If I pull in the clutch when holding a steady throttle,
in 1/2 the scenarios (gear, speed, acc, decelerating)
pulling in the clutch has the idle dive instead of
climb, that is incredibly annoying.

I'm telling you Strat, I can't remember ever hearing about this situation with any ZX-14 of any year except yours. Clutch switch activation with controlled rpm first suggests launch control or two step. If your ECU hasn't been flashed, I don't believe flashing it will address the issue. I know you reported that Ivan states that his flash addresses fuel cuts but a fuel cut would be something that was programmed to happen while the bike was under power. That's the reason for fuel cuts and timing restrictions. These things are meant to make the bike slower so the average rider has less chance of riding the bike out of his/her skill zone and crashing. There is no reason for a fuel cut while the clutch is disengaged except possibly to discourage proper downshifts which defies logic. ...on top of that, no other ZX-14 except yours has ever done this...at least not that I have heard of. Ask other owners: "does your ZX-14 lose rpms when you hold the throttle open and pull the clutch lever." I think you have a basic electrical problem/mystery on the bike. Something is being activated by the clutch switch.

I'm going to have mine flashed buy someone that actually
owns or owned this bike and isn't a cut n paste flasher

That would be wise. Ivan has owned a number, I'm sure and tuned many hundreds more. I think the Schnitz family has been in racing since at least the 80s. Between them, I'm sure they owned a few ZX-14s because that's what they used to race. Chris Moore is another great choice being that he races and tunes and owns ZX-14s. There's all kinds of sneaky little things that are used to restrict the bike and if you don't turn to a tuner who knows them, They wont be resolved.

Yeah, I wouldn't mind having 7 gears for traffic,
I was referring to 0-60,if I had the fastest
quickshifter available and was expert-level with it
given a 0-60 scenario;
1) 2nd gear straight to 60
2) 2nd gear, 3rd gear, 4th gear, and or 5th gear to 60
The power curve for my bike is pretty linear up through
the point I'm hitting 60 in 2nd, my contention is
that I'm going to hit 60 significantly quicker
with option 1, as opposed to a few ms pauses and
power drops by spending time in 3, 4 and maybe 5th gear.

You can hit 60 in 1st gear. I haven't tried it with the new bike but I'd go WOT on the Gen2 and 60 was about where the front wheel would lift up and it was time to shift pretty darn soon. The Gen2 can't be that much different. I'll race you if you start in second and I think I'll win! A shift takes less than a tenth of a second. If you're not raing, it's understandable if you'd like to limit the effort put into operating the bike. Start in second, rev up to 3000 rpm and do a double upshift if you want. It will work but it won't be fast. What works is getting intothe power zone as soon as possible and staying there.

---

You can hit 60 in 1st gear. I haven't tried it with the new bike but I'd go WOT on the Gen2 and 60 was about where the front wheel would lift up and it was time to shift pretty darn soon. The Gen2 can't be that much different.

I have yet to actually attempt a full/throttle
run with this bike, I've hit it quite hard but
don't think I'm ready to just pin it. :smi
...and I hadn't even really thought about it
till reading your comment. double lol.
I'm probably at close to 3/4 throttle so far,
not really sure, but I know I've never just
pulled it back all the way.
---
My contention was starting in 2nd ,two matched riders,
and I still would guess it's very likely since the
torque curve through to 60 is pretty linear, so
stopping in between to shift even 15 ms is going
to take time off the eta.
However, I also might add that if I were to come
out of 2nd at 4k rpm and rev to 10K and pop the
clutch that might make up for the lost 15ms, during
the shift at 4k but just a guess.
----
I had an excellent conversation with Ivan yesterday,
that confirmed the issues that I've been trying
to convey here, the injectors stop injecting when
backing off the throttle which he called throttle-cut
and is what I'd been reading about for a couple
months prior to getting this bike and experiencing
for myself first hand with the bike.
The other issue is jerky on/off throttle,
coupled with time lag or latency in throttle response,
which he also confirmed and added that spooling up
the throttle or injectors is why there is that back on throttle
lag, there is no fuel, and that fuel takes time to
be turned back on.
I notice this glaring issue in 25 to 30 mph turns,
while I'm doing drills, it can be overcome, but
will be so much smoother, reliable, and better once
I get that taken care of.
One thing noteworthy also is that these occurrences or issues
are not readily noticeable everywhere at every speed,
for instance some bikes, maybe even mine will not
show these cuts at higher speeds, the ecu is not
programed the same linearly throughout the rpm, gearing
and speed ranges.
One way I can at least get around the throttle drops
during gear changes it to shift really hard, really
fast, which so far works well, but if someone messes
up, I'm sure there will be damage, so I'm very careful
or mindful when using that process.
But there isn't a way to avoid the on/off jerkiness
in corners with the way my ECU is currently programmed,
or the OEM program that is loaded in it from the factory.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 12/9/2025 @ 3:50 PM *

