CBR troubles

[Hurrie]

Hey I've got a couple of problems with my CBR 250 hopefully someone on here can help.

Firstly, when i ride around town for about 10mins it gets hot (about 3/4 of my temp gauge) and thats on a winters day. and when it does that it just dies everytime i stop at a traffic light unless i give it a little gas to keep the rpm up than it will stay fine on idle.

Secondly, when i warm it up for a couple of mins and take it for a ride, there's an odd ticking sound coming from somewhere in the engine. it is even more noticable if i'm on low rpm's while just cruising and than i give it gas and the ticking sound just increases with the rpm.

Not sure if those two problems are linked or not, but any help or ideas would be appreciated.

[ducatilover]

How many KM has it done? Has it had the valve clearances checked? (Ticking noise) and when was it's last oil/filter change?
If it has over heated check the oil colour, any condensation on the oil cap or in the oil? Will be a milky colour.
Is your electric fan working?
Are both sides of the radiator and both hoses warming up evenly?
When was the last coolant change?

[Hurrie]

How many KM has it done? Has it had the valve clearances checked? (Ticking noise) and when was it's last oil/filter change?
If it has over heated check the oil colour, any condensation on the oil cap or in the oil? Will be a milky colour.
Is your electric fan working?
Are both sides of the radiator and both hoses warming up evenly?
When was the last coolant change?

its only done 26000km no idea when the valve clearances have been checked, last oil and filter change was about 4000km ago and changed the oil about a month ago. oil colour looks normal.
i'm not really sure if the fan is working but right now my guess is that my battery is too weak (headlights flicker with indicaters and brake lights) so im guessing that when the fan needs to get turned on my battery just dies as soon the bike stops moving.
i havnt check the radiater hoses but i will when i go into town tomorrow and i have no idea when the last coolant change was. but im planning on doing that at some stage soon.
Thanks for the tips

[Hurrie]

How many KM has it done? Has it had the valve clearances checked? (Ticking noise) and when was it's last oil/filter change?
If it has over heated check the oil colour, any condensation on the oil cap or in the oil? Will be a milky colour.
Is your electric fan working?
Are both sides of the radiator and both hoses warming up evenly?
When was the last coolant change?

its only done 26000km no idea when the valve clearances have been checked, last oil and filter change was about 4000km ago and changed the oil about a month ago. oil colour looks normal.
i'm not really sure if the fan is working but right now my guess is that my battery is too weak (headlights flicker with indicaters and brake lights) so im guessing that when the fan needs to get turned on my battery just dies as soon the bike stops moving.
i havnt check the radiater hoses but i will when i go into town tomorrow and i have no idea when the last coolant change was. but im planning on doing that at some stage soon.
Thanks for the tips

[ducatilover]

its only done 26000km no idea when the valve clearances have been checked, last oil and filter change was about 4000km ago and changed the oil about a month ago. oil colour looks normal.
i'm not really sure if the fan is working but right now my guess is that my battery is too weak (headlights flicker with indicaters and brake lights) so im guessing that when the fan needs to get turned on my battery just dies as soon the bike stops moving.
i havnt check the radiater hoses but i will when i go into town tomorrow and i have no idea when the last coolant change was. but im planning on doing that at some stage soon.
Thanks for the tips

Try a wire from the temp sensor wire on the left hand side of the radiator [from memory] to an earth, radiator mount will do. This will hard wire the fan. [After warming the bike up and listening for the fan]
Get somebody to check if the battery is okay or if it is the charging system itself, could be regulator/rec problems with flickering lights etc.

[imdying]

Just keep changing the oil and rape it till it dies. Should you upgrade before that, and it's still good enough to sell, consider it a bonus :)

Wind the idle up a little if it stalls. You could test the temperature gauge with some boiling water and a thermometer, to see if there's actually anything to worry about with the temp.

(in other words, just ride it and hope for the best... if there actually was something wrong, it probably wouldnt' be cheap to fix, but it's likely that it's just old and rattly)

[SMOKEU]

It should idle at around 1,500RPM when warm. The idle adjust screw is on the left side of the bike and you don't even have to unbolt anything to get to it.

