QuestionJust bought a 2009 honda rebel 250 , with only 46 miles on it , it runs fines when it runs , my problem is , it will run for a while then just die , after a few mins of siting , I am able to restart it and off I go , but this happens , every 5 or 6 miles , same thing , it' seems right before it dies its fuel starved... Please help....
AnswerJesse, A bike with such low miles on it has been sitting for long periods, probably with stale, separated gasoline in the tank and carburetor float bowl.
Today's gas is pretty much useless after a couple of months. The alcohol separates out from the gasoline and sinks to the bottom of the tank/carb bowl. Bikes are already jetted lean to meet EPA regs, so trying to get them to run on basically pure alcohol is a no-win situation.
There is a fuel filter screen inside the fuel tank, up where the petcock attaches to the fitting.
http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/2009-honda-rebel-250-cmx250c/o/m150
I would clean out the fuel tank, remove and replace the filter then be sure that fuel is flowing through the petcock. Next you will need to remove the carburetor to get the fuel bowl off the bottom and check for signs of corrosion, varnish and other solids that might be plugging up jets or stuff floating around inside the bowl, causing intermittent jet fouling.
You might just want to have the carb disassembled and overhauled if you see signs of old fuel solids inside.
The fuel tank needs to be vented properly. If the gas cap shows signs of corrosion, varnish, it may not be able to allow air in to help balance the pressure in the tank. If the breather tube is pinched off or plugged the effect is the same.
It sounds like you are running lean and lacking consistent fuel delivery, so I would check the fuel tank and venting over right away.
Bill Silver
