Reviving a Ninja 250 - Low compression - Piston rings? - Page 2

Bob KellyIII · February 12th, 2022, 09:41 AM

Fantastic ! glad you got it going great again ! Well done !
...
Bob....

spotmaxdog · February 12th, 2022, 07:55 PM

Rode it through the neighborhood today. It goes really nice.

Next problem. Headlights and turn signals go off when I turn the handlebars to full lock left or right. Must be an intermittent connection somewhere between the handlebar controls and the fusebox. Guess it's coming apart again for troubleshooting.

Bob KellyIII · February 12th, 2022, 11:42 PM

Yeo sounds like wires are way too tight and are pulling out then go back in when the handle bar is straight... check the large bladed white plug ins and make sure they have slack...
I had to bend the metal square loops they have welded on the frame for the wires to be routed through ... it only takes a little to get enough slack but you gott'a get that, as it will really screw up things it's really hard on the electronics to be making and braking contacts ! it can fry the ECU and lights real fast doing that...
.... give it some slack man ! LOL
....
my bike Idle raised when turned to full lock on the left side ...had to fix that !!!
i found that leaving the left and right lower fairings and the wheel well fairing off until your completely done fiddling with it works good for me... there's no front turn signals then so go accordingly !

Bob......

spotmaxdog · February 13th, 2022, 08:00 AM

Now both handlebar switches don’t work. Definitely some dodgy connections. Wouldn’t be surprised if they were loose/tight/wrong with all the shoving it took to get valve covers and airboxes off. The front wiring harness definitely runs right over all that stuff.

If Kawasaki had just made the frame 1 or 2 inches wider this probably wouldn’t have happened.

Bob KellyIII · February 13th, 2022, 05:54 PM

Yes but unfortunately we have to deal with what they finally compromised on...
and figure out how to still make it work even though the manufacturers decided on a way that didn't work ! .( you would have thought they would have tested it more but getting the product to market is more important than little details.)
...All Kawasaki ,Honda and Suzuki motorcycles are riddled with those kind of problems where they saved 2 cents in manufacturing costs but caused the end consumer hundreds of not thousands of dollars to FIX....
..... and they're not alone, every manufacturer I know of is BOTTOM LINE conscious ! it's become the way of the world now, and it's our job to fix them ! ( which is not an easy task some times)
...
but this particular problem should be an easy one.... get back down to the frame
again.. and loosen up the wiring everywhere... it's better to have too much slack than too little ! start checking connections for continuity as even though 2 plugs come together that does not mean they make electrical contact ...that must be verified. before you move to the next....
it's laborious and time consuming but worth it in the end.
....
many things will work great with the gas tank off but when you put the gas tank on it screws up again.... there for the wiring under and close to the gas tank is the place to look first.
I like to sprey each connector with WD40 before snapping them back together
and if the clips are broken and they do not snap back together then you need to wrap several layers of black tape around them to hold them together
good....
Sounds like most of the connections to the handle bars are loose or pulled apart... make sure they are connected good and have electrical connection
and cannot be pulled apart again.... and then make sure they have enough slack to turn then handle bars to full lock.... do all this before you put the tank back on !
and then check to see that nothing has changed after the tank is back ON !
....
....

and Yes I pulled the oil fill cap on my ninja and stuck my nose in the hole and sniffed..... smells like pure gasoline to me ! .... so I have work to do !
.... leaky petcocks will get you every time !
.....

Later !
Bob.....

spotmaxdog · February 13th, 2022, 06:14 PM

Yep! Pulled the tank and it was just a connector that wiggled loose.

Next step is fork seals and getting like 15 m6 screws from Lowe’s to replace all the missing fairing hardware.

Bob KellyIII · February 13th, 2022, 11:54 PM

I just bought a fairing bolt kit off Amazon because of all the plastic parts , those stupid things always strip out ! and there is rubber sleeve nuts that fit in to holes in the side fairing front part which are necessary to hold the fairing on good, I had one that the nut inside it was missing so I replaced all the ones that looked beat up.... the push pins...i think their called are the biggest
P.I.T A. of taking the fairings off in the first place so having new ones would not be a bad idea.... but they were expensive something like $45.00 for the fairing hardware kit but at least now I have extras if I should loose one !
.....
the problem with using regular hardware on the fairings is you can't get the nut and washer up onto the bolt.... there is no way to access it so it needs to be attached to the fairing maybe silicone caulking glue, or "Shoe goo" would glue the nut in place though....glueing the nut into the right place would be very hard to do though as where it's positioned around that big hole determines the fit of the fairing.... but dead center should be good enough I would think.... I put the front bolts in first and then do the side and bottom bolts ...some times the side and bottom bolts do not want to fit well. so I leave everything loose till everything has a bolt in it and then tighten them down !
.....
Bob.......

