Gsxr 250 1990 not starting

[benvatos]

OK,

Bike been in storage for a few years. Did the following prior to starting.

Drained tank, Drained carbs, Replaced plugs, Replaced battery.

Cranks over however no fire. Any ideas?......

Ta, Ben.

[FROSTY]

Yup --those lil gixxers have an issue with rust on the valve heads etc
Basicly its pretty easy to end up with no compression
--easy fix.-Haul the head off. lap the valves in head back on---away she goes again.

[benvatos]

ahhh i see. simply buff off the rust and its all dont and dusted? who would have thought. although that was my next thing to look at internals. Will do a compression test to verify next week and post results. I noticed there was not great puff from the exhaust.

Is there any other info neede before I get into it?

ta, ben.

[F5 Dave]

Hmm, interesting idea. An old girlfriend had hard to start on similar vintage GSXR (400) & we assumed the rings were gummed up from sitting. Just carefully towed it & it eventually started. Then we thrashed it silly (once warmed fully & an oil change) & the compression came up & all was well from then on. Possibly the real reason was as above.

[benvatos]

hmmm interesting.... how far did you have to tow it?

[koba]

Definatley do a compression test before you rip the head off.

Does it have a spark?

The cdi units can go bad in them.
Sometimes as a result of the regulator dying and the CDI getting fried.
The signal bits on the right end of the crankshaft can go bad on them.
If it is either of those mikey may have some spares, PM me if ya want me to ask him.

[geoffm]

Tried engine start (or the redneck way - an unlight propane torch in the airbox inlet...)?
Pulled the carbs apart and made sure they are clean?
Agree with the CDI comments - Suzuki hired some Lucas rejects for these bikes (and the 400s).
Geoff

[F5 Dave]

hmmm interesting.... how far did you have to tow it?

Palmerston.:mellow:

nah just down the street. But you have to be real careful towing & rig the rope so it comes through the centreline & up to the bar so you can let go of it. But check if sparking first as Koba sez.

[benvatos]

should have tried it earlier however could not find my can. got a can of 'start, you bastard' (ether) from a mate at work.

cough cough bang and she is away. carbs need a clean though as its sluggish down low.

great stuff that. not cheap but good bang for buck ( so to speak).

cheers.

[cs363]

Good to hear you got it going :) - was just about to suggest that the carb overhaul would be a good place to start, if they've had fuel in them for a few years as suggested in your first post I would bet that theres some nastiness lurking inside them from the fuel going off.
These bikes (and most other carburetted bikes) suffer from this problem even after a relatively short time unused with fuel left in them - just ask any of the guys that import them from Japan.
You can prevent this from happening by using a fuel stabiliser if you ever need to store it again.