Bikes starts but dies, after sitting for a week

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Matty8

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So my ninja 250 sat for about 5 full days (easily the longest its gone without starting since the winter). Never once has it had trouble starting. But today I tried starting it and each time it would start (weakly) and then the rpms would drop and it would stall after a second or two. This happened 5-6 times all using a different method (combinations of choke, throttle, no-choke, etc.) Finally it started with a lot of throttle to keep it from dying until it stabilized.

Just curious as to what would cause this? Is it normal for a carb'd bike that has sat for a week, or is it the sign of a problem?
 
I'm not familiar with the Ninja 250 specifically, but bikes in general. How old is your battery? Charge it on a computerized slow charger, <1 amp. Take the battery out and check the acid levels. If the acid levels are not within the max and min lines each cell will have less than max output. Jump start your bike with a car, car OFF. If it starts you know you need to buy a new battery. Bike batteries do not last for many years.

Each time you try to start your bike this depletes the battery.
 
I'd definitely put the battery on a charger/tender and try it after it is back to 100%. I think most bikes don't make enough power at idle to charge the battery, so that could be why it keeps dying on you.
 
It's normal for my bike but I've got a two stroke so I can't really comment on yours. Doesn't like to sit unridden for too long. Worse if the battery is low and/or it's colder out (below 18C). Usually if I'm riding daily it will start right up in the morning. If I leave it a week it's going to take a minute. Leave it for a month and it's going to be a pain to get it going, assuming the battery is still at a decent level, otherwise I need to boost it (I always need to boost in the spring since I leave the battery in all winter and it's stored outdoors, which is stupid of me).
 
Had the same issue with a standard lead-acid battery. Upgraded to AGM - now I can let it sit an entire winter and it'll still read 12.5-12.6v the following April.
 
Matty8 said:
So my ninja 250 sat for about 5 full days (easily the longest its gone without starting since the winter). Never once has it had trouble starting. But today I tried starting it and each time it would start (weakly) and then the rpms would drop and it would stall after a second or two. This happened 5-6 times all using a different method (combinations of choke, throttle, no-choke, etc.) Finally it started with a lot of throttle to keep it from dying until it stabilized.

Just curious as to what would cause this? Is it normal for a carb'd bike that has sat for a week, or is it the sign of a problem?
Click to expand...

If you hook your bike up with jumper cables to a fully charged car battery, does it do the same thing? If it does the same thing, your battery is not the problem.
 
Trouble starting/idling can be a sign that you need to check/adjust your valves and synch the carbs.
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