need some help (a bit long)

[turbomaxima]

As my luck always goes, I was in the process of selling my 1997 Ninja 250 and the dang thing won't start. For one, the battery is dead but I put a charger on there for starting purposes. Before I go on I should add a few things that I noticed and that happened which were very strange. For some odd reason, the tachometer was reading 7,000-8,000 rpm when I turned the key to the on position which has never happened to me before. I have no clue what is going on there, any ideas? Also, at another point during this fiasco, the turn signal switch was messed with just a tiny bit and the right blinker started flashing everytime I cranked the engine. It almost seemed like it was flashing with the rotation of the engine and not at its normal rate. I messed with the switch a little trying to put it back in its normal position and the problem stopped.

Now on to the trouble. At first I figured it was bad gas since it was sitting for a long time. I drained the carbs using the little drain screw on the bottom of each carb. Nasty gas did come out and after that the good gas so I closed them back up. Once I did that I figured it would start right up... nope. I had the charger set at 40 amps and there were a few things I noticed. One was, when the choke is on the engine sounded like it had a very difficult time cranking. The second was it didn't act like it wanted to start at all at that 40 amps. I turned the charger up to 200 amps (I know... starter killer. I was careful) and it would act like it wanted start. It would fire once or twice but not actually start up and then stop firing. It would do this a few times but would never start up. I pulled the left cylinder plug and it looked as if it were brand new (silver and everything). I smelled gas on it so it definitely seemed like it wasn't firing. I put the plug in the wire and held it to the engine to see if I could get a spark and there was nothing... Could that just be from gas being on it or is it something worse like the coil, wiring, or stator (seem to be having a lot of stator trouble with various things lately, i hope that's not it).

Like I said, I was trying to sell this but this crap happened so any help would be extremely appreciated. Many, many thanks in advance!!!

[ZX-2R]

First things first.
1. Dump the gas and get FRESH gas.
(while you have the seat up check that you have no nests in your airbox...like mice)
2. Soak your plugs in white vinegar overnight to clean them, then dry them. (charging your battery overnight slowly)
3. install the spark plug into the spark plug boot and ground to a good spot and ...make sure that the on/off switch is ON and that your ignition switch is "ON" and that the neutral light is on.
4. hit the start button and look for spark. bright blue not red.
5. IF you have spark then reinstall the plugs.
6. Turn the petcock to "RES".
7. try to start with choke on. 15 seconds MAXIMUM!
IF it tries to fire then find a hill or have some kids push you...make sure the Safety switch is on, the kickstand is up, the ignition switch is on the fuel is in "RES" position, put the bike in 2nd gear, clutch ain and have them push...pop the clutch several times till it starts... When it does start hit Neutral and set there keeping it running, and when you can cut the choke off then do so but keep the revs up some so that it doesn't die on you... be nice and buy the kids something for the pushing...
DON'T abuse your starter! IF it won't start by pushing...or you never get any fire check your wiring, fuses...sounds like the switch is working if the signal is working...

[ZX-2R]

Don't forget to let us know what you found...Sometimes your neutral light may be on...make sure that it is actually in neutral...and check that the kickstand switch is working...work it several times to clean the contacts inside... RETURN to teh FORUM an dlet us know if it runds and what else you can if it doesn't...using this same thread.

[turbomaxima]

awesome info! i'll go try everything out and see what i can find.

[turbomaxima]

another thing that i noticed that i can't seem to remember... when you have the key turned to the on position and you attempt turning the turn signals on will they flash with the key in the on position and the engine off or does the engine have to run? if they are supposed to blink even with the engine off i'm almost wondering if something like a mouse got in the bike somewhere and started chewing on wires or something. i might just have to take everything apart if that's the case.

[ZX-2R]

First get it running by then we can eithr have the wiring figured out or ask again!!! Still, the Maintenance Manual From Beartooth is a great book just to read evenif you never want to work on things such as clutchse and all that ...it is quite impressive with the details and such...