starting problems

[dago]

Can somebody point me in the direction of a post I can read with engine starting problem?

My 250 was starting fine last month (in NY) and I had it sitting for about 45 days or so.

I use the engine start button and it will make noise and try to turn over but it will not catch. What are the common reasons the engine fails to turn over?

After doing some reading it seems I may need to clean the carb.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Jono]

You mostly likely don't need to clean the carbs. I have had my bike sitting longer than that with the carbs full of gas. But mine was doing the same thing. What I did was just tried to start it like 5 times. Let it sit. Tried again. Let it sit. Yada yada yada... I killed my battery doing this. Charged it off of my car. Tried starting the bike and it finally started. So I don't know what the problem was. Haha.

Hopefully someone has more hints. lol


But clean the carbs as a last resort. It probably doesn't nedd them to be cleaned if it was running fine 45 days ago.

[jdoucet93]

Try jump starting it. Sounds like your battery may have gotten low. Either jump it with a vehicle or push start it. Should do the trick.

[Alex]

Only 45 days, and it was starting fine then? I'd make sure the battery is fully charged, and some fresh fuel is added to the tank, and there's a good chance you can get it to catch.

[greenaero]

^^^ Agree with Alex and drain the old fuel from the carbs , then refill with fresh gasoline. If that fails, check for spark and that the plugs are clean and gapped correctly. After that and no start, then I'd clean the carbs.

[road_rascal]

If I let my bike sit for more than 3 weeks without draining the carbs or adding stabilizer it's a b!tch to start. Oxygenated fuel breaks down pretty quickly.

[dago]

Thanks everyone, I'll give those ideas a shot

[choneofakind]

and if you do get it started, SeaFoam, or other carb cleaner, mixed in with the gas would be a good idea to run through with a tank of gas.

[JLinde1339]

Mine has sat with the same gas in the tank from my last fill up in sept. Also in NY. The only difference is I drained the carbs when I pulled her apart last fall. It had the same has in the tank, just took a bit of cranking to fill the carbs, but eventually started with no problems. I also had the battery on a trickle charger on and off during the cold months. Id suggest first making sure your charge is good, then run a cleaner thru the carbs or drain them and try to pull fresh gas from the tank. The gas in the tank will prolly be better than the same gas in the carbs. More exposure in the carbs

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by JLinde1339

just took a bit of cranking to fill the carbs, but eventually started with no problems.

try buying about 2 feet of hose with an inside diameter of 3/16 or 1/4, and use it to pull a vacuum on the vacuum nipple of the petcock with the petcock on "on". Then try starting it. If you get enough gas in the bowls, it will start right up first or second try a little grouchy from being stored, but it starts

[alex.s]

if it cranks when starting, his battery is fine. the starter takes much more power than the coils or CDI. if it was fine last time it was touched 45 days ago, the only thing that has changed is the condition of the fuel. trying to keep starting it might clear the blockage from old gas, but it might also send more crap into the jets. the smart way is to pull the carbs, drain the bowls, stick a wire through the jets to clear the blockage, and reassemble with clean gas.

also, if you are jumping the bike from a car, MAKE SURE THE CAR IS OFF. otherwise you will blow your voltage regulator. i learned that lesson the hard way.

[road_rascal]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

try buying about 2 feet of hose with an inside diameter of 3/16 or 1/4, and use it to pull a vacuum on the vacuum nipple of the petcock with the petcock on "on". Then try starting it. If you get enough gas in the bowls, it will start right up first or second try a little grouchy from being stored, but it starts

I have a small hand held Mity-Vac that works great for that.

[dago]

So I bought a battery tender and charged her up last night and went to start her this morning. She turned over two or three times but as soon as i let go of the starter button she died again. Does this sound like bad gas? I'd really like to avoid cleaning the carbs if possible, its a damn beautiful day out in ny and all i want to do is ride. I have a bottle of seafoam...but that seems pretty useless if I cant start her lol. Any other quick suggestions to get her running so I can drop the seafoam in and enjoy the ride today?

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by dago

So I bought a battery tender and charged her up last night and went to start her this morning. She turned over two or three times but as soon as i let go of the starter button she died again. Does this sound like bad gas? I'd really like to avoid cleaning the carbs if possible, its a damn beautiful day out in ny and all i want to do is ride. I have a bottle of seafoam...but that seems pretty useless if I cant start her lol. Any other quick suggestions to get her running so I can drop the seafoam in and enjoy the ride today?

