October 14th, 2010, 10:44 AM | #1 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Michelle
Location: Covina, CA
Join Date: Aug 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2008 Ninja 250R Posts: 89
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Bike wont start, please help?
So I left my bike neglected and unattended for a few months (totally didn't plan on this), and when I finally started it, it was dead. I charged the battery, but after about 30 minutes of trying to start the bike, the battery died again and I was told that the battery is dead and done for. So I bought a new battery, but turns out that was only a part of the problem. I added Sea Foam thinking that it might help out, and it did (somewhat), but the bike won't stay on longer than 3-5 seconds.
I got a quote from a local shop (Bert's Mega Mall) and they quoted me $400 to take a look at the bike, however I'm being told that $400 is way too much and Bert's is just insane. Plus that doesn't include the cost of getting the bike towed to their shop. Is there anything I can do at home before I take it to the shop? Maybe there's something I missed? |
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October 14th, 2010, 11:05 AM | #2 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Sam
Location: Northern Virginia
Join Date: Nov 2008 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250R 2009 Posts: A lot.
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Check all the links at the bottom of the page!
Bottom line.....you need to clean your carbs and possibly the tank. Seafoam is good, but you have to know how to use it. Use the $400 to learn how to DIY! |
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October 14th, 2010, 11:11 AM | #3 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Travis
Location: Warwick, RI
Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
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If the bike ran well before you parked it, then do the obvious things first.
Make sure you are getting fuel. Make sure there are no vacuum leaks. Check every hose and make sure everything is good. Go a head and drain the tank and put in fresh gas. (Put the old in your lawnmower). See if it starts. If it doesn't, check to see if you are getting spark by pulling out the plugs and grounding them. (Don't zap yourself it hurts... TRUST ME). If you are getting spark and it still doesn't run, I would start by cleaning the carbs. If gas sits in the carbs for a long period of time, it can gunk them up and then it won't run for crap. Clean, and visually sync the carbs. Then install and fire it up. If that doesn't work then it could get interesting.
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Addicted to anything that has an engine and rolls. |
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October 14th, 2010, 11:35 AM | #4 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Jason
Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Join Date: May 2010 Motorcycle(s): 09 Ninja 250R SE, 07 Honda CRF230F, 06 Honda CRF150F Posts: A lot.
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What ever you do don't pay that shop $400! Also be careful starting on the bike for extended periods. The starter is not made to do all that cranking. Crank a few times and then let the starter cool. No sense in creating more problems right.
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09 250R SE: Paying it forward one post at a time! Don't forget to add yourself to our Member Map |
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October 14th, 2010, 01:45 PM | #5 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Marc
Location: Crawfordville, Florida
Join Date: Jan 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Suzuki S50, 2006 Kawasaki Ninja EX250F, 1990 Honda PC800, 2000 Yamaha TW200 Posts: 848
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You are using the choke appropriately right?
How did they determine your battery was toast? Possibly you didn't charge it long enough to get it up to full charge and you could have charged it up again and retried before you bought a new one. If you are using something like a battery tender with less than a 1 amp charge, that could take 18 hours or more to fully recharge it. A 2 amp charger could take 6-8 hrs. or more to do it. One or two hours on the charger won't bring it up all the way. The only way to tell if it is bad is to have it fully charged, then put it on a load tester. Saying it's bad because you tried to start the bike for 30 min and drained it again is not as good, and they may have just wanted to sell you a new battery. The same thing can happen to the new battery trying to start the bike for 1/2 hr. Also, just to throw this out, regular gas can sit for a few months and still be OK. It doesn't hurt to replace it with fresh gas though. And for the engine to fire, you need all three things - gas, spark, and air. So you have to go through all three systems as suggested and see what's amiss. Use the choke with a freshly charged battery, or hook it up with jumper cables to a non-running car, and it should start. Put some Seafoam or Berryman's in the gas and in the carbs directly if you can, to soak overnight, and try it again, before you start removing the carbs to clean them. You could drain the carbs and see what's in there, if there's any gas at all. Another stupid thing that can happen and prevent the bike from starting is having some critter make a nest and take up residence in your exhaust or air box/cleaner. Take a look in both of those and see if they are clogged. |
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October 14th, 2010, 01:57 PM | #6 |
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Name: rock
Location: greenville, south carolina
Join Date: Jun 2009 Motorcycle(s): black Posts: A lot.
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Remove your air filter. Choke open (not applied). Hold throttle wide open. Give a quick shot of starting fluid into the hole where the air filter was. Try to start the engine. If the engine tries to start, let the throttle close. Do this a few times until it seems that the bike wants to stay running longer. I'm telling you to do this because we wanna keep things simple at first and I think your carbs are just empty and and need to fill with fuel. After the engine has hit and run on the starting fluid a few times, then pull your choke closed and try to start it on the tank fuel.
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Always get a second opinion because most of these people are makin' this stuff up |
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October 14th, 2010, 02:02 PM | #7 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Marc
Location: Crawfordville, Florida
Join Date: Jan 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Suzuki S50, 2006 Kawasaki Ninja EX250F, 1990 Honda PC800, 2000 Yamaha TW200 Posts: 848
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Too bad these bikes don't have a prime function on the petcock, that would at least make sure that gas gets into the carbs. His carbs could be empty.
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October 14th, 2010, 03:52 PM | #8 |
ninjette.org newbie
Name: Plutonium
Location: Seattle
Join Date: Sep 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja 250 Posts: 7
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I let my bike sit in the garage for 9 months last year without winterizing it (really dumb on my part). I know I had to get the fuel drained, carbs cleaned, but I really didn't have the space, tools and courage to do it by myself. I called up my local dealer and they hauled the bike in. They charged around $270 for towing bike for 10 miles, 2.5 hours of labor, cleaned carbs, drained gas, a few other safety checks and test ride. Is $270 pricey? Yes but I see it as a lesson learned. Is it worth the peace of mind? Yes. Will I let it sit through all winter without any Stabil again? Absolutely no.
I think you can try charging the battery overnight like mrlmd suggested. If the bike is relatively new, I doubt you need a brand new battery. Good luck! |
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October 14th, 2010, 05:43 PM | #9 |
Internet Slut
Name: Jeff
Location: L.A.
Join Date: Sep 2010 Motorcycle(s): 04 FZ1, 07 FZ6 Posts: A lot.
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The 250's are not that heavy, a make shift ramp, pickup truck and some straps should save you the towing cost.
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October 14th, 2010, 07:27 PM | #10 |
Ride this!
Name: Mike
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Join Date: Aug 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R Posts: 78
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November 9th, 2010, 12:37 PM | #11 |
ninjette.org member
Name: pao_thao
Location: Owasso , Oklahoma
Join Date: Aug 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2009 kawasaki ninja 250r Posts: 13
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check your spark plug
check your spark plug if look it don't hurt to get new spark plug... my 250 did that too i can't figure out what wrong with my bike till i change the spark plug i never thought it would be it but it is thought so check your spark plug it my have over flow
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November 9th, 2010, 01:02 PM | #12 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Marc
Location: Crawfordville, Florida
Join Date: Jan 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Suzuki S50, 2006 Kawasaki Ninja EX250F, 1990 Honda PC800, 2000 Yamaha TW200 Posts: 848
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So this thread is over 3 weeks old. What happened? I assume somehow you or the dealer got it running again.
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