Thanks for the feedback guys. Someone else in our club suggested I add a gas filter too. Which I will. But I'm confused on something, if you look at the parts diagram for this bike there appear to be two filters in the tank already, parts 49019 and 49019A, on both the fuel and reserve lines in the tank...but I suppose an additional in-line filter couldn't hurt.

But the bike has become more problems than I want to deal with. I just can't trust it. And it appears I am not alone. Kawasaki, the motorcycle company most of here are fans of, need to step up and put some engineering resources to find a fix for its customers. And I would not even have an issue spending $50 to $200 for a fix (that really fixes the issue). But Kawasaki needs to acknowledge there is a problem, and then support it's customers with a real solution.

I am hearing the gas today is crap, especially the lower octane stuff at the pump. And the additives and 10% ethanol in it is not helping, especially for small single cylinder engines. And the problem is only getting worse.

Kawasaki and the carburetor manufacturers they source parts from need to find a solution for this, for existing owners and bikes yet to be built and sold to customers in the future. Kawasaki customers are going to become ex-customers if they don't.

Jeff

 

Jeff...I think you're wrong on the idea that there is something seriously and inherently wrong with the KLX250 as a whole. There is something wrong with "your" KLX. It needs to be diagnosed and fixed by a decent mechanic who can assess and work on your bike in person. This is sometimes easier said than done...not so much on the fix, but finding a decent mechanic who can figure it out.

The carb and engine on the KLX is proven, reliable technology. The lean condition and low power of the bike as delivered is more of a result of emission requirements that are somewhat inherent in all U.S. street legal DS bikes. Your condemnation of the KLX as a whole is like saying the Boeing 747 series is a failure because of a few crashes. Yes, bad for those aboard the ones that crashed, but not a wholesale poke in the eye to the airplane and its design. You have a specific problem with your bike that needs to be fixed.

Your question about those "filters" in the gas tank at the petcock...those are screens and not really qualified as filters. They just keep the big chunks out of the carb that might fall off the gas cap or found in some gas cans you might use out in the field.

 

TNC,

>>It needs to be diagnosed and fixed by a decent mechanic who can assess and work on your bike in person. <<

It has been seen some by at least two of the best mechanics in my area. Including my long time friend John (who I rode with and have known 35+ years), who torn down, fixed and rebuilt many engines, including his YZ he raced. Both Jeremy (who works at the local KTM dealer) and John are EXTREMELY experienced motorcycle mechanics. Both are currently involved in setting up and maintaining race bikes that race almost weekly. (John used to race is NETRA and now supports an 18 year old who does, and many guys in club race and support kids who race in NETRA….plus we have guys in our club who have and race vintage bikes from the '70…I have access to extremely knowledgeable guys)

>>The carb and engine on the KLX is proven, reliable technology.<<

How can you say that? You've seen the posts here. And I've had private messages from people with problems too. Look, I am a HUGE Kawasaki fan. I have been almost my whole life. But I am not going to sugar coat this. There IS a problem. Whether it's with the gas today or the carb they use, there IS a problem. And many of us would like a solution. And I am not afraid to call attention to it in the KLX community and to Kawasaki. I want to be able to ride and enjoy my KLX again. Like many of us here who are having similar problems.

And I love my KLX250S, when it's running right. It's a great fun bike!! But I refuse to put my life in danger riding a bike in traffic that is subject to stall on a whim. I also refuse to have to push my bike home when it suddenly decides it doesn't want to run good, or won't stay running at all.

Maybe 15 or 20 years ago the gas bought at the pump would have been fine. But today there are are so many additives and ethanol added the gas it is subject to causing more and more problems. AND IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. And look, I am sure guys with small Yamahas and Hondas are having the same issue with the gas. I am not blaming Kawasaki for the bad gas, but they need to find a way to get these small single cylinder bikes burn it properly and run well. And as I said, the issue with the gas will not improve. The government will not drop additive requirements and let us go back 25 years....

Just in talking to friends about this, people who don't even have bikes, I am hearing even more and more stories now of lawn mowers, generators, chain saws and gas powered weed eaters that are having problems! It's gotten to where now if you have a small engine and you let it sit for several weeks or a couple months it needs to back in the shop to get it running again.

And I can tell you, I have been riding bikes since I was 10 years old. I LOVE motorcycles and riding them. And if this issue is getting ME (who has access to awesome mechanics) this torqued up and angry, I guarantee you that someone new to motorcycling, who just bought their first bike, will not put up with this. They will just sell the bike and say its not worth the trouble. That's no way to grow the motorcycling community. And ignoring this issue is no way to keep that new rider coming back into the showrooms to buy bigger and higher performance bikes when they are ready to move up and learn new riding skills.

Kawasaki, and the whole industry in fact, need to say "Yup, we know a lot of people out there are having problems with the fuel today. We are working on ways to support our existing (loyal) customers, and improve future designs to deal with these fuel related issues." …then they need to deliver some answers and solutions.

