Stranded :(

[Cuongism]

Good call Kelly, especially since she always needs choke even on warm days. I hardly ever use choke here, but I do have a dynojet kit.

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by kkim

check to see if the clamps on either side of both carbs that attach them to the rubber boots are loose. give the clamp screws a 1/4 turn each to be sure.

also, look for loose/disconnected or damaged vacuum hoses in that area.

I'll have to get that translated and then I'll give it a try

[kkim]

in this picture on the top right hand side, see the front of the carb connected to the big black tube? There is a black clamp holding the carb to the rubber tube. make sure that's tight on both carbs.

there are the same type of clamps on the rear of the carbs connecting the carbs to the airbox.

check to see that they are tight, also.

ignore the screw he's playing with at the bottom of the picture.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Blackwidow

HA!!! where are all those folks that told me i should buy used.

right here.

[Cuongism]

Measuring the beer to gas ratio

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Cuongism

Measuring the beer to gas ratio

lol btw, that's not me in the pic.

[highpsiguy]

I had the very same problem on my 1981 Honda CX500 when a mouse decided to build a house of straw in my air box. Same problems you are describing... they had chewed up my paper filter and it eventually made it to the carbs... then whammo it didn't run anymore. They can build quickly, maybe in just a weekend of it sitting somewhere still.

I had field mice in my bike, and my work truck. Ended up costing me $hundreds of dollars. In truck they destroyed my vacuum lines that worked my air conditioning. Pulled out a huge nest! The truck had only been sitting 4 days!!! Check the airbox!!! I keep my grass cut, and yards clean. I told my cat he was fired if it ever happened again!

I hope I win this contest!

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by kkim

in this picture on the top right hand side, see the front of the carb connected to the big black tube? There is a black clamp holding the carb to the rubber tube. make sure that's tight on both carbs.

there are the same type of clamps on the rear of the carbs connecting the carbs to the airbox.

check to see that they are tight, also.

ignore the screw he's playing with at the bottom of the picture.

Thanks for the picture!! I might take a look at it tonight or tomorrow morning to see if those are loose

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by highpsiguy

I had the very same problem on my 1981 Honda CX500 when a mouse decided to build a house of straw in my air box. Same problems you are describing... they had chewed up my paper filter and it eventually made it to the carbs... then whammo it didn't run anymore. They can build quickly, maybe in just a weekend of it sitting somewhere still.

I had field mice in my bike, and my work truck. Ended up costing me $hundreds of dollars. In truck they destroyed my vacuum lines that worked my air conditioning. Pulled out a huge nest! The truck had only been sitting 4 days!!! Check the airbox!!! I keep my grass cut, and yards clean. I told my cat he was fired if it ever happened again!

I hope I win this contest!

I doubt mice did that to my bike because as far as I can tell we have not had any mice in our garage. But I'll check the airbox just in case...

[Rosie]

Ok, dropped the bike off at the Kawi dealer today. Obviously, as soon as the service guy attempted to start it, it fired up right away BUT.. it did not last long and my baby died shortly after. He noticed the idle issue and said it may be the carbs and also noticed the throttle was not returning the way it should and said that should be a quick fix. I told him to just give it an overall tune up, change the oil and check the tire pressure, so I can start a good maintenance record. I should have a call back tuesday or wednesday on the "findings". I hope it'll be a quick fix.

[Lurkable]

How do they tow the bike exactly? I have a AAA membership and always wondered how this would work should the need arise.

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by Lurkable

How do they tow the bike exactly? I have a AAA membership and always wondered how this would work should the need arise.

Make sure you have the RV/Motorcycle coverage, just the regular membership won't work. They come with a flatbed truck, you push the bike all the way to the end of the flatbed and they strap it upright with some special orange straps that tie around both tires. It's very well secured and won't move once they're done. I'm glad I had that coverage, it saved me some extra $$ for sure.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Grn99Kawi]

Originally Posted by Rosie

Ok, dropped the bike off at the Kawi dealer today. Obviously, as soon as the service guy attempted to start it, it fired up right away BUT.. it did not last long and my baby died shortly after. He noticed the idle issue and said it may be the carbs and also noticed the throttle was not returning the way it should and said that should be a quick fix. I told him to just give it an overall tune up, change the oil and check the tire pressure, so I can start a good maintenance record. I should have a call back tuesday or wednesday on the "findings". I hope it'll be a quick fix.

Wow.. tune up? prepare to spend a lot of money... between oil change, plugs and air filter they will probably hit you up for $200.. there isnt a fuel pump or a fuel filter on your bike.... for $2 get one from AdvanceAutoParts for a lawn mower... I think its 1/4in.. plumb that in the fuel hose (fuel is gravity fed from tank)

If they end up cleaning and/or sync'in the carbs.. wow.. get your checkbook ready...

If you can't do the work yourself... well... what are you going to do I guess... I hate being at the mercy of a mechanic shop whether for the car or the truck.. working on the N250 is really easy... get some god tools and a ervice manual.. and it doesnt hurt to have a friend that knows what they are doing to watch and help.

I still think it is the vent hose or something stupid.... the throttle isnt opening correctly? it is either opening or not.. and if it is opening it should open all teh way and spring back... there isnt much to it, right?

Good luck

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by Grn99Kawi

Wow.. tune up? prepare to spend a lot of money... between oil change, plugs and air filter they will probably hit you up for $200..
If they end up cleaning and/or sync'in the carbs.. wow.. get your checkbook ready...

If you can't do the work yourself... well... what are you going to do I guess...

