Troubleshooting my Ninja

[zenmike]

Hey ya'll. So, I bought this 08 ninja with 500 miles on it. Pretty much brand new condition although was never winterized correctly. So I had some basic problems... stalling w/ anything but very slow throttle turn, hesitant and boggy up to 5k revs, uneasy/crazy power surge @ 6k, very slow throttle response in general.

So, I replaced oil, coolant, and fuel, drained float bowls, ran some ethanol free and a bit of sea foam, and the bike improved immensely, now even with wot at idle the bike won't stall, but there is a huge lag before the revs pick up, then they drop slow.

The revs will drop to 2k and hang there for about 10-15 seconds before finally dropping down to idle. Throttle response from idle is still very bad, a quick wide open blip and it hesitates to climb.

Today I removed the snorkel just to see what happens, I believe I was running too lean to begin with so it didnt really help, I think it actually made it worse so I'll be putting the snorkel back on.

What do you guys think I do now? I know a carb clean and possible shim may be in order but I want to exasperate all other options before doing that. maybe tinker with the mixture screws? Ride it for 200 miles or so with the new fuel? please help with any suggestions, thanks.

[MrAtom]

Couldn't hurt to check the airbox.

[fishdip]

Sounds like you may need a carb sync.

[zenmike]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

Couldn't hurt to check the airbox.

For obstructions? Do you think the problem is not enough fuel in the mixture?

Originally Posted by fishdip

Sounds like you may need a carb sync.

You suggest I do it myself?

[MrAtom]

Yeah, I mean, you're down there. Might as well. If it's been sitting chances are it needs to be cleaned a little, anyway. and if it doesn't help, try the carb sync. That's actually a much better idea.

[garth285]

If you took the snorkel off and it became worse then yeah its probably to lean, your adding more air to the mixture so it will run worse.

Sounds like you have a pilot jet clogged. If your able to clean the carbs I'd tackle that first.

You can try to move the air fuel screws out maybe a turn each and see if it improves and then ride the bike for a good while with that good ethanol free fuel and it may clear it out but if you want results right away I'd clean the carbs but I do know its a pain to do so for some.

You can see if the bike runs a little better with the choke on, that will richen up the mixture for you or obstruct the intake and see if it runs any better if so then your running lean and need more fuel and less air.

CLEAN THEM CARBS!

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by zenmike

Hey ya'll. So, I bought this 08 ninja with 500 miles on it. Pretty much brand new condition although was never winterized correctly. So I had some basic problems... stalling w/ anything but very slow throttle turn, hesitant and boggy up to 5k revs, uneasy/crazy power surge @ 6k, very slow throttle response in general.

So, I replaced oil, coolant, and fuel, drained float bowls, ran some ethanol free and a bit of sea foam, and the bike improved immensely, now even with wot at idle the bike won't stall, but there is a huge lag before the revs pick up, then they drop slow.

The revs will drop to 2k and hang there for about 10-15 seconds before finally dropping down to idle. Throttle response from idle is still very bad, a quick wide open blip and it hesitates to climb.

Today I removed the snorkel just to see what happens, I believe I was running too lean to begin with so it didnt really help, I think it actually made it worse so I'll be putting the snorkel back on.

What do you guys think I do now? I know a carb clean and possible shim may be in order but I want to exasperate all other options before doing that. maybe tinker with the mixture screws? Ride it for 200 miles or so with the new fuel? please help with any suggestions, thanks.

Because it wasn't winterized properly, chances are there are deposits in the carb, but the symptoms you described concerning the idle hanging are typical of a vacuum leak - so I would check by spraying carb cleaner around the intake boots to see if you hear a change in idle speed. I would check that first.

If the caps are off of the idle mixture screws, check their current setting, then set them to 2 1/2 turns out as a staring point.

Shimming the needles usually smooths out a lean flat spot as you open the throttle and the slides begin to lift.

A carb sync is also a good idea.

Best to do things one at a time, then check to see if there's an improvement, instead of doing everything all at once - just in case it gets worse instead of better.

[zenmike]

Thanks for your help guys truly appreciated.

Sunday funday tomorrow, I might pull the carbs
I'll keep you guys posted throughout