First bike, first post, first problem

[Boogab]

Hello everyone! Just bought my first bike yesterday, a 2006 Ninja 250. Bought it from a pawn shop (possibly my first mistake) for 1500.00, which I thought was a steal considering it looked to be in damn good condition and it only had 3120 miles on it. Anyway, so I'm driving the 2 or so hours back to my place from the shop. It doesn't take me long to realize that I cant seem to get the bike going any faster than 65. Got it to 70 once, but it was a very large slope. I realize its only a 250, but from everything I have read and what Ive been told I was expecting a good bit quicker than that. Also the throttle control and rpm response seemed to be significantly more sluggish than the 250 ninja I rode a couple weekends ago at the MSF course. I chalked all of this up simply to being an older bike that needed some basic maintenence and kept driving.

About 100 miles down the road it sputters at 65mph or so and just dies. Luckily my buddy was following me and we both go into an idiot-diagnostic session, neither of us really knowing what we are doing. The temperature was fine, it had gas, and thats really all I knew to check. But after playing with the choke and throttle for a bit we finally got it going again. ... For a whole mile until it did the same thing. Ended up having to call roadside assistance to get it back to my house, where it currently resides. Now IF it does start, it has to be on 100% full choke, and even after letting it warm up a bit it immediately dies if I try to reduce the choke or apply even the most minute ammount of throttle. All the internet research I have done indicates carberator cleaning may be needed, but I have yet to find anyone saying that it ran fine for 100+ miles then died mid-commute. So that combined with me having the mechanical knowledge of a retarted 4-yr old, I figured I'd hop on here first before running seafoam through it or somehow getting it to a shop.

Thanks everyone for your help!

[Motofool]

Welcome to the site, Paul; and congratulations on the new bike !

Check a little filter that is inside the fuel hose, just before it enters the carburetors.

Drain the bowls, just in case some water has transferred from the gas tank into there.

Here is how:

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

[FvnnyL3tt3r1ng]

If you can get it running drive it down the street and see if it will go to redline in any gear. If it won't then you may have low compression. Watch your rpms to see if it tops out at a certain rpm as well. Make sure it's in gear with you riding it and not in neutral.

Your idle mixture screws may just need adjusting.

Make sure the air filter is on and didn't fall off at the carbs.

[FvnnyL3tt3r1ng]

Oh and fyi I'm 200 lbs.+ and my 250 goes 100+mph pretty much stock.

[csmith12]

Welcome Paul,

Good luck with your bike, it's most likely either gas or air from sitting around for a period of time. Got a friend that has any mechanical knowledge? These bikes are pretty simple. I am just a shade tree mechanic but by going slow and taking pics along the way was able to easily clean carbs as well as other general maintenance type of stuff. I was even so bold to strip my 92 down to bare frame. Will be going back together soon.

Don't be afraid, just be organized and take your time. It's a great way to get to know your bike. If I can do it, you can too.

[csmith12]

Oh! We have some great members that are very active. Don't be shy to ask questions if you run into something you can't figure out.

[flynjay]

'06 with only 3000 miles, more than likely you just need to do a thorough carb cleaning.

Everything you wrote pretty much points to that.

[Boogab]

Thanks everyone for the speedy replies and suggestions! I'm going to start working on it today after work, start with the simplest tasks mentioned and work out. One thing not mentioned here yet has been seafoam or other carb cleaning mixtures, which I've read on other sites may help. What are your thoughts on that? I plan on cleaning the carbs anyway eventually, and to be honest I don't even know exactly what the stuff does or if its worth it. Thoughts?

[csmith12]

Seafoam can work for a light cleaning, say like... in your first tank of gas after parked for the winter. But it's not tough enough to clean the hard varnish the builds in the carbs from a bike just sitting for an extended time.

Try it! It will not hurt, just be prepared for it to not make any difference and your 4 bucks is spent for no gain. It's no miracle elixir.

[FvnnyL3tt3r1ng]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Seafoam can work for a light cleaning, say like... in your first tank of gas after parked for the winter. But it's not tough enough to clean the hard varnish the builds in the carbs from a bike just sitting for an extended time.

