Ninja 250R doesn't start

470 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by nico8932, 3 mo ago

nico8932

Hi everyone,

I'm having an issue with my Ninja and I'll try to summarize it as briefly as possible:

About a week ago, I had a fall at around 10 km/h, where the motorcycle fell on its left side and slid. As a result, the shift lever was bent, the handlebar was crooked, and the fairing was scratched. Additionally, it was only possible to shift into first gear.

First, I replaced the shift lever, readjusted the fork, and took the fairings to the painter. Now I can shift normally while driving, but I can't shift past N while in neutral. The engine still started without any problems.

As the fairings from both sides (there was also a scratch on the right side, but not from the fall) are still with the painter, the motorcycle is currently in the garage without turn signals and fairings. Today, I wanted to do an oil change and briefly warm up the engine for it, but unfortunately, the engine won't start anymore. The starter also kills the entire ignition, which then doesn't work for a while. (I made a video of it and uploaded it, link below) I checked the fuses, they're all okay. The battery is only a year old and has enough voltage. I also tried to charge it, but it didn't help.

Here's the link to the video:

I've added a lot of information now, and I hope it wasn't too much. However, everything was working fine before the fall, and I didn't want to leave out anything potentially important. I would be very grateful for any ideas and tips on what could be causing my Ninja not to start or how to solve the problem.

See less See more

Save

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

DannoXYZ

· #2 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

Kawasaki has useful "positive neutral finder" where gearbox does not go into 2nd-gear unless transmission and rear-wheel is spinning. So lifting up from 1st-gear at stop will always and only go into neutral. Many people thought gearbox was broken because it refuses to go into 2nd gear when stopped. Some have even taken apart gearbox to fix this problem and found positive neutral finder feature.

Some hilarious quotes:

"Should I disassemble it [engine]... Sigh...
For that reason, I took it out and brought it to the living room."

"The living room became a mess, so I moved to another place."

Pull out multimeter and measure continuity state of interloc safety switches:

1. clutch switch, squeezed ohms = ???, released ohms = ???
2. neutral switch, in 1st ohms = ???, in neutral = ???
3. kickstand switch, down ohms = ???, up ohms = ???
4. measure resistance between starter-solenoid green/red terminal and chassis ground, ohms = ???

This is 5-minute fix with multimeter... or less in many cases...

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 1

Traveller11

· #3 · 3 mo ago

+1 on @DannoXYZ except if there is a clutch switch why aren't you pulling the clutch when trying to start? It could be that the neutral or kickstand switch got hit during the fall and just needs to be plugged back in.

Save

Reactions: 1

DannoXYZ

· #4 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

Clutch lever doesn't matter, it's clutch switch that may be broken. It won't activate when you squeeze lever. It is start of circuit and provides ground-path for kickstand switch. Without proper clutch-switch operation, kickstand or neutral won't work properly in AND/OR logic. Bike may start, but will die as soon as you put into gear.

Broken switches may look Ok, and even have wires connected properly, but is broken electronically inside. Fastest, easiest and most inexpensive method to fix is measure each one with multimeter.

In many cases, clutch lever and kickstand may be bent in crash. Perfectly-working switches may not be contacted properly by lever or kickstand to activate. Replacing perfectly-working switches with brand-new perfectly-working switches changes nothing and symptoms persist. How to tell if clutch-lever or kickstand is pushing on switches properly?

Pull out multimeter and measure. This is 5-minute fix with multimeter, or less in many cases. No wasting time and buying replacement parts for things that aren't broken.

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 1

DannoXYZ

· #5 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

Whoops, sorry re-read your post.

nico8932 said:
The engine still started without any problems.

Please ignore my previous posts, your safety interloc switches are working fine.

Today, I wanted to do an oil change and briefly warm up the engine for it, but unfortunately, the engine won't start anymore. The starter also kills the entire ignition, which then doesn't work for a while. (I made a video of it and uploaded it, link below) I checked the fuses, they're all okay. The battery is only a year old and has enough voltage. I also tried to charge it, but it didn't help.

You may have some wiring-faults, broken or corroded wiring. Do following measurements, key ON

1. First pull and measure resistance across Ignition 10a fuse. I'd be trillionaire if I had penny for every time I heard, "fuse looks ok" but actually didn't conduct any electricity. Put back in if good, replace if bad.

2. Measure voltage on brn/wht wire going into start/stop switch. volts = ???
3. Start/stop = RUN, measure voltage on red wire leaving start/stop switch, volts = ???

4. start-button PUSH, measure voltage on blk/red wire leaving start-button. volts = ???
5. start-button PUSH, measure voltage on blk/red wire going into starter-circuit relay, volts = ???

6. start-button PUSH, measure voltage on yel/red wire leaving starter-circuit relay, volts = ???
7. start-button PUSH, measure voltage on yel/red wire going into starter-solenoid. volts = ???

Most of time, it's broken wire or corroded connector that causes these problems. These measured numbers from above tests will show where problem is and we can look at that location closer for issues.

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 1

nico8932

Discussion Starter · #6 · 3 mo ago

DannoXYZ said:
Kawasaki has useful "positive neutral finder" where gearbox does not go into 2nd-gear unless transmission and rear-wheel is spinning. So lifting up from 1st-gear at stop will always and only go into neutral. Many people thought gearbox was broken because it refuses to go into 2nd gear when stopped. Some have even taken apart gearbox to fix this problem and found positive neutral finder feature.

Some hilarious quotes:

Pull out multimeter and measure continuity state of interloc safety switches:

1. clutch switch, squeezed ohms = ???, released ohms = ???
2. neutral switch, in 1st ohms = ???, in neutral = ???
3. kickstand switch, down ohms = ???, up ohms = ???
4. measure resistance between starter-solenoid green/red terminal and chassis ground, ohms = ???

This is 5-minute fix with multimeter... or less in many cases...

First of all, thank you very much to both of you. You just gave me the idea of what the problem was. During the crash, the bolt that secured the side stand and the sensor was also damaged. I didn't think much of it and replaced the bolt with a new one that was 5mm longer. That was the one detail that I forgot to mention in my description. I reinstalled the old, damaged bolt and my bike started without any issues again.

Now, this may seem very foolish, but it's my first bike. Do you know why this bolt was the source of the problem? I would really like to understand it.

That's the damaged bolt that made it work again.

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Vehicle brake Crankset

See less See more

Save

DannoXYZ

· #7 · 3 mo ago

Ahh, good job tracking issue down and fixing!

If you look at back of kickstand switch (when removed), there's a raised part that drops into depression in kickstand bracket. This precisely locates switch in proper position to get activated when kickstand is up. Longer bolt most likely allowed some play and switch wasn't positioned properly to activate when kickstand was up.

Glad it was something simple. Crashes often damages electronics and wiring and can be troublesome to track down. You did very thorough job of repairs!

Save

Reactions: 1

nico8932

Discussion Starter · #8 · 3 mo ago

Makes sense, thank you for the explanation. 😀

Save

Reactions: 1

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

Top Contributors this Month