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Hi guys, new on here but was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on an issue I'm having, not found it mentioned anywhere online yet and wanted to avoid costly garage repairs, here goes...

The bike starts fine and runs fine, if you blip the throttle from idle sometimes it will hesitate and take a moment before it will rev up but has always been like that since I got it (not sure if it has anything to do with my issue though), but the other week while I was on holiday my bike just cut out like it had run out of fuel but I had a full tank, it then wouldn't restart but the starter was turning it over fine. I left it to stand for about 10 minutes then tried again and it started first time, rode fine for about 5 miles then cut out again and wouldn't start, but again after leaving it for 10 minutes started and ran fine. Since then it has been having this same running issue and will go anywhere between 1-70 miles (normally about 5-10 though) between cut outs. Everytime it has cut out as well it is always when I'm cruising at a constant speed or coming to a stop at lights etc, it's never been when I'm on the power.

It had new spark plugs about 2000 miles ago, I put a new fuel filter on becuase the old one looked a bit dirty, I've stripped down the carbs and cleaned them out with cleaner and blown all the jets through etc with compressed air but it is still doing the same thing. Any knowledge or suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks!

Fuel tank breather pipe blocked?

CaNsA wrote:Fuel tank breather pipe blocked?

THanks for the reply, forgot to mention that was the first thing that was checked

Having the same issue myself now, only it cuts out in the engine but can be restarted instantly again. Wouldn't be faulty coil packs would it? Or reg/rec?

Did anyone find out a solution, My bike has started doing this as i come to a stop but i was thinking it might be down to a faulty side stand switch?

there are so many issues that can cause this that it will be impossible for us to suggest one course of action, it could be carbs, electrics, a cable fault, an issue with a previous re-wire, fuel starvation the lot...what you will need to do is make a list of things it cant be, that way you will arrive at a sound solution.

For what its worth, disconnect and remove the side stand switch, and then bridge the connector block on the loom with a bit of wire, tape it up and see if the issue is still there, that way if the problem remains its not the sidestand switch.

you can check the fuel breather by opening the top of the fuel tank and blowing into the bottom of the tube (it exits near your right foot), if air can be heard at the top of the fuel tank, and there is minimal resistance then the breather is working fine.

go through a number of these and see what results you have.

i have known bikes to bog when coming to a stop when they are too rich, the engine just dies but all the electrics stay on, is this what happens to you, or does all the electrics die at the same time? The more information you can provide, the more likely it is we can come to a conclusion.

Yeah I understand it is such a hard problem to diagnose, I'm going to try by passing the side stand tonight or tomorrow and will let you know, normally the electrics cut out as well once it dies which is why I thought it might be more of an electrical issue.

The pipe that exits near your right foot is not a breather. It is a drain for the filler cap well.
ZXR 400 breath through the filler cap

ManxMan wrote:The pipe that exits near your right foot is not a breather. It is a drain for the filler cap well.
ZXR 400 breath through the filler cap

its a breather hose as well as being a water drain, microfiche lists it as a breather hose, kawasaki list it as a breather hose, the manual lists it as a breather hose...its a breather hose no?

It's a drain

Block it off and your riding pleasure will not be disturbed.

Interestingly my bike came without the drain attached, the spigot was bunged off. I unblocked it and added the drain tube just to keep it all factory spec. The ZXR manual - "Never fill the tank, blah blah, may cause the fuel to expand and overflow through the vents in the tank cap"

KwakKwak wrote:Interestingly my bike came without the drain attached, the spigot was bunged off. I unblocked it and added the drain tube just to keep it all factory spec. The ZXR manual - "Never fill the tank, blah blah, may cause the fuel to expand and overflow through the vents in the tank cap"

cant find that passage in the manual?

i and many others on here have always referred to it as a breather hose, and its listed so in the manual/microfiche/kawasaki website, i might be mistaken, but i dont remember seeing a dedicated fuel breather hole like ive seen on a few other bikes, my mates bandit has the breather in the fuel filler cap for definite, its a red plastic hole under the cap.

banner001 wrote:cant find that passage in the manual?

Should have said owners manual that comes with the bike, page 22 in the warning, this befuddled me when I first got the bike.
Was balancing it today after the carbs had a spa day, with the heat I could clearly hear the venting from the fuel cap on mine.

Those damn workshop manuals etc, full of errors.

Bypassed the side stand and got the bike started and on the road for 18 miles, got back to my road and as I slowed to turn in it cut out and seemed completely dead, took the battery off and it was down to 11.5V so I can only assume that it's not charging and drops to low and cuts out. Anyone else had this issue?

loads of people, you need to check if its your battery thats not holding a charge, your reg/rec that is not putting out the correct voltage, or your alternator that is not putting out any AC voltage.

check the guide here
viewtopic.php?f=125&t=16569