FZR600 Genesis - "Chokes" on low RPM

[aragonian]

hi all,

i'm a total newbie in mechanics or such stuff but i need your opinion on the following:

my FZR600 Genesis (-90) has been out in the rain for a few weeks. although it's not completely under the sky (there're 2 covers but it's been pouring for the past weeks), it unfortunately doesn't have a place in a dry place indoors.

so, today when i had my first opportunity to drive it, the engine was "choking" when cold. in other words, it was going to stop running unless i had the gas on. well, when the engine got warmer, that problem was worked out and it was idling ok.

the trouble, however, is that when i took it for a spin, on low RPM the engine was having trouble regardless of gear. so, for example, when i'd start off from halt, there'd be a moment before the bike really "got going." same was with for example driving with gears 2 and 3. the bike was running ok with about 5000-6000 RPM but even then acceleration was slower than usual.

i'm thinking that perhaps if i'll just drive my bike a little more, things will get back to normal. however, what's your opinion and is there something i should be looking into at this stage already?

thanks for all the help!

[haunter]

riding it will more will tell you more thats for sure

could water have gotten in the tank?

[aragonian]

Alright, today I had the chance to take my baby for a ride.

I drove first about 15 miles keeping it under 45 mph. The bike was acting out as before. Acceleration was poor and engine was "stalling/choking" on low rpm, especially when taking off from stopped position. Although on neutral there was no problem with rpm, while driving the engine was simply not performing well and it just wasn't taking good rpm's. Even though it was running ok once over 5000 rpm, getting higher from that was slower than usual.

On the way back, I took the highway and accelerated up to 75 mph. The bike didn't seem to want to accelerate beyond that, at least not nicely. It was running ok, but still similar problems as with lower speeds in terms of acceleration or rpm.

As it happened, close to home I ran out of gas! From my calculations of how things have been normally, I should have had enough to complete the trip. Luckily I managed to pull over on the highway safely, turn on the reserve tank and take off again. This time, however, things were different.

With the reserve tank I started to feel a difference. I wasn't going to rev it up at this point, because I wasn't sure how long my reserve would last or where the nearest gas station was.

In any case, after filling her up again, and driving for a while with the normal tank, it seems that things are pretty much back to normal. The earlier trouble with starting off on 1st was gone. It wasn't fully gone but pretty much as it's been before. My bike's a 1990 model with about 33 000 miles on it, and as far as I know, no "tuning" whatsoever. So, she's a "lazy" lady and I'm no racer... Also, acceleration seems to be back to normal. This is also so after letting the bike cool down for a few hours and then driving it a little bit again.

Did water get into the tank? The bike was under a tight-knit net and one of those pull-over covers, but sure, it had been raining for weeks like cats and dogs and so drops of water could have gotten at least on the tank. Whether water got in, I don't know, the cap was naturally closed all the time.

Perhaps the trouble was too much gas? I mean, it seems to me that the bike was just wolffing down gas all the time and running too rich. Or that's how I feel because I ran out of gas.

So, what was it? Should I still do something?

[Ike]

Im guessing you are from the Midwest with all the rain

[aragonian]

Well, actually I live in Florence, Italy. Bad weather can be universal, I guess...

[Ike]

Very very true

[bweight]

Just wondering if it was insanely humid there during all the rain.. I suppose that the tank could have been "sweating" and condensation got in with the gas.. I can't see that being the issue, however, I suppose nowadays you can't really rule out anything to be quite frank..

[aragonian]

It certainly was insanely humid for a long time, and to be honest, I'm thinking that the throw-over cover that I had on the bike wasn't helping either. It meant that whatever humidity/water was under it, stayed there because there was no air circulation. But I guess that was better than having the bike under direct rain, since I have no possibility of putting her inside.

In any case, I'll be taking it easy for a while and seeing how she acts. My plan for the summer is to do a 3000 mile ride... I don't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere!

[tommyj27]

Im guessing you are from the Midwest with all the rain

heh, i'll be putting the finishing touches on the ark this weekend

[Beckett]

Since you are just down the road from me give me a call if you need some help pounding in those final nails.

Damn Minnesota weather.

Im guessing you are from the Midwest with all the rain

heh, i'll be putting the finishing touches on the ark this weekend