Would efi be a smart move?

[Tony477g]

I own right now a 09 crf250r which has a carb, The one problem i have with it is jetting. We go to different places where its enough to mess with the jetting and making the bike a pita to start and bog at times. I was thinking of going to a fuel injected bike but not sure because ive read in different threads that the new efi'd bikes have been having problems, efi and engine wise. My bike pretty much hasnt let me down besides jetting and other little things. Its just the starting that gets to me, ive also been thinking of maybe going back to a 2 stroke 125/150 because that was the easiest bike to start ive ever owned but jetting was kind of finicky as well but getting into the carb is way easier than the 250f i own now. So efi'd 250f or 125? I usually ride out in the desert and forests but occasionally ride on tracks. Also is the new efi'd bikes as reliable as the older ones? I change the oil every 5-10 hours and new air filter every ride.

[William1]

Proper jetting along with taking notes is a five minute proposition. EFI needs to be adjusted with a computer. Same level of effort, different tools.

[MxPro83]

EFI is awesome and very use friendly. Thats why its on pretty much ever new machine. The efi isnt really having problems, there are some people with leaky injectors. Its on other bikes as well not just hondas. Thats pretty much all the problems. I love EFI. You have a tuner with a custom map that has been built usually by an experienced guy. Write that map to your bike and thats all she wrote. Takes literally 5 mins to do it. Im a huge fan of it. Althought JD jetting kits are pretty damn good I found and take a lot of guesswork out of the carb, Either can be made to work. EFI is easier. Your not dicking around with the carb you strictly plug in and go. EFI is the future obviously

[ryanmxrdr]

My friend has a RMZ450, the first year they came out with EFI. He rides 4000ft desert, to 10000ft mtn trail riding or higher and claims he never changes a thing. He loves it. The only thing he has done to the bike was put a forest service appoved pipe on.

[Evmo]

My buddy just bought a 2012 KTM with FI and he's on injector #3 already. Bikes been nothing but trouble and it's basically un-ridable at the moment. Of course the problem didn't turn up until after the warranty was up. KTM is clueless about how to fix it, it's really just a crappy situation all around...I'm a KTM guy too!

[Keith72]

I own right now a 09 crf250r which has a carb, The one problem i have with it is jetting. We go to different places where its enough to mess with the jetting and making the bike a pita to start and bog at times. I was thinking of going to a fuel injected bike but not sure because ive read in different threads that the new efi'd bikes have been having problems, efi and engine wise. My bike pretty much hasnt let me down besides jetting and other little things. Its just the starting that gets to me, ive also been thinking of maybe going back to a 2 stroke 125/150 because that was the easiest bike to start ive ever owned but jetting was kind of finicky as well but getting into the carb is way easier than the 250f i own now. So efi'd 250f or 125? I usually ride out in the desert and forests but occasionally ride on tracks. Also is the new efi'd bikes as reliable as the older ones? I change the oil every 5-10 hours and new air filter every ride.

What is your current jetting? Should be 42 pilot and 172 main. That may vary slightly depending on your local climate and elevation. What is your cold starting procedure? You also need to adjust your idle and fuel screw to make it easier to start.

I also have an 09 but I have the 37mm carb bored out to 38mm instead of the stock 40mm carb. This is an awesome setup. If you can get your hands on a 37mm carb I highly recommend it.

[Axel43]

iam in the exact same situation as you.. 09 aswell, a bitch to start when cold, once shes warmed up shes undefeatable ! so i got some tricks for starting, if you want i can give you some, but what i want to say is, i gave my bike another chance, i just ordered this Boyesen QS3, it delivers more fuel to the carburator, stops bogging, makes jetting a lot easier, easier cold starting, stops engine stalling, etc and thats for only 98$ bucks, so i give it a chance, ill have to wait a week or so for it to arrive, my mech told me it will help a lot, as it helped many other bikes he wrenched, so iam looking forward to it - if not, ill sell it, and get a EFI one..

[teamdooracer]

Also currently have an 09. Love the bike. I am actually getting rid of it though for a '12 and thats only because the dealer is giving me the same price to trade it in as I could sell it outright, if not even a bit more.

[Keith72]

1. Turn fuel valve to on position.

2. Turn choke on

3. Twist throttle 2-5 times to prime engine with gas (the colder it is the more twists it takes, hot weather 2 twists, cold weather 5 twists)

4. Without touching the throttle kick the engine slowly to get the kick start to to catch it the highest position possible so you can get a good solid kick.

