Another fuel filter cleaning

[motocopter]

My bike did the herky-jerky bucking this Sunday. It occurred on command after whacking open the throttle at about 5k rpm. At first, I suspected something electrical since I had just checked valve clearances and having to disconnect several in the process, two weekends ago. Well nothing there. The negative battery terminal could rotate with a bit of pressure, but not an intermittent connection. Anyway, it did run fine with partial throttle settings, so it had to be fuel related.

Then, I recalled this fuel filter clogging others have experienced. So, this afternoon off came the tank and out came the pump. Pictures are below. Some of the particles shop towel were attracted to a magnet. Others looked like white pvc plastic bits. Then, there is the black smegma.

It's all back together without any drama, and will fire it up tomorrow.

Just under 17k miles on the 2012.

I'm going to investigate an external filter. My 750turbo had that set-up OEM - including a regulator, pump, and the tank petcock. Everything was external.

[pistole]

- amazing stuff there.

- hope she runs strong after this.

.

[bhodge10]

Then, there is the black smegma.

For the truly brave, do a google search on smegma and look at the images, probably not NSFW. 

[sherob]

Smegma... cheese like substance found on old Pizza Inn pizza...   

[cablebandit]

Why not replace the sock?  It looks identical to the one used on my 2007 Weestrom.  Anyone try that route yet?

[jimmymac]

Stop going to that junkyard gas station. 

[dtmoto]

Ethanol laced gas, nasty stuff. Add in dirty fuel in tanks at your local crap stop=ugly....

[cablebandit]

Ethanol laced gas, nasty stuff.

 

[julianm]

Had to do this a while ago and certainly resolved the humpty dumpty problem on accelerating.
The hardest part for me was trying to undo those electrical connectors with the 3 prongs. Ended up using 3 jewelry screwdrivers depressing each tongue and maneuvering. Please advise how you disconnected them.
Many thanks
 

[motocopter]

To briefly help with some of the questions asked.

Regarding warranty, I cannot expect Kawasaki to cover problems linked to contaminated fuel. It's just not their problem. Besides, a couple of hours in the garage versus who knows how long in the shop, and then experiencing the possible repair bill of hundreds of dollars to replace the pump (parts and labor) because of what I just mentioned.

Connectors for the pump and sending unit have a single release point. If I recall they were the version to lift and not depress.

The bike is running much better but has/had a couple of misses at around 9k rpm experienced during a short ride today. For the most part, I'll be riding more tomorrow and locally.

[maxtog]

Regarding warranty, I cannot expect Kawasaki to cover problems linked to contaminated fuel. It's just not their problem.

I have to agree.  If there is no sign of it coming from the tank or pump itself, it is clearly not warranty.

The bike is running much better but has/had a couple of misses at around 9k rpm experienced during a short ride today. For the most part, I'll be riding more tomorrow and locally.

You might want to run a tank of Techron through it since you have obviously had some questionable gas.  http://www.amazon.com/Chevron-65740-Techron-Concentrate-Cleaner/dp/B00092893E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377299843&sr=8-1&keywords=techron

[Sgt Mac]

For the truly brave, do a google search on smegma and look at the images, probably not NSFW. 

shoulda just took your word for it.... 

[4cedars]

I rode my first rally last Saturday when I had my '10 Connie fall on its face, BAD, while accelerating from a stop light.

Just finished up cleaning the screen and took a test ride. Problem solved. 

The beauty of this fix was since I have had the tank off a number of times before working on my aux tank install, the whole job took me under an hour.

And yes it was the usual black smegma with small pieces of some kind of "material"

John

[motocopter]

My engine performance is back! My chocked strainer issue ends with a new replacement installed. It was gradual degradation for sure. First a couple of engine stalls leaving traffic signal which were dismissed as maybe a bit of clutch laziness, and secondly by dull throttle response that was noticeable during down shifting. All is good again.

Since these filters are readily available, I won't be bothering to find a solution for an in-line filter - at this time.

From left to right: Original filter with nearly 17k miles and 180 miles after a bit of cleaning; the middle is a low-mileage 2012 retrieved from a pump that came off of a totaled 2012 that still had virtually new OEM 'stones; and finally the new filter.

[jonathan]

First post and bumping a one year old thread to promote a product. Hmmmmmm.

[VirginiaJim]

Taken care of...

[Rhino]

Glad you bumped it. Some good info here.

"First a couple of engine stalls leaving traffic signal which were dismissed as maybe a bit of clutch laziness"

I've had a couple of those recently. I was going to bump up the idle (currently at 1000 rpm) but maybe I should look at my fuel filter as well.

[John T]

Motocoptor, I am trying to understand how you got the fuel pump and filter separated. If you happen to be listening to this forum and thread, and can post up how the pump came apart, I would be very interested to know. I have mine sitting on the bench right now, and any help understanding how to separate all of the components would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Rhino]

Welcome to the forum John T!!!

[John T]

Thanks