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Hello all,

Need your advice with a couple things. I just bought a 2003 Ninja 250 that had only 229 miles on it... not even broken in yet. When I was speaking to the lady who I bought it from, she mentioned that it didn't want to idle correctly. She described that the bike would only run with the choke on even after warmed up. Obviously the bike hasn't been ridden very much over the last three years so I assumed it could be one of three things. Maybe the idle is set too low, the carbs are a little dirty, or maybe old gas?

On the way home I stopped to fill up the tank and put about 2 gallons in it; the bike holds 4.8 gallons. I also put 4 ounces of carb cleaner in the tank. Is 1 once per gallon of gas about right? After one tank through the bike it seems to be getting a little better. The bike is really rough starting too. Until the bike is warm the bike wants to stall at stop signs. After the bike is warmed up, I've adjusted the idle screw and typically idles around 1,500 rpms... runs great. Hopefully between now and 1,000 miles the bike will run smoother?

I'm also curious to know if carb cleaner in the gas affects gas mileage? I was a little surprised to find out that the bike only got 60mpg. I've read reports of UNmodified Ninja 250's getting over 70mpg. As of today I have 429 miles on it. Will the gas mileage improve over time, or do you think it was the carb cleaner?

Thank you very much for your input!

I have a '90 ZZ-r 250 with exactly the same problem. It rides like a dream but seems to have a phobia of ticking over. I have been told that it could be that the carbs need balancing but i have never got round to doing it, i just keep a bit of pressure on the throttle when im stopped at junctions.

If hasn't been riden in awhile, then the carbs probably need cleaning. Running only with the choke on is a classic sign, your idle jets are probably plugged. Remove the carbs from the bike, disassemble them and clean them. Running carb cleaner through the tank may help if its not that bad. But from my experience, once the bike has idling issues, you are better off to remove the carbs to clean them.

Gas mileage WILL vary... Do a lot of city driving and you'll get less mileage. If you accelerate hard and drive at really high speeds, you'll get less gas mileage... (I wouldn't know about the latter... )

Yeah, if it hasn't been running for a while my guess that it needs to be synchronized and maybe cleaned if there was gas in there (it turns to a goo after a few months).

Also check the air filter for debris and the caarb throat for any rips or holes.

I had a similar situation when I bought my bike. The bike was a 2k4 ninja 250 and had been sitting for over a year. It had old gas in it and had just been sitting. I just ran a carb cleaner through it without removing the carbs. My local wrench told me once I put the carb cleaner in it to really take the revs up and run the bike good and hard to make sure I was running the gas with the cleaner through it. My bike was'nt through the break in either, it only had 600 miles on it when I got it. But I did what he told me and ran the carb cleaner through 2 tanks of gas and that cleared up my problem.

As for gas mileage yeah. The cleaner does'nt contibute to the mileage at all. I reset the trip meter when I filled up and put the cleaner in. When I ran out of gas and had to switch to the reserve, I had only went 177 miles on a full tank. So the cleaner does'nt do anything for mileage at all. Hope that helps your situation.

With 200 miles on a 2003, the gas from sitting was most likely the problem. I would still clean out your carb/jets.

If you have to winterize your bike, drain out the gas or use Stabil and then run it dry or enough to get the Stabil in the carbs. Then when ready to run again drain out the stabil gas and put it in you car's gas tank (won't hurt if mixed with the gas in the tank) and replace with fresh gas.

As far as the fuel milage is concerned, the bike isn't nearly broke in. Once the engine gets some miles on it, fuel milage should improve, not to mention that running with the enrichener on (choke) will decidedly increase fuel consumption. Get the carbs clean and give it a chance