2001 not taking off in first gear

[crackerjack]

just took the carbs off last night, and cleaned them as thorough as i ever have. nothing is clogged at all, and i adjusted the pilot/mixture screws to lightly seated and back out 2-1/2 turns.

when i crank her up it takes a second up to about five seconds to catch idle, but then when it does, she revs beautifully.

i kick her down into first and and let off the clutch and she dies. if i rev it when in first and have it at about 5k or 6k rpms i can get it to take off and it does fine when i am accelerating, keeping it above about 5 or 6k rpms, but i come to a stop and have her in first she dies, havent tried stoping in other gears, it just seems to die when in gear with low rpms,

i know the petcock leaks when in the "on" and "reserve" settings, could this have any adverse effects as too much gas for low rpms?might be a stupid question but thought id ask

also someone from another forum said something about the chain, pretty unsure of if this has anything to do with it or not, but my chain does have i think a little too much slack.

ive had this bike for about 4 months and have ridden for about 1-1/2 months and my situationn now leaves this bike as my only transportation.

any advice is greatly appreciated

[kkim]

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/My_engi...running_poorly

[crackerjack]

i have a 2001 ex250, 11,000 miles, owned for 4 months

my bike doesnt want to take off in first gear like it used to. i have to hold it at about 7k RPMs and it will take off, when crusing shifting and everything else seems normal, untill i try to come to a stop and it dies.

seems like low rpms are messing me up.

any advice?

[crackerjack]

also when i just ran up to the gas station it did the same thing, when i come to a stop it still dies, unless i keep the RPMs at about 7k then i can take right back off and everything else is fine

[kkim]

has the bike been sitting unused for a long period of time in those 4 months?

does it idle fine w/o the choke when warmed up? how does it start using the choke when cold?

[bob706]

Vance - The only thing I was able to find is the valves being too tight will cause the problem you are having.

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/My_engi...running_poorly

[crackerjack]

no the only time it has sat more than a day is when something has broken on it, the latest break was the clutch cable and it sat for maybe a week.

i have thouroughly cleaned the carbs if thats what your getting at

[crackerjack]

thanks sean, i dont suppose you have the gap feelers required to see if thats whats goin on?

[kkim]

Originally Posted by crackerjack

i have thouroughly cleaned the carbs if thats what your getting at

did you actually remove the main and pilot jets and blow them out with compressed air and blow out the passages in which they normally sit?

[bob706]

Originally Posted by crackerjack

thanks sean, i dont suppose you have the gap feelers required to see if thats whats goin on?

I may have a set of feeler gauges lying around somewhere. I'll let you know if I find them.

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

did you actually remove the main and pilot jets and blow them out with compressed air and blow out the passages in which they normally sit?

yes did all that.

[kkim]

okay. I think Sean's idea is next to check out.

when was the last time the valves were checked?

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

okay. I think Sean's idea is next to check out.

when was the last time the valves were checked?

i bought the bike 4 months ago from some guy who got given it, so i was unable to ask any questions pertaining to maintinence done on it before i got it.

i have not checked that since i got it

[bob706]

Originally Posted by kkim

did you actually remove the main and pilot jets and blow them out with compressed air and blow out the passages in which they normally sit?

Kelly - I went over to his place to check out the bike and it idles alright. All the lines seemed fine but the petcock has a small leak. In nuetral it revs strong with no unusal noises. Put it in first and it bogs out pretty quickly.

[kkim]

when I buy any used vehicle and I don't know it's maintenance history, I try to bring it completely up to date before I start riding it w/ any confidence. I suggest you do the same.

Guess that means it's time to check the valves.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by bob706

Kelly - I went over to his place to check out the bike and it idles alright. All the lines seemed fine but the petcock has a small leak. In nuetral it revs strong with no unusal noises. Put it in first and it bogs out pretty quickly.

cool, Sean. I think you may be right with the valves. Haven't we seen this before on the forum? I just had to ask the usual questions to rule out a fuel delivery problem.

btw, is it dripping gas? if so, that petcock needs to be replaced/repaired.

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

when I buy any used vehicle and I don't know it's maintenance history, I try to bring it completely up to date before I start riding it w/ any confidence. I suggest you do the same.

Guess that means it's time to check the valves.

definitely need to do that
(bought the bike cause i thought my car was about to die. as soon as i got the bike running, my car died. so its been my only transportation and i guess i neverput much thought into that cause i was riding her everyday, and she was running strong. ive just been facing problems as they come my way)

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

cool, Sean. I think you may be right with the valves. Haven't we seen this before on the forum? I just had to ask the usual questions to rule out a fuel delivery problem.

btw, is it dripping gas? if so, that petcock needs to be replaced/repaired.

i replaced the packing gasket and one other oring in the petcock, thinking that should fix it because my packing gasket was cracked and such, but it still leaks in on and res. i think its the diaphragm on the back side of the petcock, and i havent been able to find and exact match for that diaphragm.

[kkim]

Vance... sorry, didn't mean to sound like I was lecturing... forgive me if it sounded that way, but my post was to help you see that buying used does have it's downsides and making a bike run at it's peak takes some work.

I hope you spend some time to check things over before you end up w/ 2 non running vehicles.

if you don't yet have a service manual, now would be an excellent time to source one.

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

Vance... sorry, didn't mean to sound like I was lecturing... forgive me if it sounded that way, but my post was to help you see that buying used does have it's downsides and making a bike run at it's peak takes some work.