[Hurrie]

Just keep changing the oil and rape it till it dies. Should you upgrade before that, and it's still good enough to sell, consider it a bonus :)

Wind the idle up a little if it stalls. You could test the temperature gauge with some boiling water and a thermometer, to see if there's actually anything to worry about with the temp.

(in other words, just ride it and hope for the best... if there actually was something wrong, it probably wouldnt' be cheap to fix, but it's likely that it's just old and rattly)

lol but thats just a waste of a really tidy bike thats been well taken care of!!


It should idle at around 1,500RPM when warm. The idle adjust screw is on the left side of the bike and you don't even have to unbolt anything to get to it.

yeap not really an idle rpm problem though, like when it heats up and i slow down to stop at the traffic light the rpm will just drop to 0 unless i give it a little throttle than it will just stay at 1500rpm


Try a wire from the temp sensor wire on the left hand side of the radiator [from memory] to an earth, radiator mount will do. This will hard wire the fan. [After warming the bike up and listening for the fan]
Get somebody to check if the battery is okay or if it is the charging system itself, could be regulator/rec problems with flickering lights etc.

i'm trying to find the temp sensor but i just cant, on my old cbr it was on the left side but on this one i just can't spot it, will take the fairings off and check the coolant and try and look for that wire

[Hurrie]

The ticking sound almost sounds like the spark cap isnt on properly and its just ticking away.

[Gibbo89]

lol but thats just a waste of a really tidy bike thats been well taken care of!!

yeah ignore his comment. that was fucking retarded. it's your pride and joy and should run how you want it to/ has done in the past.

[imdying]

lol but thats just a waste of a really tidy bike thats been well taken care of!!Riding a bike is not wasting it, it's what it's designed for. The temperature you will need to double check, it's quite possible the gauge is putting you on a wild goose chase. Winding up the idle a little will cost you nothing.

I'm saying ignore rattles, that's 20 year old 250s for you. If the top end was rooted, you might have to drop a thousand dollars into what, a 2 or 3 thousand dollar bike, to fix it? Screw that, ignore it, rape it like it wants to be done, and save your money for your next bike. Even it rattles, you'll still be able to sell it... someone will buy it, you did...

/edit: I have a mate who is local to you, he has 2 or 3 of these (MC19s) if you get totally stuck

[Hurrie]

Riding a bike is not wasting it, it's what it's designed for. The temperature you will need to double check, it's quite possible the gauge is putting you on a wild goose chase. Winding up the idle a little will cost you nothing.


yeah but what if its just a minor problem? and if i leave it would just get worse? and like i said above its not the idle problem.


Try a wire from the temp sensor wire on the left hand side of the radiator [from memory] to an earth, radiator mount will do. This will hard wire the fan. [After warming the bike up and listening for the fan]
Get somebody to check if the battery is okay or if it is the charging system itself, could be regulator/rec problems with flickering lights etc.

alright so i'm electricaly challenge so im not sure if what i did is what you meant. i turned the bike on and i took a wire from what i think is the temp sensor (cable attached to the front of the radiator) and than touched the other end to the frame of the bike and nothing happened. did you mean that i should get it warmed up to the point of almost overheating?

coolant is at the normal level however when i took out the drain bolt to drain out a little bit of the coolant, only 2 drops came out. does that mean i have a blockage? and both sides of the radiator are pretty evenly warm.

and it sounds like the ticking sound might be coming from one of the spark plugs or (maybe its the normal cbr sound and im just going crazy?:facepalm:) so ill take the sparks out over the weekend and have a looksie

[imdying]

yeah but what if its just a minor problem? and if i leave it would just get worse? and like i said above its not the idle problem.That's a potential risk of course, but on your own bike you'll notice when things change (a funny noise, a new rattle), so it's not like you're just blindly going to ignore everything. A bit of a rattle isn't uncommon on something so old and easy to thrash.

Whilst you have the tank off, check the valve clearances... the valves are right by the spark plugs, and will rattle it they're out of spec. Once you have the clearance measurements, you can find out how much they're out by, and make an informed decision on whether to do anything about it. Each valve head is the size of a 5 cent piece on something like that, and there's 16 of them, so if they've hammered the seats in the head to death, it's an expensive job to fix.

