Several issues

[The_big_dill]

Hi all,

First off, wanted to say, loving the ninja 250

There have been several issues bugging me though.

1. The handle bars have gone out of alignment, to go in a straight line, my left hand is slightly ahead of the right one, this is really annoying, also seems unsafe.

2. I was riding a few times early in the morning at sunrise and as i pull onto one street i give hard throttle and one time i reached 10k rpm, let off the gas and on the clutch as i roll down the hill then i see the oil light come on. Boy did i get scared when i saw this, before i reached a complete stop, i realized the engine simply shut off and i cranked it and all was good after that.

3. When i go on the front brakes, it feels unsteady (pulsating), as if i was on and off the front brakes. It is dependent on my speed, so the faster i went, the faster this pulsing occurred. There is also squeaking from the front brakes, but the pads have about 4mm of material left on them, i will try to sand them down a bit to remove the possibility of glazing.

Cheers,

Phil.

[alex.s]

1. maybe your bars are bent? do you have standard bars or clipons? if clipons maybe they twisted. otherwise, check front and rear wheel alignment.
A) measure the distance from the center of the swing arm pivot to the center of the rear axle on each side. both sides should be equal length. if not, the rear wheel is not aligned in the swing arm.
B) put your feet on both sides of the front wheel. firmly grasp the handle bars from the front (as if your bike was giving you head, and the handlebars were the bike's hair that you are pulling) and go ahead and twist until its aligned. ideally you would do this while the bike is on a front triple stand with the entire front end bolts loose, but ... well.


2. don't do that.


3. your front rotor is warped. replace the rotor and pads. probably also a good idea to flush your brake fluid.

[The_big_dill]

Originally Posted by alex.s

1. maybe your bars are bent? do you have standard bars or clipons? if clipons maybe they twisted. otherwise, check front and rear wheel alignment.
A) measure the distance from the center of the swing arm pivot to the center of the rear axle on each side. both sides should be equal length. if not, the rear wheel is not aligned in the swing arm.
B) put your feet on both sides of the front wheel. firmly grasp the handle bars from the front (as if your bike was giving you head, and the handlebars were the bike's hair that you are pulling) and go ahead and twist until its aligned. ideally you would do this while the bike is on a front triple stand with the entire front end bolts loose, but ... well.


2. don't do that.


3. your front rotor is warped. replace the rotor and pads. probably also a good idea to flush your brake fluid.

1. This bike is stock, how can i tell if its clip on?

2. I typically don't go over 7k RPM, i was just wondering why it happened when i did push it.

Thanks for your help

[alex.s]

1. stock means not clipon. looking at your photo it looks stock. check front and rear wheel alignment

2. don't go from 10k to no throttle with the clutch in. it will die. there is a thing on the side of the carbs to try to help keep it from dying when you do this, but going from wide open top rev range to nothing... its hard for it not to die.

[The_big_dill]

Originally Posted by alex.s

1. stock means not clipon. looking at your photo it looks stock. check front and rear wheel alignment

2. don't go from 10k to no throttle with the clutch in. it will die.

Alright, i am new to riding, i just wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with the bike.

I forgot to mention that when i was getting the bike certified, the guy told me that the steering stem bearing will need to be replaced soon, any chance thats whats causing it?

[alex.s]

no.

[az3200]

Originally Posted by alex.s

2. don't go from 10k to no throttle with the clutch in. it will die. there is a thing on the side of the carbs to try to help keep it from dying when you do this, but going from wide open top rev range to nothing... its hard for it not to die.

Wait, what..?

I do that all the time. What happens when you're going 60 and the light in front of you turns red? How else would you start slowing down? Are you saying the engine should stall out if I pull the clutch in at 10k rpm while the throttle is wide open. Mike bike stays running, maybe there's something wrong with it. I'm sorry but what you said is confusing me :/

[alex.s]

roll off the throttle and then pull the clutch in.


going from wide open throttle, snapping the throttle closed and pulling in the clutch at the same time will kill the bike every time. its just too rich going down that fast and it can't maintain the right ratio when you drop the vacuum like that. its a problem of all carbs.

[n4mwd]

I think alex.s is probably right about the bars being bent.

Just turn the bars all the way right and measure the distance from the end to the tank. Then turn the bars all the way back to the left. The distance to the tank should be identical.

Not sure about the alignment issue. Is it possible that the bike suffered some front end damage by a prior owner?

The front rotor can be damaged by an accident or also by someone changing the tire being careless.

The normal pad thickness is only about 5mm so 4mm isn't that bad. Unless there is clear signs of damage, I would just reuse them.

But from your description, it sounds like you just bought it so it might be best to go ahead and spring for a new rotor and sintered pads for the front. That way you are starting off with a known braking system in the front where it really counts.

I have found that its a lot safer to put hot brakes on the front and cheapies on the rear. If the rear locks, it can cause a crash. With hot rear brakes, its a lot easier to lock them up.

[The_big_dill]

Thanks for the quick replies guys, im going to try to loosen the triple clamp to straighten it out.

