TT250 arrived! And I can't get it to start.

[flopsweat]

Doh! So it finally came yesterday, I got everything removed from the crating, checked over everything for awhile, went through the ol' FINE-C startup process as well as following their specific instructions... and it doesn't start up. I got the same chug-chug-chug sound like I've heard in every TT250 video, but never turns over. So I check the battery, and it's at 12.1V. The internets tell me that below 12.3V needs a charge, so a buddy comes over with his battery tender. I let it charge all night, tried again this morning, and the same.

Just for context, I'm in Chicago and it's 35 in the day and 25 at night. Choke is fully closed, cut-off switch is in RUN, all the lights and display turn on, petcock turned down, but still nada.

Am I forgetting anything? When they say crack the throttle a little while starting, how much is generally needed? 5%? 10%? 50%? This is literally the first motorcycle I've owned, and only turned on a TW200 a handful of times, so my experience starting a cold carbed bike is precisely zero. I'll give CSC a call today as well and see what they say, but thought I'd ask here as well.


Already put the orange panels on, while she slumbers peacefully...

[Hunnicutt]

Please don't take this as insult, but did you ensure the fuel petcock is vertical and there's sufficient fuel in the tank?


My starting procedure in cold weather: fuel petcock open, kill switch set to the run position, key on, full choke, twist throttle slightly (10% - 30%) with my right hand, press starter with my left hand.

[flopsweat]

Jeez you insult me right off the bat... hah just kidding, I have no ego. Petcock is pointed straight down. BUT as I will admit, I didn't physically look to see how much fuel is in the tank. It's sloshing around but I'll check, that would be great if that was it. I'm all about a dumb thing being overlooked as the preferred cause of the problem.

[JerryHawk250]

Also check that you actually have spark as well.

[Boatguy]

Originally Posted by flopsweat

Jeez you insult me right off the bat... hah just kidding, I have no ego. Petcock is pointed straight down. BUT as I will admit, I didn't physically look to see how much fuel is in the tank. It's sloshing around but I'll check, that would be great if that was it. I'm all about a dumb thing being overlooked as the preferred cause of the problem.

Everybody else covered the rest of the topics. But you should fill it all the way up just to be sure. It’s possible that for some reason the fuel pick up is malformed or not where you would expect it to be so it may not catch some little splash in the bottom.

Might as well completely eliminate that one.

Also, maybe pull the fuel hose and turn the petcock on to test. See if a good amount of fuel is splashing out. That’s a good start to make sure you’re starting from a good foundation.

Everyone else detailed the starting process already. And finally, you should check spark. But that’s the more difficult one, so might as well start with the really easy stuff first.

[Merlin]

Your float might be stuck preventing gas to get to the carb. After cranking the bike over for a while pull the spark plug and look to see if it's wet if not tap the bottom of the carb with the handle of a screwdriver. If that is the problem it might loosen the float.

[DualSportDude]

It may have been on it's side during shipping, look for oil or fuel in the airbox. That happened to mine. Also You should call CSC they helped me and my buddy with issues when they first arrived. His had a vacuum line reversed that created a vacuum in the tank so the fuel wouldn't flow. Try starting with the fuel cap cracked to see if it's the vacuum line issue. But CSC will definitely help you get it going.

[flopsweat]

Cue the gif of Homer slowly backing into the bushes. It was gas. Filled er up, and it fired up right away. Kinda wish there was an "embarrassing thread delete?" button on here, I guess I'll just have to use my sacrifice as a lesson to other new riders that stumble across this.

Engines need gas to run, children. Whodathunkit.

[Boatguy]

Neither of those T’s in TT250 stand for Tesla! Ha ha ha.

[Hunnicutt]

I'm glad it was a simple fix.



Don't beat yourself up too much - let us help!!!




One more shred of advice: if you run standard fuel in the bike, run it often. I just bought a third TT250 for my daughter. It's a 2021 with 93 miles on it. The previous owner put a tank of standard fuel in it, rode it a little, discovered it didn't suit his needs, and let it sit for a month without running it. My first trip out with it was a bit harrowing. I could tell the main jet had already started to clog. The engine kept surging and backing off, then surging and settling down. I drained out a gallon of fuel and dumped it in my pickup. I filled the tank with ethanol free and let it purr in the driveway to dilute the original fuel. It seems a bit smoother now.

[tknj99]

Good show! Now change the oil and adjust the valves.. and try your hardest to stay under 5-6k rpm for the first 500 miles

[flopsweat]

Will do, I've read a lot about this here. No ethanol-free stations within 1-2hrs from me, so I was going to keep some fuel stabilizer in the tank at all times for this winter. Once it's warmer I will likely be on it every few days, but I might be going weeks on end with no riding once the snow and ice show up. Regardless, at the bare minimum I'll at least fire it up on the weekends for a bit just to help, I know it technically should be ridden but I'd think it can't hurt.



I'll probably end up taking a drive to a station without ethanol at some point and fill up my garage 5gal gas can, just to have some good stuff at home. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I gathered if the only ethanol-free is the highest octane like 93, it can still be used without any issues.

[China Rider 27]

Another thing you can do to prevent issues is drain the carburetor fuel bowl (after shutting off the fuel petcock). Should be a screw on the bottom of it with a hose. Carburetors are vented to the air and what creates the problem is ethanol pulls moisture to it from the air and will coagulate as a Vaseline like substance in the carb. The tank is more sealed. Might take longer than few weeks though.

[JerryHawk250]

If you do run the engine during the winter, be sure to run it long enough so the oil gets hot enough to burn off any condensation that collects inside the block and oil.

[tknj99]

With regard to fuel and the stock petcock, it seems some of the Chinese bikes vary with the positioning of the fuel reserve/normal operation.
My Brozz has normal fuel flow: handle side down
My Titan DLX has normal fuel flow: handle side up

Go figure