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As for the 08~12 models, all the US/Canadian versions (the carbureted ones) have TERRIBLE jetting from the factory. I've never seen worse, and it's so bad that I do know several people who have lemon-lawed the bike (once again proving that dealer mechanics haven't a clue to split between the bunch of 'em). It's easy to fix, no other issues though. I know nothing about the new 300 that just came out, haven't seen one in person out in the wild much less had one in the shop.
I have an '08 Ninja 250 but it has a Sigma 6 jet kit in it. Sometimes it'll die when I come to a stop, unless I roll on the throttle occasionally. Also if I try to ride slowly with the throttle barely open it'll act like its flooding and sputter. Once I get past about 1/4 throttle it runs smooth and takes off like a bat outta hell.
Anyways, I got tired of it and bought myself a fuel injected Kymco Xciting scooter. I'll probably try to sell the Ninja.
I have an '08 Ninja 250 but it has a Sigma 6 jet kit in it. Sometimes it'll die when I come to a stop, unless I roll on the throttle occasionally. Also if I try to ride slowly with the throttle barely open it'll act like its flooding and sputter. Once I get past about 1/4 throttle it runs smooth and takes off like a bat outta hell.
Anyways, I got tired of it and bought myself a fuel injected Kymco Xciting scooter. I'll probably try to sell the Ninja.
Did you put an aftermarket exhaust on it? Putting only the jet kit in it will cause a very rich mixture. Jet kits are usually reserved for when an exhaust is added that allows less back pressure.
Did you put an aftermarket exhaust on it? Putting only the jet kit in it will cause a very rich mixture. Jet kits are usually reserved for when an exhaust is added that allows less back pressure.
Did you put an aftermarket exhaust on it? Putting only the jet kit in it will cause a very rich mixture. Jet kits are usually reserved for when an exhaust is added that allows less back pressure.
That is not Exactly how it works. Most bikes (carbureted and open loop EFI, closed loop EFI is better) came from the factory rich on the main jet already. Rich enough that Rarely is there a need to change the main jet. Everyone is lean through the mid-range because that's where the EPA tests, and pretty much Every bike benefits from "jetting" to correct this, even bone stock bikes straight off the showroom floor. The pilot circuit is usually close to "right", within a normal tolerance range at least... the 08~12 250's were WAY lean here (as well as having other carb issues)
But jet kits don't Always cause a rich situation, and aren't Just for bikes with modified intake/exhaust.
FWIW, I've been a Dynojet certified operator since 2000... I've had to test and jet just a few motorcycle over the years.
I don't know how much it costs, but as is the case with the OP, it's probably worth it to get the idle fixed before selling. You're looking at a huge hit for a non-running bike.
I can't imagine an idle adjustment costs that much. don't even have to remove the carbs
I don't know how much it costs, but as is the case with the OP, it's probably worth it to get the idle fixed before selling. You're looking at a huge hit for a non-running bike.
I can't imagine an idle adjustment costs that much. don't even have to remove the carbs
What is a reasonable price for carb cleaning and adjustments? Thanks for all the replies.
Shops will probably charge 3~4 hours (on-bike) and half that off-bike, at ~$80/hour. That's for pulling the carbs, the cleaning they require, and then syncing them afterwards.
Even at that price, you'd still come out ahead IF you waited till spring to sell.
They won't sync the carbs, generally, if you're bringing in the carb off the bike. I don't know that that came across in Brian's post. I suppose you could bring them the carb, have them clean it, pick up the carb, reinstall it on the bike, ride the bike back over to the shop, wait around while they synced the carbs. I'd be highly skeptical if they'd charge you half to do it that way. It's just a huge hassle for them to drop whatever they're doing for a piddly job like syncing the carbs. I mean, by all means call and ask but they're going to charge you an hour of time to sync the carbs where it doesn't take more than 15 minutes to do. Shop time is probably 30 minutes which they'll bill as part of a larger job but not if it's the only thing you're doing at the time. It's always an hour's time for a carb sync in my experience if it's the only thing being done on the bike. Less if you're having them adjust valves at the same time.
Alternatively, it takes about 15 minutes (maybe an hour the first time) and $5 of stuff to do it yourself. It takes time to jerry-rig up the tool to do it (very simple, but you need to get the stuff), so if you're just going to sell the bike I personally would say don't bother. It's easier to pay someone the $250-300 to just do the job than learn how to do it yourself, imo. Getting the carbs off the bike isn't that fun. I've done it enough now I'm comfortable with the amount of brute force that's necessary, but the first few times it took me ages since I was afraid of breaking something. It's not as delicate as it looks. The alternative is just to let someone else deal with all of that. You'll probably get less money, but you won't deal with having to trailer the bike to and from the mechanic, etc, etc. There's also the possibility you'll have to rebuild the carb depending on how gummed up it is. Sometimes it's just not worth it to clean and you end up replacing parts... more time, more expense. I've never seen a carb that couldn't be rebuilt cheaper than a new one as a result of anything other than abuse (dropping it, destroying it while cleaning) but it's not always a simple cleaning. The pilot jets like to clog and are difficult to clean due to size, rubber seals might dried out.
I'm getting tempted to Craig's list it and say the first person to show up with 500 dollars in real money can have it. This sounds like a time consuming effort with the likelihood of not much money to show for all the trouble at the end of it.
Thanks for all the info for this decision-making process. Sometimes you just have to take the hit and move on.
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