[ducatilover]

alright so i'm electricaly challenge so im not sure if what i did is what you meant. i turned the bike on and i took a wire from what i think is the temp sensor (cable attached to the front of the radiator) and than touched the other end to the frame of the bike and nothing happened. did you mean that i should get it warmed up to the point of almost overheating?

coolant is at the normal level however when i took out the drain bolt to drain out a little bit of the coolant, only 2 drops came out. does that mean i have a blockage? and both sides of the radiator are pretty evenly warm.

and it sounds like the ticking sound might be coming from one of the spark plugs or (maybe its the normal cbr sound and im just going crazy?:facepalm:) so ill take the sparks out over the weekend and have a looksie

You should be okay if the radiator is evenly warm in terms of blockages, but even so it may pay to give the whole system a good flush.

With the thermoswitch wire, run a wire from the plug to an earth, try it with it connected to the thermoswitch (If you know what I mean?) It all depends if the switch is "open" when cold or "closed" when cold. Either way you should get the fan to run.
I'll google some info and see what I can find, the revs dying when hot is typical on a smaller bike, my spada was doing that on long trip before I found a few tiny blockages in the radiator....

[Hurrie]

You should be okay if the radiator is evenly warm in terms of blockages, but even so it may pay to give the whole system a good flush.

With the thermoswitch wire, run a wire from the plug to an earth, try it with it connected to the thermoswitch (If you know what I mean?) It all depends if the switch is "open" when cold or "closed" when cold. Either way you should get the fan to run.
I'll google some info and see what I can find, the revs dying when hot is typical on a smaller bike, my spada was doing that on long trip before I found a few tiny blockages in the radiator....

fan works fine although i saw some sparks :shit: so i probably wasnt connecting it right. thing is the temp gauge doesnt get to to red zone just abou 3 quarters of the way there

[ducatilover]

fan works fine although i saw some sparks :shit: so i probably wasnt connecting it right. thing is the temp gauge doesnt get to to red zone just abou 3 quarters of the way there

Sparks are fun :drinkup: How warm will the bike get with the fan running?
My Spada temp gauge and my BROS650 temp gauge only sat just above the "C" at full operating temp. Last few CBR's I rode also varied, not the most reliable gauges I guess. If it's dying at idle after a good ride it's most likely getting too warm.

Could always throw a new thermostat at it too just for peace of mind.

[Hurrie]

Sparks are fun :drinkup: How warm will the bike get with the fan running?
My Spada temp gauge and my BROS650 temp gauge only sat just above the "C" at full operating temp. Last few CBR's I rode also varied, not the most reliable gauges I guess. If it's dying at idle after a good ride it's most likely getting too warm.

Could always throw a new thermostat at it too just for peace of mind.

on a hot summers day it will be exactly half but if i'm sitting still it will get around 3/4 hot the fan doesnt kick in untill somewhere around that point otherwise its just air cooled most of the time

[ducatilover]

on a hot summers day it will be exactly half but if i'm sitting still it will get around 3/4 hot the fan doesnt kick in untill somewhere around that point otherwise its just air cooled most of the time

Perhaps the fan switch is shagged? Keep it hard wired (seems dodgy, but that's okay :innocent: ) and see what happens.

[The Pastor]

on a hot summers day it will be exactly half but if i'm sitting still it will get around 3/4 hot the fan doesnt kick in untill somewhere around that point otherwise its just air cooled most of the time

that sounds normal to me, cbrs run pretty hot.

[ducatilover]

that sounds normal to me, cbrs run pretty hot.

:blink: Yeah? None of the ones I have ridden have had overheating problems. I rode on down from Aucks a few years back, 500-600km trip or some shit and it never started to overheat.
Maybe I ride like a fanny

[Hurrie]

:blink: Yeah? None of the ones I have ridden have had overheating problems. I rode on down from Aucks a few years back, 500-600km trip or some shit and it never started to overheat.
Maybe I ride like a fanny

oh i meant as in stuck in traffic half the time with traffic lights 100 meters apart in town, but out side town it never does that doesnt even get half up my temp gauge most of the time

[ducatilover]

oh i meant as in stuck in traffic half the time with traffic lights 100 meters apart in town, but out side town it never does that doesnt even get half up my temp gauge most of the time

Perhaps your fan is cutting in too late then? That would be my guess. Thremoswitch's are cheap enough.

