I poured a little bit (maybe 1/4 of a WD40 cap) of fresh gas into the cylinder and tried turning it over but nothing happened. I didn't/don't have any starting fluid at the house at the moment but am planning on getting some tomorrow.

It was sold in as-is non-running condition. I couldn't pass it up because I paid about the same amount as what the White Bros exhaust on it cost!

The carb looks a little more advanced than the old 230 carbs. My guess is that it has been sitting for a while. The front tires were flat and there were cobwebs in the frame and rims. I'm hoping that the carb will be OK enough so that I can see if it at least fires. I'm sure the starting fluid will help prove that point. If it does fire w/the starting fluid, then I'll move on to the carb (if it doesn't keep running).

I'm going to need to grab a new battery too. I'm wondering if a weak battery would prevent a strong enough spark...?

 

Weak battery could cause a spark issue if the CDI is battery driven, not sure how the ignition is set up on that. What it could be doing is not turning it over fast enough. Put a nice deep charge into that battery, or replace it like you said and go from there. To much gas in the cylinder won't do anything, the mixture may not be airated enough. Starting fluid will tell you if it will fire or not. Just a small shot will do you, to much and it will just wet and foul the plug (like gas).

 

I'm hoping the starting fluid will give me an idea of where to look. I guess it will one way or another!

The CDI is on a little holder that sits right on top of the battery - it's actually attached to the battery hold down. It looks like the two leads from the battery connect to the harness and (possibly?) go into the CDI right there. I believe this machine still utilizes that little finned piece as well - the rectifier(?) I think it was...

I'll pick up the starting fluid and battery tomorrow, install and give it a shot tomorrow after work and report back with the results. If it fires right up and I take off riding, it may be a while

 

Same here.

 

Thanks man, although just to set the record straight, I didn't put those racks on!

You can see some pics of it in its prime in the Vault's gallery.

And yeah, $1600 is CRAZY!

 

atvman, are those 250R shocks on there?

 

Nope, they're 250S shocks. They were a little pricey and extremely hard to find, but definitely worth it. You can see how I did it in my how to article in the Vault. The a-arms were off a 250S as well. Never bothered to make a new upper mount, but after my big jumping trip, I was starting to need it.

 

I got a new battery but didn't realize I needed to add the electrolyte, wait, charge forever, etc...so, the new battery will be going in tomorrow.
For tonights testing, I just used the jumpers from the garden tractor. The multimeter was reading about 12.5v at the battery.

I also picked up the starting fluid and a compression gauge.

First step was the compression gauge - the results weren't so good...

I couldn't follow the directions precisely on it, so any experts out there, please correct me if you see where I may have made a mistake.
I pulled the plug and screwed in the adapter that fit. I didn't tighten it down to the extent I would the actual plug, but it was solidly hand tight. I then spun on the adapter hose which connects to the gauge - again, solidly hand tight. I then plugged in the gauge and hit the starter.

After about 4-5 cycles through I got a wopping reading of 60psi.

Sensing that I may be onto the root of the problem, I pulled out the gauge/adapters and sprayed some starting fluid into the cylinder for the hell of it. I spun in the plug and tried to fire it up again. No surprise to find it wouldn't kick over.

So, now my question is - where to look next?

In reading the directions on the compression gauge (purchased from an auto parts store - directions were for testing a cylinder on a car/truck) it says that if I get a low reading to try and pour a little 10w-30 or 40 into the cylinder and see if it improves the compression. If it does, then it suggests the rings are the culprit. If not, then it says to look into the valves.
This is all well and good, but what exactly am I looking for?
When doing the cylinder/rings on the 230, it was pretty straightforward. Also, for better or worse, I didn't even touch the upper end of the head (valves) at all other than taking the piece off and putting it back on afterwards. It ran and is running, so I figured it's all good. No idea if the valves are at the proper clearances or not...

Any suggestions with regard to what to do next? Is it OK to put some oil in the cylinder like these instructions are saying? If so, about how much?
Is that even worth doing, or is the problem obviously the valves? If it's the valves, where should I begin?

Thanks again for any and all guidance/suggestions - I really do appreciate it. I'm going to get these things figured out one of these days!

 

Idealy, a compression test yields better results once the engine is warmed up. Since you cannot do that, once the tester is connected and zeroed, crank the engine over until the gauge reads its highest value. If it is low, you only need a little shot of oil into the cylinder to test for rings. If it's still low, look into leaking valves/guides, or improper adjustment. The fact that you said the engine was almost bone dry from oil, I'd suspect it could be a combo of things. Worn oil ring, and guides due to lack of lubrication. Even 60psi *should* be enough for it to fire. It would just be a dog and bog easily and have no ***** if you tried to drive it.

 

Thanks for the reply on this - it's exactly the type of info I'm curious about and certainly helps me understand better why/how these things do or don't work.
I've been researching for hours this evening trying to find more info about where to look next and what the problem(s) could be.
I'll give the 'oil in the cylinder' test tomorrow evening. I found a link @ Suzukicentral.com that mentioned about 1/2 a capful from the oil guart should be sufficient to run another compression test. I found out as well that it should be done at operating temps or at least warm. I figured that may contribute a bit to a lower reading but not half or so what it should be.
In my research I found out a bit of what you mentioned - that lack of oil apparently could have burned up the rings and/or the valves.

That's curious about it possibly being able to fire at 60psi. That's something that up until now I've had absolutely no clue about. I'm pretty much basing all my specs for compression, clearances, etc on the old Clymer 230/250 manual. From what I've found, it seems that the specs on this rig (at least the top end) are pretty much identical to those on the 250 Quadrunners from 1988 - 2002 or so. For compression, it's saying that the 'Service Limit' is 142psi and 'Standard' is 171-228psi. That seems to be a far cry from the paltry 60psi reading I got today!

When I get home tomorrow, I'll try getting the 1/2 capful of oil in the cylinder, tighten the compression gauge adapter on there like I would normally tighten the plug, insure the hose adapter to the gauge is on nice and tight and try to crank it over (with fingers crossed hoping for a better reading...or, maybe not - I'm thinking adjusting valves may be easier than rings again...)

Something else I found - it looks like the LTZ250 uses the same sized valves as the 230S and they're pretty readily available. I've got a complete 230S top end in my basement...what are the chances that it will fit? Is it worth scavenging the valves out of it or just get new ones?

If I still pull low psi tomorrow night after the compression test, I'll try to give it another go at starting real quick w/the starting fluid. If nothing happens, then I'll begin the slow removal of plastic, gas tank, etc to make room to get into that top end. I think looking into those valve adjuster caps is going to be quite telling...

Thanks for the info - I'll post again tomorrow with an update.