Excessive engine noise and no acceleration

["G-Man"]

I have a 05 Ninja ex250f. It starts fine but engine is noticeably louder and just does not sound right. The bike will move but acceleration is extremely weak. I rode it in first and second gear but I am to scared to rev it too high or go past second because the engine sounds so horrible. Also, my oil is turning black even though I just got it changed last month. Oil light is not on. Any ideas on what it might be and how to fix it? Try to keep it simple, this will pretty much be the first time working on my bike myself and I know next to nothing. Lol. I just have a hard time believing anything the mechanic at the shop is doing is worth the $150 hour I was paying. Any help is appreciated.

[csmith12]

Welcome Garrett.

Bummer your having issues but lets get you rollin'.

Questions I have -
Is the weak acceleration only at speed or even trying to take off from a stop?
Does the sound only occur while in motion or both sitting still while in neutral and in motion?
Does the sound go away if you pull in the clutch?
Does the sound go away if you put it in gear?

Check the following;

Oil level - You know how to check it right? With the bike straight up and down, NOT leaning on the side stand. The sight glass should be at least 1/3 full with the bike not running and also know that overfilling is bad.

Take off your seat and unstrap the rubber strap that holds the top of the airbox on. Pull out the air filter and ensure it isn't terribly dirty and has no holes. Look inside the airbox too, to ensure there is no debris in there.

While you have your tank off, have a look at your clutch cable from end to end. Bound up or kinked anywhere? Move the bars fully in both directions (lock to lock) while watching the clutch cable mount point on the engine to ensure it doesn't move. If it moves, your cable is adjusted to tight or is bound up in some way.

While you have your tank off, check your carb boots (rubber thingies over both ends of the carbs). All look good and tight? A spritz of carb cleaner around them while the bike is idling will let you know if they are leaking, the idle will raise and then go back down. Have a look at other hoses as well. Look for holes, disconnected lines or anything that don't look right. You can check them for leaks as well using the same method as the carbs.

Let us know and good luck.

["G-Man"]

Ok. So under closer inspection I found that the middle black hose that is connected to the gas tank is ripped. I am assuming that is what's causing my problem. My next mission is to change out that hose, and probably clean everything up while I got my bike open like this. You think you could hook it up with a step by step on how to go about doing this? I would need to know everything from removing the gas tank to what is even safe to use to clean oil off of engine parts. Any help would be really appreciated

[djjontran]

I would respond to csmith's questions before getting into anything. You might have a compression leak in one of your cylinders or an issue with your carburetors.

[Lychee]

Originally Posted by "G-Man"

Ok. So under closer inspection I found that the middle black hose that is connected to the gas tank is ripped. I am assuming that is what's causing my problem. My next mission is to change out that hose, and probably clean everything up while I got my bike open like this. You think you could hook it up with a step by step on how to go about doing this? I would need to know everything from removing the gas tank to what is even safe to use to clean oil off of engine parts. Any help would be really appreciated

I have the same bike. Go to the Kawasaki dealer parts counter and ask for a service manual. There are two for our year- a service manual and a supplement. Buy both. When going over procedures, go over the supplement first to see if anything has changed, then check the service manual if nothing has changed. You can also look online and download digital copies, but the supplemental is usually the one that is found easily and it does not have many of the procedures that the service manual does. Also, I have found that flipping through the book is much less frustrating, not to mention my digital things stay cleaner

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by "G-Man"

.... It starts fine but engine is noticeably louder and just does not sound right.

Video or a sound clip would help.

Have you visually inspected the air box or carb boots?
How about the exhaust manifold?
What is your idle speed when the bike is warm?

["G-Man"]

For csmiths's questions:
1. Even from stop 2. Both 3. No 4. No
Oil level is good but like I said it looks dirty. To remove the top of the air box I would need to remove the gas tank right? Or is there other things I should check before going that far? The hose I mentioned has two pretty good size tears in it, that has to at least be a big part of the issue right?

[djjontran]

Originally Posted by "G-Man"

For csmiths's questions:
1. Even from stop 2. Both 3. No 4. No
Oil level is good but like I said it looks dirty. To remove the top of the air box I would need to remove the gas tank right? Or is there other things I should check before going that far? The hose I mentioned has two pretty good size tears in it, that has to at least be a big part of the issue right?

Which Hose is it exactly? Picture would be nice

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by "G-Man"

....The hose I mentioned has two pretty good size tears in it, that has to at least be a big part of the issue right?

