Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hello! My name is Josh and this is my first bike.
I got this bike for free from my friend, having done car restorations I thought I would know what I would be doing with this bike. This bike was in an accident, and was full of stale gas. I had the tank cleaned by a muffler shop and coated on the inside; there is no rust or foreign contaminants in the tank.

Here is an overview:
2007 Kawasaki Ninja 250r, rebuilt carburetor - carb cleaner flows freely through all jets (no corrosion of any kind is in the carb!), float bowls are full of fuel. Spark plugs are brand new NGK's with the correct gap, strong vacuum, strong battery, cannot get bike to run/idle even with choke or throttle being manipulated.
I CAN get the bike to start with starter fluid blowing directly into the airbox, but it dies as soon as the mixture burns off.

Any insight would be appreciated, I am at the end of my patience with this project.
Thank you,
Josh D.

Verify fuel is flowing into the carbs by opening their drain screws. If the bike has a vacuum petcock, place it in PRIME or be sure to turn the motor over while checking for flow.

Also, just because the carbs were cleaned/rebuilt, don't rule them out. Was the A/F mix screw removed and cleaned/replaced? Were the float levels checked? I've flipped half a dozen Ninja 250s, they run like garbage from the factory. The pilot jets need to be one size larger and the mains two or three sizes larger, and the A/F screws need to be out ~2.5 turns.