Hornet 250 not starting / backfiring

NitroHead91

Heya guys, I have a question. I own a 98 hornet 250 which is a fantastic bike and has gaves me no problems at all until now. NB The bike is still in daily use with 45k on the clock.
I took it out this morning only to find great difficulty with starting and a few load backfires from the exhaust. After a few mins messing with the choke and throttle in hope getting it to start, but i was only draining down the battery... i ended up giving it a bump start...After i released the clutch in 2nd gear, a loud backfire occurred and after 2-3 seconds rolling the engine finally started up.

After the engine started the bike drove fine....(maybe i little less power than usual until i drove for 10mins and got the bike fully warmed up).

I have a feeling its something do with either the spark plugs or maybe the carbs need balancing....

im a bit stuck for cash at the moment as i recently bought new front and back tyres along with new throttle and clutch cables ( nearly €500 s+f !! ). Im wud say im mechanically minded and want to fix this problem myself and save a few yoyos...Can someone direct me in the right way ??

Anybody have any ideas ??? Thanks

KamiKazi

Well the backfire would be from the fuel filling into the exhaust as you try to start it over and over again.

I'd say it's the cold weather after killing your battery, check it with a multimeter.

Alkers

Will it still not start or did it start again alright since you bumped it?

deisehoonts

hey there i had a hornet 250 a few year back and in the middle of winter i had similar problems like your having and it all came back to the cold weather, i never realy got a proper explanation for wat caused it,wat i done was kept the bike indoors for a nite during a freezing nite and when i went to statr it not a bother,da following nite i left it out in da cold and da thing had to be bumped to get it goin...tis a weird fault realy.u should try that and see wat happens before you spend any cash on it:D

KamiKazi

deisehoonts wrote: »

hey there i had a hornet 250 a few year back and in the middle of winter i had similar problems like your having and it all came back to the cold weather, i never realy got a proper explanation for wat caused it,wat i done was kept the bike indoors for a nite during a freezing nite and when i went to statr it not a bother,da following nite i left it out in da cold and da thing had to be bumped to get it goin...tis a weird fault realy.u should try that and see wat happens before you spend any cash on it:D

It's the cold weather, it's tough on batteries.

LookBehindYou

It sounds like a fueling problem.
Try not rev the bike much when starting, it will flood the engine and spark plugs
Try the choke only when starting.
You mentioned that you changed cables, so check they are fitted ok.
Take out the plugs and clean them.