u/ItWasGoingWellUntil

~27k miles.

Owned for 20 years.

Never laid down.

This morning I started the bike and it idled for a few seconds and then died.

Gave it some throttle and it would start and seemed to rev OK, but as soon as I let off the throttle, it would die. To get it to start again, had to give it at least 1/4 twist.

I thought air filter might be plugged (happened once before), but that wasn't it. Even with no air filter, still struggles.

I filled the tank earlier this week and have put about 35 miles since. I was originally thinking bad gas, but maybe not. I'll probably drain the tank anyway and try some fresh fuel.

It smells rich, or at least very stinky.

I checked battery voltage when it was running at about 4k rpm, it was sitting a little above 14v.

A few times this summer, when cold starting, it seemed inconsistent. Sometimes it would idle a little low, but never died.

No FI light.

I haven't had a chance to look at it too much other than the air filter and voltage.

We're getting towards end of riding season in MN, but would like to figure it out before winter storage.

Some things I plan to check.

Fresh fuel as mentioned.

Fuel flow test

Vacuum hoses.

Plugs (only about 7k miles on them)

Thoughts?

I've owned my Gixxer since 2006 with about 400 miles on it, currently a bit over 25k miles.

It seems like cooling system is struggling a bit more as it's aged. It's not overheating.

Sitting in traffic or at a stop light, temp rises to 220 and fan kicks on, completely normal. It'll rise up to 225/6 and slowly come down to 220 and just sit there, not dropping down. Today was 85F out and bounced between 221 and 222 while the fan was running.

Highway speed, she'll sit at 180-185 no problem.

I feel a good amount of hot air being blown out from the fan.

I've noticed this over the years and seems to be slowly getting worse. Way back, I remember the system being able to pull it back down to 210, even in hottest weather.

A couple years back I flushed cooling system in order to clean it out because I felt like it wasn't cooling great, but that didn't change anything.

Since it comes back down to 180 on the highway, I dont think its the thermostat.

I looked at the front of the radiator today and doesn't look like many fins are bent and looks pretty clean.

I might pull it apart and clean cooling system this weekend, but thought I'd see if anyone has thoughts.