HELP: ZZR-250 won't start

[Saradiel]

Hi guys, I'm a newbie to riding and I have stumbled upon this site to find someone who can help me with my problem.

I have a Kawasaki ZZR-250 that was running well when I got it, but not long after I had an issue with this bike after taking it on a longer ride.

As I was riding I noticed that the bike had lost a lot of power but it was still revving high and loud. Eventually I came to a red light and the bike came to a stop, the engine just lost idle and died. Note: There was fuel in the tank.

It took a lot to get it started, a lot of choke and ignition. But I did and rode home with the weird symptoms from before.

I parked it in the garage and returned to find that a lot of fuel had just dropped underneath the bike, all over the floor.

Now the bike will not start, I got it started a few times but it will just die out after a few seconds, and the throttle still has a "lack of power" feeling.

Could it be flooding? Or is my suspicion correct, the carburetors need a clean?

I'm a student and I would just like to fix this myself before spending money. Also if there's anyone who can come check it out I'd be able to return the favour with some free photography and a bottle of Green Label haha, weird mix.

Let me know what you guys think it is! Thanks.

[Cwidova]

Hi and welcome!!
Just a quick guess, sounds lika a stuck float/floats. Might be worth taking the bowls of the carbies and having a quick look...

[BrettZZR]

Be worth your while to go here and follow the instructions. There are a few .pdf's that should be your bed-time reading for the next couple of nights.

I see from the fuel section it suggests that ZZR250 has a vac operated fuel tap? Might be a different market/type. Does yours have ON/RES/PRI on the fuel 'tap'? If so, there is a vac line going to the 'tap' to operate a diaphragm valve widget. If this diaphragm gets a little tear (they do perish after time) fuel can then leak straight into the intake. And while running, will get sucked straight in...

Something to check. Try sucking on the vac tube. If you get a mouthful of petrol - Bingo.
(Mouth cancer in 10 or so years is an added bonus!)
Heh!

Oh and...
Be advised that a major fuel leak into the intake might well have put a fair amount of unburned fuel into a cylinder - this will have wept past the rings will have messed up the oil properties. Good idea to read the section on 'oil change' too!

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