2010 FZ1N with low kms suddenly running like crap

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jmc

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Hi guys, first post on the forum, hope you can help :)

Bought a v low kms 2010 FZ1N about a month ago, my bike was running like a dream up until 2 days ago.

What started out as a tiny flat spot about 3k rpm turned very quickly into an an absolute nightmare of surging, spluttering, misfiring, hard to start, cutting out at idle, the biggest problems are between 3k and 4k where it runs like its having an epileptic fit, at higher revs it mostly rides fine, although I get occasional misses at 5-6k rpm.

I thought I might have gotten contaminated fuel out on a country ride, but there were about 10 riders who filled up at the same servo and they have not had any problems with their bikes.

I have done well over 600kms since that country town and filled up at least five times, including running the tank down to near empty, refueling and the problems persists.

I've only ever used premium fuel in it.

Mods (all fitted pre-purchase) - Scorpion aftermarket exhaust, K&N air filter, Power Commander V

I don't really know where to start here, I had a Honda Hornet 600 (599 in US) for years and it never EVER missed a beat. Very surprised and disappointed to be having engine problems within weeks of purchasing a practically new bike with only 1800kms on it....
 
Dont panic,an electrical problem can occur to any machine.

The obvious are plugs,coil, loose wire,connection,exup(if you have one) air leak on inlet,dirt in jet,

get guessing,you ,may need to find another FZ1 to borrow some bits to eliminate the problem.

Billy
 
jmc said:
Hi guys, first post on the forum, hope you can help :)

Bought a v low kms 2010 FZ1N about a month ago, my bike was running like a dream up until 2 days ago.

What started out as a tiny flat spot about 3k rpm turned very quickly into an an absolute nightmare of surging, spluttering, misfiring, hard to start, cutting out at idle, the biggest problems are between 3k and 4k where it runs like its having an epileptic fit, at higher revs it mostly rides fine, although I get occasional misses at 5-6k rpm.

I thought I might have gotten contaminated fuel out on a country ride, but there were about 10 riders who filled up at the same servo and they have not had any problems with their bikes.

I have done well over 600kms since that country town and filled up at least five times, including running the tank down to near empty, refueling and the problems persists.

I've only ever used premium fuel in it.

Mods (all fitted pre-purchase) - Scorpion aftermarket exhaust, K&N air filter, Power Commander V

I don't really know where to start here, I had a Honda Hornet 600 (599 in US) for years and it never EVER missed a beat. Very surprised and disappointed to be having engine problems within weeks of purchasing a practically new bike with only 1800kms on it....
Click to expand...

Check for a kink in your fuel lines.

Don't use premium fuel. Not necessary at all in this bike.
 
Thanks guys a lot of information to take in there. My first port of call will be the dealer who sold me the bike, see if they will sort it out for me under warranty.

I've never lifted the tank or done anything with it except put fuel in it and ride it normally, would a kinked fuel line cause issues at all revs? Mine seems to be really bad between 3-4k but almost perfect at higher revs. Also, can a kinked fuel line happen during normal riding, without ever lifting the tank?

When its idling the needle is jumping around a little bit, not steady as I would expect. I'm pretty sure my idle was rock solid before this problem developed.

Time of year is not ideal to be getting this looked at though!!
 
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Hi - I've never had a fuel injected bike before, my previous bikes were all carby, so all this tech is new to me..

My bike had a pc5 installed under the saddle. Can I just simply disconnect this device to see if its the culprit?

I guess what Im asking is the pc5 a dead end, or is it in series where I would have to recomplete a circuit somewhere else after disconnecting it?
 
JMC, mate if I can recall correctly you can just unplug it and the fueling will revert to normal. Give it a go, it can't hurt. As far as the kinked fuel line is concerned then yes it would effect the entire rev range and if you haven't lifted the tank then I doubt thats the cause. Could it be something vibrated loose on our crap country roads?
 
My guess, is that it is a bad connection with the Power Commander, or perhaps something electronic within the Commander. Do what others have recommended to revert back to normal and bypass the Commander and see what happens. I would put my money on a poor connection.
 
I've just dropped it into the shop and mechanic's first guess was vacuum leak, I've told them about the power commander being in there.

Anyway they're having a look at it now for me - fingers crossed it is something easy to fix!
 
I have a good news story!

I bought the bike secondhand a month ago from a local dealer with the aftermarket pipe, K&N & PC5 already fitted.

It ran like a dream until very recently when it started acting up - cutting out at low rpm, surging, hard starting, horrendous.

Took it back to dealer for warranty repair, they kept it for about a week, diagnosed the PC5 was faulty - replaced it for me FOC.

Dyno showing 135hp & 70 torque.

Bike is running like a dream again. Just taken it for a 700km blast up into the the mountains. I'm a happy camper.

edit/ I'm pretty sure it's popping/backfiring a lot less on engine braking now too, its still does it a bit, but not as much as with the previous PC5. Might have a better map now or something. My fuel consumption is about the same as before ~200kms to reserve.
 
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It was Peter Stevens in Melbourne, they are by far the biggest motorcycle dealership in Victoria, so not sure that they really need a plug - but they've been pretty good to me :) They are also very good for spare parts, clothing, luggage, helmets, rain gear etc. I've bought most of my riding gear from them too.
 
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