Riding Today turned into an hour on the side of the road

[Cursed94FZR600]

A few weeks ago I had my FZR frame painted and some other minor stuff. I put the engine back in the bike and re-connected all of the electrical stuff. The bike had been having a few minor electrical problems up till this weekend but nothing major. There were times when the bike would start idle for a while then if it died I would have a hard time getting it to start again. I had to wait a while and then it would start again when it wanted.

This past Friday night 4/10/2009, was working on my FZR in my basement. After noticing the positive battery terminal was loose I tightened it up and then all of my little electrical issues and things went away. The bike Friday-Sunday started up right away and I didn't have any issues with it. i put a total of ~100 miles on the bike this weekend to check everything and make sure everything was working correctly. The Sunday afternoon I took the bike out for one last ride before going back to school and I have no idea what happened.

I had been riding for about a half an hour when I started to go up a hill. when I merged onto a street and started to proceed up a hill, the bike had little if any power. by no power I mean in first and second the bike was unable to accelerate me (200 lb male) up a hill. I did manage to make it up the hill but while shifting from 2nd to 3rd the bike died. I tried to restart the bike while I still had some speed but it didn't ignite. I pulled off the road and had nothing happening when I tried to start it. I sat there for a while trying every so often to try and start it. After ~15min the bike was trying to start, like the starter was running and everything was happening but ignition. After sitting and trying to get the bike to start for another ~45min my buddy shows up with his truck. I try the bike one last time before loading it up and it starts right away. I manage to get the bike all the way home and it's sitting waiting for next weekend. on the way home the bike had all the power from when I rode it before and this was the most aggressive I've been on this bike. I was trying to get home AFAP, or at least before the bike wanted to stop and rest again.

While sitting on the side of the road and after getting the bike home I have come up with a few things it could be. I would appreciate any input anyone can offer toward helping me to diagnose what is wrong with my bike. If there is any further information about the bike I can give just leave a post on here and I'll answer it as best I can. if there are any possible causes i have left out please post them and explain if you could why you think it could be whatever else.

Possible sources of this problem:
clogged / partially clogged fuel filter
faulty / failing fuel pump
does it have a fuel pressure regulator?

any other ideas?

Thanks for the help David M.

[R3TARD]

no pressure reg, i wouldnt think it would be the fuel filter but i would check just in case. maybe a faulty pump but they usually either work or dont, hook straight 12v up to the pump and see what you get. Do you have the old stock vr? my bike did kinda the same thing when my VR went out. Finally it did it the 2nd time and fried a new battery, cdi, and main relay

[shredex]

thats a fzr for ya!

thats happened to me before but I couldnt start it...my main fuse blew because I had the ignition grounding out somewhere...check to see if there is and split in the ignition wires or anything that could be causing it to ground out

[reelrazor]

I'll throw another possibilty into the mix...and it is a problem I learned firsthand, for the first time ever (for me as a bike mechanic back in the day) with an 89 FZR400 of my buddy's.... he would tuck down onthebike and go by me...and after a few hundred yards his bike would bog...and I'd go by.....and he'd do it again.......his jackt was getting pushed by the draft onto his fuel tank.

My possible diagnosis is a plugged or obstructed tank vent. Now, on your 600 the vent will be in the gas cap itself...and is easy to check...when/if the problem re-occurs.

Come to a safe stop somewhere and remove the cap and listen/feel it....hear/feel any suction? Put the key back in the ignition, key it 'on and listen for the fuel pump to clicclicclicclic.....if it nedds to refill the bowls (and can) it has a fuel restriction issue, either from teh causes you mention or the tank vent being plugged.

This issue will be less obvious (longer riiding time before problem occurs) when the tank is low on fuel...and will show up faster if the tank is full.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[tommyj27]

My vote is for a bad VR not cranking out enough juice to run the ignition at higher RPM (eventually draining the battery). I had almost the identical problem last spring. I chased a fuel restriction assumption for two weeks before I found the bad VR. Fortunately, the VR is easy to check if you have a multimeter handy. Check the wiki for the VR replacement guide; it should have Naeslas' electrical flowchart that you can use to troubleshoot the electrical.

[Cursed94FZR600]

my bike is on a 94 frame b/c when i bought it the 96 frame was bent. I searched for another 96 frame but couldn't find one. since the wiring harness is a '96 and has the "good VR(large black and huge)" on it do you (tommyj25) still think that would be the problem.

[shredex]

check for a grounding out wire! see if any of the ignition wires are frayed

[NHFZR600]

ahh the joys of owning a fizzer... wait i dont own a fizzer anymore!!! YAY the joys of not owning a FZR

[jax]

Easy things to check. Follow the WIKI.


Its either gonna be a bad VR or clogged fuel filter / stopped up petcock with rust and stuff.

[tommyj27]

The newer VR is much better, but I would check it anyways. If that comes up clean you're out what, 10 minutes?