FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

I borrowed this bike last summer and had some trouble with it. After riding for a few miles it would bog down and eventually stall out. After sitting for 10-20 minutes it would start right up and go great for another couple of miles. I thought it might be bad fuel, so I drained the tank and filled with fresh gas. Started right up and went great for about 4 miles. Same cycle of stall, wait, start, stall, etc.
Took it to a shop and the said a couple wires were touching in the wiring harness. Had that replaced and it ran great, just in time to return it to its owner.
Now he's having another kid and made me a great deal on the bike. Tried to take it out on the first decent day we've had in months. I got 2.2 miles and it died. After taking another half hour to get back 2.2 miles to home, I'm ready to take it out to use as a target. Has anyone had anything similar happen?

Thanks,

Erik

Pull the spark plugs first to determine the state of the carbs. Check your voltage, sync your carbs and get back to us

I'm taking it to a shop tomorrow or Tuesday. We tried another ride and made it 2.5 miles before it died. Had to wait about 10 minutes before it would start. Ran like a bat out of hell for 2.2 miles and then died. Took about 15 minutes before it would start. Made it home, now to get it in the truck.
We'll see how much I get raped for them to fix what they "fixed" last time.....

what he said! plus, do you smell gas when running? i.e. running really rich. you may need to service the carbs a bit. you could try running some seafoam through it, pull the airbox, and pour a little seafoam into each carb while it is running, you will have to keep on the throttle a bit as it will try to die. that will clean them out a bit. but there is nothing like a real carb cleaning. you might notice something when you pull the airbox also.

Yeah, it sounds to me like its going rich or flooding out since it will start again after sitting. Maybe a sticking float needle or two. The plugs should be a good indicator if you need carb work though.

I dont know if smell is a good indicator on a FZR. On both of mine, they have various smells associated with normal operation. I smell gas from my hybrid at stop lights, or sometimes if the wind is right I can smell the crankcase vent..

i would ride up and down my street till it died then check the float bowls for fuel might be a partially cloged fuel filter or petcock not flowing enough fuel so when it dies the fuel slowly gets into the lines

haro504 wrote:i would ride up and down my street till it died then check the float bowls for fuel might be a partially cloged fuel filter or petcock not flowing enough fuel so when it dies the fuel slowly gets into the lines

You know, that reminds me of an issue I had way back when I first got my bike. It sat for several weeks when I moved and had a good hard rain before I packed it away. The fuel filter was nearly brand new, but after it sat for a while, the bike wouldnt start at all and would backfire really badly, even shot a flame out once. I replaced the filter again and it fired right up. But this was also with some carb jetting issues too, so that may have contributed. i dont know if getting really wet played much part in it, but who knows. It stood out in my mind for some reason as being significant, but that was 3 years ago.

I wish I knew how to do any of that myself. For now it will have to go to a shop and see what they say. Thanks for the tips.

it really isnt as hard as you think. even after making my bike look like it does, i was afraid of touching the carbs. once i pulled them, which after taking off the airbox, which is 4 screws, and then 4 more for the carbs, it really wasnt as bad as i thought. i once sent my bike off to the shop, anded up paying $450 for a carb cleaning. looking back on it, i probably could have done it for about $35 in parts and a couple hours of work. you can do it, it isnt as hard as you think.

Would the Haynes FZR repair Manual show how to do these? I'd love to be able to do the work myself, just frustrated because I thought I paid to have the same problem fixed last summer.

well lets just say dealers sometimes tend to look for any excuse to charge you and claim a solution in short you got ripped off. if it doesent work just be carfull when taking it apart and put it back together the same way and you cant break it any more than broke. nows your chance to learn and if you cant fix it you can still part it out.

Get yourself a haynes or clymer manual and go for it. This issue is pretty easy to take care of. Your bike pretty much needs a carb cleaning and a tune up.

Ordering a Haynes manual from Amazon tonight. Anything I need to watch out for or special tools I need?

READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY THE MANUAL

http://s93420228.onlinehome.us/fzr/carbs/

From the archives.

Chris

I just used this step by step. Only thing I'll add is that he doesnt tell you where the 3 orings are to watch out for. One is between the emulsion tube and carb body....make sure to line the nipples and grooves back or you'll be buying new ones. And second is between jet assy and carb body.... doesnt look like an o at all. Third is teeny under the black cap where you find the diaphragm.

Just did this yesterday 3 hours and that was 1 hour learning on the 1st carb.

Chris