How Long Does it Take For the Reserve Tank To Drain Carbs ??

[RedNinja09]

Hey guys, question.... I am running the bike with Stabil to get it ready for the winter. I have the reserve switch set to PRI but it is taking FOREVER for the reserve tank to drain out. Is this normal ? Am I doing something wrong ??? Something doesnt see right ?? Will the bike eventually die out. It has been running for like 20 minutes ?!

Thanks

[Nickds7]

You can also disconnect the fuel line, and drain from there.

[RedNinja09]

Well, I dont want to drain the whole tank. I just want to drain the reserves. It has been running for 45 minutes with no death. It doesnt seem to be the gas shut off ?

Red

[boathead]

what am i missing here....why would you want to drain your tank? you want it filled with stabilized gas over the winter to combat rust.

if you are trying to drain your carb, having the petcock to prime will ensure that you will have a steady supply of gas until your gas tank empties.

not sure what you are trying to do.

personally, i would fill up your tank, put some seafoam and stabil in it, then run your bike for 10 minutes or so to get the treated gas into your carbs. then shut it off, and park it for the winter. i am not a fan of draining a carb, as capillary action keeps the gas in the nooks and crannies anyway, and this is where the gumming up will happen.

[boathead]

oh, btw, you cannot drain the reserve portion of the tank without draining the entire tank. not possible what you are trying to do. the reserve simply draws gas from lower in the tank.

[RedNinja09]

Well, I turned to to PRI and am I am trying to run it till it's dead so I can drain the carbs. But, it seems to be NOT dying. I just turned it off. I dont know, I have never done this before. So, you have never drained the carbs Boathead ? No problems ?

[RedNinja09]

OMG, my mechanic friend told me to run it till it died BUT he is a Yamaha mechanic. Maybe the Kawasaki is just a different set up. What a pain in the ass... Thanks for the info.

[boathead]

i see your problem....you posted another thread yesterday.

you do not need to drain your tank to drain the carbs. what you need to do is put seafoam and stabil in your gas, and run it so that the treated gas gets into the carberators....

then, turn off the bike. then drain the carbs. that other thread posted a link on how to do it.

but no, i don't drain. i have never had a problem with simply running treated gas through the system.

the other thread mentioned running the treated gas through both your primary and reserve system. i think this is where you got confused. simply, while the bike is running, and with your treated gas in your tank, run the gas while the petcock is in the pri mode, reserve mode, and regular mode. this will get the treated gas into all the nooks in the petcock switch, which can gum up as well as a carb. then turn the bike off. you don't need to run it for an extended period of time.

does this help?

[Flashmonkey]

Uhmm...if you're trying to drain the carb fuel bowls you should have the petcock set to "off"....not reserve. The idea is to cut off fuel supply from the tank and let the bowls run dry. This should only take 10 minutes max.

Or you could just manually drain the bowls by opening the two screws on the side of the carbs.

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

[RedNinja09]

Per the manual, and from what I see, there are only 2 postitions. PRI and on. I switched it to PRI. That isnt right ? I dont see an "off" ?

[RedNinja09]

By the way, this is a 2009 model.

[boathead]

and your friend is correct. a way to drain the carb is to run the bike, and while it is still running, at the petcock, turn it to "off". this will shut off the fuel supply, but your bike will continue to run for a minute of so until the fuel that is in the fuel line and carb is used up.

[RedNinja09]

Boat, I cant find a petcock. I wonder if the newer models dont have one ?

[Alex]

The petcock is that switch you are turning. One the new-gens there is no OFF; it's either PRI or ON.

[RedNinja09]

Thanks Alex , yes all I see if PRI or OFF. I feel like I am missing something... I turned it to PRI and it is running and running and running. Nothing is dying. Something isnt right here....

[boathead]

ok, if you have only pri and on, you are stuck. just so you know, your bike gets fuel to the carb in one of two ways....

if the bike is "on", that doesn't always mean it is on. rather, when you turning the key, and start the engine, a vacuum is created in the engine, and the vacuum activates your petcock and sucks fuel to your carb. when you turn the bike off, vacuum is no longer created, and therefore no fuel is being sent to your carb, despite the fact that the petcock is still "on".

the pri, which presumable stands for prime, doesn't involve vacuum at all. it is gravity fed. when you put it on prime, the petcock will send fuel to your carb all day long, whether your bike is on or not, unless something happens to stop the flow. and what usually stops it, is the floats in your carbs...they rise up as the carb bowl fills with gas. at a predetermined level, the float should cut of the fuel. sometimes you hear of someone that is leaking fuel from the carb...overflowing. usually it is because something is up with the float.

hope this helps.

