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Showing 5/6 Heat Bars and Randomly Not Starting

4K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  Chrispy 
#1 ·
Hi all, my new to me 2019 Ninja 1000 I bought with 650 miles is having a couple of issues.

1) even though it wasnt even that hot (it was like 85F and the sun wasnt out) the bike was at 5/6 heat bars many times in my last few rides. When riding its usually 3/6 or 4/6 but when I stop at a light it will shoot up to 5/6. Is this normal for this bike? I want to make sure I dont have an over heating issue!

2) maybe three times now, i go to start the bike and it stumbles like it starts for 1 cycle and then quits, i hit the started 2 or 3 times like this and then it starts. this sequence has happened maybe like 3 times since getting the bike. its not a huge thing but its concerning and considering the possible overheat issue, i mention it here incase it could be related.

Thanks
 
#2 ·
The heat is normal. Well, as normal as a modern, emissions compliant motorcycle, or car can be.

The emissions tests are a big deal. The bike can't be in and out of compliance once its past its warm up cycle. When the bike is idling, there is not much flow through the exhaust pipes. They need this flow to keep the cat hot, thus keeping emissions levels down. This means the engine is tuned to run as hot as it possibly can, when idling. Not really just for idle. The hit engine is more efficient, and runs cleaner. You will notice it does not overheat...the fan comes on, but it stays right below a point where it would overheat... awesome. Water cooling, and modern ecu technology let's them do this.

I dont think it's related to your start issue.
 
#3 ·
Thanks! This makes me feel a lot better because I was starting to worry the reason someone buys a 19 and puts like $3k in accessories and then trade in after 600 miles is because there is a gremlin. At least now I know that isnt hte heat situation.

If I replace the headers and elimate the cat in the process, and then g et a tune, it sounds like the bike might run cooler or that cant be changed in the ECU?

AS far as the start issue, this isnthing something that happens to a lot of people once in a while? its new to me on motorcycles I have owned.
 
#4 ·
For 17 up has anyone confirmed the 5 bars on days when the temps are 70 or lower?
I've noticed on my 15 that under normal cruise conditions when at speed my ambient to coolant temperature Difference is pretty close to 100 degrees farenheit. For example on a 70 degree day my temp gauge shows close to 170 when moving. On a 90 day close to 190. Now all that goes out the window if hiting it hard or in the city.

Also I've noticed on mine that if I'm just a bit to quick to get off the starter... say only holding it 3/4s of a second instead of a full second it will hit, stumble and then nothing. And if I go right back at the button it takes say 2 maybe 2 1/2 seconds to come to life. Not sure if thatz what your experiencing but maybe the info will help.
 
#5 · (Edited)
My 2018 has a similar hot-start thing going.

When the engine is cold, and/or it's not hot outside, all it takes is one button push and the engine comes to life. When it's hot outside and the engine is also hot and the bike sat there for a few minutes or more, that same one button push will start the engine and it cycles once then dies. When this happens, I push the starter button again but this time hold the button just a second longer or two than before. I find that this extra time that the starter spins the motor is enough for the engine to light up the other cylinders and keep it lit.

I'm going to take a guess that it has something to do with the Emissions, specifically, the fuel vapor charcoal canister. There is a vent line that sends fuel vapors from a hot gas tank to a canister under the front cowl (under the seat on older bikes). This canister is suppose to cycle those hot fuel vapors back into your engine. It's entirely possible that it's cycling too much back into your engine as it sits on a hot day on a hot engine. Sort of a minor "flooding" of fuel on that initial hot start.

When I had my Buell 1125R, it had a similar problem just worse. On a hot day and a hot engine, after sitting for less than 30 minutes, it was difficult to start. The hotter the day and engine, the more difficult it was to start. I had to literally hold that starter button for about 5 seconds spinning the motor until it lit up. The solution was to remove the Charcoal canister altogether and vent the gas tank directly onto the ground--the way old school ICE engines used to do it before the emissions sniffers were born. That solved that problem right away. This solution however can cause your bike to have a small puddle of gas under the vent hose after a hot day of riding. Not very safe.
 
#7 ·
My 2012 starts and dies after it gets hot, I think it’s a venting problem as I can open my gas lid and shut it and it will start right up when it’s hot. I think there is a rubber vent line under the tank that can get pinched as well as putting a 90 degree fitting in the rubber line to keep it from pinching
 
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#9 ·
A tune helps as they can lower the fan set point, and a after market header well remove the cats which is more then likely what your feeling on your right leg.
 
#10 ·
Like others have said, these two ‘issues’ aren’t of any concern. For the starting problem, try raising the idling RPM to about 1300, it should start and not stumble then.
 
#11 ·
That's why we loved Ivan's flash, on the older bikes. He dealt with everything we dont think of, or know about, regarding the bike running hot, at idle. You can't just lower the fan on point, and have that solve your issue. Switching out the exhaust helps, but the real solution is a comprehensive ecu reflash.

Lowering the fan on point is great, but the bike has been programmed to run hot. It still tries to do this , but now its fighting it's own cooling fan, in addition to everything else, if that's all that has been done.
 
#16 ·
I wish it were possible. My VFR800 gave me coolant temp in degrees and it was nice to know. Or maybe it wasn't so nice to know because I would OCD over it. I wasn't alone too because it was a topic of discussion among owners. I knew a guy who would fret over the 215 degree F he would see when riding hard on a tight twisty road on a hot day. He thought about reversing the flow of his radiator fans, putting a manual fan switch,....oh yeah the manual fan switch was a big thing in the VFR forum. VFR800 fan would go on low at around 215 degrees F, and then full speed at 220 degrees F. I suspect the N1k's fan does exactly the same thing.

If the engine ever overheats, it will let you know by shutting down.
 
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