[The Pastor]

:blink: Yeah? None of the ones I have ridden have had overheating problems. I rode on down from Aucks a few years back, 500-600km trip or some shit and it never started to overheat.
Maybe I ride like a fanny

as i read it, its not over heating?

[imdying]

Fan doesn't kick in till 106 degrees on my CBR, and 108 on my SV. Hot definitely doesn't mean over heating, but until you know what temperatures match up with the readings on the gauge, you're only guessing anyway. Test the fan switch opening point at the same time.

[Hurrie]

as i read it, its not over heating?

no its not over heating it only ever gets about 3/4 max when im stuck in traffic and i checked today when i went for a ride and the fan was going. usually it stalls when i stop at any lights but it didnt today

[The Pastor]

my cbr has been known to spit the overflow bottle out, i wouldnt worry about high gauge readings, they are a small radiator, a very high performance engine and a il4 - all dont go well with cooling.

the stalling issue sounds like a mixture / carby problem.

[Hurrie]

oh ok, im planning on getting the valve clearances checked and the carbs cleaned over summer, hopefully that will sort some problems out

[ducatilover]

my cbr has been known to spit the overflow bottle out, i wouldnt worry about that.

the stalling issue sounds like a mixture / carby problem.

RM has spoken. :yes:

[The Pastor]

oh ok, im planning on getting the valve clearances checked and the carbs cleaned over summer, hopefully that will sort some problems out

it'll be unlikely that the valve clearances are out, Honda build a really strong motor. I would check these last. I did my mc22 valves at 95 000k. They did not need adjusting.

Mc19 known problems - fuel pump (unlikely in this case) and reg/rec (possible).

I would spend the coin and get a mechanic to diagnose the problem. I'd just say stalls when warmed up. dont mention anything about what you think it is, just say the problem - stalls at traffic lights when warm, doesn't do it when cold.

When he tells you whats wrong, buy the parts and DIY.

The problem is, trying to find a good mech!

Other thoughts - how good the spark? leads / coils ok? how old are the plugs? set to right gap? are they the right plug for the bike?

[Hurrie]

it'll be unlikely that the valve clearances are out, Honda build a really strong motor. I would check these last. I did my mc22 valves at 95 000k. They did not need adjusting.

Mc19 known problems - fuel pump (unlikely in this case) and reg/rec (possible).

I would spend the coin and get a mechanic to diagnose the problem. I'd just say stalls when warmed up. dont mention anything about what you think it is, just say the problem - stalls at traffic lights when warm, doesn't do it when cold.

When he tells you whats wrong, buy the parts and DIY.

The problem is, trying to find a good mech!

Other thoughts - how good the spark? leads / coils ok? how old are the plugs? set to right gap? are they the right plug for the bike?

yeah im thinking the reg/rec might need changing cause i put in a new battery on (mechanics advise) but that did nothing for my light flickering whenever the indicators go on, so im gonna get another mech to have a look at it and see what happens.

the sparks are 4000km old and they are mc19 ones, no sure how to check the leads/coils though. and im not sure if they are set to the right gap i kinda did it by feel.

[Gibbo89]

yeah im thinking the reg/rec might need changing cause i put in a new battery on (mechanics advise) but that did nothing for my light flickering whenever the indicators go on, so im gonna get another mech to have a look at it and see what happens.

the sparks are 4000km old and they are mc19 ones, no sure how to check the leads/coils though. and im not sure if they are set to the right gap i kinda did it by feel.

what mechanics are you going to man? some are good in chch, others are not so great...

[Hurrie]

what mechanics are you going to man? some are good in chch, others are not so great...

i was dealing with hampton honda for a while but i'm starting to deal with ian from gloucester motorcycles.

