Hello all,

I just purchased a 2019 brand new Kawasaki KLX250 from an authorized dealer in Southern California. After signing the finance papers, I went to the service area to pickup the bike. The service people said the bike is not ready because the fuel injectors clogged. This is due to keeping very less gas in the tank while keeping in the showroom. They said the gas gets waxy an clogs the fuel injectors. I bought 2 brand new bikes in the past and never heard of something like this. Please let me know if this is normal. Is there anything should I worry about?

 

My KLX is carbed, but I've owned and modded quite a few FI truck/car systems. The smaller the injector nozzle/orifice, the easier it can become clogged. I suspect the KLX250's injector has a small orifice. Fuel going stale and varnishy in the tank could give the injector an issue I suppose. It's usually more common for it to occur over time with use with some injectors, but their diagnosis doesn't sound unreasonable.

An occasional small dose of Berryman's Chemtool B12 will prevent those issues. I had a '96 Chevy Caprice with the 265 V8, and it had tiny injectors. If you didn't occasionally dose it with B12, it would clog injectors with just normal use.

 

Brings up a question - how should fuel and fuel lines be treated during lay up time, like the winter months? I have a Zuma scooter that sat for a year and a half with a bad fuel pump and I believe the injector is clogged from the varnish left by gas in the line.

 

Depending on the injector style/design, some will actually need removal to clean properly, and some can be pressure cleaned while in place with the proper equipment and chemical. Hard to provide a blanket answer. I'm sure you've seen some very creative automotive methods of cleaning injectors while on the vehicle and while running with over-the-counter chemicals...B12, Seafoam, etc.

Problem on a single cylinder is that it's hard to make the engine run while metering in the cleaner with the fuel. With a single, I'd just pull the injector and clean it on the work bench. Again, depending on the design of the injector, this could vary. If you can get the engine to run, it's usually pretty effective to just add a decent amount of B12 to the fuel and run the engine normally. While slower, the end result is about the same and a lot easier. With a clogged injector on a single, I'd usually go with pulling the injector and cleaning it...being careful as to recommendations/warnings about compressed air. Some injector designs are sensitive to being damaged with compressed air.

I would imagine your Zuma has a very simple injector design, but I'm just guessing on that. As far as fuel treatment for winter, FI systems usually do better than carbs. Still, I've never had any spring/summer start-up issues on all manner of engines and equipment with just a good servicing of plain ol' Stabil when shutting down for winter. I know you live in the arctic, while I live in TX, but I can't imagine a proper treatment of Stabil not getting you through the winter even with ethanol laced fuel.