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Old February 18th, 2019, 08:09 AM   #1
minimatt
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Stalling when put in gear

Hello,

So I've only been driving around 2 weeks now. I went out for a drive around today and half way through my journey in the middle of stop and go traffic my ninja decides to stall and I thought "well, ****. what did I do this time". Me still being a noobie, I assumed it must've been poor clutch control. But since that incident it has stalled a number of times when put into first, even when completely still. I managed to get home fine with no stalls for some reason, but the bike stalls whenever I go into gear now that I'm home. Starts up fine in neutral. Doesn't start up in 1st gear. Not sure if the ninja can even do that though. It's an instant cut-off when put into first.

Any ideas on what to check? Kickstand switch seems to be in working order, but I'm looking at it through the eyes of a guy who's never done anything mechanical before. I assume it's the clutch? Before the problem occurred, the bike moves forward slightly when put into first, if that bit of information helps. I assumed most bikes do that though.

-Bike stalled in 1st in middle of traffic
-Pulled over
-Bike kept stalling until magically went into first without dying
-Died in 1st again halfway home.
-Pulled over
-Again bike managed to go into first. Didn't stall for the rest of the journey after that.
-Got home and bike just completely dies off when put in gear.

I would consider my clutch control pretty good now, I do stall from time to time again, but i know 100% It's not me causing it this time.
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Old February 18th, 2019, 08:46 AM   #2
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Sounds like the clutch needs adjustment to me -

https://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Adjust...e_clutch_cable

What is the hot idle speed set at?

The carbs/TBs may need to be synced or there may be maintenance items (air filter, valve adjustment) that may need to be done.

I would also check the kickstand and clutch switches - https://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Unders...afety_switches

More general info - https://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Ninja250_Howto

It dangerous to ride like it is, so if you can't get it sorted I would take it to someone that can.
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Old February 18th, 2019, 09:23 AM   #3
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My money's on the kickstand switch. 🤑
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Old February 18th, 2019, 01:32 PM   #4
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what he said ^^^^^^^
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Old February 18th, 2019, 06:56 PM   #5
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Yup.

Kickstand switch is not indicating that kickstand is in UP position when it really is.
So bike thinks kickstand is DOWN and when you put it in gear, it turns OFF engine for your protection.

Unless you can see electrons flowing in wires, switches must be tested electronically.
Do you have multimeter and know how to use it to measure resistance (ohms)?
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Old February 19th, 2019, 03:59 AM   #6
minimatt
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That's strange. If it was the kickstand switch why would it happen halfway through the journey when I've already had the kickstand up for an hour and haven't put it down? I don't have a multimeter but i'll borrow one from a friend. I have a slight idea on how to use it, but not proficiently. Checking the resistance should be no problem. Where would I connect the positive and negative on the switch for the ninja 250r?

You guys are probably right about the kickstand switch. I've tried changing it into gear while revving, still cuts off instantly. Bike can be pushed with clutch in while in 1st gear (off), which means the clutch isn't sticking. Everything seems to be leaning towards kickstand.
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Old February 19th, 2019, 06:55 AM   #7
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How much free play is in your clutch lever? Sounds like the clutch isn’t completely disengaging to me. Can you pull the clutch in and push the bike while it’s in gear?

For the kick stand you don’t need a meter. You just unplug the kick stand sensor and jump the 2 pins together. You can use a piece of wire or even a paper clip. Of you want to permanently bypass it you can use a butt connector and splice the wires together. This is what I’ve done on my track bikes.
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Old February 19th, 2019, 07:04 AM   #8
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To be honest, it seems like little to no free play. I only bought the bike 2 months ago. Just seems to be how the previous owner preferred it. I've grown accustomed to it. That's why I changed my mind about the clutch not being fully engaged being the case, considering how little free play there is. I've also tried giving it a rev while changing it into 1st gear. It's an instant cut-out.

I'll try looking into bypassing the kick stand sensor as you said. Thanks for the tip.

Edit: Yes, I can push the bike in gear with the clutch in.
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Old February 19th, 2019, 10:28 AM   #9
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If your kickstand sensor is not quite right that could give you your intermittant problem. It could have been shorting/behaving for a bit until it finally failed. So now the bike thinks the kickstand is always down. Test it with the bypass, then replace it.
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Old February 19th, 2019, 03:43 PM   #10
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Hi guys, thank you all so much for your help! As I, and some of you, have suspected, it was the kickstand switch.

It was an easy 20 minute fix (temporary). Disconnect the connectors of your kickstand switch. Inside the connector there's two pins you push in to release the wire from the connector. I electrically taped the two wires together with contact. This essentially bypasses the kickstand switch, so do be careful when doing this. I will try to get the switch replaced as soon as I can.

I would have spliced the two connectors together with heat shrink butt connectors, however, that would be a more permanent fix, as stated by Kowalski.

You could also cut off the kickstand male connector wires, splice the two wires together, and connect it back to the female connector. It is essentially the same, except that you don't have to mess with any of the main wires.

Bike goes in gear just fine and runs now.

Here's a helpful video of the process: https://youtu.be/FLxyE0jSrBo
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Old February 19th, 2019, 04:18 PM   #11
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Old February 19th, 2019, 04:35 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dodgerdad View Post
Solid guess
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Old February 20th, 2019, 06:41 AM   #13
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Excellent, Gian.

Of course as you said, it's worth the trouble to replace the switch. I had a friend in England who forgot to put up the stand on his Kawasaki triple and died when it pitched him into oncoming traffic while making a left turn. Luckily in the US it usually pitches the bike off the road, but that's not without problems too.

I have a couple old motorcycles without side stand switches, and have made it part of my starting procedure to not ever start the engine until I retract the stand if I'm sitting on the bike.

Honda had a neat solution... they put a rubber finger on the foot of the stand so if it hits the pavement while moving it flips the stand back.
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Old February 23rd, 2019, 04:45 PM   #14
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Thanks, Jim!

Sorry to hear about your friend. I've made it a habit to only start up the bike when the kickstand is up. It's a good habit I've made from this ordeal for the meantime while I wait for a new kickstand switch.
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Old February 24th, 2019, 07:38 AM   #15
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I have owned and ridden lots of bikes. Kick stand switches are for novice riders.
Too many safety interlocks can get you killed in traffic. Like your switch failing while riding in traffic.
Too bad Kawasaki did not ditch the kickstand switch and put a gas gauge on the pregens.
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Old February 24th, 2019, 06:49 PM   #16
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My new gen has a gas gauge, it's useless, totally inaccurate, much like Cessnas.
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Old February 24th, 2019, 08:54 PM   #17
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I think the first time I tried to start riding with my kickstand down I'd been riding for just over 2 years. Went to lunch with a friend, go to start the bike, put in gear.... dies. Ok, maybe I let the clutch out too fast. Try it again. Dies.

Uh... kickstand. Got it.
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Old February 25th, 2019, 01:55 AM   #18
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just leave the switch off. i'm sure you can remember that. just one less thing to worry about.
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