250-500cc WR 250 - Loss of Power and Lots of Spooge

Went on my 3rd real ride yesterday with new to me 2009 WR 250. 60 miles in NJ pines.
I had a loss of power in all gears right when it should have gotten on the pipe. It would sputter and slow down. I had the throttle wide open and nothing would happen. On open trails and roads I could find a sweet spot in 2nd and 3rd gear and get on the pipe after finessing the throttle at the end of the ride. Bike sounded like a helicopter. It started doing this after a 3-4 mile long, 1st-2nd gear trail.

Also, there were massive amounts of spooge on swingarm, dripping from collar at pipe silencer junction. Bike had this when I bought it but not as bad as yesterday.

Last 2 rides the bike ran great in similar weather and same and different locations.

Ride number 1 was in Pa rocks and hills. Bike was great.

Ride number 2 was almost identical to yesterday's ride, about 3 weeks ago. Bike was fine.

I'm not real fast but try to wind it out when I can. By no means am I WOT all the time.

Talked to a bunch of guys after the ride and they suggested doing a few things. Also read a lot of the threads here.

1. Maybe power valve is not opening. Take it apart and clean it.
2. Repack silencer. It is a Leo Vince with spark arrestor screen connected to a DEP pipe.
3. Put in a new top end. It has over 60 hours on original piston and rings as far as I know.
4. Per my search here, spooge is a result of jetting problems. So was it running what I thought was fine but it really has a jetting problem? It has a Keihin carb. I have no idea what jetting is in the carb. Which jets/clips would I change?
5. If there is a jetting issue would that have caused the lack of power?

I'm going to head out and start taking everything apart today to see what I find.

Any ideas?

Thanks for any help. Mike

60 hours on that motor is nothing, unless the previous owner did nothing but super fast motocross. You can check compression if you're worried, but there's no way it's worn out due to hours alone.

I'd take the carb apart, clean it, and see what jetting is in there. If it previously ran fine the jetting is probably ok, but it's always good to know what setup you have in your carb even if it runs ok. FYI, I don't like to jet by spooge but it can be an indicator. My WR300 with Keihin has a bit of a drool line on the muffler, but it is never dripping extensively.

I think the suggestions you got are good ones. Oh, and swap the plug and check the plug wire, could be something dumb like that.

Thanks for the advice Dirtdame and Motosportz.

I just took off the two pv side covers. Things are tight and I can make the pv move with a t wrench on the right side bolt heads that attach to the 'foot shaped thing' that meshes with the small sprocket. However, very hard to twist the shaft that comes out of the motor to move the pv. Is that normal?

Do i needd to take off the front pv cover?

Fire it up and rev the bike in neutral with the covers off. Should be able to see the power valve open.

Thanks but just took carb off. When I go to do what you said Kyle do Ieave the front pv cover on? The cover the pipe slides into.

Thanks

What's the trick to getting the jet needle out of the slide? I want to see what size it is and clip position.

Thanks

Here's jetting so far. I cant get to the needle and clip at this point.

Part 26. Main jet. 175

Part 10. Slow jet? 42. This one was clogged. I cleaned it but haven't run bike yet.

Part 13. Slide. 7

I mostly ride at around sea level in south Jersey with a trip here and there to Pa.

Jetting seem ok?

Thanks. Is slow jet and pilot the same thing?

What's the trick to getting the jet needle out of the slide?
Compress the spring & plastic piece to give enough space for the throttle cable end (little snub) to slip out of the nut down in the slide.

Hemostat.



Pull the spring and plastic cup up towards the carb cap, and then clip the hemostat on the cable to hold them up (holding the spring compressed). Then you can easily pop the cable out of its groove, unscrew the cap (6 mm) and drop the needle out. The hemostat will keep everything retained for easy assembly later. Might be able to get away with mini needlenose vice grips too, just don't cut/nick/fray the cable.

When reinstalling the plastic cup, make sure the "key" on it is aligned with the "keyway" in the screw-in cap. If not, it won't drop on all the way and the slide will not fully open (and there is also a risk that the cable will come unclipped, as that cap keeps the cable retained).

With a little practice you can easily change the needle in one of those carbs, or adjust the clip, in 5-10 minutes on the side of the trail.

That other jetting you posted looks pretty sensible, but it's all about the needle for most riding.

Yes same thing. Fix your hacked silencer with a FMF Turbine Core 2. Fits WR250 00-06 but also the later models including all WR300. Will need some RTV to seal the joints between rubber grommet. Works good. Little quieter than stock. EASY easy to repack.

Thanks for the details everybody. They are invaluable. I had to take a long break before for a barbeque. I'll get back to checking things out tomorrow night.

Before the bbq, I managed go mangle my leo vince silencer. I figured it was time for a repack. After 2 hours of drilling, prying, pounding and slamming the cover still isn't off, the carbon fiber end cap is destroyed. Time to buy a new one.

Ok, I couldn't wait until tomorrow.

Needle has red top. Couldn't find any other markings.

Clip is in the 2nd from top slot which is the 4th up from the bottom most position.

Thanks Motosportz. There is a JD sticker on the carb so you must be right.

I'm about to read up on clip position. Pretty sure more needle deeper into carb means less fuel and more air entering carb, right? That would mean lean and less spooge, shouldn't it? However, I had what I think is way too much, especially for mixing at 50:1.

Between that and loss of power does it point to a need for a new top end?

I did notice that the collar wasn't covering the silencer/stinger junction. Maybe that in combo with saturated silencer meant lots of chain oiling?

raise clip to lean out. buy a few new pilot jet to get it tuned on that circuit. dispose of clogged one.