HELP! Bike coughs sputters almost shut off but then ran

[cadymae]

Wow! Scared me badly. I was at speed, in traffic, rolling along at 42mph and all of a sudden the bike coughs? (chokes, sputters? idk the word but) it felt like a fuel thing. Like something was in the fuel line maybe?

I was just riding. Not shifting or accelerating. A big sputter, which passed quickly. I never had to pull over (good thing since I was in thick traffic.) It passed then continued like nothing happened.

I got to work. Took the bike home a few hours later and there were several little coughs. I'd pull in the clutch and coast then goosed it and then let the clutch out and it was fine til the next tiny sputter about 2 miles later.

FWIW, something is up with the gas gauge too. It was on E til I rev'd it hard then the gas gauge started working. But I feel like it shouldn't now be on 1/2 full with only 83 miles since I filled it up. How many miles do we get to the tank? more than 160?

Another observation. I heard her whistling a few days ago. I remembered my ZRX used to whistle like that. Air expansion in the gas tank or something. I'd had the tank bag on for a few days then took it off. No more whistle but now some coughing.

I don't THINK a tank bag covering the gas cap matters but there must be some venting going on if it whistles.

Any suggestions to try at home before I take my new-to-me bike back to begin using that 18month warranty they sold me?

FWIW, there was gas in the tank when they sold it to me and the gauge was on E until I rode it. The gas indicator didn't work when I warmed it up in the driveway. I had to ride a while before the gauge worked. I filled it up last Sunday. So if the gas was old it is now mixed with the new I put in. And I've ridden every day this week and put 85 miles on it.

BUT the shop rode it to my house to deliver it when I bought it. So the gas they sold me in the tank probably wasn't bad.... or could it have been??

Any help would be appreciated!

[NGagne]

Seem like Bad Gas,

There is 2 way to go:
- Fill it up the tank with Super and add some aditif designe to remove water in the Gas and hope that everthing will be OK
or
- Flush all the Gas for the Tank (and Idealy the CARB bowl) then put fresh Gas in it and ride on

Good luck
Let us know how it turn out.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by NGagne

Seem like Bad Gas,

There is 2 way to go:
- Fill it up the tank with Super and add some aditif designe to remove water in the Gas and hope that everthing will be OK
or
- Flush all the Gas for the Tank (and Idealy the CARB bowl) then put fresh Gas in it and ride on

Good luck
Let us know how it turn out.

Only one way, really.

It's possible there is significant moisture in the fuel, and that you will occasionally draw it up. When that happens you get a brief misfire/sputter.

Drain the tank and the floatbowls and fill with fresh gas - 87 without ethanol is the best choice. 2nd best is lowest octane that doesn't have ethanol.

[cadymae]

um.... uh-oh. Maybe I filled it up with the wrong type of gas.
I just reflexively push the cheapest button.

So 87 w/o ethanol if I can find it?

I think all of the pumps around here have ethanol now. I have to go look.

Thanks for that.

[csmith12]

1st and easiest, ensure all gas vent tubes are clean and clear and don't forget the overflow tube that routes to the bottom of the bike.
Next check your petcock for operation.
Then, check your fuel filter. It's hidden inside the black elbow where the main fuel line connects to the carbs.
Then, check your airbox and snorkle area for clean and clear airflow.

Your problem should be one of those.

[cadymae]

thanks for these replies folks because I need directions exactly like that "black elbow of frame look for yellow tube" and "87 with no ethanol."

Riding this alone is going to force me to learn how to wrench on it but right now I am totally clueless. sigh

I can ride the paint off it though!!!!!

I just need a mechanic.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by cadymae

um.... uh-oh. Maybe I filled it up with the wrong type of gas.
I just reflexively push the cheapest button.

So 87 w/o ethanol if I can find it?

I think all of the pumps around here have ethanol now. I have to go look.

Thanks for that.

Fresh gas, of any type, is fine. You don't have to run gas without ethanol - it's just a good idea if you can get it. 87 is the best choice, but again, not the only thing that will work.

Gas with ethanol goes bad quicker, promotes corrosion, and holds water. Other than that, it's fine...

Drain the floatbowls and catch the gas. That will tell you something.

Making sure the gas is good is the first thing to do before moving on. Check the filters and vents as well, as Chris noted.