Ride the bike a year and get to know it. Take a straight road. It takes about 80 feet. Here's how they told me to do it: Roll up to about 5000 rpm in first gear, roll off fast, let the front suspension settle for one second, snap it open 100% and hold it. The front will lift up. My 08 did it around 55 mph and it was just before redline. I never had the balls to keep it going into second gear. You roll off quick but not abruptly, and it drops back down nice and easy.

But there isn't a way to avoid the on/off jerkiness
in corners with the way my ECU is currently programmed,
or the OEM program that is loaded in it from the factory.

OK, get the Ivan flash. If that reduces the on/off throttle jerkiness, problem solved. I just never experienced any such jerkiness with my Gen1 or my gen2. Gen1, small throttle, low rpm, no throttle response. Already enumerated several times over. I hope your flash solves it for you. I never heard of anyone else complaining about it. If the Ivan flash works for you I'd like to hear about it. You'd be fixing a problem no other ZX-14 has though. ...but if it works for you, that's the only thing that meatters.

---

I just never experienced any such jerkiness with my Gen1
or my gen2. Gen1, small throttle, low rpm, no throttle response.
*Already enumerated several times over*.

True as did I with my issue on this, 'many times over',
you're response was also that no one else has this issue
which is certainly not the case, and why I continued
with numerous additional citations (For future readers).
There are also ZX14R throttle-cut issues discussed
on youtube regarding the emissions related
throttle-response throttle-cut,
that share the experiences of the same issues
that I'm having, and other owners discuss the
same issues in those comment sections.
I also mentioned several times that GSX S1000F owners
have the same even more glaring issues,
and 1/2 of those owners get flashed as one of their
first orders of priority.
--
It's an emissions issue, and for readers, I don't
want them to be lead into thinking it is not emissions,
and it that doesn't exist,
as I've been told several times here,
it definitely is an emissions feature, programmed
into the ECU.
Not everyone is ever going to notice the difference
between a fuel-cut nor the
on/off throttle time-lag (latency), and jerkiness,
due to the fact in part,
that it doesn't occur under every scenario,
and not all riders ride in a manor that requires
perfectly smooth transitions or throttle response,
of which could be expected and delivered prior to
emissions regulations taking precedence over,
or overriding the best performance characteristics
that would otherwise be available.
---
Per Ivan; when a flash is done the throttle response
will be akin to that of a carbureted bike, in other words
the Emissions 'Inspired' Fuel-Cut,
written into the ECU is eliminated, and the on/off
throttle 'latency' due to injector shut off to spool-up-time
also will be eliminated.
---
I understand that your bikes have not exhibited these
issues, and that's great, I wish mine were the same.
--
As I've mentioned a couple of times, my '04 gold wing
has similar issues to a much lesser extent, my
'09 Electra Glide was flawless, NO fuel-cut anywhere
that I could find,
my carbureted dirt bikes are also flawless in throttle response.

Ride the bike a year and get to know it. Take a straight road. It takes about 80 feet. Here's how they told me to do it: Roll up to about 5000 rpm in first gear, roll off fast, let the front suspension settle for one second, snap it open 100% and hold it. The front will lift up. My 08 did it around 55 mph and it was just before redline. I never had the balls to keep it going into second gear. You roll off quick but not abruptly, and it drops back down nice and easy.

Yeah, I'm not sure I have the balls to full throttle the bike in first,
yet.
Like you say, ''give it a year'' yep, that sounds about right, I've
put about 3000 mi on the bike so far, I probably need
10k or more before trying it.
I think I mentioned that I hadn't gone full throttle yet on the bike,
but I'll make a note of that today and test it to try
and confirm whether I have or not, I'm sure I haven't done
in first or 2nd.
When going full throttle yourself, do you ever or have you ever taken it
straight to redline in whatever gear you may be in at the time,
which gear/s?

