I'm wondering if anyone can help me with a stalling problem on my Suzuki DR 250 1985. Every approximately third time I come to rest, when I try to pull away in first gear it totally stalls as I let the clutch out. Typically this means I'll ride for a few kms across town then it'll stall. Apart from that it runs perfectly, never hesitates once I'm underway, or hesitates letting out the clutch in first (as above) - it's either perfect, or totally lacking power. It's not the diaphragm or the cleanliness of the jets.
Clues are if I try to kick start it immediately it'll generally be totally dead - I can tell it's pointless to keep kicking but if I wait say 15 seconds, half the time it'll start. But then it'll often stall when I try to take off as above. It'll often take me five minutes before I can ride off. While it's in this "stall on takeoff" attitude, it will sometimes not be able to be revved above idle, it'll stall if I try to raise the revs at all, though if I'm quick to throttle off I can often keep the engine going because it's under no load. Often while doing this I'll be able to break through that barrier and it'll rev freely, but if I then try to pull away it'll stall as usual. Opening the throttle at that point just makes it stall quicker if anything.
It's only been doing this for a few months, but in the years I've owned it before that it's always had a problem with warm-up that may be related/another clue: It needs a lot of choke to start (then progressively less as it warms or it'll redline in neutral) but it can't be ridden during that first minute or so it needs to warm-up because it has the same problem of absolutely no power above idle - it'll stall in neutral if I try to open the throttle at all. After a minute or so it's warm enough to turn off the choke at which point it's all normal i.e. I can rev it and ride normally etc.
After I cleaned the jets (the whole carby was quite clean looking before I started to clean), the first time I started it (from cold) I could rev it normally within seconds of starting, still with choke on, so I figured that had solved it. But then I just took it for a few laps of the block, so not enough time to give it a good chance to stall on take off. The next time I started it from cold it was back to its old can't rev above idle during warm up, and you guessed it, 15 minutes down the road and three traffic lights later it stalled and took me ten minutes to ride off (which was the worst ever). I got it started about ten times in that ten minutes, and most of that time I could rev it freely in neutral, but it'd totally die as I let the clutch out in first gear. I think it stalled once or twice during those ten minutes while just idling in neutral but I can't remember for sure. Regardless it's rare for it to stall idling in neutral.
It's never stalled on takeoff in the first few minutes of riding but that may just be a coincidence. If not it's possibly a clue to do with heat.
Thanks for any thoughts.
Clues are if I try to kick start it immediately it'll generally be totally dead - I can tell it's pointless to keep kicking but if I wait say 15 seconds, half the time it'll start. But then it'll often stall when I try to take off as above. It'll often take me five minutes before I can ride off. While it's in this "stall on takeoff" attitude, it will sometimes not be able to be revved above idle, it'll stall if I try to raise the revs at all, though if I'm quick to throttle off I can often keep the engine going because it's under no load. Often while doing this I'll be able to break through that barrier and it'll rev freely, but if I then try to pull away it'll stall as usual. Opening the throttle at that point just makes it stall quicker if anything.
It's only been doing this for a few months, but in the years I've owned it before that it's always had a problem with warm-up that may be related/another clue: It needs a lot of choke to start (then progressively less as it warms or it'll redline in neutral) but it can't be ridden during that first minute or so it needs to warm-up because it has the same problem of absolutely no power above idle - it'll stall in neutral if I try to open the throttle at all. After a minute or so it's warm enough to turn off the choke at which point it's all normal i.e. I can rev it and ride normally etc.
After I cleaned the jets (the whole carby was quite clean looking before I started to clean), the first time I started it (from cold) I could rev it normally within seconds of starting, still with choke on, so I figured that had solved it. But then I just took it for a few laps of the block, so not enough time to give it a good chance to stall on take off. The next time I started it from cold it was back to its old can't rev above idle during warm up, and you guessed it, 15 minutes down the road and three traffic lights later it stalled and took me ten minutes to ride off (which was the worst ever). I got it started about ten times in that ten minutes, and most of that time I could rev it freely in neutral, but it'd totally die as I let the clutch out in first gear. I think it stalled once or twice during those ten minutes while just idling in neutral but I can't remember for sure. Regardless it's rare for it to stall idling in neutral.
It's never stalled on takeoff in the first few minutes of riding but that may just be a coincidence. If not it's possibly a clue to do with heat.
Thanks for any thoughts.
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