I still think it is the vent hose or something stupid.... the throttle isnt opening correctly? it is either opening or not.. and if it is opening it should open all teh way and spring back... there isnt much to it, right?

Good luck

Yeah I am prepared to spend 2/300 bucks, but considering I got the bike for cheap ($1500) I guess I'll consider the extra money I'm spending for the tune up as if I had paid those for a fully tuned up bike. After the first tune up is done, I want to start learning to do some basic maintenance myself, with the help of the service manual and this forum I just want to get started with everything in good working order, and then go from there.
The throttle is opening all the way, but not returning back all the way. It gets stuck mid-way so the spring might not be working correctly.

[Grn99Kawi]

Originally Posted by Rosie

Yeah I am prepared to spend 2/300 bucks, but considering I got the bike for cheap ($1500) I guess I'll consider the extra money I'm spending for the tune up as if I had paid those for a fully tuned up bike. After the first tune up is done, I want to start learning to do some basic maintenance myself, with the help of the service manual and this forum I just want to get started with everything in good working order, and then go from there.
The throttle is opening all the way, but not returning back all the way. It gets stuck mid-way so the spring might not be working correctly.

Ahh... if its not returning, it is probably not the spring.. that is built into teh carbs and rarely goes bad.. the 250 has 2 throttle cables.. one to open and one to close.. more than likely one is binding or bad.. I found my closing cable was about 2 metal strands from breaking before I replaced them both... I made a post on here about a year ago... You can get them on ebay for cheap since the bike was unchanged for nearly 20 years.. get one off an 06 or 07...

Despite these forums being probably the best about the Ninja, www.ninja250.org has the most comprehensive FAQ anywhere.. it makes pretty much any project more manageable.. plus I might even have the service manual as a pdf I could send you.. I'll check....

[Snake]

Any update on what the mechanic discovered was the problem or problems?

[highpsiguy]

Inquiry minds wanna know.

[Rosie]

I'll probably know tomorrow.. these people sure are taking their sweet time! I called today and they said the bike was on the bench () being worked on... They'll call me tomorrow they said..
I miss her!

[Rosie]

Soooo... I just spoke to the technician who worked on my bike, and he said the carbs were out of sync and the throttle was super dirty, so he had to take it apart and clean it out. Now it's no longer sticking. The idle issue and engine dying was due to the carbs out of sync.
He said that's all he did because he could not find anything else wrong with the bike

$ 260 lost.. but I hope she's all good now. I'll pick her up tomorrow!!!

[JeffM]

Self poof.

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by JeffM

Have the valves ever been adjusted?


Retrieved from http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/My_engi...running_poorly

Not by me for sure.. who knows what happened before I got her.
I didn't feel like even trying to mess with it before it had been checked out by someone who has some kind of knowledge on bikes Now that the shop got it all checked out, if I see any more issues I'll come here for help and see if I can handle some of it by myself

[Snake]

Glad to see that it was a simple fix for the tech. Hope to see some posts of your riding adventures with some pics.

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by Snake

Glad to see that it was a simple fix for the tech. Hope to see some posts of your riding adventures with some pics.

Thank you! I am soooo excited to go pick her up tomorrow you have no idea
I'll be riding about 24 miles back home so it'll be fun. I missed riding so much!

[Rosie]

Took her back home today, 24 miles of back roads and some twisties, nothing too difficult, I'm not ready for that yet, but it sure was fun! For the San Diego locals we took hwy 67 from El Cajon to northern San Diego. The bike had no issues, the idle was working fine and the throttle was no longer sticking

[kkim]

now that you have the bike back and running well, take the time to bring it back up to date with regards to it's deferred/unknown maintenance, so you can ride it assured that it will never let you down again... ever.

have fun

[ryu hayabusa]

that's awesome. great job! (watch tim and eric awesome show)

[HKr1]

Originally Posted by Rosie

Took her back home today, 24 miles of back roads and some twisties, nothing too difficult, I'm not ready for that yet, but it sure was fun! For the San Diego locals we took hwy 67 from El Cajon to northern San Diego. The bike had no issues, the idle was working fine and the throttle was no longer sticking

So you had your bike worked on out in El Cajon? Seems pretty far outta the way.....We use to hit up Tony Smith Racing out there. Very nice two stroke mechanic, hes probably not there any more..
Good to hear your bike is running and your out riding again

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by kkim

now that you have the bike back and running well, take the time to bring it back up to date with regards to it's deferred/unknown maintenance, so you can ride it assured that it will never let you down again... ever.

have fun

I will definitely do that
Thank you for your help trying to identify the problem

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by HKr1

So you had your bike worked on out in El Cajon? Seems pretty far outta the way.....We use to hit up Tony Smith Racing out there. Very nice two stroke mechanic, hes probably not there any more..
Good to hear your bike is running and your out riding again

El Cajon is not close by, and there were other dealerships closer to us, but the one we chose had good reviews online and we were not disappointed. The guy that serviced my bike was upfront on what he was going to do and was very honest and didn't try to sneak in some extra repairs that didn't need to be done. Great place

[00NissanNinja]

Coo Happy you got it going again and that the problems were relatively minor

[Rosie]

Originally Posted by 00NissanNinja

Coo Happy you got it going again and that the problems were relatively minor

Thank you I just hope these bikes don't need to have the carbs sync'ed that often..

[00NissanNinja]

Originally Posted by Rosie

Thank you I just hope these bikes don't need to have the carbs sync'ed that often..

I hope not as well. But it is supposed to get inspected every year or two depending on how much you ride