No, the middle hose is just a vent hose.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by DaBlue1

No, the middle hose is just a vent hose.

hmmmm.... not so sure my good man.

There are only 2 hoses that connect to a pregen pectcock and neither are vents/overflow.

Large one = main gas line
Small one = vac line to carbs

Which is torn? EDIT: don't matter which, if either of these are torn, take it off, and replace. Take it with you to the auto parts store and tell them to give you a foot's worth for a few $bucks$. Cut to length and re-install.

Vent hose is near the mounting bolts but honestly.... you don't want that leaking excess fuel anywhere but on the ground either.

As far as what you can clean oil off of? Bikes are meant to get wet. You can clean oil/dirt/grime off anything exposed to the elements. About the only non-moving part that gets oil, is the air filter.

[djjontran]

Based on your answers I think you have lost compression in one of your cylinders basically leaving your bike to run at half power. Anyone else think this?

[csmith12]

Could be Jonathan...

Could be a fouled plug, coil, ect... ect... Over the years, I have learned to go for the cheap and easy stuff first.

["G-Man"]

Got to head to work soon. I will work on pictures and a video tomorrow. I hope your right too Jonathan. I like cheap and easy

[djjontran]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Could be Jonathan...

Could be a fouled plug, coil, ect... ect... Over the years, I have learned to go for the cheap and easy stuff first.

True. Replace the spark plugs and see what that does. It'll cost you less than $10 and its a pretty easy job.

Here are a couple links that will walk you through tank removal and replacing spark plugs.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_...l_tank,_etc%3F
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Changin...rands_to_avoid

[Lychee]

Originally Posted by csmith12

hmmmm.... not so sure my good man.

There are only 2 hoses that connect to a pregen pectcock and neither are vents/overflow.

Large one = main gas line
Small one = vac line to carbs

I think he has a 51 state bike with the California emissions devices. There should be 3 hoses.

[csmith12]

Indeed, forgot about that.

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by "G-Man"

Ok. So under closer inspection I found that the middle black hose that is connected to the gas tank is ripped.

Originally Posted by DaBlue1

... the middle hose is just a vent hose.

Originally Posted by csmith12

hmmmm.... not so sure my good man.

There are only 2 hoses that connect to a pregen pectcock and neither are vents/overflow.

Key word was "tank" not petcock. CA emissions tank has 3 hoses.

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by djjontran

Based on your answers I think you have lost compression in one of your cylinders basically leaving your bike to run at half power. Anyone else think this?

Not sure. Op says it starts fine. He offered no evidence of neither smoke or one exhaust being hotter than the other. He says it's slower and louder. I'm curious to see what his oil screen and air filter contain and what his plugs look like.

Originally Posted by "G-Man"

I have a 05 Ninja ex250f. It starts fine but engine is noticeably louder and just does not sound right.

["G-Man"]

Once I get the fuel tank removed and get access to everything I will post some pics and we can work from there.

[Lychee]

[QUOTE="G-Man";715721]Once I get the fuel tank removed and get access to everything I will post some pics and we can work from there.[/QUOTE]

When you do so, remember to plug the fuel lines to prevent gas leaking out.

This site may help you: [URL="http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Main_Page"]faq.ninja250.org[/URL]

["G-Man"]

When I went to pull the vacuum hose the little gold attachment piece on the petcock came with it. I assuming that wasn't supposed to happen but I didn't even pull very hard so I wasn't sure. If I did mess up, how bad?

["G-Man"]

So did I mess up? Also what is the best substance to clean parts with? I was looking up cleaners and people recommended things like simple green and purple power from walmart.. but then also said those may cause some discoloration. So what would be a safe/effective way to clean oil and gunk of my parts?

[Løckøut]

So, I'm having the same issues as OP. I've already removed everything down to the carburetor, as I'm in the process of cleaning it. I'd like to know where to and how to access the air filter and oil screen, just for the sake of troubleshooting. I need my bike running before monday.

[Yarhj]

These links might help, Lockout. Good luck!
Cleaning the air filter
Checking the oil screen

[Løckøut]

Originally Posted by Yarhj

These links might help, Lockout. Good luck!
Cleaning the air filter
Checking the oil screen

Thank you, I'll get to these maintenances tomorrow. I've got the bike back together and have cured it's ailment it seems. But I'll still go through with these. Thanks again.