....

spotmaxdog · February 22nd, 2022, 02:46 PM

Got the new tires on the bike so now I can finally use all the power the mighty 250cc will give me.

Synchronized the carbs and found that #2 carb was pulling a lot less than the #1. Verified by IR thermometer. I think the previous owner lost the little metal disk that supports the spring in the linkage between the carbs when he split them (and broke them).

Probably contributes to the #2 cylinder not running properly. Probably had zero air passing through the carb at idle. I gave the #2 cylinder a very slight bias to hopefully head off any issues in the future.

Waiting for a nice day to take it out past 25mph now.

spotmaxdog · February 22nd, 2022, 02:47 PM

Got the new tires on the bike so now I can finally use all the power the mighty 250cc will give me.

Synchronized the carbs and found that #2 carb was pulling a lot less than the #1. Verified by IR thermometer. I think the previous owner lost the little metal disk that supports the spring in the linkage between the carbs when he split them (and broke them).

Probably contributes to the #2 cylinder not running properly. Probably had zero air passing through the carb at idle. I gave the #2 cylinder a very slight bias to hopefully head off any issues in the future.

Waiting for a nice day to take it out past 25mph now.

spotmaxdog · March 21st, 2022, 06:23 PM

It rides and runs!

100 miles on it and new small problem. Looks like there's a leak on carb #2. From where it drips it's above the idle screw so I suspect the carb o ring is bad where it does that curve around the idle screw assembly. I probably wore it out when I pulled the carbs 500 times trying to get it going. I wonder if I can drop the bowl while it's on the bike. That would save a lot of time.

February 12th, 2022, 09:41 AM	#41
Bob KellyIII Retired motorcycle Mc. Name: Robert Location: Weed, California. Join Date: Jul 2021 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L. Posts: A lot.	Fantastic ! glad you got it going great again ! Well done ! ... Bob.... __________________________________________________ Its too late when you've gone too far !

February 12th, 2022, 11:42 PM	#43
Bob KellyIII Retired motorcycle Mc. Name: Robert Location: Weed, California. Join Date: Jul 2021 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L. Posts: A lot.	Yeo sounds like wires are way too tight and are pulling out then go back in when the handle bar is straight... check the large bladed white plug ins and make sure they have slack... I had to bend the metal square loops they have welded on the frame for the wires to be routed through ... it only takes a little to get enough slack but you gott'a get that, as it will really screw up things it's really hard on the electronics to be making and braking contacts ! it can fry the ECU and lights real fast doing that... .... give it some slack man ! LOL .... my bike Idle raised when turned to full lock on the left side ...had to fix that !!! i found that leaving the left and right lower fairings and the wheel well fairing off until your completely done fiddling with it works good for me... there's no front turn signals then so go accordingly ! Bob...... __________________________________________________ Its too late when you've gone too far !

February 13th, 2022, 05:54 PM	#45
Bob KellyIII Retired motorcycle Mc. Name: Robert Location: Weed, California. Join Date: Jul 2021 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L. Posts: A lot.	Yes but unfortunately we have to deal with what they finally compromised on... and figure out how to still make it work even though the manufacturers decided on a way that didn't work ! .( you would have thought they would have tested it more but getting the product to market is more important than little details.) ...All Kawasaki ,Honda and Suzuki motorcycles are riddled with those kind of problems where they saved 2 cents in manufacturing costs but caused the end consumer hundreds of not thousands of dollars to FIX.... ..... and they're not alone, every manufacturer I know of is BOTTOM LINE conscious ! it's become the way of the world now, and it's our job to fix them ! ( which is not an easy task some times) ... but this particular problem should be an easy one.... get back down to the frame again.. and loosen up the wiring everywhere... it's better to have too much slack than too little ! start checking connections for continuity as even though 2 plugs come together that does not mean they make electrical contact ...that must be verified. before you move to the next.... it's laborious and time consuming but worth it in the end. .... many things will work great with the gas tank off but when you put the gas tank on it screws up again.... there for the wiring under and close to the gas tank is the place to look first. I like to sprey each connector with WD40 before snapping them back together and if the clips are broken and they do not snap back together then you need to wrap several layers of black tape around them to hold them together good.... Sounds like most of the connections to the handle bars are loose or pulled apart... make sure they are connected good and have electrical connection and cannot be pulled apart again.... and then make sure they have enough slack to turn then handle bars to full lock.... do all this before you put the tank back on ! and then check to see that nothing has changed after the tank is back ON ! .... .... and Yes I pulled the oil fill cap on my ninja and stuck my nose in the hole and sniffed..... smells like pure gasoline to me ! .... so I have work to do ! .... leaky petcocks will get you every time ! ..... Later ! Bob..... __________________________________________________ Its too late when you've gone too far !

