New Bike and a Fuel Problem
 

Hi, new member, and new owner of a Bashan Storm 250.
The guy I bought it from had it a bit over a year. He dropped it on his first ride and bent the front brake lever. Seat height was too high for him as he is 5'6" tall. The bike has 150 miles on it. I paid $700 for it.
When I went to look at it, the tires were low, and tank was almost empty. He aired the tires up, and it fired right up and I took it on a test ride. It ran great, accelerated, shifted nice, etc.
When I came back and came to a stop, the engine died.
When I got home, I noticed the choke had been on halfway.

This evening I got off work a bit early, and filled the tank with fresh gas, and did an oil change. I went over all the bolts and found a few loose ones, air filter looked clean as new, saw the rubber battery strap was broken so I rigged up another. Chain tension was good.

I put the choke on halfway and it fired right up, after a minute I raised the choke lever so it was off. When I did that the idle speed jumped way up.
When I went to go for a ride, the engine wouldn't rev with the choke off, and wanted to die. So I rode with the choke half on.
It ran great, I went down a dirt road a couple miles from my house. I got almost all the way back and as I slowed down to turn, the bike died.
It didn't want to start back, but I waited 5-10 minutes it and it started.
Ran good until I turned into my driveway, and when I slowed down to do that it died again. Still doesn't want to run with the choke off.

It has fresh gas in it, I'll check the fuel filter and see if it needs replacing.
Seems it's not getting enough gas, but runs great for a while.
What else ? Carburetor adjustment ? Valves too tight ?
When I pulled the spark plug cap off, I didn't see the little screw on insulator on the top of the plug like I'm used to seeing. I looked up inside the cap and didn't see it in there.
But the spark seems O.K.
Any suggestions ?

I would start by pulling the fuel bowl off the carb, take a note of the numbers stamped on the jets and give them a cleaning with carburetor/air intake system cleaner and maybe a soft wire to poke at any stuck grit... like you stated, I would also check the valves

Welcome to the forum :tup:

Choke off is lower the lever. :tup:
You are putting the choke ON by the looks

NZ is correct about choke. AND another master, azhule has also spoken well. Ethanol gas leaves a horrible residue in the carb, and maybe a good cleaning, brushes, etc. would help.

Don't overlook the obvious too, like the fuel line, or petcock.. that stuff can gunk up too.

Pull those hoses and make sure you can blow air through them, or get new ones for dirt cheap.

Obviously when\if you do, dont let the gas come spilling out

First thing I would do is adjust the valves then tune the carb. If the valves are too tight you will be like a dog chasing his tail trying to tune the carb.

Bike didn't come with a manual, so I was going by a generic China 250 motor manual I downloaded. I had thought choke off was up but got that wrong apparently !

I'll try the choke lever in the down position, but it doesn't seem to want to run there, only in the middle position. And I'll check the lines and pull the bowl and get some carb cleaner in there.

I've never checked or adjusted valve clearance, I'll watch some more YouTube videos.
I watched one last evening by a Danish guy, not a very good video.
Any ones that I should watch, or tips to do it. I have feeler gauges, but do I need a valve tool ?

One of the first things you will need to gain access to the idle mixture screw on the bottom of the carb. The stock carb will have a tamper proof brass or plastic plug covering it. Just drill it out and adjust the idle mixture. Like most of these carbs it will be set way too lean.

There is a tool you can use to make it easier but not needed to adjust valves. 10mm open end wrench and a custom Weldandgrind #8 Robertson screw and a yellow Marrette special tool will work. :lmao: http://www.chinariders.net/attachmen...9&d=1568215586

"a custom Weldandgrind #8 Robertson"

LOL... I smell an episode of Shark Tank coming

I'll look at the carb this morning before I go to work.
Jerry, so that screw is maybe, what, 1 1/2" inch in length ?
How is that used to check valve lash ?

The adjustment screw on the valve is square drive. You use it to turn and hold the screw in place while tightening the lock nut.

Here's a couple kits/sets that are useful for first tune and valve adj etc.
Worth a look

https://www.ebay.com/itm/303210695234

https://www.ebay.com/itm/303210680840 Option B for Bashan Storm with short jets or just offer $19.95 for pic 1 & 2

I was also going to mention to you....I think 700.00 was a good price for that bike!!!!

I looked at my carb, says Keihin “ Made with Japanese Technology”!
I couldn’t see where there was a tamper proof plug, but it has two adjustment screws on the right side opposite the choke lever.
One midway at the junction, and one at the bottom.

One thing I don’t like is how my spark plug doesn’t have the insulator cap at the top. I can’t see how the cap gets good contact without it.
Should I just get a standard plug like the NGK D8EAS57 or go with an NGK Iridium plug ?
What is the proper gap ?