New old toy: 1985 Big Red 250ES

[RDavis29]

Hi;

I picked this up from the original owner last weekend. It's in pretty good shape, original side curtains, tool box (no tools). Seat in good shape (not perfect). Ran well, no smoke.

Original gas tank has a previous kreem application, but it was not the best. Rust was repaired along the bottom seams, but not perfectly. Tank weep leaks a bit in those areas.

I ran around on it for a few days, just light running to get to know the bike. Today, it seems that it's having a carb problem. Started and ran normally for a few minutes, then while sitting and idling it cut off. I restarted it a few times and it would really only run when choked, and then would stop after running 30 seconds or so. It would also stop when I tried to rev the throttle to ride it back to the barn. Also when I started it and tried to back off the choke it stopped.

It was getting low on gas in the main, but had a little gas in the reserve

I removed and drained the tank (I know i should have done that before running it) and it didn't seem like bad gas but it easily could have been old.

Since it ran very well for the first few days, I'm guessing maybe some bad gas made the float stick? I don't feel confident enough to rebuild the carb myself. Is there an easy way to spray it out with carb cleaner as a first step to see if that helps? Eye-balling the location of the carb it doesn't look too easy to access.

I can work on old tractors a bit, but I make no claim to being knowledgeable about working on ATC's.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Rob

[Toledo_Tommy]

Everytime time i buy a older toy , the first thing i do when i get it home is clean the air filter or replace it. Then i always take the carb apart and clean it out , check the jets and clean them. Blow them all out with carb cleaner and then compressed air.
Goodluck Rob , Nice looking bigred.

[Thorpe]

Carb rebuild isnt bad to do on these... Highly recommend picking up a rebuild kit...

[ironchop]

nice big red rescue

carb cleaner would take several cans and a long time to get to the varnish old gas leaves in the carb rinsed out when hyou are trying to spray it from outside in.

two things on the tank....make sure the Kreem coating is firm and not gooey or it`ll clog the works in the carb...I would find a tank soon to replace the leaky one

if it run only on choke, it`s starving for fuel... either the petcock or filter could be clogged (I believe many Hondas used the filter built in to the petcock so you might pull it and look)

rebuilding a carb is really simpler than it looks ...take a few screws loose and just replace the pcs..older carbs were simple designs and not much different from old tractors you might be used to

I believe you can download the service manual thru this site for free (somebody who knows chime in)and that would help you.

There are brand new asian carbs fairly cheap on ebay that some guys here have had success with but its still much cheaper to rebuild one...sometimes taking them apart and soaking the individual pcs in carb cleaner will suffice. I`ve done this many times to save some cash but ultimately a rebuild is in order at some point.

download the service manual, spend time maintaining that big red and it will serve you well..lucky for you, they dont need worked on much if you maintain `em...good motors

[ironchop]

her ya go...free manual

http://72.52.143.80/~trikes/Manuals/ATC%20manuals/atc250es-85-87servicemanual.

[RDavis29]

Thanks for the good advice here and in PM's. I started with the most direct and simple options first: checking the fuel filter, and the air filter. Both seemed okay.

I did notice the petcock has been forced past what should be one stop at some point with the previous owner. So it will spin all the way around. Also on the fuel filter, I can see where someone has used vice grips on it. So I'm thinking maybe I should replace the whole petcock assembly?

But in hindsight, and after some tinkering, I think I know what caused my problem: I had run it effectively out of gas! I filled the tank, and she fired up easily from a cold start and ran flawlessly. Hey, live and learn. ;-)

I have to say I am impressed with the torque on the Big Red. I can see why they were effective workhorses around the farm and job site. And still had enough get up and go to be plain fun to ride.

Rob

[tri again]

gas cap tank vent doesn't always work even if turned to ON

acts just like it's out of gas because it ain't getting any due to vacuum

[MotorCity]

Nice machine. Good luck with it. I love mine, so far its working out to be exactly what I want it to be, a beast of burden around my property, and ability to drag my ice fishing stuff out on lakes.

[trikes4life]

Them Clark tanks and a simple solution to a leaky tank. And still look good if you replace the stickers.