RM 250 not getting fuel

[ethayer]

So I'm thinking of buying an RM 250. The guy said it sat for like 6 months and then when he took it back out again it wouldn't start. He replaced the gas, tested the spark, and he found out that it's not getting gas. What do you think the max price would be to fix it, and What could it be? Thanks

 

[truckster225]

If it ran when he parked it, but it wont start now, its almost guaranteed to need to have the carb cleaned. Aside from a couple O rings(if needed, maybe not though) you can do it yourself. Its SUPER easy, even if your not all that mechanical. Otherwise, I wouldnt pay more then a couple hours shop time.

One thing you can try, is to prime it by hand. Remove the large hose on the REAR of the carb(the air intake, between the carb and airbox), cover the hole with your hand.(keep a rag close, you WILL get gas on your hand) and kick it over a bunch of times. Ive had success with this method in the past.

Some people will suggest a little quickstart spray or gas in the cylinder prior to attempting to start it. Some will say its a really bad idea. BUT, doing that will confirm a carb clean is needed. If you ad the gas or spray and it fires up, runs for a few seconds, then dies, that will confirm that it is not getting fuel.

One last thing, just remove the hose FROM the carb that goes TO the petcock and confirm gas IS leaving the tank. If you try all these steps without the bike starting properly, then its time to remove the carb for cleaning.

 

[ethayer]

Yea im pretty mechanical overall, i looked around online and talked to a friend and he said it was probably just a gunked up carb. Well I bought it anyways, and got it running within 3 hours, only about a half an hour on the carb. It was my secondary jet, it was completely blocked. Unfortunately, I forgot about fuel/air and kept the airbox off because it had no filter, making it run lean. When a bike revs up to 9000 rpms in your garage, its pretty scary. And the kill switch wouldnt work at that RPM :yikes: :yikes: :yikes: But I just covered the intake off. Scared the S%!t out of me. Also, with more diagnosis, it needs alot more work than I originally thought. I need to put in a new clutch basket, the one in there has some grooves and the clutch has problems disengaging. Actually, would it be a problem if the outer clutch plates could move back and fourth in the basket? if they can, I could probably just file the ridges down. But the motor runs, it shifts fine(on the stand with the motor off), and its overall in ok condition, not alot of mechanical problems. Most of what I need to do is just take it all apart and rebuild it with the right bolts, I found that one side of the suspension had no bolt on it..and that the gas tank has some bolt that he put on which has 14 washers. I counted em. Theres an electronics box that just hangs off, too. So it needs some work, ill keep you guys posted.

 

[ethayer]

Also, I went out to check on the vin because all the parts that bikebandit showed for that year and the two closest years didnt match up. I couldnt find it. I checked all over the steering stem and on the outside of the frame, Where else could it possibly be?

 

[ldub128]

Should be on the stem. The right side if your sitting on the bike. Do you have the title? If not im sure theres some kind of code on the bottum end you could use.

 

[ethayer]

Thats the prob. No bill of sale or title, forgot to get it from the guy. Oh well, at least im in touch with him. Thanks for the fast response, by the way.

 

[ethayer]

One more question, Would an 84 clutch fit on my 85? and, I have a friend that welds aluminum, could I see if he could just fill in the grooves? (they're pretty deep, probably 3/16 of an inch) Thanks for helping with all my noob questions.

 

[truckster225]

So, just in case im not reading it right, you want to remove the clutch basket, weld aluminum onto it, and then put it back together?

If thats the case, save yourself the hassle and just pick up a used basket! Im not saying it wouldn't work, I really have no idea, but I would work on fixing what caused the grooves in the first place. If you dont fix the problem, you could end up with big chunks of aluminum floating around in places you dont want it to!

 

[ethayer]

Yea I actually was looking all over the place for one, the only one I could find was one for an 84.