Suzuki Motorcycle Fuel Pump Problems

When a Suzuki motorcycle starts fine but then lacks power upon running it, the culprit could be the fuel pump. Our experts weighed in on a viewer's question about lack of power coming from a Suzuki GSXR-1000.

John Talley and Garrett Sifford sat down for another Friday afternoon edition of Partzilla Live Q&A to answer a variety of motorcycle repair questions. Here's what Garrett and John had to say about a GSXR-1000 that starts fine but lacks power when it runs.

Suzuki motorcycle fuel pump repair

Suzuki GSX-R1000 Fuel Pump Problems

My 2008 GSX-R 1000 starts fine but when I give it the beans, it’s lacking in power. What might be causing that?

Garrett Sifford: Well actually the first thing I would check would be the spark plugs. The condition of the plugs can tell you whether or not they’re fouled out, because if you have a slight fouling on one or two plugs, it’s not going to let the engine rev out at all. That would be the first check, and then after that it could be a faulty fuel pump. If the fuel pump is not pressurizing the fuel properly, it’s not getting enough fuel for the spark, so it won’t rev out either.

John Talley: And when you’re doing the pressure test on the pump itself, you want to do a static one … But also do it with it running, and if you can get a load on the machine, like at a dyno … keep an eye on the gauge because I’ve seen fuel pumps lie to me before.

Garrett Sifford: If it is the fuel pump, whatever you do don’t buy an aftermarket one. Don’t buy one of those $20-$25 ones off eBay because chances are you may buy 6 or 7 before you get one that works. So it’s usually best to buy OEM. I know it’s a little bit more money, but it’s the cheaper way to go in the long run.