5. Kick start the engine with a solid kick that goes all the way threw (DONT FAN KICK)

It should start in 2 or 3 kicks.

Once the engine starts do not touch the gas. Let it either run or shut off on its own.

If it starts and dies go back to step 3 but only twist the throttle 1 or 2 times and repeat step 4.

If this doesn't work you need to see this thread to adjust your idle/pilot circuit:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1014420 post #4

[Tony477g]

1. Turn fuel valve to on position.

2. Turn choke on

3. Twist throttle 2-5 times to prime engine with gas (the colder it is the more twists it takes, hot weather 2 twists, cold weather 5 twists)

4. Without touching the throttle kick the engine slowly to get the kick start to to catch it the highest position possible so you can get a good solid kick.

5. Kick start the engine with a solid kick that goes all the way threw (DONT FAN KICK)

It should start in 2 or 3 kicks.

Once the engine starts do not touch the gas. Let it either run or shut off on its own.

If it starts and dies go back to step 3 but only twist the throttle 1 or 2 times and repeat step 4.

If this doesn't work you need to see this thread to adjust your idle/pilot circuit:

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1014420 post #4

exactly what i do, ive also messed with the pilot. ive tried different things and still its a killer

[DarkCRF]

You don't need to change the calibration with altitude in a EFI bike. You have a sensor for it, so the change is mostly for performance or when you doing important mod. A EFI bike is really smoother to ride, constant feel. You can't regret it

[Keith72]

exactly what i do, ive also messed with the pilot. ive tried different things and still its a killer

How many hours on this engine? Are the valves in spec? Good compression? Is there an air leak somewhere? Not saying that its the case here but a tired engine cant be fixed with jetting. If your losing a little compression from worn piston and rings or leaking valve seats it going to be a bitch to start.

[Tony477g]

all valves in spec checked recently. Compression is good, no air leak

[Axel43]

trick no.1

1. fuel on

2. choke on

3. give 2 blips

4. while in full throttle + kick two times very very slow, as if you wouldnt want to start the bike - what this does is as the bike has a accelerator pump, it delivers more fuel to the carburator, for 06 thru 09, honda changed the crfs with a bigger carburator, and not enough fuel is delivered for it to start, so you need to pump more ! (Ive seen people modding their 09s with a 05 carburator, it works)

5. then give your bike a solid kick from TDC

she should start almost imediately

trick no.2

1. fuel on

2. choke on

3. lean your bike down to its left, when i say lean it, i mean touch the handlebar to the ground - this gets all the carburator wet inside, some gas will leak from beneath the bike thru those little hoses ; you can also just unscrew that little screw in the carburator to drain the fuel from it - but with that make sure fuel is off

4. give it some slow kicks with throttle to fill up

5. solid kicks from TDC

try those tricks and you definetly will have your bike running, takes some practice till you get it figured how to do it exactly, apparently when a trick works for one, it might not work for the other.. but give it a try, <15 kicks she should be fired, after you get more experienced at this it takes less

ik its not a solution to the problem, just a trick, but what you can do to get rid of that is to get a 05 carburator as i previously mentioned, or get a Boyesen Quickshot 3 like me - or if you have deep enough pockets get a 2010< EFI

Edited November 20, 2011 by Axel350

[teamdooracer]

Wow I love hearing some of these "tricks" to starting a bike. I think some of you guys need to do some tuning.

[KAWIman35]

I would go with the EFI, because....

??? Sorry, I just had too.

[Grinstead_77G]

I also had a 2009 CRF250R - Ran really strong, handling was perfect, starting was a challenge, but learning the proper technique made it not too bad. Bought a nearly new 2010 because I got a great deal on it and I wanted to try out a fuel injected bike - Rode the 2010 for about 15 minutes, and immediately went out and put a deposit on a new 2012 (Last May) and put my 2009 up for sale. It is THAT much better. Throttle response is instantaneous, power delivery is very linear, and starting is way easier.

[mx-4-2]

Our 2010 crf250 efi bike has had no altitude or temp related issues on the fuel map. We have raced it in the heat of summer at 90+ degrees as well as days in the low 40's. We have been at tracks at sea level (ecmx) and tracks in the mountains (Shenandoah raceway). There is remapping required with engine mods. We have added the Yoshimura programable mapping tool to go along with their exhaust system but this was very straight forward. Same goes for my injected '09 crf450.

There may be extreme altitude changes that requires more but ours have been very adaptable within the operating range we seen.