This has plagued me for ages, and is getting worse as the weather warms up. Bike: 2005 Suzuki VL250 Intruder When it's hot, and I idle at a light for (usually) more than 30 seconds, it LOVES to stall. About 60% of the time high-revving will prevent it....but I look like a jerk and that isn't good for the bike. If it dies, restarting only happens with it at WOT and it struggles to catch. I have replaced the plugs and battery, power is good so nothing wrong with stator or regulator. I am leaning towards either a pilot jet issue, or coils. I think it's more the jet because it goes great when riding....but on one ride to work I did have it cough on me a couple of times like it lost spark....but hasn't since then. It could be the coils from ambient heat pooling when not moving, and then the air cooling them down as I am moving. Any ideas?
My first thoughts are too rich on idle mixture screw or the bowl is flooding. Try leaning the idle mixture and see if it improves.
I think it could be flooding a bit too, maybe the needle tip in the needle and seat has gone hard and isn't sealing properly Float height could be set a touch high and as @Murdo suggested the idle mixture screw could be set a bit rich Try turning the mixture in or out half a turn to lean it out and take it for a ride Mixture screw is #13 in the diagram below
Alright, did some checking and pulled the plugs. They were fouled beyond reason. The main contributor? Previous owner had the bike over-filled with oil. I didn't know until I went to change it for the second time and suddenly about 5L came out. The lot that came out the first time was about right, just under 2L, but it was thick and nasty. So I am thinking that it was overfilled, and run for about 10k without any sort of checking. So last night I pulled the plugs, black as sin, front one was wet looking. Cleaned them with brake cleaner cause I was pushed for time. Saw some improvement today, but still had a stall-out...but much quicker recovery. Overall good jump in responsiveness and running, exhaust didn't smell of petrol or oil. Got home, let it cool, and pulled the plugs again. Still black because they weren't cleaned well, but dry as a bone. So I've scoured them with the dremmel and a wire wheel to get them shiny again. New plugs arrive tomorrow, so I will pull the old ones after work and see how they did and then go from there as far as adjusting the carb. Edit: This is what happens when you buy a 14 year old bike that wasn't ridden or taken care of. You fix one thing, find ten others wrong....but hey, when I'm done she will be amazing!
I still reckon the needle's are leaking, that's where your extra oil has come from The stalling is caused from the needle's not shutting off the fuel when the fuel bowl/s are full
I have to agree with the assessment of leaking fuel valve needles/seats. If you still have that old oil in a container, have a smell and see if it smells like petrol... leave it open and see if it evaporates away. It's an easy fix, but if the needle tip is worn out, its likely that other areas need attention... if there are rebuild kits available for the VL250 then it may be worth sourcing some and sorting the problem for good. Stalling and needing full throttle to start are signs of flooding. You have ruled out plugs/battery/charging system. If the bike has a fuel tap with an 'off' position, try turning the fuel off in a scenario where the stalling/flooding usually occurs and see if there is an improvement.
There is absolutely nothing available as far as rebuild kit or parts for the BDS26 carb that's in the bike, unless I go for genuine Suzuki parts which will cost well over two hundred bucks. I don't even want to take it apart until I can get my hands on new gaskets and seals. It's old enough that if I do, they will have to be replaced. I'd honestly just love to get a rebuild kit, tear it down, put all new seals and jets in it, and go on about my merry way. I am seriously considering putting in a different carb just so I don't have to pull teeth to get parts for it. I will be tweaking the air adjustment screw tonight and then riding it tomorrow to see how that goes. I had to take the car in to work today because I was expecting a large parcel to arrive. I do agree that it sounds like flooding, but it's so extremely conditional that it's extremely odd. The idle cycle itself is perfect, no popping or bubbling in the exhaust, no drops in RPMs, it just bogs and tries to die when you go to give it throttle after it's been idling for 30s. A sample of the old oil has already been sent off for analysis, and I plan on changing the oil again this weekend and getting that lot tested as well. I miss having a proper garage where I could just strip the bike down and do a recondition at my leisure. Stupid dirt driveways.
Rubber swells with heat and fuel so it's possible they only have a problem when cold. Try motorcycle spares warehouse and search for your model. Otherwise sites like partzilla, impex and megazip
I have, no joy. And it's only when it's hot that it has the issue, which is why it's been perplexing me.
Ok if the VL250 use's a BDS26 i may have a solution for you. The 1988 Yamaha XV250 right up to the 2019 Yamaha V-Star XVS250 also use a Mikuni BDS26 carburetor The Virago's and V Star's use richer jetting though. But i'm thinking that the needle and seat's should be the same? Yamaha part number # 3CF-14107-10-00 price is around $16 US plus post But you should be able to find one locally I am also guessing that this carby kit may also work on your bike? https://www.motorcyclespareswarehou...air-and-parts-kit?_pos=2&_sid=3354f900a&_ss=r This is the Keyster XV250 full rebuild kit too https://www.motorcyclespareswarehou...air-and-parts-kit?_pos=1&_sid=3354f900a&_ss=r Now seeing as you're in Adelaide, i have a spare used BDS26 carb off a 1995 Virago that i could remove the fuel bowl, take the needle and seat out and measure it up. Then you can compare the needle and seat to the one in your VL250 carby The fuel bowl's come off easy. If this float needle fit's, then it will be a cheaper option to use the Yamaha part in your carby or get the Keyster kit from MSC? There is also Show and Go Motorcycle's just down the road and they have a pretty good range of Mikuni and Keihin part's, from memory Float needle's were about $15ea and they should be able to match it up with your's. I have played around with a BDS26 on my Uncle's old Virago XV250 trying to get it running right. I found that his bike had float level issue's amongst other thing's, i bought the full rebuild kit from MCS and cleaned then rebuilt the carby, including adjusting the float level correctly. The full Keyster kit that i fitted came with 2x main jet's and 2x pilot jet's as well, so i was able to swap in the bigger pilot jet, tune it and get the bike starting and taking off much easier. His bike was different idling and was much better to ride after that. If you want a hand i can help you out I am located in the southern suburb's near Marion
my67xr, you are bloody awesome. Everything I did trying to find another bike that uses the same cab came up with nada. I'll get the full kit next week when I get paid. If you'd be willing to give me a hand getting this done right, I'd be eternally grateful. It's been nearly 20 years since I've tweaked a motorcycle carbie and it shows. Plus the ride down to Marion will be fun.
Hold off on buying that full kit, it has different jetting to your bike and the jet's that are in there are easy enough to clean. Also not sure if the emulsion tube and needle are the same as your's
That's gonna be a fun bit, cause I can't strip it down to check and then wait for parts to arrive. If I had the cash, I'd just buy a whole new carb, and then store the old one as a spare.
There is plenty of Virago bits on Aliexpress. https://www.aliexpress.com/popular/virago-250-carburetor.html But not much for Suzuki. https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-suzuki-intruder-250.html?switch_new_app=y
So. Spent some time adjusting the a/f mix and idle. Seems like it's improved. I'll find out tomorrow. The screw was almost fully turned in, maybe 1/4 of a turn out. Though now I have a noticeable but slight hesitation that happens roughly every 4s. Just a bit of a blip. I might have to bite the bullet and take it to a shop for them to adjust it and tinker with the jets and float. I don't have a good enough space to rip off the fuel tank and drain it out.
Not sure if this thread is still going or not. I have the very same issue with my 2015 VL250. Im wondering if the issue was resolved and if so how?
Hmmm the last post before yours was in Oct 2019 so I am guessing the thread is now dead as the OP hasnt been seen since then either.