Does anyone know if there is a non-CV version of this carburetor out there? I know they use these for emissions etc. but the old "slide" carbs seemed a lot let temperamental and more reliable. Anyone done a fuel-injection conversion on a US KLX? The cost might be crazy high to do this, but just curious…

Jeff

 

Jeff, that CV carb on the KLX has been around forever...basically the same unit as on the venerable KLR600/650 for all these years. Yes, one of the more performance oriented cable pull slide carbs will help throttle response and such, but I don't think they're really any simpler to live with. That CV carb has nothing to do with the state of fuel quality. In fact, the vacuum slide may actually compensate some for it. A properly running KLX will function just fine on 10% ethanol, 85 octane fuel in fact, though many prefer a higher octane to insure against detonation. The fuel isn't the problem with your bike...at least unless there is some horrible, unknown contanimation in there.

I reread all your posts on this. You still have an OEM jetted carb, right? Just about every street legal, modern, DS bike has unbelieveably lean jetting from the factory. They have to. The all-knowing EPA/government makes them do it. Just about all these bikes suck a bit until some jetting improvements are made. This is not Kawasaki's fault...or Honda's...or...well, you get the drift. Yes, they could all put FI on their bikes, and this would help, but it would also drive up the cost by probably $1000 or so. The WR250R Yamaha with FI is often not perfect to many of its owners, and they get an aftermarket computer fuel programmer to fix it...like us rejetting. These bikes have to be super lean to meet emissions, and a single cylinder engine is much more noticeable in this effect than a multicylinder engine.

Yes, the DJ kit is the kit for straightening that out. Stock, this KLX and many others, have horribly lean power characteristics. I don't know positively if this is your problem, but until your bike is jetted properly, it may be hard to diagnose any other issues. So yes, maybe I shouldn't have said that there is nothing inherently wrong with the KLX...but this lean fuel mixture issue is almost universal across the board because of the strict requirements. Go over to the "Thumpers" section of ADV and read many carbed and FI bike complaints about the lean factory fuel conditions on many bikes. This is one reason that the aftermarket computer fuel programmers are in business even in the case of FI bikes.

Back to the original issue, there is something wrong with your bike. It is the inherent lean fuel condition we spoke of or something else. You or someone needs to fix it...or get another model bike. When these bikes are jetted properly, they are like sewing machines...they run and run and run without much drama at all.

 

So has your entire fuel system been cleaned & flushed?

 

Jeff's bike OBVIOUSLY has a problem. I'm not ready to blame it on fuel quality. It's something simple, it always is. Now, finding it is the complicated part. The fact that it runs great at times tells me it's not a "bad carb". It's either electrical, or, there is an intermittant fuel-delivery obstruction. Something like the Rectifier grounding modification might be applicable, or an intermittantly malfunctioning coil. Or, a flap-obstruction in the carb unit, be it fuel or vacuum line.

But, it's not a general overall engineering problem with the KLX overall, or, most everyone would be complaining. We aren't.

I don't even think it's fuel quality related...so many people say fuel with ethanol is causing tremendous problems especially with lower octane fuels. When they add the bit about "especially with lower octane fuels" I immediately question the statement, because octane is NOT A RATING OF QUALITY, like so many people incorrectly assume. They fall into the marketing ploy of fuel sellers, which infer that their Premium has "the highest levels of cleaning additives available today", when, in fact, their lowest octane fuel has exactly the same level of cleaning additives. Octane is a calculated number referring to the fuel's self-ignition characteristics...that's all.

Anyway, as frustrating as this problem is for an individual, it's going to be something simple as the solution....it simply hasn't been found, yet. No matter if one, two, or three experienced mechanics have been stumped so far....

 

It's unfortunate that JeffNY has a problem. However, it is disingenuous to declare that all of the bikes of that genre are bad.

Consider that if even one 2009 KLX runs right, then any 2009 can be made to run right.

Good luck.

Ron

 

Jeff, sorry to hear you're having such problems with your bike!

But to underline what others have already said, there's nothing "the freak going on with these bikes". Your bike has some persistent issue and it needs to be systematically diagnosed.


2) Next time when the bike doesn't run, remove the spark plug.
Is the plug wet? Do you get a spark with the plug grounded against the engine when you crank the starter?

2) Next time when the bike doesn't run, stop and open the float bowl drain screw. Does gas run out from the drain? Does it keep running as longs as you keep the screw open?

You need to conclusively determine what the problem is with your bike.
- Does it not get gas when it doesn't run
- Does is get too much gas
- Does is get spark
- Is the compression good

This can be figured out and fixed so the bike runs again as they do when nothing is broken and all components work properly.

--
Mikko

 

When it quits open the gas cap and see if it will start, might be as easy as a clogged vent line. The majority of KLX owners on this forum do not have problems like this either form gas or the bikes.

 

Agreed. PREMIUM is NOT a quality designation. It's a research number that describes the fuel's tendency to not detonate prior to the spark plug firing. SOME octane boosters may actually contribute to deposit formations.

However, treating the fuel with substances such as stabilizers, does seem to be a good idea.