EN500 Stalls on Highways

[kraaazymike]

Originally Posted by Lawn Masters

thats POSSIBLE, but not likely to be the issue. do you have a fuel filter? I'm also thinking possibly a plugged filter may be at fault. its happened to me before, so its worth considering.

I checked the petcock screen myself and they said they check the filter and lines.

Originally Posted by philipd

So Mike, how much longer is the shop going to have your bike? Heard anything from them yet?

They've had the bike since June 8th and it's July 12th, so 34 days. I'm going to contact Kawasaki Corporate tomorrow to see about starting a Lemon Law claim. I was reading the terms and it's apparently an unreasonable amount of visits or 30 in the shop.

[kraaazymike]

I just got my bike back. They said they could only do it with the choke at the first position (not fully closed). They closed it and couldn't replicate the problem again. Then they tried it again and it happened again, but they ruled it out as low on gas (did that twice).

In the end, they said their best bet was because the choke wasn't fully closed.

So I verified with the tech that the choke was closed when I left. On the way home, I took it to 80mph for 5 miles on the 22 freeway and low and behold the dang engine started to cut out like usual and died. I had to pull over on the side of the freeway to start it again and drove it home like nothing happened.

Before I start tinkering with everyone's kind suggestions, I'm going to take this to Kawasaki Corporate to see if I can get my $90 back and an actual answer from professionals other than the shoulder shrug my dealer gave me.

[BlueNinja14]

Originally Posted by kraaazymike

On the way home, I took it to 80mph for 5 miles on the 22 freeway and low and behold the dang engine started to cut out like usual and died. I had to pull over on the side of the freeway to start it again and drove it home like nothing happened.

Before I start tinkering with everyone's kind suggestions, I'm going to take this to Kawasaki Corporate to see if I can get my $90 back and an actual answer from professionals other than the shoulder shrug my dealer gave me.

Sure sounds like a emissions equipment issue..... Fuel cap not venting, Separator not working properly???
This is the separator and the rest of the emissions

[kraaazymike]

Just called Kawasaki. They told me, they cant help me at the moment and that I should take it back to the dealer because they should have called Kawasaki's tech line. **** is about to hit the fan....

*edit: called the dealer. They said they'll take it back and call the tech line.

I'd try to fix the problem myself if it wasn't still under warranty. I'll bring up to them the ideas that you guys brought up.

[philipd]

Mike,

The problem I experienced was similar to yours except mine would shut off at any speed. Mine turned out to be a loose connection at the battery but yours must be something else to only occur at speeds above 70 MPH or so. Keep us informed and good luck with both Kawasaki Corp. and the dealer.

[Vulcan900]

And this my friends is why I will never buy another extended warranty from Kawasaki.

[sfair]

I have a few questions:
1. It only happens above 6000rpm?
2. You can drive around all day at city speeds, no problems at all?
3. How long at 6000rpm before it stalls out? Seconds, minutes, hours?
4. How long before it will restart?
5. Runs OK after a restart?
6. If you drop a gear, drive over 6000rpm, does it still happen?
6. Any other driveability issues, no matter how minor?
7. When it stalls, any backfiring or blubbering; exhaust or intake?

A good test for fuel starvation is find the longest steepest hill around, approach the bottom at 30mph in the highest gear possible without lugging and crank wide open. Let the rpm pick up until over 6000, then shift. Then try again, only shift as soon as you can without lugging and hold wide open.
If it is going to starve for fuel, it will do it now and it will be repeatable.

[sfair]

One more question:
1. When you try a restart, does the starter seem to spin a little faster than normal?

[philipd]

Originally Posted by Vulcan900

And this my friends is why I will never buy another extended warranty from Kawasaki.

AMEN!

[Rik1960]

if it does it win u get it bak, dont try 2 crank it jus pull off the road n open the drain plug on each carb n c if the bowls r dry. then u wil no if its a gas flow problem. not jus a little gas a bowl full.

[Rik1960]

computers and regulaters can also do sum crazy things, but with it that new its unlikely, unless defective.

[kraaazymike]

Originally Posted by sfair

I have a few questions:
1. It only happens above 6000rpm?
So far, yes.
2. You can drive around all day at city speeds, no problems at all?
Right
3. How long at 6000rpm before it stalls out? Seconds, minutes, hours?
It's always been within minutes. Within 5 miles to 10 miles.
4. How long before it will restart?
I'll stop and immediately start cranking. It takes longer to crank, 5 seconds of cranking three times or so. But it eventually turns over.
5. Runs OK after a restart?
Runs like a dream. Yesterday when I stalled, I had to pull into the fast lane and got up to 60 smooth and effortlessly.
6. If you drop a gear, drive over 6000rpm, does it still happen?
I've been meaning to try that, but haven't got around to it.
6. Any other driveability issues, no matter how minor?
Not off the top of my head. When I drop it into gear from "N" when warming up, I squeeze in the clutch and the bike lurches and dies. But I figure that's because of the wet clutch?
7. When it stalls, any backfiring or blubbering; exhaust or intake?
Nothing out of the ordinary. Just decrease in engine speed and sound. Sounds just like when you let off the throttle normally.

