Hey!

New to (me) 2006 KLX250 I bought from a guy who had the bike sitting in his garage for a prolonged period of time.

Wouldn't idle with choke off....so I cleaned carb out (main and pilot were dirty), drained all of his fuel, reinstalled everything, fired it up with fuel from a gas can in garage, let it run on choke for a bit, turned choke off and it idled/ran perfectly for 10 or so mins before I turned it off and put it away for the night.

Fast forward to 3 hours ago, went back out to turn bike on with the intent of riding it. Pulled choke, bike started right up, let it idle for awhile, and then no matter what I did (save for keeping choke open) it wouldn't idle without dieing.

Aside of being (very) irritated at having to potentially pull the carb again, is there anything else I might be missing? Bad gas? Dirt in fuel tank? Idle speed too low? Running Lean?

I just don't understand how in 24 hours this thing went from being completely fine to needing attention again when it sat in my garage untouched.

Thanks!!

 

From what I read (might be wrong) you didn't drain the fuel outta the tank and replace it. That's the first step, if it was dirty / claggy you will probably have to clean the carb again.

 

Welcome new guy!

If the idle speed is too low, turn it up. That's simple. Be sure you have enough fuel. Turn off the petcock, drain the carb, and turn the petcock back on. Try the reserve setting.

I'm suspecting you picked up a piece of some debris from the tank or line and it's in the pilot jet. Consider adding an in-line fuel filter between the tank and carb.

 

Is there a science to adjusting the idle speed without a tach?

There is some minimal rust spots in tank upon inspection. Prior to carb clean all old fuel was dumped. I have a small triangular filter near carb now, would the inline filter be in addition to this? Fuel line size?

Thanks for the help - will run fresh fuel again this go round.

 

There's no science to it, IMO. Turn the **** until it idles how you like it. If you increase the idle speed and it continues to idle, good!

Yes, there's the little triangular sock filter that should do the job, but I like an inline filter also. I picked up something like this from my local dirt bike shop.
That pilot jet is mighty small and difficult to clean. Are you sure you got all the gunk out from the jets and all passages? It can take a little persistence to get everything out. Use carb cleaner, compressed air and get everything clean. Consider just replacing the pilot jet unless you know its clean.

 

Thanks for the link! After carb and tank are cleaned and drain again I'll knock the idle up a touch. Cleaned pilot out prior (perfectly clean) and it ran fine, my guess now is something got sucked in from the fuel tank unfortunately. Will have to get an inline too. Can a "loop" of fuel line be added in the event there isn't enough line to accommodate the inline filter from stock?

 

Yes, you can loop the line. My filter is actually 90 degrees which works better. Maybe get some fresh fuel line also.

 

Want to thank everyone for the help! Drained carb bowl of main fuel, then again on reserve. Re-fueled the carb and started bike with choke. Turned idle screw up a full turn-ish and let it warm up - turned choke off. Ran great.

Thought about it some more and realized that I bought this in February, and after I cleaned it it was a nice 70 degree day - bike rain slow and low but did fine enough at idle to get by. The night of the issue was a 90+ degree with high humidity - was probably being starved of air.

Thanks again! Off to go ride (and then get a second filter!)

Stay safe out there!

 

Take the fuel tank to a truck radiator/gas tank repair shop to get cleaned out and Red Kote hard shell sealant. I had a scooter fuel tank with a bunch of rust and rust holes soldered up and sealed - no more leaks and no more rust. Cost $45, but that was some time back. Still worth doing.

No more rust flaking off into the carb and no need for a filter that will clog up with rust flakes.

 

Congrats on getting the KLX going fine!

Let's talk about how bad the rust is. klx678, if it's just a few specs, is it worth the trouble of cleaning and coating? Also, if it is bad, you may be able to find a good used OEM tank from the many of us who have installed an aftermarket one.