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I think my NC700X is dying - major loss of power

pmjones79

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Hello All
I have a 2012 NC700X that I use everyday (except extreme weathers). I have looked after it as best as I can. I try to resolve all issues as they arise but this week I have encountered a problem that I cannot solve.
I was taking my regular commute to work (about 13 miles) when I there was a drop off in speed and power. I was travelling at about 60mph and the bike slowly dropped off to 50mph. I pulled over and looked for anything obvious. Nothing jumped out as obvious. So I attempted to set off on my way.
Unfortunately, when setting off the bike had lost a lot more power now and struggled getting above 30mph.
The bike seemed to lose all torque.
I had to get recovered and my bike has been in my garage since.
I have been trying to investigate various things. I have checked and replaced the spark plugs but no change. I even went back to the old plugs and it is still the same. I have checked the battery and it is great (not very old). I have stripped all the plastics off to get to and test the ignition coils. The resistances I am getting on the primary and secondary side of each are identical.
I have spark test device and when I plug that into the spark plug lead and fire it up I have a strong/long spark across it.
When I start the bike it starts fine. Before it starts I hear the fuel pump prime. It appears to rev fine and steady. I put it into first and it still sounds fine. When I attempt to pull off the bike makes all the right noises but pulls off at a snails pace with no torque. It won't even ride up my very shallow ramp into my garage.
I don't want to just throw money at it, mainly because I cannot afford to do that.
I am swaying towards a fuelling issue. Something like a fuel pump/filter or injectors. I am not getting any fault indications on the dash/clocks though.
I wanted to ask you lovely people on here if anyone has experienced a similar issue and if so, how they rectified it.
Thank you in advance.
 
Thank you for that super fast reply.
I had not considered the clutch at all.
When I release the clutch lever the response is there so I didn't consider that.
I will look into that next though.
Thanks again.
 
We have seen a few NCs have fuel pumps go bad, but the symptoms are intermittent sputtering and loss of power, or a no start condition.

I agree with others that that a worn clutch is a possibility. First make sure the clutch cable is adjusted properly. One way to verify a worn clutch is to ride in a high gear with a load, like up a hill. Gradually increase throttle and watch the tachometer. If the engine RPM increases on the tach, but the ground speed does not, the clutch is slipping.

If you are trying to go up your driveway and experience a loss of power, does the RPM increase like the clutch is slipping? Or does the RPM remain steady and the engine just has little power?
 
Thank you 670cc
The clutch seems responsive.
I would try riding up a hill in a high gear but the bike has so little power that it struggles to ride into double figures on the flat.
When I try pulling into my garage I give it some throttle, like I normally would, the revs seem normal on the dash. However, the bike doesn't respond as it should even if I do give it a handful.
 
Fuel delivery; clogged filter bad fuel pump? Did you ride recently with an almost empty tank where dirt in the gas tank could clog the filter?
 
My bet is on a blocked fuel filter, or filters.

Fuel pumps tend to have two filters, a coarse intake filter to keep bigger debris out of the pump pickup and a fine filter to stop less dirty outlet fuel being delivered to the fuel injectors. The coarse filter is obvious but the fine one is often built into the outlet side of the pump.

Workshops will often suggest replacing the whole pump assembly but usually just the filter parts can be replaced. The labour cost of dismantling a pump may be more that the cost of a new pump.
 
If trying to go up your shallow ramp in whatever gear, and you twist the throttle and it barely goes, and the engine rpms climb and sounds like it should be going but it's not, then it would be a clutch problem. But the OP's description doesn't sound like a clutch problem. Sounds like a fuel or air restriction to me. Sounds like engine rpm's are not climbing when it begins to lack power. Sounds like he's describing the engine is not making power like it should be.

How many miles on the bike? Have you checked the air filter and air box area? It may be necessary to put a new fuel filter on it and see if that fixes it. And even if it doesn't, it's good that you have a new fuel filter regardless, and they shouldn't be terribly expensive. Also could be fuel pump. 3 things an engine needs to make power, fuel, air, and ignition. Sounds like you've already got the ignition sorted, now go over the air and fuel system.
 
Thank you 670cc
The clutch seems responsive.
I would try riding up a hill in a high gear but the bike has so little power that it struggles to ride into double figures on the flat.
When I try pulling into my garage I give it some throttle, like I normally would, the revs seem normal on the dash. However, the bike doesn't respond as it should even if I do give it a handful.