[ducatiman]

loose battery terminal(s)? worth a check

[Foxrider64]

When it sputtered- what happened to the gauges? Did the lights all go off? Needles drop to zero?

[cadymae]

OK. So I took it for another trial run yesterday morning early so I wouldn't have to worry about traffic.

It sputtered by the first corner. I remembered a comment about checking the battery and also whether the gauges did anything or power went out when it coughed so I glanced down.

The Tach needle was flipping around like crazy. It bounced all the way over to red, and then bobbed back and forth between 5-7 wildly. When I goosed it, the needle sat down at just under 7 then went to just below 6000. Even when the bike was running fine the Tach needle would suddenly just go bonkers for a bit then settle down. My speed limit is 35 so I was never over 40 this whole time prob in 3rd or 4th gears.

I parked for a bit and tried to eyeball things then decided to head home.

On the way home it sputtered 4-5 times. Once badly while I was going around a corner and that's when I decided to just take it to the shop.

Right afterwards I decided that all this craziness started after I'd taken it on the highway for the first time. I put new tires on Thursday morning and left the shop and got on the highway. It has run fine for the last 3 weeks, all surface roads and speed limits under 50. This was the first time I have had it up to 70 mph.

It had been coughing like this ever since. I just noticed the needle thing yesterday morning.

I will take it to the shop in the morning and repost when they tell me what is wrong with it.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[ducatiman]

^ But did you physically check for loose battery terminals?

[cadymae]

@ducatiman: No because I don't know how.

I don't know anything at all.



I need to spend a week at a Ninjette Mechanics camp or something.

[InvisiBill]

Originally Posted by cadymae

No because I don't know how.

I don't know anything at all.

:(

I need to spend a week at a Ninjette Mechanics camp or something.

Buy a Clymer (or similar) manual. It'll give you step by step instructions on how to do just about anything to a vehicle. The DIYs here and Kawasaki's parts diagrams may give you enough information to dive into the bike, but if you currently can't even take a look at the battery, I think you might need something more comprehensive.


Back to your original issue, since the gauges are going wacky, it would tend to indicate the issue is something electrical, so that's where you'd want to start your troubleshooting. It could be a failure of something like the regulator or battery, or it might be as simple as a loose cable as previously suggested.

[cadymae]

Ya.

I do need to get a manual. More important I need to watch someone else do it once or twice. I'm used to naked bikes too so I need to watch someone take the plastic sides off this thing.

I had a '78 KZ 400, a '99 KE 100, a '00 ZRX 1100, then a 2001 Ninjette that just ran and ran and ran til the drunk ran that red light. I don't remember ever having to look inside that Ninjette and the others I could just see through.

I am thinking of asking the shop where I bought it to offer a small "welcome to the insides of your bike" class for me and others who might be new to wrenching.

More importantly though I need to stop being scared of messing it up if I DO look inside.

I miss having that little KE100 to zip around on. The last of the street legal 2-strokes a guy once told me.

No call from the shop yet. I'm mighty glad I bought a warranty on it.

[cadymae]

They drained all the gas plus floatbowls/carb and said it has smoothed way out.
They will take it out for another test run today and return it to me tomorrow.

Thanks for the pointers to the DYI and parts diagrams.
I will go study before anything else goes wrong.

I think it is odd it ran fine for so long before the bad gas acted up. I'd topped
it off twice since I bought it. Ah well. I'm glad to get it back and he put the
spools on the rear so I can now put it on the stand I just bought.

So I have everything I need to begin learning how to wrench,
...except courage.

[InvisiBill]

Bad gas doesn't cause electronics to go crazy. Call me a pessimist, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't actually fix the problem.

If the bad gas caused the engine to get down to really low (like sub-idle) RPMs, it might decrease the electrical output enough that the low voltage could theoretically cause some of the electronics to act funny. However, if it's just a few seconds of sputtering, I would think the battery should be able to cover the dip if it's in decent condition.

[cadymae]

They said there was bad gas in the floatbowls.

Also the tach needle fluctuation was caused by a bad electrical connection.
They didn't say battery, just connection.

It ran much better.

I also picked up my stand and they put my spools on and taught me how to use it.

I have all my manuals printed out and will begin to learn how to wrench.
I've already studied the post about how to put my bike up... with a 2x4 under the kickstand. Nice. This list is a fantastic resource.

Thanks!