Bike started to run bad - coughing and hesitating etc. Pulled the fuel filter from the pump and was ......... crap.

New filter and it is running great.

I got the filter from Quantum Fuel Systems. They also sell the pressure regulator separately and a fuel pump kit.

Your text to link here...

I hope that stays running well for you TrashHauler. If it's like Gen 1 there's a pre-filter inside the fuel pump.

Hair brain idea... but I would have tried a wash and repeat of some vinegar dipping. It's not rubber or the vin would expand it. Looks all plastic. Never sawed one in half, but I've shaken the larger black plastic, for a better name, a micro filter? Fine rust came out of the end of the one I was diagnosing.

So if it runs that bad down the road, it's more like the black cartridge. And that comes with unit complete only.

Leave a tank without gas fulled to the top, it invites condensation. That's rust build, gets washed away, falls to the bottom, filter has to keep those injector holes from clogging. The gas at the pump can filter so much.

Good Call.

Well I've been experiencing some decreased performance and saw this thread. The other day my bike dyno'd at 185HP with full exhaust/sprint filter/ecu flash, and the tuner said that his dyno was conservative but other ZX14R's pulled numbers of 192-196HP with similar mods on his dyno. So after reading this thread and countless other discussions in other forums on the clogged/black fuel filter that's known to happen on these bikes pretty early in its life, I decided to pull the tank and install a new fuel filter that i purchased months ago and never got around to installing it. After I installed it I took it for a quick brisk ride and now the front end comes off the ground easily when hammering it in 1st-3rd gear! The filter was in bad shape and I can only assume that it's the original fuel filter (I'm the second owner)which the bike now has 29K miles on the clock. Going forward I will make it a ritual to change out the fuel filter whenever I swap out the spark plugs, or even sooner since per the SM it should've been inspected/changed at 15K miles...long over due.

Here's a pic of the filter that I pulled out of the fuel pump.

* Last updated by: siroht on 8/12/2023 @ 9:52 PM *

I'm not sure if I remember correctly but isn't this the pre-filter? The main fuel filter is a permanent, non-removable part of the fuel pump, isn't it? I could swear I remember seeing pics of Romans where he sawed through the fuel pump housing to reveal a seriously delapidated permanent filter.

I’m not sure Rook, but I do know that I had to disassemble the entire fuel pump to get to the filter which was located at the very bottom of the fuel pump. I’m pretty sure that if it was another filter of sorts in the pump I would’ve seen it.

BTW… another plus from changing the fuel filter is that my temps are running 10-15 degrees cooler! I always scratched my head about the elevated temps but contributed it to the front end being lowered and the radiator not getting enough air flow. She definitely pulls on the top end now where I believe it was being starved of fuel.

* Last updated by: siroht on 8/13/2023 @ 8:25 AM *

Nice Siroht. Is there anything you can think of that's caused your filter to get so dirty/clogged? As hub said, storage habits can cause some issues but only you know if it makes sense that or some other issue is the cause?

I thought about checking mine, bike just hit 25k miles. I don't really feel any performance issues, but I did after my last plug change, so I would say if there's any degradation like you experienced it might be noticeable once remedied.

Vic-

I'm the second owner and took possession of the bike @14K miles, and it now has 29K miles on it. I'm pretty sure that it was on its way out or completely shot when I purchased it @ 14K miles(@15.2K it needs to be changed per the SM). I've been riding it for over a 1 1/2 years thinking that I was riding a Beast. Only and only because I took it in to get it dyno tuned after I installed a new full exhaust last week and it dyno'd very low(185HP SAE). The very next day the shop owner called me to tell me that he just finished dynoing another ZX14R with similar mods and he managed to get 196HP SAE out of it. He said something just wasn't right with my bike and that maybe it was time for a "refresh"(his exact words). It also explains why he had to add more fuel to get the AFR in line.

I started my research and I ran across numerous discussions on the net specifically related to the ZX14R and dirty fuel filter performance issues. One specific discussion stood out to me where a guy with a brocked out 14R with only 8K miles on the clock dyno'd in the low 190's no matter how much fuel his tuner added. While at the dyno his tuner eventually tracked his problem down to a dirty/clogged fuel filter and they cleaned it out since they didn't have a new one on hand, but when they put it back on the dyno it measured in the low 200's HP. This sounded exactly like my issue so this is when I pulled out the new fuel filter that I had stored away and changed it out, took a ride and I immediately felt the difference. Unfortunately I won't know my new dyno numbers because it's too expensive to go back to have it redone. I'm pretty sure I picked up a few more ponies just from this change alone, which only cost me $8 and 1 hour of my time.

Forgot to add that now I feel what I felt like slippage while in 4th gear and hammering it at 8K rpm’s. Since I ride with TC off I immediately thought that my clutch was showing signs of going out, so I turned TC on and repeated it over a few times and the TC bars lights up at the moment when it feels like it's slipping. The RPMs increase and the speedometer rises in speed while this is happening. Usually if a clutch is slipping the RPMs rise but the speed doesn’t correspond with the rpm increase.

Anyhow, I just ordered a new clutch kit to err on the safe side. I imagine that now that the bike isn’t starving for fuel it’s now spinning the rear tire when hitting the throttle aggressively at that RPM range, plus needing a new rear tire doesn’t help the situation either…lol

* Last updated by: siroht on 8/13/2023 @ 9:59 AM *

Nice. I'll definitely be checking my fuel filter this off season.

Unfortunate on the clutch but you're doing the right thing.