If the clutch seems to be grabbing well, then I would look at fuel delivery. The only fuel filter I know of on the NC700X is integrated in the fuel pump assembly, which is inside the fuel tank. Access to the fuel pump requires removing the fuel tank, which then involves removing a lot of bodywork and hardware. It’s not a simple task but it’s doable. The fuel pump assembly from Honda is not cheap, but you may be able to get the pump itself as an aftermarket part.

There is probably a method for testing testing fuel pressure and fuel flow rate. A service manual would be required for details on those test procedures.

When you pulled the spark plugs, did they both appear exactly the same color? Uneven color might indicate a problem with one fuel injector. A fueling problem, but with both spark plugs the same color might indicate a fuel pump or fuel flow problem.
 
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I don't have any solutions, but I do have a service manual for a 2012 X if you want. It's digital, so we could make a plan to send it electronically

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I was going to reply but TacomaJD mentioned everything I was going to say. The only other question is this? Did you get gas at a different station or fill up shortly before this problem raised its ugly head? Maybe everything is fine and you got bad gas or gas with water in it. Did you fill up at a gas station where a tanker truck was unloading fuel? If the station doesn't clean their tanks regularly the off loading tanker can stir up sediment and if their filter didn't catch it all it can clog your fuel filter. I would drain the tank and put good fresh gas in it before I tore the tank out.
Also, I too am curious about how many miles are on your bike and when was the air filter last changed. Although air filters usually don't have such a pronounced change. Usually they are a slow loss of power over time.

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Reading through your original post, I suspect the bike may be running on just one cylinder. You already checked spark delivery and even tried new plugs (a good first step), so let's check fuel delivery and compression next. But, before we dive too far, let's make sure to cover the basics. You said the bike runs and sounds fine at idle with no load on the engine. Given that info, let's run the following checks:

Start the bike let it run at idle for a bit. While it is running:
Do you notice anything peculiar or that seems off from normal?
Is the check engine light on?
Do you hear any abnormal hissing or whistling near the throttle body?
Do you hear any strange clunking or grinding noises near the valve train?
If you blip the throttle, does it struggle to rev up and does it quickly return to a smooth even idle speed?
Check air and fuel delivery by running the engine at a fast idle speed for a bit. Is it able to maintain fast idle under no load?
After running at fast idle:
Do you see anything smoking or smell anything strange?
Does one cylinder appear to be significantly hotter than the other?

Let us know what you find out, I'll check back later.
-Saturday
 
You said the bike runs and sounds fine at idle with no load on the engine. Given that info, let's run the following checks:

I'm no mechanic but if you think it might be running on 1 cylinder, I'd think it wouldn't be running and especially sounding fine at idle and when revved in neutral. There's a pretty clear sound distinction between 2 and 1 cylinders firing.


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Looks like access to the fuel pump and it's filters on these bikes is even more difficult than assess to the inaccessible air filter. Blimey!

Concern about tank internal rusting has prompted me to take the following measures to minimize the risk:
Try to refill the tank just before arriving home after a long ride so that the tank will have as little moisture-laden air as possible it for the moisture to condense into liquid water.
Every couple of weeks dose a full tank with the recommended volume of UCL.
Every few months add a half-cup of methylated sprit to a full tank so the meths will pick up any water and run it away during combustion.

One of the biggest concerns when buying used bikes, but especially old ones, is the risk of internal rust which can be difficult to spot. Even tanks made from coated steel can suffer from crevice corrosion where the tank top and bottom are joined.
 
This is going to sound super dumb, but here goes:
When I experienced that, my rear tire was flat.

Okay, my other thought is a blocked air filter or intake.
 
My ST1300 acts exactly this way on a cold morning. It has no power until it begins to warm up. It is older fuel injection technology than the NC as my NC seems to have full power as soon as it starts.
My guess is that a temperature sensor or some other sensor is having a problem and telling the computer wrong information and therefore the fuel injection is cutting back on the fuel (too lean) or dumping too much in (too rich).
By your description it doesn’t sound mechanical. I would think a fuel pump or filter issue would cause a drop in fuel pressure and would cause hard starting and noticeable hesitation or stumbling in the engine when running.

JT
 
Thank you all so much for all your amazing replies.
I have so many things to check.
I have swapped the plugs back to the old ones. Unfortunately no change.
I have ordered a kit so I can perform a compression test on the cylinders.
Whilst I wait for that I will take off the tank and clean in. I will also look into a new fuel filter/pump.
When I electrically tested the ignition coils I checked the air filter/cleaner. It is a washable K&N filter. I gave that a clean even though I only did it a few months ago.
I will check the revs too regarding the clutch.
Thanks again
 
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