I agree. This IS a fun bike. After riding the Concours 1400, then get on the 250R, it feels like I'm on a 10 Speed bicycle, able to do anything. Very light.
Finish taking off the negative lead before you touch the positive side whenever possible! Since the chassis is grounded you can cause a direct short by touching anything else with your screwdriver while turning the positive terminal screw. This can literally weld your tool to the bike! Red hot.
Ty for video dude, I needed to see a certain hose. There’s one missing off the carb of a bike I’m working on. Need your vid for info, found what I needed. Tyvm
Hey Motard, I just purchased my first bike (08 Ninja 250 w/ 2k miles). Looks identical to this one. It's been below 40F in NY the past few weeks and I keep it in a shed outside. It's very hard to cold start. I changed the oil, cleaned the air filter, and did other basic maintenance. With or without choke, the bike will start every time , hit a low 1k - 1.2k RPM, and die within seconds. Eventually, with just a little choke, it will get going. Takes about 10 tries. Any suggestions? Maybe new spark plugs? Gas?
Welcome to the world of carbs. I always had mine garaged. But it's a cold beast to start. My 02 was a pain if it was cold. And it was one of the reasons i swore off of carb bikes lol. But there is something you should consider, that is a carb heater. I had a friend install one on his 250 and it was a great way to start it, and he didnt garage it at work and always started.
@@motardsquid Thanks for the reply. So it's just the nature of the beast then? Once it's running, it runs great. No stalling or any issues. It's just those damned cold starts. I also don't know how long the fuels been in the tank. Any suggestions on a cleaner I can add to the fuel? Maybe seafoam fuel additive ?
10:10 those three 5mm bolts became three screws somewhere in this generation (before 2012). They look like the side cover/battery box screws but they are a different length. My 2008 had the bolts like yours though.
Word of caution: Storing the tank full can be a huge mistake too. I stored mine with a full tank of Ethanol-free (E0) fuel with a while can of Sea Foam stabilizer and a brand new petcock because the original was leaking into the carbs. After several years the tank completely emptied and rusted. Even worse, I found the zero-mile petcock had failed too… and so did the carb float needles that are supposed to stop the flow of fuel once the bowls are full. The engine’s crank had entirely filled up to the first opening (clutch arm). That means I had nearly 5 gallons of fuel flush all the oil out with about 7 quarts of almost pure fuel and Sea Foam bathing the engine parts for years. Think this is an isolated incident? Nope! Many 2008-2012 Ninja 250R owners have found that their petcocks leak in the exact same way: through, not around. Many more have found that their oil smells like fuel. Indeed, I had noticed that for years before I parked the bike. I was operating it daily and the crank never had the chance to fill up but I noticed that my oil turned black and smelled like gas extremely soon after each oil change.
My advice is to drain the tank, spray it with fogging oil or WD-40 or something to prevent rust, and store it empty. I didn’t do that because I thought I’d be running the bike every few months to keep the carbs clear and the battery charged but I only kept that up for the first couple years. The last thing I did was replace that petcock, empty the old E0 fuel, and put in a whole tank of fresh E0 with Sea Foam.
LOL! After resuming the video I see you also had a bad petcock on an ‘08 at some point. I’m inclined to believe they all leak when you leave them sitting since there is no “off” position and the tank routinely forms a vacuum (hence, the tank whistle/whine).
So I just realized I'm pretty sure I had this exact thing happen due to the same scenario you described above. I had a fuel leak and couldn't figure out why it looked like I had oil stains on the ground. Were you able to replace the fuel line at the petcock and change the oil and get it to work? Did you have to replace the petcock as well?
That hose pointed at the battery that leaked gas when you started it, is that a gasline return? Shouldn't it connect to the tank intead of dripping on the floor?
Push the boots into the airbox with just the end band sticking out and then pull them back out once carb is on heads directly where they clamp down. No need to remove the air box.
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I agree. This IS a fun bike. After riding the Concours 1400, then get on the 250R, it feels like I'm on a 10 Speed bicycle, able to do anything. Very light.
Very helpful for a new biker like myself. Yesterday got a beat up ninja 250 that shuts off when given too much throttle
Finish taking off the negative lead before you touch the positive side whenever possible! Since the chassis is grounded you can cause a direct short by touching anything else with your screwdriver while turning the positive terminal screw. This can literally weld your tool to the bike! Red hot.
Ty for video dude, I needed to see a certain hose. There’s one missing off the carb of a bike I’m working on. Need your vid for info, found what I needed. Tyvm
Loved this. Super helpful. Thank you.
Thanks for the video! Guess we should’ve waited to remove the tank if the plastics were going to come off anyway. ;)
The hose that’s attached to the tank; what does that hose connect to?
Thank you for making this video first time working on a bike it made it much easier with this video
You little beauty! Thanks for the vid. Helped me out a ton :)
Hey Motard, I just purchased my first bike (08 Ninja 250 w/ 2k miles). Looks identical to this one. It's been below 40F in NY the past few weeks and I keep it in a shed outside. It's very hard to cold start. I changed the oil, cleaned the air filter, and did other basic maintenance. With or without choke, the bike will start every time , hit a low 1k - 1.2k RPM, and die within seconds. Eventually, with just a little choke, it will get going. Takes about 10 tries. Any suggestions? Maybe new spark plugs? Gas?
