'06 Kawi Ninja 250r

[PoorManQ45]

I just got a job that is 30 minutes away. The Buick is giving me transmission problems and is generally inefficient.

My brother in law has a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 250r that he's willing to sell for $1400. It has 3k miles on it. It has never been dumped. Completely stock.

The only issues are, because it sat so long, the carburetor is varnished and requires a rebuild, and the battery is completely dead as it was left dead for a long time.

Is this a good buy?

I was looking at the forums and these things seem like great little bikes that you don't need to do anything to.

The only thing I would do to it is add a relay to the headlight to upgrade the wiring to accept a Narva 100/90w H4 or Osram 85/80w bulb.

Thoughts?

*edit for pictures*


Modified by PoorManQ45 at 1:35 PM 3/18/2010

[TroubleBound]

It seems like a good idea. It will be annoying ride on snowy and rainy days though and 250 is kind of weak. I like bikes cause they're cheap though.But IMO Ninja<GSXR<R1
Modified by TroubleBound at 10:02 AM 1/17/2010

[bundy26]

I think the price is a little high, don't forget it's a 250 and the things you have to do to it, I wouldn't pay over $900. That's just my opinion.

[PoorManQ45]

Huh? Trade-in value is $1500. Retail is $2500.

What things would have to be done? It's just a bike to get to work and save me money on gas.

Note: This is my first street bike. I've ridden 450 dirt bikes before, but not street bikes.

[snwbrdr435]

I think the price is a little high, don't forget it's a 250 and the things you have to do to it, I wouldn't pay over $900. That's just my opinion.

The resale value was and still does hold on 250s

[TroubleBound]

Have any pics of said bike? I'm sure you will enjoy owning it i had a really gay yamaha fzr600 that i fell in love with...till i sold it...but i have never ridden a 250 before.

[PoorManQ45]

I'll have pictures shortly. Should be here in an hour

[SHIFT_Z]

Both of those repairs can be done on your behalf, saving you even more money. If I was in your position I'd probably buy. And if you get bored with it, you could even re-sell it in running condition and make a few hundred bucks.

[mmm240]

I say scoop it up. As already stated those bikes hold their value.

[PoorManQ45]

Just bought the battery.

Drained the gas tank and Carb bowls. Going to see what new gas does for it. Maybe that'll fix it alone: )

[Mr1der]

ehh...you might get lucky and the gas will breakdown some varnish...I've never messed with a bike's carb, but I doubt it's difficult to clean or rebuild.

[SHIFT_Z]

Might not be a bad idea to run some seafoam through the gas tank to get rid of some crud that you don't have easy access to. When I ran some through my old Suzuki, it helped a lot.

[PoorManQ45]

Eh, well it was clogged up worse then I thought.

One of the float bowls wouldn't get any gas. The other would.

So I pulled the carbs off. The assembly is on the bench now. I may get to it tonight or tomorrow after work.

Unfortunately I didn't realize that the headlight is always on on these bikes. So no high power bulb . They only get like 350 hours of runtime. Standard is around 1200.

[HashiriyaS14]

Interesting.

I've got an 03 250 at my house that needs a carb cleaning. Did you remove the gas tank to drain it? Are you going to clean the inside of the tank at all, or just the carb?

Did you do it via the directions from any particular walkthrough/FAQ, and if so, post a link?

I already bought a battery and replaced a snapped bar riser and brake lever.

[PoorManQ45]

Here are the walkthroughs I used.

Took a total of about 2 hours, and this was my first time dealing with a carb!

removal http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/H...em%3F

cleaning http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Cleaning_the_carbs_2

removal took about 15 minutes via that method.

Be very careful with the drilling of the mixture screw cap. Its very thin and the screw is soft. Easily damaged.

[hvp014]

AWESOME beginner bike and great easy riding commuter. I say go for it.

[PoorManQ45]

Hopefully I'll have it up and running tomorrow after work. Then I'll stop by the DMV for the study book. I need to get my motorcycle license.

