Jammin down the wrong highway:

[JamminJimmy]

hey guys and ladies
I am a proud owner of a 250r. But its seen better days. When i got it it was running perfect, no prob. Four months later i saw a drip drip from the carb. So i took off the carb, cleaned it and thats when all the problems start. I raced back in the day, two rm 80s, couldnt cut it and swapped em for a cr250. That was 30 plus years ago. I worked on my own bikes, but got cold. Thought it never left you. bike going on second summer no ride, what a waste. thought it was carb issues so i kept cleaning. eventually i just gave in and got a new carb. That was not even the issue. Checked the petcock and it was blown to pieces. Replaced new. and now the present:
Starts up but rev is i believe 9 thousand if im lucky. no power, bogs down on any kind of hill. Im stumped and ready to hang my hat and let a mechanic take over. but man that hurts. I should be able to troubleshoot this. Dont know when the valves have been adjusted, but the miles on my bike was like 8 grand when i got it. and therfore should be okay. How could it have ran like a champ, then ........

[NevadaWolf]

JamminJimmy! Glad to have you aboard...

[thedrewski86]

Welcome, sorry to hear of your issues. Valves are simple enough to check, I would start there. Once that is ruled out, there is a 99.99% chance that the carbs are still the issue These little ninjettes have the most finicky modern carbs I have ever dealt with, and they have to be kept beyond clean to work. I finally wound up sending my set off to fellow forum member ducatiman who offers quick and reasonable refurbishing services. Now I just run Sta-bil in my gas and give them a quick blow-through with carb cleaner and compressed air after I pull the bike out and it's good to go!

[Ceeloo Yello]

Welcome

[DannoXYZ]

hi and welcome!!!

These carbs aren't easy, need to disassemble down to every last nut, bolt & individual component. Scrub everything including hidden secret passages with PEA-based fuel-system cleaner (spray "carb cleaners " no longer work due to removal of chlorinated compounds). Ultrasonic soak everything, micro soda-blast, set float-levels, sync.

Search for "clean carbs ducatiman" for procedure and photos to get carbs factory-fresh clean. I usually send them to Gordon @ https://completecustomcarbs.com since he does better job of restoration than any human can possibly do.

[Baby NinjaRR]

Pregens really benefit from better jetting, especially if that ridiculous airbox is messed with. I think one can get 2 birds with 1 stone by going at those CVKs w a jet kit while cleaning everything. I have good results w Dynojet stage 3-ish kit w pod filters but the intake noise can be a bit obnoxious for some riders, and the Factory Pro kits seem to be a more popular approach. The stock exhaust system doesn't seem to be too much of a limiting factor aside from the extra weight of 2 mufflers- I hammered my baffles out, felt no discernable diff in power band, and couldn't deal with the racket lol.
p.s. I was led to believe the issues with valve lash closing up and burning exhaust valves were more of a thing with the '89(?) and older models, as they apparently had softer valve seats. My '06 w 26kmiles was still on the loose side of ideal but I don't know when it had been adjusted last, probably about the same time someone snapped of a valve cover bolt in cam tower lol.

[JamminJimmy]

Ty for sharing

[JamminJimmy]

Am now interested in knowing: If I buy new carb and petcock, and just put them on, am i leaving anything out. Because they were new i just assumed that I didnt have to do anything to them. Also, everytime i cleaned the carb, I never took the two carbs apart from each other. Is this right? Nor have i compared the jetting. Any feedback on this???

[ducatiman]

Please define new.....factory new at $1147 list price?

The only other carb I can think of which would be as close to new as possible ...a TRUSTWORTHY bolt-on runner/ confirmed jetting/ containing brand new consumables is my FULLY REFURBED #99 link right here:

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=367513

IF you are truly interested, contact me....I'll throw in a fully REFURBED petcock at no charge!

[Baby NinjaRR]

I did have to separate my carbs but can't recall the reason. The biggest issue is getting frozen screws out, an impact driver w a hammer and small vice grips are a given if the carbs haven't been torn down once already. The other thing was dealing with the tiny parts, and not losing them. I had to make a few runs to the hardware store for shim washers, 2.5mm screws, etc.

[Baby NinjaRR]

P.s. I would've went the refurbished route myself had I known it was a thing those tiny carb parts can be soul suckingly frustrating to deal w lol.

[DannoXYZ]

Heh, heh, ... send them to ducatiman, they'll come back brand-new!

[Snake]

Hello and welcome!