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 12/10/2025 @ 4:10 AM *

True as did I with my issue on this, 'many times over',
you're response was also that no one else has this issue
which is certainly not the case, and why I continued
with numerous additional citations (For future readers).
There are also ZX14R throttle-cut issues discussed
on youtube regarding the emissions related
throttle-response throttle-cut,
that share the experiences of the same issues
that I'm having, and other owners discuss the
same issues in those comment sections.
I also mentioned several times that GSX S1000F owners
have the same even more glaring issues,
and 1/2 of those owners get flashed as one of their
first orders of priority.

All I've heard of here is secondary flies restriction and that is fixable with a flash. It ws a major complaint among 06-07 owners.

When going full throttle yourself, do you ever or have you ever taken it
straight to redline in whatever gear you may be in at the time,
which gear/s?

Sure, a few times. I was close to redline any time I did a first gear wheelie and I hit the limiter occasionally. Second to third gear shifts, I hit the rev limiter sometimes. Probably not shifting from third to fourth gear because you're going pretty fast at that point and I'm not so eager to accelerate as fast as possible anymore.

Another tip for wheelies, sit up as much as possible. If you flatten down, you're not going to wheelie without the clutch.

---

Another tip for wheelies, sit up as much as possible. If you flatten down, you're not going to wheelie without the clutch.

Right, makes sense.
---
Let me ask you about full throttle again,
not applied to wheelies , just full throttle period,
are you literally saying you pull the throttle
to full-stop-OPEN? What gears do you do this in?
---
I messed around just a little bit with this today,
and realized that I haven't even been close to
full throttle on my bike in any gear yet, I mean
I've accelerated like a banshee often, where I've
just about slid off the back of the seat, but I
don't think anywhere near Whiskey throttle or
full-lock-open throttle.


---
I guess if I was checking top speed of this bike
I'd eventually open it to full throttle, but I
don't know if I'll ever get the balls to just
crack that sombich FULL OPEN unless at the
end of a top speed run, where there is plenty of
resistance.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 12/10/2025 @ 4:42 PM *

I have Kawasaki conventional oil
and filter coming from amazon,
and have almost 3500mi since I last changed
with the same, am I way over on miles,
at 3500?
I believe I read on this forum or the other one that
zx forum that
conventional is less caustic on the seals
or something else related to the trans
or engine, than synthetic?
---
Conventional changes 3k mi max
Synthetic up to something like 7k mi?
Smoothest shifts with OEM conventional?
I would use synthetic for the longer
change intervals but don't want to be
doing that if Conventional is better
for the bike.

Let me ask you about full throttle again,
not applied to wheelies , just full throttle period,
are you literally saying you pull the throttle
to full-stop-OPEN? What gears do you do this in?

With my Gen1, I did it in any gear, Yes 0% throttle to 100% wide open all the way to the stop as quick as you can. The bike won't kill you, if the conditions are poor (turns in the road right ahead, deer, police) that might cause a huge problem. Try it in sixth gear when you're cruising at highway speed. When you're used to that, try it in 5th, 4th, 3rd. 2ng gear, you're going to shit your pants for sure so you need to work up to that. First gear, you're going to do a wheelie. I suspect the Gen2 is going to wheelie a few thousand rpm lower than the Gen1 did and possibly in second gear too. You'll be safe in the higher gears although I don't think you're going to wind it up to the peak rpms. You'll be going fast as hell at that point. Higher gears, no wheelies but lots of other hazards at that speed. You can feel whacking the throttle to 100% in 6th gear safely. Look at my video on the other thread. It's not that big of a deal. You choose when to roll off. No drama. I just don't want to encourage you to go 160 mph. That's your choice. I can tell you, shit happens real fast at 70 mph. Go fast on a track where it's safer and I'd suggest using an old bike. Hell take your dirt bike to a small track. I saw some people riding pieces of shit. One guy rode a beaten oil burner that couldn't go fast All he cared about was the corners. Back to WOT on the 14, you can do it, just start in the higher gears and use common sense. Also be aware, you are pretty likely to get stopped by a cop the longer you do it. If you learn it faster than your luck runs out, you'll be doing it in first gear where you're not breaking the speed limit but there's still more than enough reason for a cop to come after you. The balance is that first gear wheelies take about 80 feet and 2.5 seconds where 6th gear WOT, eats up a lot of road fast. The more time and space you move through, the more chances there are to encounter other things existing there.

