Bad gas??
 

My 01 f4i sat for at least 6 months (probably more) and the battery died. I changed the battery and rode it short distances for a day or two and it seemed to work fine. It sat for another couple weeks and when I tried to start it again the fuel pump wouldn't prime. I changed that out and the bike will only start with a wide open throttle and it stalls at idle speed. It will stay running with some gas but as soon as you let go, it will stall. While revving it it seems like it is hesitating. When I changed the fuel pump the gas smelled funny and had an odd color to it. I thought that maybe the gas had gone bad so I drained the fuel (most of it, there was a very little bit left in the tank) and added fresh fuel along with some Sea Foam. That didn't seem to make any difference. I just took out the spark plugs and they are dirty but I don't know if they were dirty enough to be causing the problem. I figured I'd change them anyways. Could the gas have been bad and fouled something up as it ran? Just wanted to see if anyone may have any insight as to what my problem might be and how to fix it while I already have the bike apart. Thanks in advance for any help.

I would be looking at other problems than bad fuel. I'm not an F4i expert but it sounds like a throttle position sensor or something along those lines. I assume you changed the filter with the pump?

A bunch of people are going to argue this (hopefully it won't derail your thread) but 6 months isn't that long for fuel to sit. It certainly didn't get BETTER with age, but it wouldnt deteriorate to the point that it has caused major problems....

todays gas goes bad if it sits or 2 months or more

the bad gas can gum up your fuel pump and also will foul your plugs out because it doesn't burn as easily as new gas

also, look in your tank for any rust

X2 Id be checking out your entire fuel system makeing sure you dont have any clogged lines and id also be replacing the fuel filter and plugs if your pumps still not priming its a possibility you may have clogged the fuel pump and burned it out. oh and when you say your plugs were dirty what did you mean by that were they carbon fouled or oil fouled or what?

sry forget the burned pump idea forgott you swapped it already lol

Again - I don't want this to derail the thread but hopefully the OP can help to recognize if it is a fuel related problem or not.

That being said - If that was true I would be the most ****ed person in the world. My RX-7 routinely sits for MONTHS on end, and over a 16 month span during 06-08 I only put 7 miles on it. This year it sat for 4-5 months without being touched. Knock on wood it has never ONCE missed a beat or had even ONE problem (fuel related or otherwise).

My Boat (as well as thousands upon thousands of other boats) will sit for the next 7-8 months and will fire up without any issue come spring. Some years we have used stabilizer some years we have not.

My point is that after 2 months (or 6 months) fuel doesn't just gum up and wreak havoc. I still contend that since you have changed the fuel pump, and plugs, that you should be looking elsewhere....

ive had gas sit for 8 months and not had issue, however , if your bike sat where temps change daily, by 20~ or more degr. condensation will result, and if your fuel level was already low the ratio of gas and water could be too high. i would run starter in small incr. to get all remaining old fuel/water out of inject system, replace with fresh gas and more seafoam, and note , it will take alittle time to reprime system. be patient. JMO

i would check your idle set. maybe it needs adjusting because it's idling too low. is the idle where it normally is then die?? or does it putter down then die? because if the rpm drops too low, it's gonna keep stalling regardless of the good stuff you put in there. fuel wouldn't alone just stop it from running, especially after you have changed the fuel pump and plugs. good luck with it!

are you throwing an FI light at all?

>>My point is that after 2 months (or 6 months) fuel doesn't just gum up and wreak havoc. I still contend that since you have changed the fuel pump, and plugs, that you should be looking elsewhere....<<

Agreed. If it went seriously bad in two months, my pickup would never start. Neither would two of the bikes.

I think maybe a year, you might see some varnish. Varies with the part of the country, since fuel formulations vary.

--Paul