'07 250 won't start

heroin300 · May 8th, 2014, 09:39 PM

My buddy just got a 2007 Ninja 250 not too long ago. It started having problems on Sunday, having problems staying on, and eventually not even starting. Here's a video we just took of the bike trying to start. http://youtu.be/j6qxU7DyXuk
Things we did recently was change the oil/filter, changed the spark plugs, clean the carbs, adjust the jets to 2 1/2 turns out, removed baffles from stock exhaust(beginning of our problems), replaced baffles(got worst), tried removing gas from motor(nothing came out), changed oil again, all in that order. We also disassembled and reassembled the bike multiple times in between. Buddy and I are both fairly new to bike and don't want to have to take the bike to mechanic, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

jschorr · May 8th, 2014, 10:07 PM

did you check out the petcock. ie make sure the carbs were getting gas?

heroin300 · May 8th, 2014, 10:29 PM

At one point I figured that might be the problem, so I disconnected the vacuum hose from the carbs and sucked it. The gas filter began to fill with gas so I assumed the petcock was working properly. When we try to start the bike after reassembling it, the filter fills with gas, but doesn't seem to happen any time after that. We will disassemble the petcock tomorrow to see if that's the problem.
Thanks.

DaBlue1 · May 9th, 2014, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heroin300

....My buddy just got a 2007 Ninja 250 not too long ago. It started having problems on Sunday, having problems staying on, and eventually not even starting

...... tried removing gas from motor(nothing came out),

If you tried draining gas from the carbs and nothing came out, your carb floats are most likely the problem. They are not allowing the carbs to fill with gas.

heroin300 · May 9th, 2014, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaBlue1

If you tried draining gas from the carbs and nothing came out, your carb floats are most likely the problem. They are not allowing the carbs to fill with gas.

If so, what are the floats doing(or not doing) to cause this? Does that mean the floats are bad and have to be replaced, or is it a simple cleaning and reassembling?

jschorr · May 9th, 2014, 03:24 PM

Not even a full strip down for floats. Take off the bottom, slide out the hinge pin and the float will come right out.

No floats don't go bad, they just....float. Not to high tech. The part that stops up is the hole leading into the float bowl. Inspect the rubber tip on the....stopper...forget the right name.

jschorr · May 9th, 2014, 03:28 PM

Not to be an ass but did you make sure there was gas in the tank?

did you get to pull the petcock and check the vacuum diaphragm and screen?

heroin300 · May 9th, 2014, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschorr

Not to be an ass but did you make sure there was gas in the tank?

did you get to pull the petcock and check the vacuum diaphragm and screen?

The tank does have gas but is beginning to run low. Have not had a chance to remove the petcock yet, will be doing that this evening after work.

heroin300 · May 10th, 2014, 07:26 PM

Ok, guys, time for an update. Yesterday we inspected the petcock and the floaters, everything seems to be fine. Thanks for your guys' help! We reassembled everything and attempted to start the bike. Well the bike started. Now we'd like to think that our week of hard work finally paid off, but in reality, it was our ignorance that was holding us back all along. Although the bike still had about half a gallon of gas, it wasn't enough to keep the bike running and eventually not start, we had to turn the petcock to "RES" to get it running.

Now I have another question. Although the bike is running better than before, the idle RPMs still vary. The bike can shut going around a corner, and then idle at about 3500. Is there a way to fix this? Any help is appreciated.

Yarhj · May 10th, 2014, 07:55 PM

Glad to hear it was just out of gas!

<storytime>
I ran out of gas at a stoplight once, which stalled the bike. I looked down at the dash and saw that the oil pressure light was on and freaked out, thinking I had run the bike without oil and melted the engine into a solid lump of failure. After pushing the bike a block or two, I realized that the oil light comes on when the bike is on, but not running. I then rode off feeling equal parts shame and relief. And I was very relieved.
</storytime>

You can adjust the idle speed with the knob under the carbs on the left side of the bike. The bike is supposed to idle around 1300 RPMs, though anything below 2000 should be OK. Set the idle when the bike is warmed up after at least a 20 minute ride. After that, if you have trouble keeping it running with choke after a cold start, bump the idle up a bit until it's less finicky.

An unstable or rough idle (i.e. surging from 1500 to 3000 and back again randomly) when the bike is warmed up can be a sign of improper valve clearances, but other issues could cause the same symptom.

jschorr · May 10th, 2014, 08:59 PM

first

glad you got it running.

so... running like crap. ok. you probably have water in the tank. don't know if that is the problem but it is probabley there. if the gas is over a few weeks old and it is running like crap, esp if there isnt much in there, dump it and try new gas. did you install an inline filter yet?

are we talking about a properly warmed up bike here? lots of variables.

you should read this

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

all of it.
everything you need is there well explained with great pictures it will save you some time.

