ninja 500 trouble starting | GTAMotorcycle.com

ninja 500 trouble starting

D

Dingo

Well-known member
FRAT version,

Bike has been having trouble turning over lately (last month or so). I have been driving less and it has been getting colder and listed below are a bunch of sinful mistakes i have done against my bike.

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I have a 2009 ninja500ex 13000km I bought used (at 3800km) i have done regular oil changes and the bike has been in good condition up until this point with no problems or complaints. I havent been riding as much less than once a week now (we had a baby in Aug) so my bike has been sitting idle more since August. 2weeks ago i was coming home and had to switch to reserve line ... usually i get 30+km and i was 5km from home. I was running late and didnt fill up on gas that night ... there must have been some gas left in the line but very little.

1st Occurance (Tues Sept 18)
So last week i went to start it up and was having trouble, i tried it with choke 100%, i tried turning the throttle all the way to 100% and combinations of this. The battery was trying to start the bike but engine just wouldnt turn over. i figure it was the gas issue and looked in the tank ... pretty low. The only gas i had in my garage was some lawn mower :( i added very little (and felt crappy since i new there was some oil mixed in) and tried again. It was having trouble and by now i probably over used my battery i could tell because the noise was changing. I hooked it up to my MotorMaster battery charger that has a AUTOSTART option for assist jump start. I was able to get the bike turned over and i let it warm up, i went to the closest Petro gas station and filled up, worried about the ****** lawn mower oil gas i decided to fill it up with 94 rather than normal 87 ... probably over kill but figured it couldnt hurt (or can it???). Over the next couple of hours I went out and drove 150km, stopped the bike multiple times for 20-30mins and was able to start it up without any issue, I drove it home and filled it up again so i wouldnt repeat the previous mistake.

2nd Occurance (Wed Sept 26)
My bike has sat for over a week, i tried to start it up at lunch and had the same issue. I tried with choke up to 100% and throttle 100%, eventually the battery charge got low and i had to stop. The gas is now full so i can rule that out, unless the 94 is messing things up? I left the bike out in the sun, hoping this would heat it up and came back a couple hours later ... i then again used the wall charger and was finally able to get it going again. I drove it 100+ km yesterday fine, again stopping multiple times and having no issue restarting it. I filled up on gas close to home last night.

3rd Occurance (Wed Sept 26)
Worried there is an issue i tried starting it again but couldnt get it to turn over.


I did an oil change at 8000km in June and notice it was a little harder to start, before i would just turn the choke and then ignition ... after the oil change i notice i had to do choke + turn the trottle + ignition. This was the story all through the summer. Maybe its just a coincidence because I have no idea why an oil change should hamper starting the bike ESP in the warm summer months.

Im at 13000 and due for an oil change that i was planning on doing this weekend. Any input or ideas on what the problem could be?

Thanks
Dingo
 
i saw another thread with the owner also having issues, got me thinking it might be something related.

only other info i can add is i winterized my bike, took the battery out and kept it in the house. I would use the charger to top it up every couple of weeks. In the spring it was a little tricky turning the bike over but i figured that might be the fuel stabelizer i put in the tank or because it sat for 4months.

Thanks
 
What kind of oil did you put in the bike? Viscosity wise anyway..
also, are you able to bump start the bike when it's being difficult?
 
Oil is Motor Master Formula1
10w40
looking at my manual it said 3.2L or 3.6L if changing the oil filter.
I did the oil filter last time and added ATLEAST 3.6L ... might have been slightly slightly more

im thinking to check the sparks next?
 
In the spring when your bike won't start, clean the pilot jets and check that you're getting good spark.

The CVK carbs on an EX500 has teeny tiny pilots, stuck way up inside a hole in the casting and get clogged all the time.
The high tension wires have a bad habit of loosening too.

check www.ex-500.com for how-to's
 
Last edited:
bitzz said:
In the spring when your bike won't start, clean the pilot jets and check that you're getting good spark.

The CVK carbs on an EX500 has teeny tiny pilots, stuck way up inside a hole in the casting and get clogged all the time.
The high tension wires have a bad habit of loosening too.

check www.ex-500.com for how-to's
Click to expand...

i will check that out, ty
 
You are at 13,000 km. If you have not yet done a valve clearance check (12,000 km) do that first, then move on to carbs.
Tight valves can cause hard starting and flat spots.

Maintenance schedule:
http://www.ex-500.com/wiki/index.php?title=Maintenance_Schedule

Valve Clearance Adjustment:
http://www.ex-500.com/wiki/index.php?title=Valve_clearance_adjustment

Note: If you will attempt the valve clearance check/adjustment yourself, ensure you have thoroughly read the link above, consulted with your service manual and have a basic competence with tools.
 
Might just be the cold weather creeping around...
 
I used to own a 500,
couple things:
1.) high octane fuel is not "better" fuel, it just resists combustion, which is only useful in high compression motors (13.0+).
2.) check your battery voltage, it could be near end of life, check the service manual for the voltage range
3.) the one I owned was hard to start when it was cold, sometimes took a few tries even with full choke. Not much you can do, run some injector cleaner through it
 
smergy said:
I used to own a 500,
couple things:
1.) high octane fuel is not "better" fuel, it just resists combustion, which is only useful in high compression motors (13.0+).
2.) check your battery voltage, it could be near end of life, check the service manual for the voltage range
3.) the one I owned was hard to start when it was cold, sometimes took a few tries even with full choke. Not much you can do, run some injector cleaner through it
Click to expand...

Agreed.

OP - 94 is not recommend in our bike. The engine is not designed for it and it will not burn completely causing carbon build up as well potentially fouling the spark plugs. Instead of injector cleaner I recommend the correct amount of Seafoam instead. Also as Slap mentioned, check your valve clearances as this is most likely your problem.

FWIW, I am still commuting on mine and had no trouble starting it today at 7c.
 
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