Just bought my 2015 yesterday. The dealer filled it up but I don't know what kind of gas it was. I had a 72 mile trip home and really babied it in my opinion. The first time I decided to go over 65-70 I was in 6th. and gave it about half throttle and it spark knocked pretty bad. I tried again a few miles later with the same results. Pulling on to my street 70 miles in I took off from a stop light and gave it a little throttle in 1st gear and at about 6k it did the same thing. I was reading on here that alot of you run 87 and 89. What in the world did they put in mine that would cause this? I bought a M109r and Ninja1000abs from the same dealer in the past year and didn't have this problem with either. Also should I add octane booster or just baby it another 100 miles and run this tank almost dry and fill up with good stuff? Thanks in advance for the help!

I'm fairly sure my bike had some knocking early on. To this day I'm not certain if it was related to fuel or wear. Honestly it seemed mostly related to fuel. I switched to E0 91 and the knocking subsided.

Also note these bikes cam chain tensioner is rather noisey. It can sound a lot like piston knocking. It could be getting ready to adjust and this is all your hearing. Early on this freaked me out a bit as occasionally it would sound like I don't know, someone through some nuts and bolts into the engine and it was boucing and pinging around in there. Since early on, geesh, I can't even think of the last time this happened from the first few thousand miles (just hit 17k today).

I dunno but if I were in 6th at 65/70 miles per hour, I would roll the throttle on . I may be wrong but sounds like you went to half throttle in one fast move..Coming from my ZRX, I am not use to the 6th gear which almost feels like an overdrive and teh first time I grabbed a handful in 6th at legal speed, I did not like the way it felt so after that I switched to feeding the throttle instead of slamming it..
May not have anything to do with your situation, just saying that was/is mine..??

About the 1st gear thing, I dunno?

* Last updated by: chrly on 6/5/2016 @ 5:13 PM *

Thanks. I think I will just baby it for the rest of the tank then put in 91 or 93. Then if it still makes the noise it probably isn't spark knock.

Post up with your results.. I am on the west coast and am a bit concerned about east coast fuel later this year( if my trip plans out).

FAr as I know, the cam chain noise will only be heard at idle. Mine did it until I installed an APE tensioner. It only rattled for 9 seconds at start up and that's similar to what I have alwats heard reports of for loose OEM tensioner. The noise seems to be probably related to oil circulation which should become normal soon after starting.

I don't think I ever had a performance issue or strange noise whacking the throttle open at 65 mph in 6th gear. With stock gearing that's about 4000 rpm. That should be wound up plenty to do anything you want with the throttle.

Hope it's bad gas. 1/2 throttle at 70 mph in 6th gear is light duty. You're going to want to play a lot harder than that. I'd contact the dealership. They certainly should have test run the bike thouroughly enough to detect this.

* Last updated by: Rook on 6/5/2016 @ 5:53 PM *

Could be clogged fuel filter.

 https://zx14ninjaforum.com/messages.cfm?threadid=DA5870E9-0EB1-1F1D-45E083385E9D06C2

* Last updated by: Rook on 6/5/2016 @ 5:56 PM *

They didn't test ride the bike. They just heat cycled the engine and brought it out of the service bay onto the showroom floor. I took it from there with 0 miles on it. It sounds just like spark knock I have heard in cars before. I too hope it is bad gas. They pump gas from an outside container so who knows what they use.

I will call them in the morning and ask. If it is bad gas should it add octane booster now. It has 72 miles on it so probably has around 3 gallons in it or just run it easy and finish this tank off and fill with good gas. I don't mind riding mildly for 200 miles it will force me to baby it and break it in.

Mix with highest premium... NOW!
Baby the throttle.
Do not exceed 4,000 rpm for the first 600 miles.

Signed,
You'll thank me later kind of advise.

Hub, a station a mile away from my house has Turbo Blue racing gas at the pump. Pretty sure it is 110 octane. What about putting that in?

OH--this is a brand NEW bike!. Well, no way a fuel filter would be clogged. My bet is bad gas.

Check up on octane boosters. several years back this topic came up and the consensus was that they were worthless. If you really want to boost octane, syphon the tank as low s you can and fill with premium. If that doesn't work, report to the dealership.

Just fill it up with 91 and due as Hub suggest. Follow the break-in procedure.

http://www.turboblue.com/products_4
You're stuck with; 100 'clear' unleaded to be safe.
Couple of points:
Lead ~ Loads up the cat honeycomb sooner.
ChemRe ~ Some race fuels need to be removed after racing. That's tank, lines, carbs, injector rails, etc., nor can't get it on your hands, breath it in kind of handling instructions.