Welcome to the world of carbs. I always had mine garaged. But it's a cold beast to start. My 02 was a pain if it was cold. And it was one of the reasons i swore off of carb bikes lol. But there is something you should consider, that is a carb heater. I had a friend install one on his 250 and it was a great way to start it, and he didnt garage it at work and always started.
@@motardsquid Thanks for the reply. So it's just the nature of the beast then? Once it's running, it runs great. No stalling or any issues. It's just those damned cold starts. I also don't know how long the fuels been in the tank. Any suggestions on a cleaner I can add to the fuel? Maybe seafoam fuel additive ?
Id say change or clean your carb 4sure and chage your spark plugs .
Id bet its the carb dirty af . my shit was so cloged it stoped starting
Cant let it sit for any amount of time without draining all the gas . or your shit will be clogged everytime
10:10 those three 5mm bolts became three screws somewhere in this generation (before 2012). They look like the side cover/battery box screws but they are a different length. My 2008 had the bolts like yours though.
Word of caution: Storing the tank full can be a huge mistake too.
I stored mine with a full tank of Ethanol-free (E0) fuel with a while can of Sea Foam stabilizer and a brand new petcock because the original was leaking into the carbs. After several years the tank completely emptied and rusted. Even worse, I found the zero-mile petcock had failed too… and so did the carb float needles that are supposed to stop the flow of fuel once the bowls are full.
The engine’s crank had entirely filled up to the first opening (clutch arm). That means I had nearly 5 gallons of fuel flush all the oil out with about 7 quarts of almost pure fuel and Sea Foam bathing the engine parts for years.
Think this is an isolated incident? Nope! Many 2008-2012 Ninja 250R owners have found that their petcocks leak in the exact same way: through, not around. Many more have found that their oil smells like fuel. Indeed, I had noticed that for years before I parked the bike. I was operating it daily and the crank never had the chance to fill up but I noticed that my oil turned black and smelled like gas extremely soon after each oil change.
My advice is to drain the tank, spray it with fogging oil or WD-40 or something to prevent rust, and store it empty. I didn’t do that because I thought I’d be running the bike every few months to keep the carbs clear and the battery charged but I only kept that up for the first couple years. The last thing I did was replace that petcock, empty the old E0 fuel, and put in a whole tank of fresh E0 with Sea Foam.
LOL! After resuming the video I see you also had a bad petcock on an ‘08 at some point. I’m inclined to believe they all leak when you leave them sitting since there is no “off” position and the tank routinely forms a vacuum (hence, the tank whistle/whine).
So I just realized I'm pretty sure I had this exact thing happen due to the same scenario you described above. I had a fuel leak and couldn't figure out why it looked like I had oil stains on the ground. Were you able to replace the fuel line at the petcock and change the oil and get it to work? Did you have to replace the petcock as well?
@@shade73 unfortunately, it’s still parked. I got displaced by a tornado and never got back to it. :(
@@emmettturner9452 Ahh ok, no worries. Thanks for getting back with me!
Waiting to see the next video so I can take a look inside those float bowls, after 5 years...
Good video except I wish you should how to got the air box off the frame I can't get it unloged
i cant believe there isnt a better video, am sad, good work though
That hose pointed at the battery that leaked gas when you started it, is that a gasline return? Shouldn't it connect to the tank intead of dripping on the floor?
It's an overflow, goes straight to the ground.
Thank you for this video awesome help
I’m looking to put an performance carburetor on my 250cc bike I don’t want to get the wrong one
Did you get it back together? Getting the boots on is harder than getting them off! Got a link?
Yeah i did, got a few other videos on the channel. It worked great.
Push the boots into the airbox with just the end band sticking out and then pull them back out once carb is on heads directly where they clamp down. No need to remove the air box.
Good bike. I’ve had two. I’d rather pay someone to do that. What a nightmare.
is there any available carburator of kawasaki 250 cc in the market?
www.revzilla.com/oem/kawasaki/2009-kawasaki-ninja-250r/carburetor?submodel=ninja-250r-ex250j9f
Thanks for this video
Why would my air filter and air box smell like gas??
I took apart mine and the carb had no overflow tube💀 just spitting gas at the air box, maybe start there, or change your air filter
Anyone know good place (online/store) to get a full carb replacement. mine is broken. Thanks avd
Best bet is ebay.com
Does Nathan have any more bikes that he want's to give away? LOL..
Going to get one tommrorw for only 350. Dirty carb and only a bill of sale . cant beat that id be hella dumb 350 for a 2009 nun wrong with it ya know
Im in the same boat did you get it to start
If you gunna leave it sit for awhile . got to drain all gas or tbis will happen every time . thats y carbs suck . all bout fuel ingected
You shouldn’t be working on your own bike or giving advice smh
Seems to work for me pretty well.
painful to watch
It was painful to do