What is acceptable?

[Seeker]

I have just popped back into the Z900RS forum - they are still arguing about the bike's twitchy throttle (it can be severe on some bikes). The gearbox clunk conversation pops up occasionally (and the 2500 rpm cold idle speed - which can be easily fixed with a washer).

There is one US poster that says the twitchy throttle can (only) be cured by reflashing the ECU (£250-£300 in UK). He says it's the fuel shut off feature when you close the throttle that causes it. I'm sceptical because my Z900RS (a 2020 Euro4 bike) didn't exhibit it, but a 2022 Euro 5 demo bike I rode was horrendous. Some believe it is the TPS setting but, meanwhile, the discussion rumbles on (heatedly at times).

When I had the bike I posted that we were making too many "allowances" for what, in the UK, is a pretty expensive bike (£11800 ish). I got shot down but I didn't consider the bike's behaviour acceptable so I traded.

I know bikes are a compromise, they have to fit a lot of people but how much would you expect to do (or spend) to a new bike to make it acceptable? I think an ECU reflash is too much.

[Craig380]

I'd love to ride one to see how I find it. When I got my first SV, I found the initial throttle opening and transition from neutral throttle to acceleration took me a day or so to get used to, because it was so instant compared to other bikes. And of course the engine braking .... I was arriving at corners slower than I intended because it was so fierce compared to my previous experiences (I still hardly ever use the back brake as a result)

But after I'd dialled myself into it, I was fine. And to me, the instant response of the SV is part of what makes it such fun to ride.

I suppose having been brought up on 60s and 70s bikes that needed the rider to make large allowances for their foibles (crap suspension / poor & erratic brakes etc), I expect to have to adjust my riding to the bike, it's perhaps part of the bike's 'character'. If the bike's character annoyed me, I'd sell it and get a bike that clicked better with me.

[admin]

My VFR had a very on/off throttle. Only really noticeable at slow speed and tipping into a corner on a closed throttle. I assumed the ECU was cutting the fuel as a emission control.
I think one of the Euro emission regulations stipulates that fuelling is minimal on a closed throttle, just enough to keep the engine running. This causes more problems for smaller engines and a headache for manufacturers. Remember how bad the reviews were for the Yamaha MT09 when it was first released.

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[Seeker]

One line of thinking on the Zed forum was that it was the individual's perception ie what is twitchy to one person may not be to another. This is why I chimed in because I have ridden 3 Z900RS and this particular time I rode mine and the demo back to back so I could maybe explain the difference better.

The demo model was impossible to ride smoothly at 20-30mph on a bumpy road surface, you lurched across it with each minor movement of the twistgrip making a (relatively) large change in revs.
I had ridden the same road with mine without any issues.
This issue goes back to the 2018 model and is still a talking point on current models.

[admin]

I would have thought you could tune the throttle action on bikes with fly-by-wire twist grips as there is no direct link to the throttle bodies.

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[Seeker]

Originally Posted by admin

I would have thought you could tune the throttle action on bikes with fly-by-wire twist grips as there is no direct link to the throttle bodies.

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The Z900RS isn't ride-by-wire and owners have tried adjusting it out on the cables unsuccessfully.


Not having had diplomatic training, in an earlier thread, I had posted that the Zed was only 90% finished when Kawasaki decided to release it. Turns out there are some fiercely protective owners out there.

[Sir Trev]

You do have to get used to a vehicle, that's for sure. The Tiger Sport 660 I test rode earlier this year felt very odd at slow speed but I might have gotten used to it if I'd bought one. And my wife's mild hybrid Focus has pretty harsh regen braking at stop start speeds, making it quite uncomfortable in road works or jams, especially with me driving it on the odd time I get to do so (my Focus is a torque converter autobox so smooth as silk in comparison).

People do get set in their opinions on faults or accessories. Just putting up a query about screens on a Trumpet forum I'm on gets lots of back and forth about buffeting and wildly different experiences. Get this one, no that one....

[Biker Biggles]

Kawasaki had issues when they swapped from carbs to Fi in the early 2000s with snatchy throttle response. I rode a carby ZX9R which was smooth as silk and a mate bought a new Z 1000Fi. I thought it was barely ridable at town speeds despite having the same engine. Similar problems at Yamaha when they "upgraded" the Fazer 1000 carby to the FZ1 and ruined a great bike. Maybe they never quite perfected smooth throttle responce.

[admin]

I never had any issues moving from the carb'd curvy to the pointy with fi but then it wasn't a closed loop system with a cat and nox sensor. The VFR was a closed system and it was a bit on/off at low speed.

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[Craig380]

The Gen 3 SVs (at least my 2017 model) has a cat and O2 sensor, and the throttle response is the same as my previous K6 pointy was, i.e. sharp but predictable.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that for the Gladius, Suzuki fitted a new throttle cable pulley on the throttle-body end that had a slightly less aggressive profile than the Gen 2 bikes to soften the initial pick-up from a closed throttle. Don't know if they carried on using it on the Gen 3 bikes.