FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

Today was my first time riding a bike in the street and wow did it feel great, that is until it stopped working..... In the middle of traffic! My fuel pump was acting funny after I would get to a stop and I was trying to keep it going by revving it higher but my effort was futile, it died. I pushed it to a gas station and I got it to work for little bit and while I was driving home this time through a back street it died again, although I would here the fuel pump clacking and pumping the bike would still not start although the fuel was pumping. There was some fellow bikers stopped by and tried to help me but they could not figure it out, there bikes were EFI mine is carb. I pushed my bike for about 1.5 MILES this is Las Vegas were it is passed 95F at night! while I was pushing my bike fell over and some fuel started leaking out. Finally I got home and I just cant stand that bike right now, a mechanic checked it out before and he told me it was good, what a sh!**y mechanic that was. I never want to go through this again but I have learned a lesson, never buy a bike for $1,100.

I don't think that is the lesson to learn here. I've bought many bikes from 400+ and they have all worked alright. Sure, there are weird little gremlins, but for 1100 you should have a decent bike. Now, just because the fuel pump is clacking away doesn't mean it's pumping. I know, I have one in the shop like that right now. You can get a simple fix for that at any hardware store for about 12-15 bucks.

You just bought the bike. Did you do any of the new bike procedures? Change oil, plugs, fuel filter, coolant, brake fluid? Pretty much anything that can degrade and you don't know the history of.

The FZR is a solid runner. Simple to work on and plenty of parts floating around. Just give it a day or so, cool down and then think through it logically. The carbs could be dirty, a stuck float, a bad pump, a clogged petcock or filter. You'll get it sorted and you'll be back enjoying your bike.

You really sound like the voice of reasoning, I should just take my time and look at what can be the problem. A situation like this can really suck the energy out of you and and leave you quite unmotivated. The feeling of riding the bike cannot be explained it can only be felt, so I will keep that in mind so that I can work on the bike with positive energy. I will make sure I never go through that again.

I bought my FZR for £400 (about 3 Euros these days, gggrrrrrrrr) and aside from being obviously a little scruffy around the edges gave me 2 years relentlessly reliable service before she came off the road for a full rebuild/resto. It's just a case of knowing what you're looking at.

To be fair to your tame mechanic, the fuel pump (assuming the fuel pump is at fault) may have been working perfectly fine when he examined the bike. Most socket sets don't come with a crystal ball.

I had the same problem a year ago. I solved mine pretty easy. Inside the fuel pump there are 2 contacts covered in Platin. They were used so hard that when the fuel pump was clicking the contacts were beeing soldered together. After a knock or two on the fuel pumps black cover, it was starting to work again, but after 2 miles or so it was doing the same thing all over again. I replaced those 2 contacts and never had a problem with the fuel pump after that.

Hi,
sorry to hear about your bad luck BUT
let us put this into perspective I have had bikes fresh out the Yamaha crate (I owned a service shop for Yamaha ) and they did not always work. Some would run but ragged and some came back during the warranty period with niggles (paint flakes in the gas filter !)
So do not think that just because it was ONLY 1100 USD it is crap. as FB said he paid less than that as i did and we have good rides.
FB said a mouthful socket sets do not come with a crystal ball. so do not be too harsh on your mechanic (from experience they take the blame even if the dumb rider crashes 6 months after his last service.I kid you not )

Yup I could see pushing a bike in tropical heat (been there done that the shop was in the west indies ) is not fun in any shape or form.

Calm down and think back did you change all the fluids on the bike when you got it?
If not take the cooling down period to do that get to know your bike. My gut tells me the filter and pump probably need a clean as do the carbs and then re-synch the carbs.

All of this is covered in our WIKI when looking to do anything on the bike the Manual & the WIKI are your very best friends.


After that you have us, we ALL have been where you are at some point in our biking lived just it may have been quite awhile ago with some of us:-}

Stick with it! The FZR is a solid bike that can usually be fixed quite easily. That is one reason it had so few changes during it's 10 years of manufacture.

darrin

ima go with a blockage some place. i have had my fuel pump come unplugged or die wtih both the yzf and fzr and they both continued to run unless i was at WOP, then the fuel was sucked out faster than it would come down and the bike would lean out into a studder

start with the easy stuff! FUEL FILLTER or petcock is a good place to start