ChemRe still is all about formula. From costco to changing to shell gas, I have seen the valves being cleaned off by the chemical reaction they use, chemically speaking. I'm a believer in chemRe. I'd change gas stations and try shell or chevron premium. Matter of fact, was at an event giving product away so I'm running it now. It's an injector cleaner. Gas wise, or when it burns, I can't tell who has smoothed out? I've changed the rear tire and the bike rides smoother, but for it to run smoother, I can't decipher which enhanced whom?

As far as octane booster, it's still some formula [to find]; that will address the ping/knock. That too has a chemical that likes to swell rubber, decompose the coating off the injector magnetic coil winding and render that useless. Research the chemRe that does eat injector bodies, then find that chem on the label and put it back on the shelf.

That, or putt with a good known premium. Kinetic = Extra HP is we have a Ringer! Okay, the bid for the block begins at 3 grand. Do I hear 2,300, hey! budda-budda, gimme 2 thirty five, gimme five-five-five.

Spoke to the dealer this morning. They said it was 91 octane but it was a fresh tank so possibly bad. He agreed I should at least top it off with the highest octane pump gas I could find or buy a good octane booster and put it in. He said if I had a way to do it siphon out the gas and refill with good gas. He also said let him know when I got it fixed and send him a bill for the booster or gas and he will mail me a check. He said if it doesn't fix the issue bring the bike back to him and let them check it out. I honestly think it is bad gas being that it is a brand new bike. thanks!

I would not touch the bike. I'd ride it out. That fuel in the tank had some sweet smelling japanese type fuel the factory uses. Remember too, this is a 2015 leftover with that kind of gas in it, in the injectors and how much did it clog or send a questionable mist out of the holes?

I see no problem with an ounce of injector cleaner to an ounce of booster to 5.8gal. I'm playing out a 6oz bottle and that says to pour it into 15gal. I just use 2oz to each tank full. So here I'm going to pour about 2gal back in the bike with an ounce to that top off.

And you are not under heavy load as you wick it up, are you? That's a high gear, low rpm, WOT [heavy load] kind of moves. Best way to knock/ping an engine.

Hub, I would say that it was high load when I gassed it at 60 in 6th. but it shouldn't have been at 5k in 1st. So what is the final decision? lol. Ride it out slowly and below 4k? Add booster to the existing gas? Add premium to existing gas? thanks for the advice. Also it was 91 outside that day which didn't help

* Last updated by: Palmer812 on 6/6/2016 @ 11:34 AM *

yes, high load in 6th. not really high load in your 1st gear pull. ASAP I'd add some octane booster AND top it off with whatever the highest grade 91-94 octane fuel you can get. Ride it EASY until you do, and test it carefully listening for ping after its got better stuff in the tank.

OR - to be honest, if you can - siphon that crap outta the tank and use it for your lawnmower or something. If its bad enough to ping at 5K in 1st; its crap.

and I wouldn't mess with the 110. Its leaded, and as stated can cause the cats to foul sooner plus can do a job on the plugs.

* Last updated by: rod442 on 6/6/2016 @ 11:44 AM *

This is a 2015 but was it crated or a floor model? If it was crated, it wouldn't have old gas in it unless they put old gas in it. That's one vote for octane booster. I still remember a lot of people saying it wont turn ordinary gas in to gas that is safer for boost....s do your research.

Seafoam fuel stabilizer is powerful stuff. Use it as recommended which is one oz / gallon of gas. I would not go stronger. Undiluted Seafoam will eat delicate metal. Seafoam will remove condensation and stabilize fuel plus cleans the whole fuel system. I use a small dose about every other fill and 1 oz/gallon for storage.

OR - to be honest, if you can - siphon that crap outta the tank and use it for your lawnmower or something.

She was in the crate still

If you can trust your dealer , call him and ask if anyone else has reported a problem possibly linked to their gas.

If you can trust your dealer

There are occasions where good relationships exist.. I know it is not the majority but I think you can blame most of todays' situation on the liability issue today.. Very sad, but I am lucky enuff to have a dealer who tries his best and pretty much, with me anyway, tells it like it is..

I trust them completely. I have purchased 4 biked from them and they have been awesome to deal with. They told me to send them the receipt for new gas or booster if I purchase any. I would never actually do that but it is cool that they are willing to do that. When I got to the dealer Saturday they took me back to see the bike and it was in the crate still with the side off. He was installing the battery then going to check the fluids, gas it up, heat cycle it and pull it onto the showroom floor. I don't think they did anything wrong. It is probably just bad gas. They said if gas didn't fix it to bring it back and they would fix whatever it was.

Sounds like a decent shop.. Glad they want to work with you...Keep us posted ..