Ninja 250R/500R

[MN_Smurf]

Jeep, the bike idles at 4-5K with the choke off??? Have you thought about adjusting the idle speed? Stand looking at the left side of you bike...the idle adjust knob is below and just to the right of the petcock. Here's a picture. The grey hose at the top of the pic is the fuel line. On the radiator, it's normal for the temp to climb while sitting at a stoplight....as long as it's not going into the red, don't worry about it. I normally hear my fan kick on right after I shut the bike down after a ride. If it's not doing that, you may want to have it checked out.

[Nick D]

does any one know when the radiator kicks in? while idleing my bike temp climbs and i just want to know when the radiator kicks in so it don't over heat...

also, the bike idles at 4-5k RPM when warmed up so im guessing the carb. needs cleaning any advice step by step cleaning carbs.?..

I haven't actually worked on a 250, so I can't tell you where the exact adjuster is, but your idle (if it's always about the same and not surging all the time) is controlled by a thumb screw that's usually located between the carbs. It's a big screw you can turn by hand, and tightening it will raise the revs, loosening it will lower them.

Look for something like part number 16021 (bottom left) of the drawing below and see if adjusting it helps your problem.


When you say "radiator kicks in" do you mean the radiator itself (thermostat controlled) or the fan? You should be able to watch your temp gauge if you have one. If you're riding and the temp comes up, then all of a sudden drops, but the fan's not on, that's your thermostat opening and letting the radiator circulate.

As for the fan, it's controlled by a temperature switch. If the bike doesn't get hot enough it won't come on. One way to test the fan itself is to unhook the wires and just attach it to a 12v source using some jumpers. If you're not running through the temp switch then it should come on immediately. Be sure to keep your wires straight when reattaching it to the bike wiring, if you reverse them then your fan will run backwards and do you no good.

As for the temp switch itself, I don't know a good way to test it off hand, other than heating it up with a torch or the like, which probably isn't a great idea. Dipping it in boiling water might get tricky, too. If the fan itself works but the bike overheats and it never comes on then you know either the switch or the wiring in that loop has issues.

[Nick D]

Jeep, the bike idles at 4-5K with the choke off??? Have you thought about adjusting the idle speed? Stand looking at the left side of you bike...the idle adjust knob is below and just to the right of the petcock. Here's a picture. The grey hose at the top of the pic is the fuel line. On the radiator, it's normal for the temp to climb while sitting at a stoplight....as long as it's not going into the red, don't worry about it. I normally hear my fan kick on right after I shut the bike down after a ride. If it's not doing that, you may want to have it checked out.

Excellent picture, I must say. Way better than mine .

[jeep4x4055]

thanks i will check the fan out as far as the idle i have adjusted that when warm and then it still goes back to were it was around 4-5k RPM after riding awhile..

also i was thinking about getting a 2-way bosch spark plugs for the bike since it made my car idle lower and gave it a 1 mpg increase that i could notice.. anyone know the part # so i could pick it up at wal-mart?

[MN_Smurf]

Jeep....something sounds really fishy if your idle is adjusting itself up. You may want to ask this question over at www.ninja250.org ....some of those guys have forgotten more about the Ninjette than a lot of us will ever know....

[Sleepingthunder]

Just Get A feel for the bike man.
"Use the Force"

[Sleepingthunder]

Ouch 65 bucks, I'd do it myself. Use a good filter(like bosch) and about 3 quarts of oil. You can do it yourself for about 20$,thats alot cheaper than 65

If you need to log on here to get the answer to that question then u must not have much confidence in ur own abbility only u no what ur capabble of.

[KoukiFC3S]

Is the redline on a 250 14k? On my bike the red starts at 13K.

[scoobywrx05]

If you need to log on here to get the answer to that question then u must not have much confidence in ur own abbility only u no what ur capabble of.

I think you quoted the wrong person, I do all the work on my own bike,I don't take my bike to a dealer for nothing.

[MN_Smurf]

Kouki....Kawasaki changed the redline mark to 13K sometime in '04....if you have a 13K tach, your rev limiter probably kicks in at 14K. You wouldn't want to run it up in that range anyway though....best power is produced below 11K...

[jeep4x4055]

i just cleaned the carbs and inside looks just about new and anyways i start the bike up and adjust the idle screw to 1500rpm and i revved it (after it warms up) and then the idle goes to 4000rpm and i adjust it again (while it was at 4000rpm(since it didnt return to 1500rpm and the throttle don't stick eather) then it i rev it then it almost died at 1000rpm

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN PLEASE HELP!!!

[scoobywrx05]

Its one of a couple things,first,your pilot jets are pluged,or your carb boots are sucking in air somewhere. When you cleaned the carbs,could you see light through the pilot jets,if you couldn't,there pluged. Have you ever made any adjustments to the pilot screws at all? Did this problem all of a sudden happen or is it getting worse over time?

