[bertrum]

after cleaning them they told me everything looked good, float height ect. so when i put them back on the the bike it would idle at 1k then jump up to 2.7k and back own to 1k. when its up at 2.7k if i blip the thottle it would go up fine but slowly come back down. when its idleing at 1k throttle starts slow but comes back down fine.

does that mean i have a gremlin living in my bike? i dont know anymore!

utterly confused-bert

 

[redrider]

Sounds like the cold start enrichment may be stuck partially open. What all did you do to the carbs while they were out?

 

[spooph]

as red rider said, check all the linkages... Is the throttle moving smoothly? If it is, can you see it pulling and pushing the butterfly valve cam respective to your inputs with the throttle grip? Where is your idle screw at? This used to happen with my Eliminator all the time and usually it was the throttle screw set WAY too rich.... Which means it dumps gas into the carb, burns it off real quick and then slows back down as the new puddle of fuel starts to form... Where is the choke linkage at? Does it move proportionally to the cam on the carb? and lastly, are the fuel lines hooked up correctly, and/or kinked somewhere?

 

[bertrum]

i cleaned and inspected them. do you mean the choke. how can i fix that?

 

[bertrum]

well my idle screws are at 2.75 turns each. ie tried 2.5,3.0,and3.25 and still the same results. ive checked the throttle cables. and spayed for leaks. i cant find the gremlin but he's in there somewhere.

 

[redrider]

Well, the bike doesnt have a choke (although people commonly incorrectly refer to it as that).

Try adjusting the idle screws while it is running. Just wear a glove to protect your hand and use a stubby screwdriver. This is most likely (like spooph said) and issue with it being too rich. A vacuum leak usually causes it to go so lean it dies.

 

[spooph]

red rider, it doesn't have a choke? So how does the cold start thingy on the left work then?

 

[Jester]

be nice. he made the site haha.

btw nice use of the technical term "thingy"

 

[spooph]

No, I'm being serious, I'm not trying to be sarcastic or anything. I genuinely want to know. I've always thought it was a choke, and if I'm mistaken I need to know so I can not be wrong. I just didn't know how else to explain it... I'm sorry if I carried the wrong tone.

 

[Felix]

The service manual refers to it as a 'choke' but I think it doesnt restrict air flow, it adds more fuel, so its more of an 'enricher' than a 'choke'.

Felix

 

[StockWall]

Haha, your good Spooh. Red told me one time what it was. But I dont remember how he said it completely. Basically its not a choke. Thats all I remember. haha. He will shed light, he always does. ha

 

[dknollRX7]

A "choke" does just that...it restricts airflow. Less air will cause a richer running bike which is needed for cold starting. I believe that this bike doesn't choke (restrict) the air, but instead allows a little more fuel to dumped into the carbs in correlation with the "choke lever". So it's not restricting/choking air, but instead enrichening the A/F mixture. Hope that helps some. Feel free to correct me Mr. RedRider.

 

[Felix]

So, dknollRX7, basically what I said a post above

Felix

 

[jon]

On my old 1997 ninja I had big problems when new. It could not hold it's idle and was "sputtering" (don't know if it's the right word). I brought it back to the dealer about 4 times before they figured it out because the problem didn't occured when they had it. There were small bits of metal in the gas tank that went through the carbs. The bits of metal came from when they made the threads for the fuel valve at Kawasaki factory and they didn't clean the inside of tank afterwords.

Jon

 

[dknollRX7]

So, dknollRX7, basically what I said a post above

Felix

Touche...

 

[bertrum]

did valve adjustment but it still idles at 3k

did valve adjustment but it still idles at 3k if i lower it...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

if i lower it it falls to 500 rpms and lags when i throttle up. the her rpms are all fine. but below 3k is when its got problems. now im running out of solutions.

stumped-bert

 

[spooph]

On my old 1997 ninja I had big problems when new. It could not hold it's idle and was "sputtering" (don't know if it's the right word). I brought it back to the dealer about 4 times before they figured it out because the problem didn't occured when they had it. There were small bits of metal in the gas tank that went through the carbs. The bits of metal came from when they made the threads for the fuel valve at Kawasaki factory and they didn't clean the inside of tank afterwords.

Jon

Damn! That's scary!

well my idle screws are at 2.75 turns each. ie tried 2.5,3.0,and3.25 and still the same results. ive checked the throttle cables. and spayed for leaks. i cant find the gremlin but he's in there somewhere.

so back on topic, Bert, you said screws (plural)... Are you referring to the "low end" screws? When I said "idle" screw, I meant the little knobby thing that protrudes between the frame and left side fairing. Please clarify and we'll keep trying...

 

[bertrum]

hey guys im really happy that your still helping me. ok so..

i did the valve job. went well but the high and low idle prob is still there. tried adjusting the idle "knob"(spooh thanks for helping me clarify). and the mixture screws(ive done all combination 1turn 1.5,2,3ect.).ive done carb sync and clean.

now when i got the bike it had 137miles but its an 2005 and i got it in april. the guy said he rode it around the block every weekend but 137 is low for almost 3 years. the first prob at 600 miles (sputtering at 8k rpms) was cured with the carb cleaning but never really felt 100%. maybe 90%.

so today i tried to ride to the dealer and on the road it sputtered to a stop. so pushed it to the side of the rode while crapping my pants. then started hitting the panic button i mean starter button with no results then realized i was low on gas. ??? i know but too late my pants are crapped. i start it up by turning the petcock and make a beeline for the gas station. after putting gas its running rough in all gears and all rpms.

so now im thinking could it need a third carb cleaning? its like it wants to idle at 3k+ then falls to 500 no inbetween.

 

[bertrum]

i found the problem! i found the problem! i found the problem!but i dont know ..

i fainally found the problem! but i dont know what it means. when i disconnect the left spark plug it corrects its self like perfect. what does that mean?

 

[bertrum]

i found the prob it was the left plug wire.

their was a hole beneath the cap going to the coil. i put a new piece of cable and it runs like a champ. all i have to do is make a permanent one and im golden thanks to all for your patience and advice i couldnt have done it without you.

thanks-bert