Low Idle

[Foobin]

My suzuki Bandit 250cc seems to have rather low idle to the extent that engine dies after a period of time

It works fine when the bike first starts up but after a while it just gets really low and dies.

How can this be fixed?

Thanks.

[Ragingrob]

If you look in the owners' manual there'll be a bit that shows you how to adjust the idle speed. On my bike it's just one screw that you can adjust it to whatever :).

[boman]

On the left hand side of your bike, near the two bolts that hold your top engine mount, there should be a knob. Turn left to lower the idle, and right to raise the idle. Idle speed should be about 1500rpm. Hope this helps.

[Foobin]

OK, i will take a look

also my mate noticed some fuel on the ground when it was parked today and traced it to a little black tube that was not attached to anything at the bottom of the engine,

now is this tube supposed to be attached to anything? its just dripping a bit of fuel, but not like gushing out.

[Drum]

Sounds like the overflow from the tank. You could be overfilling it.

[Foobin]

No, checked the tank and its not even close to full, what else can it be? Should the engine have such a small tube hanging out the bottom anyway?

[Drum]

Overflow pipe hanging out the bottom is perfectly normal (if that's what it is). On some bikes the battery has an overflow too.

Edit: Send a PM to WASP. He knows the 250 Bandit.

[Sidewinder]

yea what these guys said

[NotaGoth]

May not help but I'll post anyway...

My RG was running real rough, it would start however. But I couldn't leave it siting there idling without it cutting out. It sounded sick.

Old sparkplug was in there "hand tight" replaced it with a new one, and now I can start it, idles much nicer, and it will keep running, it doesn't just up and cut out anymore.

[Foobin]

Maybe it is the an overflow thing cause the bike runs fine, only got paranoid when my friend pointed it out.

where can i get a English manual for a Suzuki bandit 250cc 1990?

[Sidewinder]

May not help but I'll post anyway...

My RG was running real rough, it would start however. But I couldn't leave it siting there idling without it cutting out. It sounded sick.

Old sparkplug was in there "hand tight" replaced it with a new one, and now I can start it, idles much nicer, and it will keep running, it doesn't just up and cut out anymore.

yea but two strokes foul up the plugs thats why you have to give them death. doesnt matter as much on a four stroke

[Sidewinder]

Maybe it is the an overflow thing cause the bike runs fine, only got paranoid when my friend pointed it out.

where can i get a English manual for a Suzuki bandit 250cc 1990?

just search for one on google!

[PirateJafa]

Synapse (http://www.synapse.ne.jp/s-hara/bandit/ban-spece.html) is the best site on the 'net for bandits. :)

[Foobin]

OK, so i fixed the idle problem, but even more fuel is dripping out the bottom now, cant seem to find if tube is supposed to connect to anything then again i don't know jack about bikes.

Update: I traced the cable back up the engine, and it splits off 4 ways and connects to a block of metal next to the engine block (where the spark plugs are connected to), does this help to what the little tube may be?

[Pancakes]

Trace the pipe to find where the gas is coming from. If it runs ok at the start then gets worse is the carb float stuck? So once the bike has been running for a bit they start flooding?

[Foobin]

not sure what you mean, but just called up the guy i bought the bike off and he said it is the overflow pipe. so nothing i need to worry about, thanks for everyone's help.

[PirateJafa]

If it is leaking while the bike is just sitting there, I might be worrying about it if I was you.

Although, how full do you fill your tank? If you fill it right up to the top, then throw it on the side stand I suppose a bit of petrol could lap over the top.

[Foobin]

fuel only leaks when its turn on, is that normal?

[Pancakes]

Nah Foo-Foo, if you overfill it it will leak with or without the engine on for a short while (maybe 20mL's of fuel max) and should only do it if you've really overfilled it. Would have been noticeable. If you fill it with the bike upright, ie, on the centrestand or if you sit on to fill then go home and put it on the sidestand it could well leak. Methinks the "guy you bought it from" has a vested interest in giving such a simple answer. Follow the tube dude, will tell you no lies.

See the pic below, the arrow points to the overflow hole on mine and most bikes are really similar designs.

[Pancakes]

fuel only leaks when its turn on, is that normal?

I don't know that much about stuff but I'd say it's getting fed to the carbs and can't get back. Floats are stuck and it's over filling or the return is blocked or something like that.

[Foobin]

yea maybe it has something to do with that....

anyway he said he is going to come over in the morning and take a look at it (he is a bike mechanic so should be able to sort it out, i hope)

[surfer]

When you park up turn your fuel tap off. Providing of course you have a fuel tap (this would be located under the the fuel tank between the tank and the carbs). It will stop fuel draining into the carbs and flooding them when you are parked. If you do not have a fuel tap ignore this.

Agree with other posts, you have an overflow pipe doing its job.

[surfer]

Ah yes, almost forgot. You should make sure that the revs are at the right level when idling. If they are too low over time you may damage the engine as the engine will not be working hard enough to push the oil where it needs to go to lubricate all the moving parts.

Good idea to get hold of a manual.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Foobin]

ok, umm. what does a fuel tap look like, is it the same knob i turn to turn on the reserve fuel?

The bike was idling too low, but had a play around with the rev knob and i think i have fixed it, its reving about 1500-1900, sometimes it gets a big high but it fluctuates a lot especially if i rev it up to 4000 it might drop back to 1500, then next time go back up to 1900 etc.

I got the online manual thing, its translated into english via google so its a bit cryptic at times.

[surfer]

ok, umm. what does a fuel tap look like, is it the same knob i turn to turn on the reserve fuel?

The bike was idling too low, but had a play around with the rev knob and i think i have fixed it, its reving about 1500-1900, sometimes it gets a big high but it fluctuates a lot especially if i rev it up to 4000 it might drop back to 1500, then next time go back up to 1900 etc.

I got the online manual thing, its translated into english via google so its a bit cryptic at times.

Try and set the revs so they are within the range specified in the manual. They will fluctuate a bit when the engine warms up compared to when it is cold and whether you have a chole that you are using.

Set the revs according to the manual.

There should be a picture of a fuel tap in your manual. It should be situated under the tank where the fuel hose comes out. It will have the reserve knob on it. This should have markings on it for 'on off reserve'. If it doesn't it may be that you have a vacumn fed carb in which case the fuel is sucked out by the carbs when the engine needs it and not gravity fed needing a fuel tap to turn it off when you are not running the engine.

Hope this makes sense.

[surfer]

Try and set the revs so they are within the range specified in the manual. They will fluctuate a bit when the engine warms up compared to when it is cold and whether you have a chole that you are using.



Oooops spellink...'chole' should read 'choke'

[Foobin]

Oh another question to people who know anything about the bandit's, does it have a fuel tap that need to be turn off when i park the bike?

[Drum]

PM Wasp, dude. He will answer your bandit questions. Look him up in the members list at the top of the page.

[Foobin]

Got my problems solved today, the carb was dirty and needed to be taken out and cleaned, and the overflow tube had a leak and some parts was not clear and created vacumes. Bike running fine now.