Bike has idling issues

Hey guys, I have a 1981 250 CSR (D2 I guess...??) with about half a tank of gas in it. Once I take the bike off of choke, it dies. The bike also has a rough idle, like it revs up to 5,000 rpm then goes back down to regular idling.

Oh yeah and what's goin on guys/gals? It's great to be part of the forums

"it revs up to 5,000 rpm then goes back down to regular idling."....
Check for Vacuum leaks at the intake manifolds...

"Once I take the bike off of choke, it dies."..
Can be associated to the above... Having choke on richens the gas/air mixture... Vacuum leak equates to more air than gas...

Otherwise may be dirty clogged carb jets, dirty fuel filter, clogged air filters etc....

Did the engine run properly previously and just started doing this or is this a new bike to you so unknown?

Have you just recently swapped the OEM air filter for pod filters?

Spark plugs and ignition timing within specifications?

Condition of sparkies?

OMR

I bought the bike for $500 and I'm new to all of this stuff. Figured it'd be a great starter bike and cheap with insurcance rates. The previous owner replaced the spark plug, wires and wiring harnesses. He also said he had the carb rebuilt and bought a new battery for it. He was mentioningthat the carb just needed to be readjusted by working the two screws on the carburetor (??) He also said that there was an intermitten horn, but when I took the body parts off, I saw a dangling wire (I didn't get a chance to trace it back to the horn b/c I was preoccupied with trying to get her to start). There is also a random wire that was connected to the negative terminal of that battery that ran from the positive side (if this doesn't make sense I'll try taking some pictures to post up).

On a side note, I also bought this bike to become mechanically savvy. So if there's anything I need to fix, I'd like to try to tackle it myself... I just need some repair manuals, diagrams, and what not but I'm having trouble finding them for my bike .

Thanks for the help so far.

"need some repair manuals"... Yup!

For now, don't do anything until you get the manual... I know, I know you want to go ride really bad but as is, it won't be an exciting and enjoyable time for you...

The bike will run like crap and you'll start doubting what you bought it for... to enjoy the freedom and wind in your face....

Old bikes equate to this, running or not.
Obtain and study the Manual...
Learn the ins & outs of your ride...

Use the forum search function you'll be surprise that your question is most likely all ready been discussed.

Ask questions but only after you learn a few things out of the manual and off the search... Don't be one of those where's this do hickey, or I came across this thingy so now what.

If you ask intelligent questions where it is obvious you've researched a little into it and it still doesn't make sense or is just plainly kicking your ass then you have a whole lot of ppl here ready to help out...

OMR

Welcome and let the fun begin! :woohoo: Seriously, all I could find was this Factory manual on microfiche Can this be put on a CD? You need to get a FSM (Factory Service Manual). Most of us don't really like the Clymers manual but it would be better than nothing. You should really have a manual before you start tearing into this bike. But we're here for ya bud!

You need the Kawasaki factory service manual, not Clymers, Haynes, or other junk.

They are available on eBay, just be sure to get hte specific one for your year/model.

Here's an example, there may be others:

Kaw Shop Manual

You also should get the owners manual if you don't have one (check under the seat). Here's an example:

Owners manual

Good luck,
Ed

the symptoms you are describing are leading me to beleive that you have a plugged or partially plugged pilot jet or pilot circuit. you will have to remove the carb and properly clean the internal passages and jets when the motor hangs up before returning to idle that is a sign of being very lean on the pilot circuit. also chech the mixture screw settings some one may have played with those and since they control the air/fuel mixture at low speeds a good base line to start with is around a turn to turn and half out with those.