Help! Gas leak, won't start after sitting a long time

[Limitless]

Hi everyone, I just picked up a 2006 Ninja 250R that hasn't been started for 6 years Only 4000km on it, gas tank was not full so the top half has started to slightly rust even though it was stored inside.

Need some help! It was fine when it was stored inside, no leaks. I got the bike and connected it to a car battery with the car off.
Started it with the choke on and it started, surprisingly, and blew a ton of white smoke everywhere. Let it idle for 10 minutes, was only able to turn the choke down maybe 1mm or 2mm before it would stall out. After that, I let it sit in my garage and came back a few hours later to see old gas all over my garage floor.

Bought a siphon today and took out all the gas from the tank (it was orange, disgusting). Put in new gas and a new battery, and now it only cranks but does not start. After a few failed attempts at starting with the choke on, gas started leaking all over the floor.

Found out that the leak came from this black tank behind the coolant tank, can someone please tell me what this is? Also, is there supposed to be a hole in the corner?




I can't seem to figure out what this orange tube is either, but from searching countless threads I think it's the coolant overflow hose? There is this much fluid in the hose right now.




Oil seems dark but not too full, unsure if gas is leaking in there. Planning to do an oil change right away if I can get the engine started on the bike.

Peacock is set to on when I tried to start it with the choke on. Also tried starting it with choke off and opening the throttle half way, no luck. Is this because I flooded the carbs? It seems that every time I try to start it and it fails a few times, a ton of gas starts to leak out and stops after maybe half a litre or so is on the floor. The gas also smells quite bad.


All help is highly appreciated!! I've been working on cars for a number of years and am pretty familiar with them, but I have never looked into bikes or carbs at all. Got my first bike a bit over a month ago and am still learning my way around.

[ducatiman]

"hasn't been started for 6 years"

to even consider starting attempts without a carb pull/exam/clean, still using the old fuel is an ill fated idea.

The "box" is the airbox, the orange tube (with fuel in it) is the carb vent hose....neither should have evidence of fuel spillage

I'll go out on a limb here and submit your carbs need some attention

[Z1R rider]

Originally Posted by ducatiman

"hasn't been started for 6 years"

I'll go out on a limb here and submit your carbs need some attention

That's a pretty solid limb Gordon!

With gas over flowing onto the floor you have at the bare minimum two problems, first is the petcock should not flow fuel without vacuum applied, second is the needle and seat in the fuel bowl are not shutting off the fuel flow in the carbs.

[Lazarus]

^^^ what they said.

[ducatiman]

Originally Posted by Z1R rider

That's a pretty solid limb Gordon!

With gas over flowing onto the floor you have at the bare minimum two problems, first is the petcock should not flow fuel without vacuum applied, second is the needle and seat in the fuel bowl are not shutting off the fuel flow in the carbs.

just a wild guess

[Limitless]

Thanks for all the replies guys, picking up this bike without any prior knowledge was probably not a good idea.

Do you think the bike is saveable, or should I just grab something else at this point? From the replies so far it doesn't seem too complicated, but I was reading a ton of threads on why some of the other 250s won't start and they seem to go wayy beyond my understanding.

[Triple Jim]

The problems sound like typical ones for a bike that's been sitting for a few years. If you don't think you're up to working on the problems yourself, you can send the carbs to Gordon (Ducatiman) for a like-new rebuild job, and buy a replacement petcock that you should be able to install yourself. There's no guarantee that those are the only problems... you may have to clean out the gas tank if it's gunked up, for example, but at that point you will most likely be close to having a rideable motorcycle.

[jkv45]

Don't give up yet!

As others have noted - what you are experiencing is typical when a cycle sits and was not properly prepped for storage.

Carbs...carbs...carbs...That's the first thing that becomes a problem when sitting. Cleaning carbs properly is a little tricky, though not extremely difficult. If you don't feel like getting into that right now, ducatiman is your guy. When you get them back they will be spotless, adjusted, and ready to install.

With a few other things done (cleaned fuel tank, checked in-line fuel filter, new/strong battery, properly functioning petcock) it should fire right up. Always best to use ethanol-free 87 octane (or the lowest ethanol-free available) in the Ninja. Know that when you go to start it after having the carbs it will require some cranking time to allow fuel to flow from the (vacuum operated) petcock - so a strong battery is required.

There are a few other things that should be done as well for your safety. Namely new tires, fresh oil/filter, flushed brake fluid, flushed cooling system, cleaned/lubed/adjusted chain, and a few other small items. This link - https://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Ninja250_Howto has a lot of info to help you through it.

Get it running right first, but be prepared to do a few other things before hitting the road.

[Limitless]

I have siphoned out the gas and put in 87 octane, although I believe I read I can disconnect one of the tubes to the peacock to let gas flow out from there. I may do this a few times to rid a bit of gunk in there.

Is it extremely damaging to the engine for me to have started it with gunked up carbs and idled it for a extended period of time? :S I looked on the link on how to clean the carbs and it doesn't look toooo bad..

I forgot to mention that the bike started after I made this thread, after I charged a new motomaster battery overnight from crappy tire (they said they charged it for me, guess not). Of course same symptoms, but no fuel spillage this time.

If I can actually get it running (with the help of this amazing forum ) I'll be flushing the coolant and brake fluid, along with getting a new set of tires for sure. Oil, filter, and chain cleaning/lubing thankfully I've done before. Only thing I don't know about are the jets and any other carburetor related parts :/ Hoping that it'll be a smooth learning curve with the link given, thanks!!

[Triple Jim]

Originally Posted by Limitless

Is it extremely damaging to the engine for me to have started it with gunked up carbs and idled it for a extended period of time?

It's very unlikely that any harm was done.

[Lazarus]

Definitely not a loss. She just needs some TLC. You'll find, if you dont know already, these bikes are very reliable with just basic maintenance. The fun starts when you decide to start modding lol. Focus on getting her revived first though.

Carbs aren't difficult to remove if you are mechanically inclined, cleaning them is a whole other story which has been and continues to be debated on this lovely forum.

Sitting for 6 years though? Probably best to send them to ducatiman, money well spent and you wont frustrate yourself by possibly having to clean the carbs multiple times. Not saying you cant clean them but they would need to be completely diassembled and left to soak for quite a while.

*I am in no way affiliated with ducatiman and havent used his services but his track record speaks for itself*

[Z1R rider]

Originally Posted by ducatiman

just a wild guess