A good test for fuel starvation is find the longest steepest hill around, approach the bottom at 30mph in the highest gear possible without lugging and crank wide open. Let the rpm pick up until over 6000, then shift. Then try again, only shift as soon as you can without lugging and hold wide open.
If it is going to starve for fuel, it will do it now and it will be repeatable.
I like that idea. I'll need to find a hill where I can try that around here. May be a while before I get my bike back though...

Originally Posted by sfair

One more question:
1. When you try a restart, does the starter seem to spin a little faster than normal?

No. At least my perception is no.

Originally Posted by Rik1960

if it does it win u get it bak, dont try 2 crank it jus pull off the road n open the drain plug on each carb n c if the bowls r dry. then u wil no if its a gas flow problem. not jus a little gas a bowl full.

That's actually an interesting idea! I'll have to try that one out too when I get the bike back.

[sfair]

If it comes back not fixed, try test #6 and the hill test and post back.
The float bowl test would be good if they were dry, but if gas comes out, it won't tell much because you won't know if it got there while you were stopped and getting the wrench out to pull the drains.
"IF" it's a fuel problem, it will be a case of low flow and not a case of no flow.
The trick here is to determine what the problem is "first", then go after likely causes.

[Vulcan900]

Sounds like a tank vent issue.

[bleeps]

Hey there, kraazymike. Any new news on this? I had the exact same issue start yesterday. I'm at 3600 miles and the bike rode like a champ from Los Angeles to San Diego. It was my first ride over 100 miles and I had no issues. Then while cruising on the freeway in SD, my engine died just as described and seems to have the same issue whenever I get over 70 MPH.

I just had my 3k service but I'm now far from the dealer that performed it. Any info I can get to the local service guys when I take my bike in would be helpful as I only have a few days left before I need to ride back up.

[kraaazymike]

Originally Posted by bleeps

Hey there, kraazymike. Any new news on this? I had the exact same issue start yesterday. I'm at 3600 miles and the bike rode like a champ from Los Angeles to San Diego. It was my first ride over 100 miles and I had no issues. Then while cruising on the freeway in SD, my engine died just as described and seems to have the same issue whenever I get over 70 MPH.

I just had my 3k service but I'm now far from the dealer that performed it. Any info I can get to the local service guys when I take my bike in would be helpful as I only have a few days left before I need to ride back up.

Sorry bud, no new news. It's still in the shop. I brought up the idea that it could be a venting issue with the gas cap like mentioned here. They blew it off saying "if it was a venting issue, it should happen at any speed not just at highway speed." So since they're not interested in taking advice, I'll just let them figure it out with Kawasaki themselves.

If you don't get it figured out by then, my suggestion to you is to take the 5 back home. People drive a lot slower and you won't be tail gated as much as you would on the 15. I know the feeling

[bleeps]

Yeah, I took my bike to a dealer today and they said the techs took it out three times and got it up to 85 without any issues. They're claiming that I overfilled the tank and that's what caused the stalls. I sincerely doubt this since it was 60 miles after my last refuel that the stalls started happening. Bah. Thanks for the advice on the 5. I will do just that.

Sucks though, San Diego has perfect riding weather right now.

[kraaazymike]

[quote=bleeps;1706815]Yeah, I took my bike to a dealer today and they said the techs took it out three times and got it up to 85 without any issues. QUOTE]

Figures, right? That kinda stuff always happens, or in this case, never happens when you need it to.

[Lawn Masters]

these bikes seem to know JUST how to torment you dont they? and of course the techs wont listen to the owner when they suggest a possible cause. far as they're concerned you're just the average joe and they cant have the average joe show em up because they're "mechanics"

[Vulcan900]

My father-in-law killed his truck by putting the wrong plugs in it (but that’s a whole separate story). He borrowed a vintage Suzuki (very nicely restored) from one of his old buddies, and rode it around town for a week or so. One Saturday afternoon he wanted to ride out to Fernandina Beach. We got on 9A (kind of like the interstate) and in about 2 minutes the Suzuki started to sputter, and then died. We pulled over and he went over the bike on the side of the road, then tried to start it... fired right off. About 5 minutes later, and a bit less than half way up the Dames Point Bridge it did it again. He pushed it to the top of the bridge, and it started right up again. We cruised down the bridge and took the first exit and stopped at a gas station. When he pulled the cap we both heard the sucking sound. At the time I did not know what that meant, but he did. He left the cap sitting in the hole, but not locked in for the rest of the ride and he had no more problems.

The bike would cruise around town just fine, but get it up to interstate speed and it would pull gas faster that the vent would let air in, and subsequently die.