My bike seems to overheat and shut down

[markie539]

I bought my first bike 2009 GZ250, at first it ran fine but now it shuts down while I am riding it. I took it in to a mechanic and he thought it was the rectifier and battery because my battery was also not holding a charge. I replaced those parts and it still

shuts down. I feels like it is runs out of gas. At first I noticed it happened mostly in 3rd gear, I had a friend check it out and he rode it one in 1st gear and it still turned off. It idles just fine though. I am getting really discouraged because I didn't have much

money to start with and I feel like I am putting more and more into it. Anybody know what I should start to look at to fix this problem?

[b1pig]

if it "feels" like its running out of gas, it very well could be. there is a small vaccum line that runs from the upper right of the carb to the back side of the fuel petcock. that is actually a vacuum powered fuel pump. have you tried switching the petcock to "PRIME"?

[markie539]

Yes I have, that doesn't help. Once it turns off i can't get it to start again until I give it a rest (I asume to cool down).

[Water Warrior 2]

The vent for the gas cap may be plugged and creating a vacuum in the tank as the fuel level drops.

[JWR]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

The vent for the gas cap may be plugged and creating a vucuum in the tank as the fuel level drops.

The Vulcan 500 that I had would do that.
I used wd40 around the vent and cured it.

[raul10141964]

check for spark after turn off
if the spark is missing the problem is the CDI or the ignition coil

[mrlmd1]

You can check WW's theory about the gas cap vent being plugged by quickly opening the cap when the bike dies and hearing a hiss of gas rushing in, or, loosen or remove the cap and see if the bike runs.

[markie539]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

You can check WW's theory about the gas cap vent being plugged by quickly opening the cap when the bike dies and hearing a hiss of gas rushing in, or, loosen or remove the cap and see if the bike runs.

I am trying out all tips including adding more gas because I was told that even though it looks like it has some it might not be enough, but now I ran into another problem. After I added more gas I noticed that the back tire was flat, I am going to try and

repair it and then I will update you guys. Thanks for all the info!

[markie539]

Hey guys so here is an update. I went and brought home about a gallon and a half of gas and added it to the gas tank. Right after I noticed my rear tire was flat so I went and got the tube replaced and the tire plugged. I have since rode the bike around the block a few times without any issues. I have the fuel switch set to PRI but I returned it back to ON. Since I haven't noticed any more issues I think I am going to take it to work tomorrow. Thanks for all the help, i am not sure what it was that worked but it seems fine now.

[alantf]

You only need PRI if the bike has been standing for a few weeks, and the carb has drained - and then, only until the bike is running. At all other times you should use RUN. Vacuum from the engine opens it when you start the bike, and shuts it off when you switch off the engine.