[boathead]

friend...your questions suggest that you are not reading.

if you have the bike on, whether in pri or on, the bike will continue running until you run out of gas. that is all that will happen.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by RedNinja09

Thanks Alex , yes all I see if PRI or OFF. I feel like I am missing something... I turned it to PRI and it is running and running and running. Nothing is dying. Something isnt right here....

You're not going to be able to do what you're trying to do. Turn the bike off. Both the PRI and the ON settings will let the fuel keep coming until the tank is completely empty. If you have a couple of gallons in the tank that could take hours, if not days. It's a bad idea. If you want to run some Stabil through the system, it only takes a few minutes, then shut the bike off and drain the fuel bowls manually if you choose to.

[RedNinja09]

Thanks Boat, I cant figure this out. What am I doing wrong ? Should I have it set to PRI or ON ? Sorry for all the questions, all the dealers are closed to today and I have never done this before.

[Flashmonkey]

Oh its a NEW-gen....oh that sucks. As Alex said, those petcocks don't have an "off" position....which is mind boggling.

Anyway, your only option is to drain the bowls manually, as per the link I gave you a few posts up. This is ridiculously easy to do on the 250, as there are only 2 cylinders. Good luck!

Edit: Oh and to answer your other question there, leave the petcock in the ON position.

[boathead]

yes...put the petcock to on. and turn the bike off.

if you have already put stabil in, in my opinion you are good to go. no need to drain the carb. if however you are intent on draining the carbs, follow this:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Draining_the_carbs

i have 3 bikes. i have never drained the carbs and never have had a problem, so long as i run seafoam AND stabil in the gas and get it into the carbs.

[RedNinja09]

Well, I am getting quite frustated. Thanks for the info. I do appreciate it.

[boathead]

chris....no need to get frustrated.

i don't have an 09, but i understand petcocks a bit.

your friend had in mind that while the bike was running, you would cut off the fuel supply to the carbs. with the fuel cut off, the carbs would use up whatever fuel was in there, and then die, as no more fuel would be flowing into them.

but your petcock doesn't permit this.

so your options are to:
1. don't drain the carbs at all. or
2. drain the carbs manually by following the procedures outlined here:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Draining_the_carbs

your choice. people differ on whether they drain the carbs or not. if you don't drain, just make sure that you had put stab-il in your gas tank, and let the bike run for awhile. by doing so, you would get stabilized gas into your carb. then turn the bike off, and this stabilized gas will sit in your carbs over the winter. this is what i do.

either way, at all times, you do NOT want your petcock turned to the pri setting. again, pri, which is short for prime, will permit fuel to flow at all times to your carbs. ordinarily, the floats inside your carbs will cut if off so that your carbs don't overflow, but sometimes something goes wrong. if that happens, the pri will keep sending fuel to your carbs. if the bike is off, that fuel will overflow out of your carbs and end up on your garage floor.

that is not to say that you will never have use for the pri setting. if you run out of gas ever in your life, there will not be fuel in the vacuum line from your petcock to your carb. in this case, once you get some gas into the tank, you will want to turn it to pri. again, pri is gravity fed, and the fuel will flow from your petcock to your carb. at that point, you'd want to switch the petcock back to the on position, which then activates the vacuum system. under most situations, you want the vacuum delivering fuel, not gravity.

again, hope this helps.

[Alex]

/moving thread to new-gen tech section

[250Rocket]

Perusing the forums I seem to recall this, don't take my word for it, but I think it's right.

The only way to drain the carbs on the bike is by disconnecting the hose and running the bike or by unscrewing the carb screw.

PRI is only for putting the fuel back in the carbs. Basically our new bikes run on pressure. When the motor is running it sucks the fuel out of the tank otherwise it's sealed. Putting it on PRI lets fuel drain without the motor.