[jeep4x4055]

carb boots? whats that? if your talking about the fuel plugs next to the float i cleaned both the idle and the fuel one and made sure it wasn't clogged (looking thought them) is that the pilot screws right? ever since i got the bike its been doing this (thinking it just needs a carb cleaning when it really didn't need it at all)

[ninja_boy]

Hi all,

I got an used 2005 ninja 250 3 days ago. today i started it and the engine oil check light was on after turning it on (guess it should go off after on). What may be the problem.

I am a newbie please help me out. I finished my MSF course and excited to drive me bike.

Thanks,
Kumar.

[Nick D]

carb boots? whats that? if your talking about the fuel plugs next to the float i cleaned both the idle and the fuel one and made sure it wasn't clogged (looking thought them) is that the pilot screws right? ever since i got the bike its been doing this (thinking it just needs a carb cleaning when it really didn't need it at all)

Carb boots are the rubber pieces that hold your carbs onto your bike. With age they can deteriorate and get cracks and the unmetered air (air not going through the carb to get to the motor) will cause uneven idle and problems all around. I haven't ever heard of it making the idle jump around to the tune of 2500 rpm difference in the way you described, but I've also not worked on a ton of bikes, either.

This still sounds like a carb problem. When you cleaned the carbs, did you pull them apart and clean all the nooks and crannies? There are a lot of passageways and such through the carbs that can get plugged with very small amounts of crud. Another 250 owner would be more help there as I've never had 250 or 500 carbs apart as of yet so I don't know exactly what passages to look for.

Something else to check: have you played with the choke to make sure it's functioning properly? If it's not fully releasing it's possible it could be giving you some issues. That's more of a grasp at a possible solution, though.

[Nick D]

Hi all,

I got an used 2005 ninja 250 3 days ago. today i started it and the engine oil check light was on after turning it on (guess it should go off after on). What may be the problem.

I am a newbie please help me out. I finished my MSF course and excited to drive me bike.

Thanks,
Kumar.

It's normal for the light to be on just after startup, but not much longer. The engine has to pump it up to running pressure and then the light will go out.

First thing you should do is put the bike on the center stand and check the oil through the sight glass. Usually they'll be marks next to the glass to show the range of where it should be. If it isn't in the range, add or subtract oil to get it there.

That done, if you still have a problem, a few things could be wrong.
1 - The sending unit (oil pressure sensor) is bad and needs to be replaced. In this instance you have oil pressure but the unit can't sense it and will ignite the light falsely.
2 - The oil filter isn't flowing properly. If you just got the bike you should change the oil and filter immediately for piece of mind, then you'll know that this isn't the problem.
3 - The oil pump is bad and needs to be replaced. It happens, but isn't likely.
4 - The oil pickup is clogged (possibly with clutch fibers. Not likely, but I knew a guy who was racing his 1000RR and lost a motor recently due to this. You really have to abuse the bike to get to this point).

First thing I'd do is change the oil and filter. Use the proper oil (goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway) - something with no friction modifiers (don't use car oil). Once that's changed and topped off, see if the issue remains and go from there. I'd go to the sending unit as the next solution.

[ninja_boy]

Thanks Nick D.

Will check it out. And post the result.

[DKspokane]

... i cleaned both the idle and the fuel one and made sure it wasn't clogged (looking thought them) ... ever since i got the bike its been doing this (thinking it just needs a carb cleaning when it really didn't need it at all)

Keeping in mind that I'm a NOOB, this sounds like either a carb-sync issue (and if you took either or both apart then you really should re-sync them afterwards, anyway), or it may be as simple as lubricating the throttle cable. By the way, the Choke also has a cold idle function so that when you choke the engine at start up, it will idle faster.

Good luck! DK

[whatever whatev]

so i've been lurking on these forums for a long while but i finaly joined up so i could ask about pipes...
i've used the search and had most of my questions answered, but i have a few additional ones. i want to get a two in to one pipe for my ex500r and i know that Muzzy makes one, but are they any other companies making that style of exhaust for the 500? the reason i probably wouldn't get the muzzy is because from what i've read it is exceptionaly loud. now, i want a louder pipe so a few more people can hear me, but since these bikes are cold blooded and require a warm up time i dont want to sit on my street with a loud-*** pipe at 530am ****ing people off.
second question is why go for an aluminum pipe? carbon is quite a bit lighter than steel, but i can't imagine aluminum would be too significant of a difference and i would be worried that it could get damaged a lot easier than steel. i've never dropped a bike and dont plan to, but aluminum just doesn't seem as sturdy. i imagine it doesn't get as hot though.
thanks in advance.

[Meg250R]

Hi there.. forgive me for not reading the entire post before I ask this question But I am going to go buy my 2007 Ninja 250 today and I think the shop is asking WAY too much to lower it for me. What I want to know is -where I should look (online or otherwise) to buy the "dog bones" to lower it. Also, a good how to would be nice. My significant other is very good with these sorts of things, so I'm sure he is very capible of doing it, but a good "how to" will probably make the process a lot smoother. Sorry if you've already been over this, I didn't have time to read through the whole thread and I'm so excited about getting my bike but I won't be able to ride it until we lower it so I want to order the parts ASAP! Thanks in advance for the help!!!