February 13th, 2022, 11:54 PM	#47
Bob KellyIII Retired motorcycle Mc. Name: Robert Location: Weed, California. Join Date: Jul 2021 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, 2021 CSC TT250, 1977 Triumph Bonneville 750cc,2001 Honda XR650L. Posts: A lot.	I just bought a fairing bolt kit off Amazon because of all the plastic parts , those stupid things always strip out ! and there is rubber sleeve nuts that fit in to holes in the side fairing front part which are necessary to hold the fairing on good, I had one that the nut inside it was missing so I replaced all the ones that looked beat up.... the push pins...i think their called are the biggest P.I.T A. of taking the fairings off in the first place so having new ones would not be a bad idea.... but they were expensive something like $45.00 for the fairing hardware kit but at least now I have extras if I should loose one ! ..... the problem with using regular hardware on the fairings is you can't get the nut and washer up onto the bolt.... there is no way to access it so it needs to be attached to the fairing maybe silicone caulking glue, or "Shoe goo" would glue the nut in place though....glueing the nut into the right place would be very hard to do though as where it's positioned around that big hole determines the fit of the fairing.... but dead center should be good enough I would think.... I put the front bolts in first and then do the side and bottom bolts ...some times the side and bottom bolts do not want to fit well. so I leave everything loose till everything has a bolt in it and then tighten them down ! ..... Bob....... .... __________________________________________________ Its too late when you've gone too far !

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February 12th, 2022, 07:55 PM	#42
spotmaxdog ninjette.org member Name: Terry Location: Pensacola FL Join Date: Jan 2022 Motorcycle(s): BMW R1200GS, R1100S, Suzuki GR650, Ninja 250 Pregen Posts: 24	Rode it through the neighborhood today. It goes really nice. Next problem. Headlights and turn signals go off when I turn the handlebars to full lock left or right. Must be an intermittent connection somewhere between the handlebar controls and the fusebox. Guess it's coming apart again for troubleshooting.

February 13th, 2022, 08:00 AM	#44
spotmaxdog ninjette.org member Name: Terry Location: Pensacola FL Join Date: Jan 2022 Motorcycle(s): BMW R1200GS, R1100S, Suzuki GR650, Ninja 250 Pregen Posts: 24	Now both handlebar switches don’t work. Definitely some dodgy connections. Wouldn’t be surprised if they were loose/tight/wrong with all the shoving it took to get valve covers and airboxes off. The front wiring harness definitely runs right over all that stuff. If Kawasaki had just made the frame 1 or 2 inches wider this probably wouldn’t have happened.

February 13th, 2022, 06:14 PM	#46
spotmaxdog ninjette.org member Name: Terry Location: Pensacola FL Join Date: Jan 2022 Motorcycle(s): BMW R1200GS, R1100S, Suzuki GR650, Ninja 250 Pregen Posts: 24	Yep! Pulled the tank and it was just a connector that wiggled loose. Next step is fork seals and getting like 15 m6 screws from Lowe’s to replace all the missing fairing hardware.

February 22nd, 2022, 02:46 PM	#48
spotmaxdog ninjette.org member Name: Terry Location: Pensacola FL Join Date: Jan 2022 Motorcycle(s): BMW R1200GS, R1100S, Suzuki GR650, Ninja 250 Pregen Posts: 24	Got the new tires on the bike so now I can finally use all the power the mighty 250cc will give me. Synchronized the carbs and found that #2 carb was pulling a lot less than the #1. Verified by IR thermometer. I think the previous owner lost the little metal disk that supports the spring in the linkage between the carbs when he split them (and broke them). Probably contributes to the #2 cylinder not running properly. Probably had zero air passing through the carb at idle. I gave the #2 cylinder a very slight bias to hopefully head off any issues in the future. Waiting for a nice day to take it out past 25mph now.

February 22nd, 2022, 02:47 PM	#49
spotmaxdog ninjette.org member Name: Terry Location: Pensacola FL Join Date: Jan 2022 Motorcycle(s): BMW R1200GS, R1100S, Suzuki GR650, Ninja 250 Pregen Posts: 24	Got the new tires on the bike so now I can finally use all the power the mighty 250cc will give me. Synchronized the carbs and found that #2 carb was pulling a lot less than the #1. Verified by IR thermometer. I think the previous owner lost the little metal disk that supports the spring in the linkage between the carbs when he split them (and broke them). Probably contributes to the #2 cylinder not running properly. Probably had zero air passing through the carb at idle. I gave the #2 cylinder a very slight bias to hopefully head off any issues in the future. Waiting for a nice day to take it out past 25mph now.