[Ken08Ninja]

250Rocket is correct on the new gen you have to disconnect the vacuum line at the valve.
Leave the valve ON and then start the bike it will drain the float bowls and stall. After it stalls out don't forget to reconnect the vacuum line.
When you want to take it out of storage you will have to turn the valve to PRI to get the fuel to fill the bowls back up.
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[Sailariel]

I take a Hemostat and pinch the vacuum if I want to run the carbs dry. With Marine StaBil (The blue stuff) i leave everything alone, make sure the stuff is in the system, and store with a full tank.

[adouglas]

Something I didn't see anyone mention:

Your bike doesn't HAVE a reserve tank (actually neither does the pregen... the reserve fuel supply is simply drawn from lower down in the main tank).

Perhaps this might help your understanding a bit.

Also:

PRI causes fuel to flow from the tank until the tank is empty, whether the engine is running or not.

ON causes fuel to flow from the tank only when the engine is running. When in the ON position the valve is held open by engine vacuum (the smaller of the two hoses leading to the valve is a vacuum line).

Since there is no OFF, there is NO WAY to run the carbs dry unless you unhook the fuel hose from them, period. Gas will continue to flow until the entire tank is dry.

But if you're going to dive in there to unhook the hose, you might as well just open the carb bowl drains.

There is disagreement as to whether you should actually drain the carbs if you've got stabilized fuel in there.

[TrueFaith]

Personally, I wouldn't even bother draining the bowls. I did last year and there were plenty of opportunities here in Mass. to run the bike. This year I am adding Sta-bil like I did last year, but I'm going to start & run the bike a couple of times a month. The newest Sta-bil says it keeps gas fresh for 12 months, so 3 or 4 shouldn't be too much of a concern. I still keep it up on track stands, change the oil and keep a battery tender connected, but no draining the bowls this year. I wouldn't think Vermont would be that much worse than it is here in winter.

[RedNinja09]

Hey True, sounds like a plan for me. I am NOT a mechanic and I do NOT know what I am doing. The last thing I want to do is start messing with hoses and gas lines and slop gas all over the place. I put Stabil in it and I will run it a few times over the winter. Good enough. This carb stuff is just too much for me. I do appreciate all the advice though... thanks guys !

[kkim]

starting the bike to warm it up without actually riding it during the winter is actually worse for the bike. If you're going to store the bike for winter, store it properly and don't touch it till you're ready to ride it again in the spring.

[TrueFaith]

Originally Posted by kkim

starting the bike to warm it up without actually riding it during the winter is actually worse for the bike. If you're going to store the bike for winter, store it properly and don't touch it till you're ready to ride it again in the spring.

Perhaps, but has it ever been determined just how bad it is for the bike? I doubt the negative effects are something to lose sleep over. Maybe after owning 3 bikes I've become a bit less compulsive about my winter storage methods. I used the method of starting the bike occasionally on the first bike I owned for 3 winters and never noticed any negative effects and there are a lot of riders in this area who do the same. The winter weather in New England can be very strange and there are always a few days of rediculously warm weather between the snow storms. Last winter I missed out on a few good riding days because the bike was in mothballs and the carbs drained. I'd like the opportunity to get a ride in here and there when the weather cooperates. Like everything else it's a trade-off, but I think having the bike ready to ride trumps any minor negative effects starting it a few times during storage may have.

[rockNroll]

I've never prepped a bike for winter storage other than attaching a battery tender and filling the fuel tank w/ a fuel additive and running the bike for a few minutes to get the treated fuel into the carbs or injectors. I will add though that when an indian summer would hit, I'd have the bike out for them few days so my bike probably didn't sit for more than 3-4 months at a time without running. Sometimes, during the long cold winter, I'd open my door and back the motorcycle(s) to it so the exhaust was pointing outside and fire it/them up to let 'em breath

[Chrisroberts05]

I've never done ANYTHING to my 09 Ninja storing it over the winter. I live way up here in Michigan. Can't drive half the year due to temperature and snow. Before I park her in the non-heated garage for the winter, I fill her full of premium gas. Park it. That's it! Don't even bother with a battery tender. I'll come out and fire her up maybe once a month. This year I didn't even bother. Didn't even fire up for about 3 months. Once the daytime temperature got up to 40, I put on the choke, and started her. Dodging snow banks, I drove her all over. I wish people would stop stressing over minor things like fuel and storage. Relax my friend. RELAX! LOL

[Alex]

You've been fortunate.