Zzr250 - need help fixing

[Watt One]

Hey all.

I've got a 1991 zzr250 and got no idea what's wrong with her.
Prior to this it felt as if it was miss firing and spluttering. Nursed it home to there it stalled.

Anyway I got the tank off and found the air intake box not on the carb thing properly so I put that back all on properly hoping that was the problem but no.
I did manage to get it started and it wouldn't hold idle returned slow back to idle n wouldn't rev freely. It also was blowing a slight amount of smoke out of only one of the exhaust cans.
So I've now got up this morning to have another crack at it and it's leaking fuel and won't start.
I hold the starter and it tries to turn over but just gets stuck like sound alike it's getting stuck thru A compression stroke kinda thing.

Anyway I kindly ask the world of psb for their wide knowledge of motorcycles.

Cheers bren

[Frogger]

having the carb boots loose would mean unfiltered air could get in so you may have gotten some crap in there blocking up the carb, but from what ive read if at idle you rev and it returns slowly you are running rich , if u rev and if returns fast but drops below idle then back up you are lean. the smoke could be from fuel but it could be a valve. i have basicly any part you need for the zzr250 including carbs so if it gets to the point you need to replace something give me a pm and ill give u a good price as im looking to get rid of most of it.

id start with cleaning the carbs and checking the float level and check the oil to make sure it hasnt gotten fuel in it.

[Pinkee]

Getting stuck through a stroke is a hydraulic lock from too much fuel. My guess is its the left can blowing smoke, as it'll be carburetor one that is leaking fuel into the cylinder. (Bike leans to the left on side stand. Had this happen to both my gpx and my cibby250)

Float bowl is the culprit.
Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk

[Watt One]

Cheers for the response.

Well it's not a job I'm ready to tackle just yet so will proberly book it into a shop to get done.
Who would you recommend? And about how much would I be looking to spend if the float bowl is the culprit.

Cheers Bren

[g0zer]

if its hydraulic locked then your oil will be contaminated with fuel.

you might be able to fix it yourself.

If you turn on the fuel petcock and gas pours out the overflow tube, tap lightly on the carb body with a plastic hammer(or something like it). That will jiggle the fuel inlet needle loose. Same thing if there is dirt holding the needle open. If it doesn't work you need a new needle & seat. The tips of the fuel inlet needle can be either steel or rubber. Tips with a groove worn in them should be replaced.

Dan's Motorcycle

Now about fuel petcocks. The standard petcock has ON-OFF-RES (RESERVE). OFF is, well, off. ON takes fuel from a tube that sticks up from the petcock body into the tank. When the fuel level goes below the top of the tube, the carb runs out of gas until you turn on the reserve. The RES draws fuel from the bottom of the tank. Both tubes usually have fine wire filter screens on them and another screen in the petcock it's self.

The second type of petcock has a diaphragm that automatically shuts off the gas when the engine stops. You will see a hose going from the petcock to a fitting on the intake manifold of one of the carbs. This supplies vacuum to one side of the diaphragm, opening the fuel valve inside the petcock. These petcocks have three settings. ON-RESERVE-PRI. ON is on. Reserve is reserve and PRI is Prime. Prime bypasses the diaphragm so you can fill the carbs with gas after they have been drained. Set it on PRI, fill the carbs and put it back to ON. Sometimes, ON is called MAIN.

Dan's Motorcycle "Gas Tanks"

take a look around dan's website, most anything that regularly goes wrong with bikes is covered there.