---

With my Gen1, I did it in any gear, Yes 0% throttle to 100% wide open all the way to the stop as quick as you can. The bike won't kill you, if the conditions are poor (turns in the road right ahead, deer, police) that might cause a huge problem. Try it in sixth gear when you're cruising at highway speed. When you're used to that, try it in 5th, 4th, 3rd. 2ng gear, you're going to shit your pants for sure so you need to work up to that. First gear, you're going to do a wheelie. I suspect the Gen2 is going to wheelie a few thousand rpm lower than the Gen1 did and possibly in second gear too. You'll be safe in the higher gears although I don't think you're going to wind it up to the peak rpms. You'll be going fast as hell at that point. Higher gears, no wheelies but lots of other hazards at that speed. You can feel whacking the throttle to 100% in 6th gear safely. Look at my video on the other thread. It's not that big of a deal. You choose when to roll off. No drama. I just don't want to encourage you to go 160 mph. That's your choice. I can tell you, shit happens real fast at 70 mph. Go fast on a track where it's safer and I'd suggest using an old bike. Hell take your dirt bike to a small track. I saw some people riding pieces of shit. One guy rode a beaten oil burner that couldn't go fast All he cared about was the corners. Back to WOT on the 14, you can do it, just start in the higher gears and use common sense. Also be aware, you are pretty likely to get stopped by a cop the longer you do it. If you learn it faster than your luck runs out, you'll be doing it in first gear where you're not breaking the speed limit but there's still more than enough reason for a cop to come after you. The balance is that first gear wheelies take about 80 feet and 2.5 seconds where 6th gear WOT, eats up a lot of road fast. The more time and space you move through, the more chances there are to encounter other things existing there.

Excellent tips.
If going wot from 6th gear for a short burst,
we're looking at a rolling start of about
maybe 70mph?
5th gear, 50 or 60mph,
4th gear 40 to 50mph roughly?

Look at my video on the other thread. It's not that big of a deal.

Which thread?
I have a freeway nearby but most of us
rarely use it cause we have everything here
that we need locally but this could solve
two issues for me, freeway for obvious go-fast
riding but also very smooth by comparison to
getting to a twisties section that I like, taking
the freeway could be a good alt to the
terrible tar snake , natural speed bump hwy
that leads to it.
----
By the way, I mentioned that most of my
upshifts are clutchless now, and today I was
starting to actually get my downshifts
working clutchless here and there, down to 3rd gear,
coming along ok, to pretty good.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 12/10/2025 @ 5:46 PM *

Stratovarious - If you haven't heard about and tried the Gearing Commander site (https://www.gearingcommander.com/) ... it's free ... it lets you enter your bike's make / model / year, hit Load Bike Gearing to pull up the bike's relevant gearing data, you can change gearing / tire sizes / circumference etc if you want in order to see the effects of changing sprocket sizes, tires, etc. Below I'm just pasting a screenshot of one of the charts they provide which shows the all-stock ZX14R's speed per RPM in each gear all the way past its 10,600 RPM redline. Notice that in 1st gear the bike's doing 72 mph at redline You can do Zero to 60's without even changing gears

* Last updated by: extrapolator on 12/11/2025 @ 12:02 AM *

---

Below I'm just pasting a screenshot of one of the charts they provide which shows the all-stock ZX14R's speed per RPM in each gear all the way past its 10,600 RPM redline. Notice that in 1st gear the bike's doing 72 mph at redline You can do Zero to 60's without even changing gears

Super cool chart, and thanks for the link to gearing commander.
What's it like shifting to 2nd at 60+ mph?
I notice that when hitting 60 out of 2nd going into 3rd,
I usually just click up twice to 5th and then slide it into 6th,
and cruise, that's around town when I want to 'leave'
the traffic behind, once in a while.
Something that Rook mentioned that I have to keep in mind
is that a cop can come after me/us , just for accelerating
'too' quickly, I guess that would be bordering on
exhibition of speed, I'd thought 'exhibition of speed'
was just related or attached to wheelies, and over the speed limit
being just plain speeding, but I can see the logic
there now.

