Help With a couple of problems.

[MajorDanage]

03WR250

Was out for a ride and got to a tight trail beside a river. Was riding rather causiously as I didn't want to take a drink. Was riding low in the rpms and using the clutch quite a bit. I got to a log where my wheel didn't get over. The bike stalled and I started it back up. Got over the log but the bike stalled again. Tried to e-start but the starter did not engage the motor. That is problem #1.(This has happened once before as well) Tried a couple of bump starts and tried kicking. No start. That is problem #2. I tried the hot start and the choke, tried turning the fuel off and leaning the bike over to clean the possible flooding, and also tried giving a little throttle. Its a no-no but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I started the long push home and got to a spot to rest and tried starting again. Got the bike to fire with the choke and the kickstarter. Rode home glad that I didn't have to walk.

Problem #1: What would cause the starter to not engage the motor. I have not taken the starter cover off yet, but I plan on doing that tomorrow. I have had the left engine cover off to get at the stator. Did I put something together wrong? Is that possible? Its just gears in there from what I remember.

Problem #2: I have been tring to get the bike jetted properly. Could a rich Pilot circuit have fouled the plug making it hard to start? Once I got it to fire the bike ran great.(Now that I think of it, the last time these problems happened to me I was riding tight trails as well) I did a search for "starter" and I found one post where the guy had what sounded like the same problem. Something about the woodruff key.

Thanks in advance. Any advice is appreciated.

[MajorDanage]

So since posting I did a search on the woodruff key. I think that I'm going to check the timing tomorrow. We'll see how it starts first and how it rides on the way to work. Then its timing check time(does that make sense?)

Any input would still be helpful. Thanks.

[YZ250F_Rider]

did you pull the clutch in? Maybe it has a faulty neutral switch and thinks its in gear.

could be it's getting fairly hot riding real slow with no appreciable air moving thru the radiator. A hot engine is hard to turn over. Did the starter click but just not spin the motor?

last but not least, since you have e start. you can easily clear the engine from a flooded condition, by holding the throttle wide open while hitting the starter. Just like you would in a car. Just remember to twist the throttle open fairly slow so the AP doesnt squirt and make things even worse.

[MajorDanage]

Its not the clutch switch. No power goes to the starter if the bike is in gear with the clutch out.

The bike was definatly hot but the starter would just spin free and would not engage with the motor. If I kicked it a few time the starter would engage for a minute and then spin free again. This morning I rode it into work and it started better than it has ever(I did adjust the idle up a little, that may have something to do with it) and it rode great for the short drive.

[YZ250F_Rider]

Well that sounds electrical to me. Have you checked the water level in the battery? Maybe it's low causing weak starting current.

Possibly the battery isnt charging enough or needs replaced. They wont last forever. Autozone or any car parts place should be able to test the battery for you to make sure it's good.

[MajorDanage]

I'll have to get the battery checked. I changed the plug today and it was black and sooty except for one spot. That spot seemed like a light mocha brown. It was weird. I started the bike back up and again it started perfect. Ran super fast and super strong. I'm going for a short ride later and I'll see how it does.

[YZ250F_Rider]

you gotta be carefull reading plugs on the 250f's.

The AP will cause a very rich mix and cause the sootyness. But the sootyness should only be on the metal, not the ceramic. The ceramic itself should be the mocha brown.

[paul4]

I'm one of the one's who has had a problem with the woodruff key. That is not your problem. When the key shears, your timing gets all messed up. Mine wouldn't even bump start for a while, but as everything turned, it caught, but ran poorly. The only thing I can come up with is a hot engine. ?

[vantolr]

what kind of condition is your radiator in? Have you checked the hoses, fluid, etc? I'm not sure it would be a hot engine, but at least you could eliminate that......

From what I've read, it's probably not the woodruff key, either.

I'd hate to hazard a guess...try to get WROOSTER's advice. If jetting is suspect, post on jetting forum for James Dean.....

[MajorDanage]

I don't think its jetting. The bike runs good all over, but it could use a little more tweaking to make it that much better(but don't they all need that?) I could deffinatly see it being a hot engine problem. It runs fine when on open road and open trails but as soon as I hit the tight stuff where I go a little slower, and don't rev the bike real high, it acts up. I went for my ride on Sat and I didn't hit anything real tight and it was fine. I rode for about 2 hrs on the road and in some quad trails. I'll check the radiators but I can almost 100% say that they'll be fine because the bike is like new. When I bought it, it still had the original shine and the original Warning! labels on the fenders. The coolant level is fine but I haven't looked in the rads, just at the over flow. Its always got some in it. Maybe I could invest in a oversized water pump cover. I think Boyesen makes one and a different impeler as well. I could also try drilling some extra holes in the rad guards to alow for more air circulation. Anything else I could do to help with cooling? Thanks for all the advice. TT is a great place, full of great people.

[Dunlop]

Put some EngineIce in it works good for me. Look inside the front cap, ive had to add some in there before because it didnt take any from the tank in back. Not sure why?