2008 Brute Force 750 Lost Power

[Erik Plug]

Hi all,

 

Picked up my first Brute Force yesterday. What should have been an awesome afternoon of riding turn a bit into a deception. As I was unable to really take it out for a test drive at the shop, I decided to buy it and agreed that I would take the test drive at home. 

When giving full throttle I noticed that the Brute was choking and lost all of its powers. Faulty fuel pump most likely. 

Called the shop and the are coming to pick it up and repair it and bring it back. Good service. Nevertheless feels a bit sour in the mouth as I was told it was a 100% good. 

Need to have some patience I now before I can really start riding. 

Cheers,

Erik

[Ajmboy]

Did you get it back from the shop?

[Erik Plug]

No, not yet. In the North of Sweden there aren't many Kawasaki dealers and they would like to put on the original fuel pump so they are waiting for the pump to come in, at least that was last week. Am going to call them today or tomorrow to check upon the status. 

They said that they were going to make me a good deal for the inconveniences, wonder what they come up with. 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Erik Plug
Typo

[Ajmboy]

Good luck, hopefully you get it back soon!

[Erik Plug]

Spoke to the shop this morning. Their mechanic could not find the reason for the loss of power. Apparently they also had someone in that told them it was not the pump for sure. How they tested and what they couldn't answer.  Basically they gave me three choices. 1. They take it back and the buy will be undone. 2. We search for a different machine, they buy it and bring it to me. 3. I buy it as is with a discount and get my hands dirty myself as I am a mechanic too. 

Option one I consider only if we can not find a satisfying solution.

As for option two, have seen a 2009 Polaris sportsman 550 XP that could be a possible replacement, do not know anything about that machine though. 

Option three, I have a strong feeling that it is the filter inside of the fuel pump as been covered many times on fora and YouTube videos. All symptoms are the same.  Loss of power under full load and backfiring. Question is, is it worth taking the risk or would I be better off with the Polaris?

Please share your thoughts.

[Ajmboy]

Option three depends on the discount. How much of a discount? 

Sportsmans are good machines, lots of people have them but do a search to check out some of the topics: https://www.quadcrazy.com/search/?q=sportsman&quick=1

[Erik Plug]

He spoke of a discount of around $1000. 

[MarkinAR]

Take it back.  The Brute Force 750 has a fairly well known issue with dropping valves around the 1300 hour mark.  When it drops a valve it ruins one of the cylinders, piston, valves.  They are great bikes until they aren't....and then they are very costly to rebuild.

[Erik Plug]

On 5/8/2020 at 3:42 PM, MarkinAR said:

Take it back.  The Brute Force 750 has a fairly well known issue with dropping valves around the 1300 hour mark.  When it drops a valve it ruins one of the cylinders, piston, valves.  They are great bikes until they aren't....and then they are very costly to rebuild.

Take it back as back to the shop? The machine has just gone over the 300 hours so the 1300 hours issue is still far away for that matter.

I am starting to get some doubts about an other machine as for those it is also unsure what the actual quality will be or how well it is maintained so to speak. 

Maybe it is the mechanic in me that just can't stand it when a machine doesn't work as it should and I need to fix it. 

Maybe it is that I have a long term relationship with Kawasaki although it was with racing motorcycles.

Sleepless nights about making this decision.

[MarkinAR]

Understood. I've had a bunch of Kawasaki Bayous and those were great but that 750 is a whole different animal. My oldest sons buddy bought a couple of parts bikes because he keeps bending valves, timing chains stretch, etc. They are extremely powerful and run great until they break. Then they're a money pit. Maybe though my sons friend runs his hard too and they just don't do as well in mud and water. 

[Erik Plug]

I think that any machine, regardless of brand, will break down when riding it too hard. Some guys here that are having reindeer as cattle are burning up ATV's and snowscooters like every two years as they ride very rough.

Mostly I will be using the machine to go fishing, works around the house and for training our 4 dogs. Hard riding will be very occasional if at all.

[Erik Plug]

Update on the situation: Received a phone call today from the shop that they found it difficult to find a replacement machine. The seller from the earlier mentioned Sportsman didn't want to lower his price that it would more or less match up the price of the Brute.

All other machines advertised are also not in the neighborhood of the Brute or I should be satisfied with a Chinese one. 

Have bargained on the Brute to take it as it is and arranged a $1200 discount plus a new set of ITP Mudlite XL as the tyres are in need of replacement.

The Brute will be delivered back to me this week and I will start on the repair myself. Of course will keep you up to date on that.

[Ajmboy]

@Erik Plug sounds like you got some good discounting. Good luck with the repair!

[Erik Plug]

So it took a bit longer before they were delivering it back to me. Their mechanic first wanted to deliver it to me in parts but obviously I would not except that. 

Finally got it delivered this morning, after my work in the forest I took it to the workshop to start the repair and see what they actually did.

To my biggest surprise they haven't touched the fuel pump at all. A thick layer of clay and mud gave that away. How can you start diagnosing a fuel pressure related issue without checking the item that provides the pressure. Shoot me, I have no idea what he has been looking for. 

Took the fuel pump out and "popped" the screen which is in the middle section of the pump. Cleaned it all out with compressed air and brake cleaner. Put it back together and all problems were solved. It has got its full power back and runs perfectly fine. 

Two hours of work and that was it. Has probably been one of the easiest repairs I have ever done. 

Hopefully my tyres come in next week and after they arrived I will give an update to the shop. 

On the photo you can see how the machine was standing in their workshop. If anyone has a clue what their mechanic was looking for, please share. Second photo taken just a few minutes ago while out driving. 

Cheers all!

[MarkinAR]

I'd say don't take anything to that shop again. It seems they were trying to throw parts at it without an actual diagnosis. That's lazy and incompetent. Glad you got it fixed though, good work.