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HYPERR wrote:

Brackstone wrote:Fuel injection is good because you don't have to choke your bike. Also I ran into a problem with my pilot jets getting clogged on my ninja 250 because of the ethanol in the fuel and fuel injection solves this.

A finely tuned carb is better than an imperfect EFI. I changed the pilot, main, mixture screw, got an adjustable needle, & drilled out the slide on my KLX250 and the bike starts instantaneously hot or cold, needs no warmup whatsoever and runs perfectly. My other bikes are all EFI and Honda is the only one that is spot on. The Ducatis is abrupt and surges and the BMW surges also.

You can make anything great if you finely tune it, which you have just proven in your post.

The point here is this is a rider who is obviously new, and doesn't have a lot of technical knowledge (if s/he did s/he wouldn't be asking this question). So what's best for THIS person?

A bike with spotty EFI?

Or a Carb Bike that they have to open up to get working "just right"

I'd say a bike with EFI even if it was a little spotty will be much more reliable in the long run for this rider.

monk_ wrote:

HYPERR wrote:What kind of riding are you looking to do?

It's strange now that I think of it but I don't really know. Probably mostly around town, sub 50mph, but I would like to be able to go on the highway. All of my friends have cars and I just wanted something small, simple, fun, and cheap. So, that's how I came to those 2 bikes. Also, I can't stand the styling of the baby ninja.

If you are seriously considering the WR250X, I would also look at the Suzuki DRZ400SM before making a final decision. I think it is only about a $100 more. It is an older design than the WR, a little heavier, it is carburated, but it also has 150 more CCs. The benefit of the 150cc is not so much in the HP(33 vs 27) as the output from the WR250X is remarkable for a four stroke 250 street thumper; but in the torque. The DRZ puts out about 26 ft/lbs while the WR is about 17 ft/lbs.

I currently have a bike with carbs, but I think I would like FI in my next bike. I have heard that carbs are easier to work with if you do those maintenance things yourself though.

Brackstone wrote:

HYPERR wrote:

Brackstone wrote:Fuel injection is good because you don't have to choke your bike. Also I ran into a problem with my pilot jets getting clogged on my ninja 250 because of the ethanol in the fuel and fuel injection solves this.

A finely tuned carb is better than an imperfect EFI. I changed the pilot, main, mixture screw, got an adjustable needle, & drilled out the slide on my KLX250 and the bike starts instantaneously hot or cold, needs no warmup whatsoever and runs perfectly. My other bikes are all EFI and Honda is the only one that is spot on. The Ducatis is abrupt and surges and the BMW surges also.

You can make anything great if you finely tune it, which you have just proven in your post.

The point here is this is a rider who is obviously new, and doesn't have a lot of technical knowledge (if s/he did s/he wouldn't be asking this question). So what's best for THIS person?

A bike with spotty EFI?

Or a Carb Bike that they have to open up to get working "just right"

I'd say a bike with EFI even if it was a little spotty will be much more reliable in the long run for this rider.

The carb on the KLX250S was actually pretty decent right out of the box. Even stock, it started right up and required no warm up. I did the carb work mainly to get more power out of it and to compensate for the header, muffler, and the airbox mod I did.

For a beginner, I think a carb is better than an abrupt EFI(ala Ducati).

BTW, how is the EFI on the Aprilias?

Brackstone wrote:Fuel injection is good because you don't have to choke your bike. Also I ran into a problem with my pilot jets getting clogged on my ninja 250 because of the ethanol in the fuel and fuel injection solves this.

I didn't encounter the problems with the pilot jets getting clogged on Brackstone's and My old Ninja 250; however, I did encounter the fact that winter riding sucks when you have to leave the damned choke on for half the ride because the engine isn't warm enough.

Then again I doubt too many people ride that bike in 26 degree weather. I only did it a couple of times myself.

Now I've only rode my fuel injected bike once, but it was cold and all I did was turn it on and ride... So, nice not to have to dick around with a choke.

RhadamYgg

shane-o wrote:blows my mind that they still make and sell bikes these days without EFI




.

+1 I thought those days were over. I did notice that the Triumph Bonneville is now FI in 2009. I thought it was a neat bike, but the seat was too wide in the front for me.

RhadamYgg

HYPERR wrote:

Brackstone wrote:Fuel injection is good because you don't have to choke your bike. Also I ran into a problem with my pilot jets getting clogged on my ninja 250 because of the ethanol in the fuel and fuel injection solves this.

A finely tuned carb is better than an imperfect EFI. I changed the pilot, main, mixture screw, got an adjustable needle, & drilled out the slide on my KLX250 and the bike starts instantaneously hot or cold, needs no warmup whatsoever and runs perfectly. My other bikes are all EFI and Honda is the only one that is spot on. The Ducatis is abrupt and surges and the BMW surges also.

Yeah, but Brackstone and I share at least one thing more in common than our first motorcycle (man, I'm glad that's not first woman...) and that's that I don't think either of us like getting our hands too dirty.

I think looking at a carb makes me feel dirty.

RhadamYgg

I think looking at a carb makes me feel dirty.

The temptation looms large, but I won't mess with that comment.

MZ33 wrote:

I think looking at a carb makes me feel dirty.

The temptation looms large, but I won't mess with that comment.

hmmmm your strength of will is great when I look at that comment like that.

RhadamYgg

^^ We are a classy joint here, after all.

But back to EFI & carbs: I did read that, if one is going to higher altitudes, carburetors should be adjusted. I don't know if that's required for short-term, or only if the bike is going to live there. And I don't know what altitude counts as high, but it was another reason for me to cross carbs off my list when looking for a new bike.