Cranks but dies when you pull the throttle

[mangle1776]

Let me start by saying I am not very mechanically inclined, but I am trying to learn. I recently purchased a gz250 from my sister, it's a 2002 model. She bought it a few years ago to learn to ride and never quite got the inclination. As such it spent two years being ridden very little and mostly sitting on her back porch. I bought the bike and the battery was dead. She told me they could get it to start by spraying starting spray in the air flow but after that they had to keep it full throttle or it wouldn't stay cranked. Her husband told me he expected it was the carb. I pulled the carb off after reading the how to's on this forum and sprayed the inside with carb cleaner. After spraying it really good and putting everything back together it now cranks and will idle, but when you give it some gas it goes dead. It seems like it is flooding. I have been able to crank and ride the bike around the neighborhood but as I said when you give it gas it dies. I have reached a top speed of 15 miles per hour. Anyone got any ideas what is causing this and what I need to do to get it back on the road. I have fresh gas in the tank and a little carb cleaner in it(berryman's as suggested here).

[mrlmd1]

What is the status of the battery? Is it charged, does it hold a charge? Did you replace it with a new one? And charge that one first before using it?
How is the spark plug? What does it look like?
Any rust in the gas tank?
You probably still have a dirty carb with clogged jets and you may have to disassemble it to clean the jets out if soaking them in carb cleaner doesn't work.

[bonehead]

There's a thread on the site about how to clean the carb without removing it. It involves saturating the inside of the carb with berrymans or seafoam, and letting it sit over night. Look for it, it gives step by step instructions.

[Water Warrior 2]

There is also a recent thread about an inline fuel filter. It would be a good idea to have one to stop more gunk getting to the carb. The gas tank is sure to have some nasty old deposits from lack of use over the years.

[mangle1776]

The battery is new, I followed the instructions on how to charge it. it is holding a good charge. I will look for a post on cleaning the jets, I'm sure there is all ready one on here.

[alanmcorcoran]

You probably still have a dirty carb with clogged jets and you may have to disassemble it to clean the jets out if soaking them in carb cleaner doesn't work.

(What he said.)

There is a slight chance, if you can let it idle a while (maybe ten - fifteen minutes) and then nurse it along enough to get it going, that you can cure it by simply putting 150 miles (about a tank of gas) on it. More than likely there is a small obstruction (plaque) of some kind in one or more of the carb jets. These will sometimes take care of themselves with the cleaning additives in the gas. However, some obstructions are beyond this approach and more direct measures need to be taken.

If you surf around the forum a bit you will find the number one GZ problem is difficult starting/idling/running and it is almost always a symptom of lack of regular use. Some of these carb problems can be stubborn and require several cleaning attempts to get resolved.

[mangle1776]

Yesterday afternoon I pulled the carb off again and used some floral wire in the jets(very carefully). She is now up and running again. I rode around for a little while yesterday and whether permitting I will ride some more today! She still gets a little jerky around 40 mph but it's not too bad. I have Berryman's in the tank so hopefully in a couple of hundred miles, that will stop too. Thanks for all your help!

[mangle1776]

Another 50 miles down, she is running better and better with every mile...

[Water Warrior 2]

Keep riding. Bikes are made to be ridden.

[alantf]

............. and geezer carbs are made to clog up! :cry:

[alanmcorcoran]

Mangle,

Sounds to me like you got it. Good work. Once you get a full tank of gas through it you should notice better idling, better power and better acceleration. I have not found that the carb cleaner is needed as long as you don't let the bike sit for more than a couple weeks. Glad you are out riding instead of effing with it in the garage. Once it gets settled in, locate the idle adjustment. It tends to idle best at a bit north of 1000rpm, depending on the age and condition of the bike. Only mess with it if you find it "racing" after the bike is warmed up. Keep using the choke to start it, but don't leave it on once it's warmed up. Warmup time will vary with the weather etc. but is rarely more than seven or eight minutes.

[alantf]

It tends to idle best at a bit north of 1000rpm

Suzuki recommend 1200-1400RPM, when the bike is good n' hot. You can use this as a starting point to set it to what suits you best. :2tup: