weeks is a good preventative measure.

[255]

Originally Posted by Alex

often all it takes is a reasonably long ride to get the engine back in its happy zone.

So yeah I ended up taking it to a gas station on the way to a mechanic, and by then it was fine and I could take the choke off.. Still having some idling issues now, but I think it was just from the mechanic fiddling with the idling knob when he was checking it out. He said the same thing; put some good fuel in it, put some new miles on it, and that may be all she needs. He also suggested putting some dry gas in the tank to help clean things up, so I may do that.

Thanks!