Hey Jules and stalling

I remember you saying you were coming to Canberra in late June.....

Rug up - we've had a couple of minus 7 mornings!

Related to the freezing weather is this question for any other
cold-weather dwellers/riders...

Is there anything I can do to stop the GPX stalling every time I gear
down at lights? As soon as the temps fall below zero (and we get a lot
of that here) I have a bugger of a time at lights- and it's a bit scary
when cars come hooning up behind me and I'm frantically trying to
restart the engine, especially as it's still dark at that time....

Any suggestions? (apart from the obvious *take the bus*, ha ha)

thanks
betty

 

I would have thought the obvious was to get out of Canberra.

 

Wasn't there a problem with (some) Kawasakis and icing fuel bowls?

Someone will be along soon with the answer.

Kind regards
Dave Milligan

 

Yeah, rather common problem with the ZX6/9 etc ranges from a number of years
back, not sure if things like the GPX has similar problems though. It would
show itself while riding along though, not at the lights. More than likely
the thing is just bloody cold and may need a touch more fuel at idle (richen
it up a bit in winter) and the idle speed adjusted correctly.

Of course, it could be something more complex, but that'l solve it in the
mean time.

Cam

 

Thanks for the suggestions, folks - major service is due, so will ask
for the idle speed to be adjusted and hope it makes a difference.
Blipping the throttle hasn't made any difference at minus 7 (sounds
nice though, hee hee, just before it dies!)

betty

 

There was a young fella from Cooma posting here a while back who had a
newish (~2003?) GPX250 that had carburettor de-icing hosework fitted as
standard. I never had carb icing problems with The Jackal even on
those -6C mornings commuting from Tarago to Canberra, maybe they had
problems with properly cold weather though?


BTH
(Waiting for a puerile followup from Big/Pat/Clem...)

 

Soory Betty, the date got brought forward, and I've been and gone again. Of
course it rained a little bit, so it wasn't as cold as I was dressed for.
Sigh...

Jules

 

Tee hee, he said "puerile"!, Sounds like booth!

big (I'd _hate_ to disappoint you there Ben!)

 

Erk! You can keep that..... you and the penguins... I prefer it to hit
the zero mark before 10am...

I don't actually mind the cold - prefer it to the heat, anyway.... and
it was one of my main reasons for moving to Canberra. Gotta love that
crisp sparkly cold! (Well, as long as I'm dressed for it!) Every part
of me is warmer on the bike (apart from my fingers) than I ever was on
the bus, and I don't have to sit and muck about getting ice off the
windows before I can leave the driveway, the way I used to in my car.

If the stalling problem would go away I'd be a happy little vegemite.
Let's hope Uncle Bruce can fix it, or at the very least, make it a bit
better...

Somebody earlier in this thread mentioned the Cooma guy and the warming
hoses - a friend was telling me today that you can get them fitted -
which leads me to even more questions - how expensive? and would it be
worth it on a '97 bike... (albeit a hardly used one...had only 20,000
on it when I got it, and only has 32,000 now) that I don't intend
keeping for more than about another year...

betty

 

This site is all about your bike: http://www.ninja250.info/index.htm
and this page is all about cold weather and carburettor jetting:
http://www.ninja250.info/maintenance/maintain/carbs/duke4.htm

Both altitude and latitude can change jetting requirements, so if your
bike originally came from Brisbane and hasn't been re-jetted for
Canberra, you should ask your mechanic to check this at the service.

 

Being female, chances are Betty already has enough trouble getting
mechanics to take her seriously.

 

bikerbetty,

the stalling is quite common on any carbie'd bike below 0, in Canberra.
(at least, from my experience in Canberra winters, anyway). Some bikes
are more sensitive to it than others.

Being naked and unfaired, my poor little Virago is extremely sensitive
to temps at or below -5, but the other bikes I have owned (which had
fairings), only started having issues at -7 or -10. The cold wind/wind
chill factor can also help the freezing process, even if the temp isn't
that low.

It gets worse when it is very foggy and below 0 at the same time. This
means that the dampness soaks everything, and then freezes solid on
whatever it settles on. (the carbies freeze up, then makes the bike stop
when you stop at lights).

It is nothing unusual in Canberra winter temps, and I doubt very much if
it is anything to worry about, mechanically speaking, apart from being
very annoying when it happens.

I might catch the bus if its below -6 tomorrow...

 

Probably just upping the idle slightly will work.

Don't worry about it, it's almost certainly not carb icing.

(IK's point about jetting is that Canberra isn't at enough of an
altitude to need jetting changes. HTH.)

-----sharks

 

No, only car mechanics have been like that with me. The bloke I take
the bike to is terrific - explains stuff to me, shows me stuff
(probably because I sound interested and he knows I want to learn about
it.) Besides, his workshop is only small and he only has one offsider
- I find set-ups like that are always more helpful.

Don't know what some of the bigger places would be like...

betty

 

The coriolis effect?

Theo

 

Feel free to gratuitously plug ...

-----sharks

 

You're both right, I was wrong. I believed that it only took 1000' of
elevation but it's more like 1500m. And I daresay that swamps
temperature variation, but I would have thought ideal jetting for a
Brisbane winter isn't right for a Canberra winter?

 

Cool!

<gratuituous plug>

Bruce's Motorcycles - Grimwade St Mitchell. I think Bruce is great
because he takes me seriously and listens to my concerns about my bike.
It doesn't matter that I'm a little woman on a little bike, and have
L's, and the first time I picked up the bike after a service I admitted
to being too scared to ride it away from the workshop in peak hour (you
know we have a SHOCKING peak hour in Canberra, right???<snigger>). He
actually understood that and didn't make me feel like an idiot - and
has thus earned my undying loyalty.

Women riders are on the increase, like it or not <grin>, and mechanics
who don't treat them like idiots are going to be the big winners in the
long run.

I told Bruce about the stalling problem and we had a bit of a chat
about the whys and wherefores, and it all tallied with what you guys
(and other friends) have said. He's adjusted the idle speed a bit and
now I'll just have to see how it goes. Sounded good on the way home
from the workshop (in peak hour this time, YAY!!!!!)

Thanks for your responses folks - fingers crossed for tomorrow morning
on the way to work in the frost!

betty

 

You'd think he'd move to Bruce!

OK Canberra aus.motians; I think motorcycle-mechanics 101 is in order for
Ms Betty!
Never again do I want to hear "My mechanic adjusted the idle speed..."

 

I'll move to Canberra. Who wants to pack all my stuff up?

Hammo