May 8th, 2014, 09:39 PM	#1
heroin300 ninjette.org member Name: Isaac Location: Central Valley Join Date: Feb 2014 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 300 Posts: 12	'07 250 won't start My buddy just got a 2007 Ninja 250 not too long ago. It started having problems on Sunday, having problems staying on, and eventually not even starting. Here's a video we just took of the bike trying to start. http://youtu.be/j6qxU7DyXuk Things we did recently was change the oil/filter, changed the spark plugs, clean the carbs, adjust the jets to 2 1/2 turns out, removed baffles from stock exhaust(beginning of our problems), replaced baffles(got worst), tried removing gas from motor(nothing came out), changed oil again, all in that order. We also disassembled and reassembled the bike multiple times in between. Buddy and I are both fairly new to bike and don't want to have to take the bike to mechanic, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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May 8th, 2014, 10:07 PM	#2
jschorr ninjette.org member Name: todd Location: pittsburgh Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): 1995 ninja 250r Posts: 130	did you check out the petcock. ie make sure the carbs were getting gas?

May 8th, 2014, 10:29 PM	#3
heroin300 ninjette.org member Name: Isaac Location: Central Valley Join Date: Feb 2014 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 300 Posts: 12	At one point I figured that might be the problem, so I disconnected the vacuum hose from the carbs and sucked it. The gas filter began to fill with gas so I assumed the petcock was working properly. When we try to start the bike after reassembling it, the filter fills with gas, but doesn't seem to happen any time after that. We will disassemble the petcock tomorrow to see if that's the problem. Thanks.

May 9th, 2014, 03:24 PM	#6
jschorr ninjette.org member Name: todd Location: pittsburgh Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): 1995 ninja 250r Posts: 130	Not even a full strip down for floats. Take off the bottom, slide out the hinge pin and the float will come right out. No floats don't go bad, they just....float. Not to high tech. The part that stops up is the hole leading into the float bowl. Inspect the rubber tip on the....stopper...forget the right name.

May 9th, 2014, 03:28 PM	#7
jschorr ninjette.org member Name: todd Location: pittsburgh Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): 1995 ninja 250r Posts: 130	Not to be an ass but did you make sure there was gas in the tank? did you get to pull the petcock and check the vacuum diaphragm and screen?

May 10th, 2014, 07:26 PM	#9
heroin300 ninjette.org member Name: Isaac Location: Central Valley Join Date: Feb 2014 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 300 Posts: 12	Ok, guys, time for an update. Yesterday we inspected the petcock and the floaters, everything seems to be fine. Thanks for your guys' help! We reassembled everything and attempted to start the bike. Well the bike started. Now we'd like to think that our week of hard work finally paid off, but in reality, it was our ignorance that was holding us back all along. Although the bike still had about half a gallon of gas, it wasn't enough to keep the bike running and eventually not start, we had to turn the petcock to "RES" to get it running. Now I have another question. Although the bike is running better than before, the idle RPMs still vary. The bike can shut going around a corner, and then idle at about 3500. Is there a way to fix this? Any help is appreciated.

May 10th, 2014, 07:55 PM	#10
Yarhj ninjette.org member Name: Will Location: Atlanta, GA Join Date: Feb 2013 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 (2001) Posts: 135	Glad to hear it was just out of gas! <storytime> I ran out of gas at a stoplight once, which stalled the bike. I looked down at the dash and saw that the oil pressure light was on and freaked out, thinking I had run the bike without oil and melted the engine into a solid lump of failure. After pushing the bike a block or two, I realized that the oil light comes on when the bike is on, but not running. I then rode off feeling equal parts shame and relief. And I was very relieved. </storytime> You can adjust the idle speed with the knob under the carbs on the left side of the bike. The bike is supposed to idle around 1300 RPMs, though anything below 2000 should be OK. Set the idle when the bike is warmed up after at least a 20 minute ride. After that, if you have trouble keeping it running with choke after a cold start, bump the idle up a bit until it's less finicky. An unstable or rough idle (i.e. surging from 1500 to 3000 and back again randomly) when the bike is warmed up can be a sign of improper valve clearances, but other issues could cause the same symptom.

May 10th, 2014, 08:59 PM	#11
jschorr ninjette.org member Name: todd Location: pittsburgh Join Date: Apr 2014 Motorcycle(s): 1995 ninja 250r Posts: 130	first glad you got it running. so... running like crap. ok. you probably have water in the tank. don't know if that is the problem but it is probabley there. if the gas is over a few weeks old and it is running like crap, esp if there isnt much in there, dump it and try new gas. did you install an inline filter yet? are we talking about a properly warmed up bike here? lots of variables. you should read this http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Main_Page all of it. everything you need is there well explained with great pictures it will save you some time.