Worsening Engine Sputtering to the Point of Unrideable

J03GT · July 11th, 2024, 07:45 AM

Hi everyone, this is my first post on the forums.

I'm trying to work out how to get my Ninja 250 back on the road, and looking for some advice.

The backstory: I've had it for a year and a half and it goes fine, except for needing partial choke on for a while after startup otherwise it dies. In that time it's gone from 30000 - 45000km's on the dial, and had 2 oil changes.
One day I was headed to a campsite which ended up being down a rough gravel road, and the sump plug rattled itself out after around 5-10kms. I stopped immediately when the oil light came on, found the plug and put new oil in, and rode it home the next day with no issues. It rode fine for a week or so afterwards, including a 2 day ~1000km round trip of hard riding.

The issue: Since then, it started to sputter occasionally, with power momentarily cutting out before jumping back to life. The headlight was also cutting out when the engine sputtered. This got progressively worse with more frequent and longer cutouts, until it eventually became unrideable after a week or two of daily use. When it was really bad it seemed happy to idle, but would cut out when you try to raise the revs or load the engine by letting the clutch out. The starter was also only working occasionally (it previously worked all the time), so I was clutch starting it.

Any ideas on where to start in troubleshooting?

TIA!
Jackson

Triple Jim · July 11th, 2024, 07:57 AM

Hi Jackson, welcome!

I don't think losing your oil drain plug is related to your problem. It sounds like you have a loose electrical connection somewhere. Since multiple things seem to lose power intermittently, it is probably one of the larger connections or relays.

As far as needing the enrichers more than normal, that's probably dirt in the pilot circuits of your carburetors. Have you checked and adjusted your valves sometime recently? Out of spec valves can mimic carb problems.

J03GT · July 11th, 2024, 06:25 PM

Hi Jim, thanks for the welcome and your thoughts!

Neither do I, my train of thought was to indicate that the road was a very rough experience for the bike. But I suppose it would sound like that, woops haha. Yeah, I was thinking it's probably a major electrical connection or something, which makes sense after being rattled to death on the gravel. Besides battery terminals and the main fuse, what other places might be a good place to start in checking connections?

Yeah ok. Since it was pretty manageable I wasn't bothered to fix the carbys, but might be worth doing sometime when it's going again. Hmmm, interesting to hear about the valves! I have not done any valve work.

July 11th, 2024, 07:45 AM	#1
J03GT ninjette.org newbie Name: Jackson Location: Canberra Join Date: Jul 2024 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250, 1/3rd's in a Honda XR250 Posts: 2	Worsening Engine Sputtering to the Point of Unrideable Hi everyone, this is my first post on the forums. I'm trying to work out how to get my Ninja 250 back on the road, and looking for some advice. The backstory: I've had it for a year and a half and it goes fine, except for needing partial choke on for a while after startup otherwise it dies. In that time it's gone from 30000 - 45000km's on the dial, and had 2 oil changes. One day I was headed to a campsite which ended up being down a rough gravel road, and the sump plug rattled itself out after around 5-10kms. I stopped immediately when the oil light came on, found the plug and put new oil in, and rode it home the next day with no issues. It rode fine for a week or so afterwards, including a 2 day ~1000km round trip of hard riding. The issue: Since then, it started to sputter occasionally, with power momentarily cutting out before jumping back to life. The headlight was also cutting out when the engine sputtered. This got progressively worse with more frequent and longer cutouts, until it eventually became unrideable after a week or two of daily use. When it was really bad it seemed happy to idle, but would cut out when you try to raise the revs or load the engine by letting the clutch out. The starter was also only working occasionally (it previously worked all the time), so I was clutch starting it. Any ideas on where to start in troubleshooting? TIA! Jackson

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July 11th, 2024, 07:57 AM	#2
Triple Jim Guy Who Enjoys Riding Name: Jim Location: North Carolina Join Date: Jul 2016 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250 Posts: A lot. MOTM - Oct '18, Aug '17, Aug '16	Hi Jackson, welcome! I don't think losing your oil drain plug is related to your problem. It sounds like you have a loose electrical connection somewhere. Since multiple things seem to lose power intermittently, it is probably one of the larger connections or relays. As far as needing the enrichers more than normal, that's probably dirt in the pilot circuits of your carburetors. Have you checked and adjusted your valves sometime recently? Out of spec valves can mimic carb problems.

July 11th, 2024, 06:25 PM	#3
J03GT ninjette.org newbie Name: Jackson Location: Canberra Join Date: Jul 2024 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250, 1/3rd's in a Honda XR250 Posts: 2	Hi Jim, thanks for the welcome and your thoughts! Neither do I, my train of thought was to indicate that the road was a very rough experience for the bike. But I suppose it would sound like that, woops haha. Yeah, I was thinking it's probably a major electrical connection or something, which makes sense after being rattled to death on the gravel. Besides battery terminals and the main fuse, what other places might be a good place to start in checking connections? Yeah ok. Since it was pretty manageable I wasn't bothered to fix the carbys, but might be worth doing sometime when it's going again. Hmmm, interesting to hear about the valves! I have not done any valve work.