Several other questions came up.

When i change the oil, i have to measure approximately 1.9L because the little lens to view the oil doesn't help at all, it looks the same when its full or empty. Any way of fixing this? Whats causing it?

Also, when i am at a high speed and pulling up to a red light, i like to shift down into 1st gear (clutch is still pulled in all the way) so that i don't forget which gear i am in when i take off. When i do though, between 2nd neutral and 1st the shifter seems to rattle back and forth, sort of sounds like grinding gears.
I don't do this anymore, however was wondering if anyone else can say a word or 2 about this.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by The_big_dill

......When i change the oil, i have to measure approximately 1.9L because the little lens to view the oil doesn't help at all, it looks the same when its full or empty. Any way of fixing this? Whats causing it?

The visor should allow you to see how the level changes in the oil pan as you add it.
For that, the bike should be perfectly vertical on on its tires (not on central stand).
The level should reach above the center line, but some empty space should remain before hitting the top of the visor.

Level should be checked after the filter is soaked, and also before each ride.

A level that is guessed and resulted in too high will induce oil splashing out of the crankcase.
A level that is too low will make the oil light come on frequently during braking (not good for the bearings).

Originally Posted by The_big_dill

Also, when i am at a high speed and pulling up to a red light, i like to shift down into 1st gear (clutch is still pulled in all the way) so that i don't forget which gear i am in when i take off. When i do though, between 2nd neutral and 1st the shifter seems to rattle back and forth, sort of sounds like grinding gears.
I don't do this anymore, however was wondering if anyone else can say a word or 2 about this.

That is normal and it happens when you try to mesh first gear while the bike is still moving too fast for it.
Try shifting down into first at slower speed.

Also, you should blip the throttle for each downshift after which the clutch's lever is released.
By doing that, the gears will be close to have the same rotational speed and the engagement will be smoother.

[csmith12]

Don't get in the habit of lazy shifting, the little grinding sound is a clue. Shift quickly and with authority but you don't have to smash it either.

[n4mwd]

Don't shift into first until you are almost stopped. Doing it at a higher speed is bad for the transmission.

I suspect you are adding oil on the side stand. The oil wont come into the glass until the bike is vertical.

But you can measure it too. Just coincidentally, 2 US quarts equals 1.9 liters. But you need to make sure that you drain the filter chamber before adding new oil. Ordinarily you should replace the filter and this will automatically drain the filter chamber.

Its critical to assemble the filter in the correct order. If you mix it up, the bike could send contaminated oil to the bearings and destroy them. Below is the proper order.



If you bought your bike used, then there is no guarantee that the PO put it back in the right order. So go by the diagram.

[The_big_dill]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

Don't shift into first until you are almost stopped. Doing it at a higher speed is bad for the transmission.

I suspect you are adding oil on the side stand. The oil wont come into the glass until the bike is vertical.

But you can measure it too. Just coincidentally, 2 US quarts equals 1.9 liters. But you need to make sure that you drain the filter chamber before adding new oil. Ordinarily you should replace the filter and this will automatically drain the filter chamber.

Its critical to assemble the filter in the correct order. If you mix it up, the bike could send contaminated oil to the bearings and destroy them. Below is the proper order.



If you bought your bike used, then there is no guarantee that the PO put it back in the right order. So go by the diagram.

Thanks for that reply.

Ever since i got the bike last october, part number 13169 was at the bottom... And i just followed the way it was put on. I just did an oil change too. May need to find a clean empty container to collect the oil in because i just ran out.

Also, the lens that lets you see the oil level looks the SAME whether there is or isn't oil in the bike.

[baxtc1]

The sight glass can be removed for cleaning. You will need to take the clutch cover off to do it, so have a new gasket ready or be prepared to cut one. Once the clutch cover is off, you can push the sight gass out from inside the cover. Once all nice and clean just push it back in.

[n4mwd]

This sight glass should look something like this:



Its going to be artificially high until you start the bike and oil fills the filter chamber. So when you first put the oil in, it may be over the glass creating the illusion that there is nothing there.

[The_big_dill]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

This sight glass should look something like this:



Its going to be artificially high until you start the bike and oil fills the filter chamber. So when you first put the oil in, it may be over the glass creating the illusion that there is nothing there.

Thanks for the great help and tips from everyone, you guys are awesome!

[baxtc1]

Picture of sight glass removed.
[IMG][/IMG]

[The_big_dill]

One last question, i recently got a new air filter and put some belray foam filter oil on it, but am confused if i add some engine oil to it as well?

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by The_big_dill

One last question, i recently got a new air filter and put some belray foam filter oil on it, but am confused if i add some engine oil to it as well?

I was under the impression that new filters came pre-oiled - so no extra oil is necessary.

[The_big_dill]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

I was under the impression that new filters came pre-oiled - so no extra oil is necessary.

Too late.

But my question isn't really answered.

Do i oil with engine oil AND/OR with bel ray foam filter oil?

[tc.young]

No its one or the other. Both will mean a very oily filter.