Try it! It will not hurt, just be prepared for it to not make any difference and your 4 bucks is spent for no gain. It's no miracle elixir.

I just finished taking my head apart and cleaning all the carbon off the valves. I had to scrub it with a copper brush for hours with a few bottles of wd-40 to get the job done. I doubt the sea foam does absolutely anything. I just wanna mention WD40 beats the crap out of any of the carb/brake cleaners sold at auto shops, at least for the caked on carbon. I've had good luck with carb cleaner cleaning the carbs just fine though.

[csmith12]

[FvnnyL3tt3r1ng]

Originally Posted by csmith12

I never knew it was such a great carbon buster!!!! Maybe it's a great topping too! I'll try some on my salad tonight!

[csmith12]

hahahahahha

I am from KY, you know I have 3 things in my toolbox at all times, lol

WD-40
Duct Tape
Clothes Hanger

[Yasko]

Originally Posted by csmith12

hahahahahha

I am from KY, you know I have 3 things in my toolbox at all times, lol

WD-40
Duct Tape
Clothes Hanger

Don't forget a hammer.....

[Boogab]

Thanks for all the tips. I'll dive into working on it when I get off work, and I'm sure I'll have more than a question or two then as well! I'm a big computer guy, spend most of my time inside, and for the most part know computers in and out from working on them both recreationally and professionally over the years; looking forward to starting to learn a completely new craft from the ground up and get out of my nerd hole!

[CC Cowboy]

Originally Posted by csmith12

hahahahahha

I am from KY, you know I have 3 things in my toolbox at all times, lol

WD-40
Duct Tape
Clothes Hanger

You must be a snappy dresser.

[red_dragon]

Check the snorkel on the air box there could be something blocking your intake...i had a problem like these and it was a pecan that got stuck in my snorkel and i could not get the bike above 70 mph

[FvnnyL3tt3r1ng]

Just an FYI if you ever need to know where a part is, how much it costs, or how to assemble it this is a great reference:

http://www.kneedraggers.com/oem-part...JA-250-_-EX250

I bought a 1" binder with sheet protectors and I print out the parts diagrams of the parts I'm working on to help me budget and also as a visual aid.

[Boogab]

Wow, that is an excellent site. Thanks alot! Already answered several questions I had. Do you order all of your parts through that site - they pretty competetive as far as pricing goes and reliability?

[FrugalNinja250]

There are several sites selling OEM parts and using the Kawasaki fiche system. I generally buy from http://www.ronayers.com or http://www.bikebandit.com but there are several out there.

[Boogab]

Update: got started a little late but never the less got started. Emptied the bowls as suggested, and not too much fuel came out, only a tablespoon or so from each of the two. Just as stated in the tutorials it took forever to start, but finally when it did it had to be on max choke and idled smoother than ever, but only at 1000rpms. Couldn't get it any higher without killing it, but previously it would NEVER have idled that low, or that consistent. Needlw was pinned on the 1000. Any throttle killed it though.

And in doing all of this it killed the battery, which upon inspection was the original one from 06. So I'm leaving now to go buy a new battery then I'm going to attempt pulling out the carbs to clean them, unless this new information gave you guys an epiphany of something new to try.

Also before I emptied the bowls I tried to ride it around some, it stalled after about five minutes or so but I was able to redline it in 1st and 2nd which was suggested to try.

[Motofool]

Did you check that filter?

Next step is to check if there is vacuum in the smaller hose going to the petcock.

If the hose is broken, the vacuum created by the engine is lost and there is not enough sucking effect to fully open the petcock.

[FvnnyL3tt3r1ng]

Originally Posted by Boogab

Update: got started a little late but never the less got started. Emptied the bowls as suggested, and not too much fuel came out, only a tablespoon or so from each of the two. Just as stated in the tutorials it took forever to start, but finally when it did it had to be on max choke and idled smoother than ever, but only at 1000rpms. Couldn't get it any higher without killing it, but previously it would NEVER have idled that low, or that consistent. Needlw was pinned on the 1000. Any throttle killed it though.

