I agree it should start, but just drill the jet out and be done with it. The longer you wait the longer you will not like your bike. I did mine.

David

 

also get a battery tender. search this site for "hard starts" and you will find the recommendations for draining the gas, leaning the bike, etc.

Here in New England, i have found this works best for my bike (an '09), this time of year:

At the end of each ride (as i turn down the road, or as i am putting the bike in the trailer), turn off the gas, and let it run a bit (i do not let it run until it stalls as many do, but that works too). I always keep it on the battery tender (cyclegear had them last year on Black Friday for $20, including shipping!!). When I go to start it, I turn on the gas, lean the bike to the right a bit, turn the throttle a couple of times (i know its not supposed to do anything, but it seems to help). then, i pull/push the choke in and out as i hit the starter. Usually starts within 2 to 3 seconds.

YMMV

 

I officially dub this the starter dance!

 

Well,

Drained off a bunch of fuel out of the carb and got it running today for a fun ride.

Turned the fuel off and let it run right out as suggested.

Got a minute to ride tonight... no go!

Shake, dance, tilt right, wobble, pull choke while cranking, push choke in and out while cranking- I definitely don't have it down, and really don't want to have to do a starter dance with a bike that's brand new...

I could've saved a bunch of cash to get a bike that needed to be danced with. I'm all about customizing, and tuning- but with 0 on the odometer? I just want to RIDE it for a least a few dozen miles before taking drills to it and sh*t.

F*cking sucks, to be frank.

I found a thread here (http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/arc.../t-602183.html)

with some interesting advice- a jet ski fuel line purge mod.

Its all bullshlt.

I think this one came from the factory too lean... or something.

If I had any idea this was as much of an issue as it seems to be I would've thought twice about buying this bike- especially this time of year.

Its really f'ing cold where I live...

Over it.

(But I do appreciate all of the advice)

 

So........when are you going to simply drill the starter hole to 0.018, and be done with all the shenanigans?

It's a 15 minute job if you've ever worked on carbs before. If not, it's a 30 minute job.

If you don't, you'll simply continue to whine about it....

 

Well-

I apologize for the whining...

But I'll be frank. I really don't trust myself to take a drill to a brand spanking new machine.

Why didn't Kawasaki drill it?

 

I worked part time at a motorcycle shop for 15 years to pay for my nasty 2-wheeled habit. We had Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, and even Husky for awhile. Every once in awhile, a particular model of bike would come from the factory with too small a starter jet in the carb(s). It's a long way from being the norm, but it happens. The KLX250 doesn't need the jet drilled in all cases, as some seem to start fine as delivered, but there are a lot of these that are a bit cranky at cold starting.

Consider yourself lucky. You could have a $10000 KTM690 with routine fuel pump issues that haven't been easily solved. It's not a perfect world out there.

 

Good luck with that! If your bike "starts" anything like my wife's it'll wear you out kicking it. Drill the choke jet. I'm doing her's next chance I get.

 

+1 to the kickstart not helping things at all. My old KLR never started well, I think it was the valves or camchain, I would kick that thing until my leg hurt. All that only makes you madder. Kawi really dropped the ball on this one. It' seems like 90% of the KLXs have this problem. Your exactly right, you shouldn't have a brand new bike that won't start, and you shouldn't have to go diving into the carb. You could ask, but the dealer probably won't drill it out for you. It it's not in the manual most of them won't do it.
Mine starts with a slow pull of the choke, but the next time I have the carb off, I plan on looking into the starter jet.
Best of luck
Dan

 

Send me the carb,.... I'll do it for free.

The hard part is pulling the carb.

OR I will send you the drill bit.

David

Yes Everything should fire right up!