I just had mine flashed by Ivan's Performance Products in New York. I have had Ivan do a couple of Z900RS bikes that I had and the difference was night and day. Most significant, he gets rid of the fuel cut. This makes the throttle a lot more friendly and smooth. Everything else he does maximizes the performance of the bike. He actually buys bikes and uses them as a test machine for his tunes on his dyno. I would not trust anyone else to do my ECU flashes.

I am VERY HAPPY with the ZX14 flash, as power is noticeably improved, smooth throttle response, and even noticed the fuel Average MPG going up while I was riding at 80MPH on the freeway. When I got off, it was showing 41.9 MPG Average.

Ivan is a very nice gentleman who is more than happy to answer any questions you might have...give him a call...I think you will be very pleased.

I just had mine flashed by Ivan's Performance Products in New York. I have had Ivan do a couple of Z900RS bikes that I had and the difference was night and day. Most significant, he gets rid of the fuel cut.

Thanks,
Yeah, I'd talked to Ivan a week or two ago,
having looked at his 'bullet' points
and reading many comments related to ECU Flashing
for this bike, I'd made my mind up that Ivan
would be my go-to for getting mine flashed.
Ivan is the only one that addressed the issues
that I'm looking to get remedied.

I am VERY HAPPY with the ZX14 flash, as power is noticeably improved, smooth throttle response, and even noticed the fuel Average MPG going up while I was riding at 80MPH on the freeway. When I got off, it was showing 41.9 MPG Average.

My average always comes out to abut 36, though actual between
fill ups is about 30, due to slow speed drills and
'spirited' or enthusiastic acceleration.

Going 80 steadily, a couple weeks ago my 'Current' was showing about
44mpg.
I've seen 50mph on many occasions at about 55mph, no wind, no grade.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 12/22/2025 @ 5:21 PM *

I had mine flashed. The drivability difference is amazing. It's just so smooth now and feels better.

---

I had mine flashed. The drivability difference is amazing. It's just so smooth now and feels better.

Cool, I'm looking forward to having mine flashed.
---
Welcome to the forum!

Yeah, man, welcome to the forum!

I'm considering MaxxECU instead of a flash. The Maxx is really expensive but it opens up possibilities to do all kinds of things over and above the typical flash. Right now, I believe the typical flash covers everything a street bike with basic mods needs. I don't think my new 14R requires any more but it would be a part that could be swapped over to a second Gen2 that I will turbo. That will need it. If I understand it correctly, the MaxxECU plugs inline with your stock ECU. Really, it just seems like extra weight on a bike with basic mods. The only advantage would be that the stock ECU remains stock. danmin is the resident expert on this. I'll have to talk to him more before going ahead with it.

---

MaxxECU

Looks interesting, I find gen1 I think, didn't find
gen 2 yet.
I'm not having luck finding a second ECU for my bike
I really don't want to flash my oem ecu, I want to
keep it pristine, as a baseline and security in case
my OEM is lost as has happened, in transit,
mainly cause my particular ECU is a White Elephant,
I can't find one that is a definite, and
correct replacement.

If youre worried about something going wrong with your ECU, EBay will have ECUs you can buy to have flashed, preserving yours. My understanding is that 2012-2015 use the same ECU, 2016-2025 use the same ECU. But I may be wrong about the 2016+ models.

If youre worried about something going wrong with your ECU, EBay will have ECUs you can buy to have flashed, preserving yours. My understanding is that 2012-2015 use the same ECU, 2016-2025 use the same ECU. But I may be wrong about the 2016+ models.

Right, and I've seen some with some pretty good prices.
Unfortunately, my bike was apparently sold in or through
a Calif dealer, they call my bike a One-State bike, being
that it has a different model ECU than the other 49-state bikes,
so there's supposedly a one state ecu, and a 49 state ECU.
The part number for my ECU is 21175-0839 ZX14R
I'm told emphatically by some sources that that ecu model is the only
model that will work for my bike.
I have yet to find one, still looking.
Thanks for the input.

I have an ECU being shipped to me, if it works,
or is compatible, I'll
send it off to Ivan.

I hope it works for you Strat.

---

I hope it works for you Strat.

Thanks, I'll post back once it gets here.

---