High Idle problems with my first bike

[stealthyninj]

Hey Guys,

I just bought a 2007 Ninja 250r. I'm stoked to have it and love riding her around. I got it for a good price (1500) but it has some idle issues.


After warming it up and with the choke off the bike will idle at around 3500rpm-4500rpm which is obviously way too high. It'll clunk when I pop it into first (which I'm sure isn't a surprise)

Sometimes she will start idling high and then will just die if I sit in neutral too long and not rev the engine a little. The throttle also will stick from time to time. It won't stay at a high speed but the throttle will stick and rev high for about 2 or 3 seconds before dropping back down. There is no immediate snap back.


I am really concerned and have been scouring ninjette for a while and these seem to be the common answers:
- air filter
- check for vac leaks
- valve adjust
- carb clean and adjust

If these are the correct things to check, what should I do first? and should I consider a mechanic if I need to do a carb clean and adjust?

I'm good with tools and have worked on engines, but this is my first bike and I, unfortunately, don't have a garage to work in. What should I do?!

[biblefreak]

Originally Posted by stealthyninj

Hey Guys,

I just bought a 2007 Ninja 250r. I'm stoked to have it and love riding her around. I got it for a good price (1500) but it has some idle issues.


After warming it up and with the choke off the bike will idle at around 3500rpm-4500rpm which is obviously way too high. It'll clunk when I pop it into first (which I'm sure isn't a surprise)

Sometimes she will start idling high and then will just die if I sit in neutral too long and not rev the engine a little. The throttle also will stick from time to time. It won't stay at a high speed but the throttle will stick and rev high for about 2 or 3 seconds before dropping back down. There is no immediate snap back.


I am really concerned and have been scouring ninjette for a while and these seem to be the common answers:
- air filter
- check for vac leaks
- valve adjust
- carb clean and adjust

If these are the correct things to check, what should I do first? and should I consider a mechanic if I need to do a carb clean and adjust?

I'm good with tools and have worked on engines, but this is my first bike and I, unfortunately, don't have a garage to work in. What should I do?!

So, I am a noob myself, but pretty handy with a wrench. I had some similar problems with the 2007 I just acquired. I cleaned the carbs and air filter, but that didn't help much. Decided to go all in and adjust the valves, and went ahead and replaced the spark plugs at the same time and synced the carbs. Now she purs like a kitten! Not a terribly hard job, just go slow, be patient, and follow the instructions, and certainly use the proper tools.

I followed these instructions:

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Cleaning_the_carbs_1

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Cleaning_the_carbs_2

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/What_is...t_procedure%3F

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_...carburetors%3F

[Ghostt]

Are there ANY modifications to the bike??? How handy are you with carburetors??

you need to address the sticky throttle first, lube the cables, the throttle tube, and the carburetor linkage.

Once that's operating smoothly, carefully and meticulously check all the vacuum lines, and petcock for leaks, cracks, and operating properly, then try to adjust the idle with the idle adjustment knob.

Your issue is NOT carburetor synchronization!!!!! and also the vacuum method is NOT the proper way to sync carburetors, and here's why,

You can sync with the carbs in hand. Back the idle adjustment off to close that carb then match the second carb to it with the sync screw. You can then turn the idle adjustment up while using a thin feeler gauge (maybe .002") between the throttle plate and the throttle bore, adjust to just fit, and then check the second one and adjust to match. If you have good feel for this it will run fine once installed.*

It would do folks well to take a minute to review and understand what a sync tool does, how it works. And take another minute to look at the carb linkage and sync adjustments available to fix irregularities that might occur. It can help take some of the mystery out of this as well as stop unnecessary carb sync screwups.*

Meaning, that the carbs were right once, the butterflies were matched and it performed well, but then changed. Undecided And the problem somehow occurred in the butterfly direct shafts, or the sync screw turned or wore that pad that it rests on, or the carburetor pairing/ bridging brackets twisted in relation to each other, and enough so that the butterflies no longer operated in sync, such that performance noticeably suffered. And a fix will be accomplished by changing the butterfly position, the only thing the sync adjustment does. Hmmm. Really? Undecided*

Meanwhile, the tool measures vacuum at each individual runner. That's all it does, how it works. And vacuum is effected by a huge list of things, butterfly position being only one of them, and the only one addressed with that tool while turning those sync screws. The rest of that list includes, valve adjustment, jetting, float level, compression differences between cylinders caused by wear as well as factory CC differences in the head, intake runner, as well as flow by port variations, etc. Variations in cams, wear or factory tolerance. Then there's the potential big one, pilot jets and pilot screw mixture settings. All of those effect the vacuum and will be read by the sync tool, accurately identifyng the difference that exists, and with the only adjustment being used to "correct" the problem, move the butterfly relationship, one to the next.*

It's that clear understanding that has me of the opinion and long time practice to not touch the sync screws on a set of carbs that were right once and were never dismantled from the rack. And jet cleaning as well as float needle changing doesn't require that they be dismantled. And further, if I DID dismantle a set of carbs, I just matched the butterflies on the bench at assembly, using a feeler gauge, and then never touched them again, never gave them another thought.*

That method, properly executed, will have THAT portion of the complete equation, balanced flow to each cylinder in a multi-cylinder/ carb application due to butterfly position, satisfied entirely adequately. And in fact, it has worked for me every time I've done it on every bike (as well as individual runner/ butterfly V-8 intakes, all eight) that I've ever owned or any that I've fixed for others. And the times I fixed for others was usually after an attempt by others to sync the carbs, chasing a problem, or sometimes not even chasing a problem, but one they created wth a sync tool, chasing a problem from that list, that was never a butterfly position change problem. Those linkages are so direct and simple that they don't know how to screw themselves up. Not enough to care about.*

I'm sure this will start a lot of controversy so I won't argue it, just offering it for those who understand the whole picture that I outlined and might make good use of it. It is what I've done, on every engine I ever worked on, including blue printed racing engines as well as regular old, high mileage street stuff. I've had at least four, four cylinder bikes with over 100,000 miles that ran quite well, the whole time, and never had a carb sync performed. When they did finally get a total disassembly, this is how I set them up, on the bench. Over the years I've straightened out at least a half dozen messed up ones, probably more, and on the bench, after fixing the original problem which was fouled pilot jets.*

I only posted this because it seems like its coming up fairly often, especially with problems from a sync gone bad. One I would suggest was never a sync problem to begin with. A big or sudden change in performance is NEVER a sync problem. NEVER. Remember that. Cool If there is a problem, and you connect the gauges? YES, there will definitely be an imbalance indicated. But because that hole has a problem that is from the rest of the list. A bad plug, a plugged pilot jet, a screwed up float, a bad valve or setting, etc. Every one of them effecting the vacuum in the intake but NOT from a sudden move of a butterfly position, a sync adjustment

[Ghostt]

If your in carburetor parts or services PM @ducatiman

[crazymadbastard]

Originally Posted by stealthyninj

What should I do?!

There is an idle adjustment knob under the tank left side(as you sit on the bike close to the petcock, try messing with that.