[Gibbo89]

i was dealing with hampton honda for a while but i'm starting to deal with ian from gloucester motorcycles.

sweet as, he seems to know a thing or two. good luck with the issue.

i'm probably going to him soon

[ducatilover]

Cracked coil?

I'm over thinking again

[kiwi cowboy]

sweet as, he seems to know a thing or two. good luck with the issue.

i'm probably going to him soon

Just my 2 cents worth but why not hard wire the fan to a switch so when you get to a town just flick it on and that problem solved.

When you took the drain bolt out and only got 2 drops out did you have the radiator cap off as im guessing the drain is in the water pump and would just vacum with it still on.

Is the ticking sound regular or intermitent - if its intermitent it could be the cam chain.

[Hurrie]

Just my 2 cents worth but why not hard wire the fan to a switch so when you get to a town just flick it on and that problem solved.

When you took the drain bolt out and only got 2 drops out did you have the radiator cap off as im guessing the drain is in the water pump and would just vacum with it still on.

Is the ticking sound regular or intermitent - if its intermitent it could be the cam chain.

lol but the fan works fine, turned on when the temp gauge got over half way.
no i didnt have the radiator cap off, fully didnt think of that but ill try again when i have the time.

the ticking sounds is pretty regular and matches the rpm. however i've taken it to 2 mechanics and they both said that they couldnt hear anything so maybe the ticking sounds is just the rusty gears in my head starting to work :weird:

[ducatilover]

Just my 2 cents worth but why not hard wire the fan to a switch so when you get to a town just flick it on and that problem solved.



Is the ticking sound regular or intermitent - if its intermitent it could be the cam chain.

I did that to my last bike.
Doesn't have a cam chain.

[kiwi cowboy]

Doesn't have a cam chain.

:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: :facepalm:

[kiwi cowboy]

lol but the fan works fine, turned on when the temp gauge got over half way.
no i didnt have the radiator cap off, fully didnt think of that but ill try again when i have the time.

the ticking sounds is pretty regular and matches the rpm. however i've taken it to 2 mechanics and they both said that they couldnt hear anything so maybe the ticking sounds is just the rusty gears in my head starting to work :weird:

A- as ducatilover says they dont have a can chain so forget that:facepalm:.

B- if the fan comes on at half way and the temp still keeps going up i would give the radiater a good flush old bike the core could be ever so slighty gumed up.
As with my impulse the radiaters are only just adequate new or the guage could be just old and out a bit.

[Hurrie]

A- as ducatilover says they dont have a can chain so forget that:facepalm:.

B- if the fan comes on at half way and the temp still keeps going up i would give the radiater a good flush old bike the core could be ever so slighty gumed up.
As with my impulse the radiaters are only just adequate new or the guage could be just old and out a bit.

ohk i'll have another go at flushing out the coolant and see if that helps. thanks!

[ducatilover]

ohk i'll have another go at flushing out the coolant and see if that helps. thanks!

Check the thermostat and drink plenty of beer, I'll help with that part. :drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drin kup:

[Hurrie]

Check the thermostat and drink plenty of beer, I'll help with that part. :drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drin kup:

haha how do i check the thermostat?

[ducatilover]

haha how do i check the thermostat?

Throw it in a pot of water (on the end of a bit of wire...) turn the element on. Observe, thermostat will start to open at it's specified temp, in theory. Temp will be written on it :yes:

[Hurrie]

Throw it in a pot of water (on the end of a bit of wire...) turn the element on. Observe, thermostat will start to open at it's specified temp, in theory. Temp will be written on it :yes:

i have no idea where the thermostat actualy is so ill have to look through the manual at some point and do that, thanks for the tips

[ducatilover]

i have no idea where the thermostat actualy is so ill have to look through the manual at some point and do that, thanks for the tips

Good luck. :scooter:

[Hurrie]

thanks for all your help!! it turns out that the weird ticking sound was my fuel pump crapping out (was obvious when i took the tank off and could hear it ticking away) and lo and behold 2 weeks later it stops working lol, and i did a coolant flush and that seems to have sorted out my dying issue.

part 2: i'm upgrading my exhaust and need some advice if you can help than the thread is http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/130189-CBR250-exhaust-upgrade-help
Thanks!!!