And in doing all of this it killed the battery, which upon inspection was the original one from 06. So I'm leaving now to go buy a new battery then I'm going to attempt pulling out the carbs to clean them, unless this new information gave you guys an epiphany of something new to try.

Also before I emptied the bowls I tried to ride it around some, it stalled after about five minutes or so but I was able to redline it in 1st and 2nd which was suggested to try.

You're not going to have someone charge the battery for you? Sounds like you are running lean so I hope you checked your air filter and connections.

It's normal for the throttle to kill the engine when you first start up cold.

It's a good sign you were able to get to redline that means your problem is probably before the engine!

[Boogab]

Update!

It runs! And decentish! Today I changed the battery and ran some SeaFoam through it and after a little while it steadied out and started to run fine. Finally got it to idle at a normal rpm without the choke on max.

So I took it for a ride and had no issues what so ever, but it still won't go faster than 65. Until I hit the freeway though it seemed perfect - so we're making progress! Tomorrow I'll be cleaning the air filter (Bought a K&N cleaning kit I'll try out) and check the fuel filter as well. Thanks again for everyone's help - Feels good to have it running!

[Boogab]

Oh, and I live in base dorms, so my workshop is a bit unique... Thought I'd share

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Boogab

Oh, and I live in base dorms, so my workshop is a bit unique... Thought I'd share

[Boogab]

Alright, so today I checked the teeny tiny little fuel filter, and to this beginner's eyes everything looked fine there. No dirt or any other foreign objects, and it seemed to be in good condition. Surprised at how small it was though. Same the for the air filter under the seat, no "OMG THATS #*&#ING DIRTY" reaction or anything, but had some small flecks of grass or whatever in there that I cleaned out, in addition to cleaning and re-oiling the filter itself.

After doing all this, went out on the road and really didnt notice too much of a change. Everything seems perfectly fine in the city, but it wont go a hair past 65 on the freeway. It just sits in 6th at 8000 pegged on 65. Dropping it down to 5th and even 4th doesnt help either. Obviously the RPM is alot higher, but still wont go past 65. So, my dear experts - what do I do next?

[Joshorilla]

You live on an Air Force Base and ride a Kawasaki?



^ THIS!

Sounds like low compression, maybe a blown piston ring, maybe a blown gasket, maybe worn valves, could be lots of things.

But first, if I were you, and I realise you have done some of these already.

1. Change the oil with full synthetic high grade high detergent / replace oil filter
2. Clean & Inspect the carbs, check it's all to spec and tolorences
3. Clean & Inspect the air box / filters
4. Change fuel filter / replace fuel

if you can

Check valve clearances and replace spark plugs.

After that I would just take it to a shop and get them to fix it.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Boogab

.........- what do I do next?

Return to post #22.

[Boogab]

I saw that hose today, I didn't notice any breaks or tears in it (will double check tomorrow), what is the process to see if there is a vacuum?

[choneofakind]

Wasn't Tom Cruises character in Top Gun a Navy pilot?

[StephenA]

yup top gun
Posted via Mobile Device

[Lychee]

check if the brakes are dragging. (caliper hot after running for awhile or wheel doesn't spin freely in neutral)

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Boogab

I saw that hose today, I didn't notice any breaks or tears in it (will double check tomorrow), what is the process to see if there is a vacuum?

Disconnect that hose after the bike has started up and close it with your finger, trying to feel strong vacuum there.

My hypothesis is that your petcock is not delivering the 2 cc per second that your engine needs at full speed.

The petcock has a valve that is opened by the vacuum produced by the engine and collected at the throat of the carburetor (via that hose).

The problem may be that the flow is not enough when the throttle is wide open, which reduces the vacuum sensed by that hose.

There is also an internal filter inside the gas tank, upstream the petcock, which may be partially clogged.
Sometimes you can clean that one simply by blowing in back into the tank with the tank cap open.