Are you using choke? Did you forget to turn the petcock on? Did you add gas?

[dago]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Are you using choke? Did you forget to turn the petcock on? Did you add gas?

Yes using the choke, first 3 times i tried petcock was on off, but i tried on the On and Reserve and had the same problems, haven't added gas, just went to the station and got some, going to take off the tank now and empty it...
is fresh gas going to get to the carbs or am i going to have to clean them too?

thanks

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by dago

Yes using the choke, first 3 times i tried petcock was on off, but i tried on the On and Reserve and had the same problems, haven't added gas, just went to the station and got some, going to take off the tank now and empty it...
is fresh gas going to get to the carbs or am i going to have to clean them too?

thanks

Never messed with carbs, so I dunno but I was thinking that you may have drained the tank before. I'd hope that fresh gas with Seafoam would get pulled in with choke while holding the starter but if there's a real blockage or condensation in there is isn't going to help much.

[dago]

Originally Posted by CZroe

Never messed with carbs, so I dunno but I was thinking that you may have drained the tank before. I'd hope that fresh gas with Seafoam would get pulled in with choke while holding the starter but if there's a real blockage or condensation in there is isn't going to help much.

that's probably worth a shot, this gas has to be a minimum of 3+ months old, its been sitting since i bought it and i only rode it around the block a few times while waiting to get my license.

i have a guy from my MSS course who randomly lives up the block coming by with an "expert" so we'll see what they think.

bonus of the day: this "expert" is supposed to be a hot single chick, score

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by dago

So I bought a battery tender and charged her up last night and went to start her this morning. She turned over two or three times but as soon as i let go of the starter button she died again. Does this sound like bad gas? I'd really like to avoid cleaning the carbs if possible, its a damn beautiful day out in ny and all i want to do is ride. I have a bottle of seafoam...but that seems pretty useless if I cant start her lol. Any other quick suggestions to get her running so I can drop the seafoam in and enjoy the ride today?

basically, did it lazily fire a couple times but the didn't want to fire on it's own? That's what happens to me sometimes when I start my bike from winterization.

If it will do that, it's almost there.

Try this method of choking the bike.

if all else fails, give it 3/4 choke, and modulate the throttle back and fourth to get it running. keep on the starter for up to 5 seconds at a time (make sure to give it like 30 seconds to cool between tries) while modulating the choke.

If you're where I think you are with getting it started, you're almost there. Just gotta play with it a little bit to keep it running.

[jdoucet93]

One of our ex-ninjetter's on youtube just helped his friend put his ninjette back together after its been sitting since august. Check out this video:

Link to original page on YouTube.

[blink]

I wish my friend got ready that fast when we were going for a cruise...

[dago]

Originally Posted by choneofakind

basically, did it lazily fire a couple times but the didn't want to fire on it's own? That's what happens to me sometimes when I start my bike from winterization.

If it will do that, it's almost there.

Try this method of choking the bike.

if all else fails, give it 3/4 choke, and modulate the throttle back and fourth to get it running. keep on the starter for up to 5 seconds at a time (make sure to give it like 30 seconds to cool between tries) while modulating the choke.

If you're where I think you are with getting it started, you're almost there. Just gotta play with it a little bit to keep it running.

Great news everyone. So the hot girl who rolled through somehow had the magic touch. She started it (after i charged it again with the tender) but she said it sounded like gas had water in it or something, because when you revved it it came down oddly and would die after a minute or so, she said the best bet was to take it out now before it died and open it up.

I let her whip it around the block for 5 minutes and when it got back it was like magic, idling perfectly and now i'm a happy camper. Just took my first ride on the highway, solid 60 mile trip. My little 250 runs like a champ now. We ended up at some bike shop and the guy told me to start it at least once a week even just to ride it around the block because these small ninjas really hate the winter. So all is good right now, thanks for everyone's help. I appreciate it.

[choneofakind]

water in the gas? Sounds more like plugged main jets to me that got cleared out by riding.

whatever, as long as it starts, runs, and is fun, have a great time riding!!