I hope you spend some time to check things over before you end up w/ 2 non running vehicles.

if you don't yet have a service manual, now would be an excellent time to source one.

no harm done at all. i have a manual.
thanks for trying to help me out

[spooph]

1.) Is your kick stand up
2.) Are all the vacuum hoses plugged in where they're supposed to be
3.) you might have a holed vacuum diaphragm on your slide....

[bdavison]

Im wondering if you are dropping RPM's too low....
The ninja 250R is designed to run in the higher RPM ranges.
If your trying to use the bike at RPM's under 4K...its not gonna like it.

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by spooph

1.) Is your kick stand up
2.) Are all the vacuum hoses plugged in where they're supposed to be
3.) you might have a holed vacuum diaphragm on your slide....

1.) side stand is up
2.)all hoses are in correct place
3.) are you talking about the diaphragm inside the carbs? when i took the top half of the carbs apart and checked the diaphragms for tears/holes, there were none. one was mis shapen slightly and didnt want to fit back in its track but after about 30min and some lube i got it to fit back in track and closed it back up without pinching anything.(i drove it for probly 2-1/2 weeks after that and all was fine.

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by bdavison

Im wondering if you are dropping RPM's too low....
The ninja 250R is designed to run in the higher RPM ranges.
If your trying to use the bike at RPM's under 4K...its not gonna like it.

are you talking about idle rpms? i have that at 2k sometimes a lil less
i used to be able to let off the clutch and it would start to take off and then id give it gas to actually take off. now i have to have the rpms at about 7k to get it to take off at all.

[crackerjack]

i am attempting to check/adjust the valves today.
ill keep yall updated on my progress

[crackerjack]

is it completely necesary to remove sparkplugs for this, i just installed new ones 2 days ago and would rather not remove them(because ive heard you want to change spark plugs everytime you take them out,beacuse of the crush washer

[kkim]

makes moving the valves into position a lot easier with them removed.

if you can move them into position w/o removing them, go right ahead.

btw, I remove the plugs in my dirt bikes after almost every ride to read them and have used the same plugs over and over w/o any leak problems from the plugs.

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

makes moving the valves into position a lot easier with them removed.

if you can move them into position w/o removing them, go right ahead.

btw, I remove the plugs in my dirt bikes after almost every ride to read them and have used the same plugs over and over w/o any leak problems from the plugs.

thanks i already removed them; are you pretty experienced in checking/adjusting the valves

im not. and im slightly confused about what is what inside there. this is my first time doing it. im not positive about which is the intake valve and which is the exhaust valve

if i posted up pictures think yall could help me decifer what is what

[kkim]

does this help?

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_..._the_valves%3F

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

does this help?

http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/How_do_..._the_valves%3F

yes thank you

when i have it set to " 1 T" like my manual says the lobes are facing each other not away from each other like other pictures show

now im very confused

[kkim]

try rotating the crank one full turn (360*).

is it correct then?

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

try rotating the crank one full turn (360*).

is it correct then?

i tried that and it didnt correct it, ill try a few more times tho

[kkim]

sorry, at this point I'll leave the advice to someone with experience on the pregens. I've never actually done valves on them and wouldn't want to give you any bad advice. I do remember this issue surfacing before on the forums, but I can't remember what the outcome was.

Sean... you have any input?

you could also try sending a PM to 2wheelguy. Craig is very well versed on the pregens.

[Alex]

How is the choke function? Can you confirm that the choke lever is appropriately moving the the choke on the other end?

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by crackerjack

i have a 2001 ex250, 11,000 miles, owned for 4 months

my bike doesnt want to take off in first gear like it used to. i have to hold it at about 7k RPMs and it will take off, when crusing shifting and everything else seems normal, untill i try to come to a stop and it dies.

seems like low rpms are messing me up.

any advice?

i adjusted the intake and exhaust valves according to specs, also synced the carbes after adjusting the valves. and im still having the same issues, it might have help slightly but still have to have the rpms at about 5k to take off.

any ideas of where to go from here?

[kkim]

sounds to me like the pilot circuit is still clogged up. how does it run w/ the choke fully on?

how does it start from a cold start?

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by Alex

How is the choke function? Can you confirm that the choke lever is appropriately moving the the choke on the other end?

when i pull the choke it moves down at the carbs, i have not taken the choke parts of the carbs apart yet

i just adjusted the valves and synced the carbs today and tried to take her for a ride and i still have to have the rpms at about 5k to take off, my idle is set at 2k rpms.

once i take off everything seems to be normal until the rpms get below about 5k then it starts to bog and has some trouble getting the rpms back up.

keep in mind i pretty much overhauled my carbs last week and replaced the floats, the float needles, bowl gaskets and pilot screws(lightly seated and back 2-1/2 turns-like specified) do you think it could be a problem with the pilot screws needing to be better tuned?

i put in new spark plugs a few days ago and when i adjusted the valves today i took them out and they are slightly black( does that signify its running too rich?)

[crackerjack]

Originally Posted by kkim

sounds to me like the pilot circuit is still clogged up. how does it run w/ the choke fully on?

how does it start from a cold start?

starts great from cold, ive never had to use choke to try to crank her so i dont choke her often at all.

my batteries charging right now ill get back to ya tomorrow on how it runs with the choke fully on.

[crackerjack]

with a full battery charge if things dont change im gonna take the carbs apart again and see whats goin on inside there

[kkim]

Originally Posted by crackerjack

when i have it set to " 1 T" like my manual says the lobes are facing each other not away from each other like other pictures show

now im very confused

just for future reference... how did you resolve this?