help with my 250r atc

[tp250ratc]

ok my trike starts and runs but does not run good. the bike bogs at take off then gets on the pipe and sort of hesitates and bogs some more. does this in all 6 gears. think its running rich as it throws gas out back of carb and wont get on pipe at all unless air box lid is off, needs more air it seems. im at 2000 ft running 145 main, 42 pilot, and paul turner hi rev pipe. the plug looks dark to black. any ideas would be great. thanks

[smokinp]

is the airbox clean?

[tp250ratc]

yes, the airbox is clean as well as the air filter

[BigGreenMachine]

sounds like a dirty carb. take off the carb bowl and check it for water and dirt. water will look like small blobs, almost like oil. then take the carb and flush all the passageways with carb cleaner. you then may want to install an inline gas filter on the hose coming out of the tank into the carb.

[tp250ratc]

ive had the carb off 3 or 4 times to check and clean everything, so i believe it to be clean. installed new gas- 32to 1 mix , adjusted float level; put in the new jets, and this is the best it runs so far. i will be gettig that inline filter soon.

[TimSr]

Did you just get this? Has it recently changed? Did it run good, before, and now it does not? What gas/oil mix are you running? Is this a new mix or did it run okay on this mix at some prior time? Just off the top of my head, start with a compression test. The appearance of running rich along with bogging at low end (at low RPM) is a classic sign of worn out rings, and/or worn cylinder.

[tp250ratc]

i just bought the bike so the background i really dont know. i did a compression test and kicked it over 4 or 5 times got about 130lbs out of it. did i do this check right? or do you just kick it once and see where its at?

[TimSr]

You didnt mention what year 250R and I dont know what the specs are on the old ones air cooled ones, but that sounds awful low to me. Maybe someone can help with the actual MFG specs if you give the year, but I think its supposed to be around 180 or 190 on most of the 250 2 strokes. If thats the case, you either need rings and a hone, or possibly a bore job.

[TeCaTe_MaN]

on one of my friends old beater dirtbikes air/gas usedto come out of the back of the carb, i took the reeds out and there were little pieces of dirt holding the reeds open, make sure your reeds are free & clear

[tp250ratc]

the bike in question is a 1986 250r, forgot to mention that. i havent checked reeds yet sounds like a good idea to rule them out as to the problem. the next step i am doing is down one main jet size and see if that works. also another compression test.

[md1985250r]

I think Timsr is correct about the compression being 180 - 190. I think you need to kick it 6 - 10 times in rapid succession to get an accurate reading. I also agree with tecateman, maybe the reeds are dirty, I would check them for sure. Good luck....Greg

[tp250ratc]

thanks to all for the help so far. i need accurate compression check for sure before leanig out carb any more. if check is low, im going for new top end. think i,ll go do that now. reed check too.

[tp250ratc]

all right, think the whole problem is the reeds. one flap on the reed cage was loose due to 3 little stripped screws that hold it on. the reed on this side has torn holes on each corner for gas to blow back through. the other side was fine. i did 2 more compression checks- got about 140lbs each time. this should be plenty to run right, isnt it?

[hondaATCman]

If I were you, I would go ahead and pull the cylinder off since you're already working around it and atleast put new rings in it, or better yet...a new bore job. Anyways, it does sounds like you're reeds are shot.

[md1985250r]

you really should replace the reeds and then see how it runs. Compared to rings and boring and such, reeds are fairly inexpensive and easy to replace. good luck, greg

[tp250ratc]

i,m going to replace the boyesen rad reeds and see how it runs. hopefully this is the problem. i,m really anxious to compare the performance of 250r honda to 250r suzuki, my other ride. from what i hear, i think the winner might be red.

[200xBoy]

i would try to take the main jet off and blow them out cause ive had that happen to me. Sorry if someone else has mentioned that

[TimSr]

Id really suggest replacing your rings at the same time, with your compression being that low. Something is still obviously wrong, and even though it will still run, probably seem to be fine too since you have no "before it was worn out" experience to compare it to, but if your rings are shot and you continue to run it, youll destroy the bore, turning a $20 ring change into a $200 bore job.

[Dirtcrasher]

And check the crank big end bearing and mains which are probably junk because most people in this world are too chicken to do a bottom end although we're all "top end experts" LOL

[tp250ratc]

i hear ya on that dirtcrasher, my other ride-suzuki quadracer 250 went down for that same issue, main bearing failure, on a "new top end" . my better instincts are leaning toward doing some more wrenching and checking the honda trike out further, after hearing the different opinions about what to do.

[tp250ratc]

after putting in new boyesen pro series reeds the honda trike ran much better but still didnt run perfect. the bike starts 2nd kick, idles great,does'nt bog any more, but still cut out slightly while on the pipe at high speeds in all 6 gears. i checked plug and still looked a bit rich, so i jetted down from 145 to 140 and dropped the clip position from 1st notch to 2nd notch, basically leaning the carb out 1 jet size. the bike runs great now, the plug looks good too. i feel like any more fine tuning can be done with the mixture screw, maybe can stand a bit leaner to be perfect. good luck to all, todd