So i decided to go for a ride early this morning , intially out to canyon lake before traffic picked up, and barley got out to power rd, when my bikes dies right as i pull into a turn lane. The was no sputtering like it was running out of gas or anything, it just died. So I pull off and am thinking okay maybe i'm outta gas, tho i could here some in the tank.

I flipped over to reserve and got nothing, jsut kept tryign to turn over but wouldn't catch. So i let it sit or a bit thinking maybe i flooded it. after about 10 min i got it started back up and it died again. another 10 min and i got it goign and the rpms up enuff where i could actually get goin (on reserve). So i fly down Guadalupe ( sorry if i woke anyone up but with the revving) get to a gas station and fill up. (i'll assume i was out even tho i could here it)(still don't know if i really have to fill up on both res and when the petcock is on "on") So i take off again, now ditvhign the whole canyon lake idea and jsut tryign to get back home, and the bike continues to sound like it's running out of gas, including what sounded like baby backfires no loud like you would normally hear but more or less like lil puff like it was tryign to backfire but ran out of juice. Anyway it would only do it while i accelerated never when i sat idle at a light in neutral or 1st gear.

So my question/theory is... it sounds like somthing is clogged injectors/carbs don't know which mine has really and if so will normal auto fuel additive or carb cleaner work on a bike? or does it sound like i have bigger issues.

also should the petcock leak at all, mine does a lil when i switch from on to res?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated

 

Bike info will help.

The gas valve should not leak while in any position.

Maybe you have a vacuum problem or worn boots in the carbs.

Could be clogged main jets.

Better to tear down and clean carbs then to use fuel additive.

Still need bike info because what if your bike is FI, if so all the carb ideas here are not relevant.

 

Sorry i knew there was somthign i left out. I have a 1996 ZX7R

 

I would look into the carbs, pull them, tear them down and clean. New fuel filter as well.

 

ok you've got carbs. I am experiencing the EXACT same problem but I know why I am. take the tank and airbox off. look to see if any lines were disconnected. you will have to discounnect a few lines to get the airbox off. how long have you had the bike? before you take the carbs off, check and see if the rubber boots they connect to are good and tight. if they are tight, lossen them so you can take apart the carb assembly. I recommend taking the carbs completly off the bike to clean them, but if you don't want to you don't have to. if you choose not to completly remove the carbs, put down a few towels covering the bike. basically you will need to take the mixing tops off of each carb assembly. becarefull b/c they are spring loaded. the carb tops are the black caps on top with 4 screws. you will need a large phillip screw driver to get them off without stripping the screws. take the top off, and with the spring still in pull out the entire slide boot, you will notice a neddle coming from the bottom. try and becarefull taht you don't loose any of these parts and keep them in the order you take them apart. if you want to explore, you can take the spring and needle out and see if its stock or aftermarket. you will need to do this for all 4 carbs. once all the caps/slides are removed you will probably see alot of crap in there, this is probably one reason the bikes is running funny. The next step is to flip the carbs over to remove the floatbowls. if you didn't take the carbs off the bike, then when you turn them over its very important to remember which direction you turned them b/c you will need to flip the carbs back the same with so you don't mess up the throttle cables. each floatbowl has 4 screws, remove them and the bottom of the bowl will come off. you will see a hex screw on the bottom of each bowl, unscrew this to remove gas before taking off the float bowls, if not you will have a nice mess. neways the jet if the center brass piece, unscrew it and clean it with carb cleaner and run wire through it if you have any. You can also look at the bottom of the jet and you will see a number, this number will tell you the jet size. this will also tell you if you have a jet kit installed on your bike. reinstall the jet and clean out the bowl with carb cleaner, then reinstall the bottom float bowl. do this for all 4 bowls. once that is done, basically use around 5-6 cans of carb cleaner and spray the carbs until they look like new, esp on top where the carb top is. once this is all done reassamble the top part of the carbs, jsut like you removed them. when putting the slide/needle back in the needle will need to go into the hole of the carb. once you get it all together, check the rubber boots on the intake manifold for cracks and holes, if they are messed up, they will need replaced, b/c mine a messed up from my wreck and my bike is starving for fuel b/c of the leaks from those boots. if all good then reinstall the carbs and tighten them down. reinstall everything and try to start the bike. it will take a bit to start b/c the float bowls will need to fill back up with fuel. it should fix the problem. also check your wiring under your seat just making sure its all connected. if you have any questions let me know. this really isn't hard, just a little time consuming. If this is your first time under the tank, beprepared to spend a few hrs on this. It would also be a good idea to get a servie manual for your bike. This is nothing more than bolts and screws, you don't need to know any specs, just tighten stuff down snug and you'll be good. Welcome to the forums and good luck!

 

thanks walight,

U make it sound easy . I'm gunna see if my friends friends who lives here n Phoenix can come over and give me hand or at least over see so i don't end up trashing it

 

it is pretty easy, just unbolting/srewing stuff and reassembling it. it really only goes together one and and there are no settings to mess with....YET!!