[PoorManQ45]

Oh, just an FYI, the Pilot jets were coated with dirt!

These bikes have absolutely no fuel filter. I will add one tomorrow between the petcock and the carb. Should extend service intervals

[Ace2cool]

I've ridden 250's. They have some go to them, but they bore me quickly. I don't want a BIKE that my CAR can accelerate faster than. Just my personal opinion. I like 600's.

I grew out of a 250 within the first few days of riding...

[themadscientist]

A 250 with 2 too many strokes ist fail. Now THIS is a 250!

[PoorManQ45]

I was mistaken, the Ninja does have a fuel filter from the factory. This is it

That filter goes inside of the 1/4 hose between the petcock and the carb...

It's about useless. I'll be changing it tomorrow.

[PoorManQ45]

Well, just took the carbs off the bike for the third time!

The first two times I only cleaned what the walkthrough said. This ended up with no fuel going to the bowls.

So, I took them off and just started pushed, blowing, sliding, moving everything and feeling for resistance.

I found that the bladders/diaphragms were sticking and not creating vacuum. This in turn doesn't allow fuel to flow from the gas tank as there is a vacuum actuated petcock on it.

So, cleaned it all up and put everything together.

The bike fired right up once I manually filled the bowls for the first start. Oh, and a shot of ether helped

Unfortunately it is hunting for idle still. I had to dump the gas tank again as I had left about half a gallon of 6 month old gas in it when I added 2 gallons of fresh fuel.

Changed it for fresh 93 octane. Can someone please explain why the manual and everyone recommends 87 octane in this engine? The compression ratio is 12.4:1. My quad at 11.7:1 will detonate with 87...

Anyways, the new gas calmed down the idle alot. It will idle, but if you punch the throttle then let off completely it will sputter and die. I set the idle to maximum, but this didn't change anything.

So, tomorrow I am going to change the spark plugs.

Any other suggestions?

Oh, it rides nice, but the throttle isn't responding quickly IMO. This is what leads me to believe the spark plugs may be fouled.

[Ace2cool]

Good to hear you actually got it up and running!

As far as the gas goes, most bikes I've ever seen call for premium only, especially the newer models. Idk about you but I would definitely be running premium in it.

[PoorManQ45]

Yeah, i'll be running premium in it. It's only about $1 more for a complete fill up.

Any idea why the bike would run fine on 87 though with such high compression?

[MinisterofDOOM]

I had to rebuild the carb in a little honda XR80 that had been sitting for YEARS. It was so gummed up...tank, carb, the whole fuel system was a mess. The thing STILL doesn't idle right, you have to keep a ratchet and a spare plug in the toolkit or you might be in trouble. Not than anyone's going far on the thing...top speed downhill is ~30mph.

[themadscientist]

Yeah, i'll be running premium in it. It's only about $1 more for a complete fill up.

Any idea why the bike would run fine on 87 though with such high compression?

The chamber and/or pistons might be of a forgiving design. If no hot spots are prevalent, low octane can work fine. They may recommend the lower octane because the high stuff would be a waste in this engine.

[mmm240]

Honda recommends that I run 86 in my F4i (01 600) WTF?

[Dattebayo]

Check the valve clearance to be sure they are within spec. This is what the bike queen here says. She's usually always right with this stuff...

[HashiriyaS14]

This thread rocks.

I'm going to let the thread run another week or so until I mess with my bike, so you can learn all the hard lessons for me, lol.

[PoorManQ45]

LOL. That's funny.

I just replaced the plugs. It fixed a little upper RPM sputtering, but the hunting and dying is still there.

It's just not pulling hard. I mean, I know it's a 250, but half throttle and full throttle pull the same.

Something is definitely off with the carbs.

It starts right up now. So I am happy with that

I don't know if the valves were ever checked at the 500 mile service. I might do that, but that's the last resort. I'm thinking it's carb still