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I was riding my 2017 Husqvarna 701 Supermoto hard for about an hour today when all of a sudden the bike started losing power during hard acceleration. I first noticed it when I tried to power wheelie in 3rd gear and the bike refused to lift the front, which it normally does eagerly. I tried a few more times and it seemed to be getting worse. Finally it started making a sneezing/popping noise when I would snap the throttle and woudn't accelerate.

I figured that and air bubble might have found it's way into the fuel line due to me spending a large portion of the last hour with the front wheel high above the engine. I turned back home and took it easy for about a few kilometers, then tried opening the throttle aggressively to see if the engine would respond normally and it did... For a short while, then went back to sneezing and low power on acceleration.

I drove a few kilometers back home slowly, turned the bike off, lifted the seat to make sure that the air filter is mounted properly, fearing that I might have damaged the engine internals due to dust finding its way inside, but everything seemed fine. I tried starting the bike while it was still hot and it refused - the alternator would spin the engine but it wouldn't start.

The only other thing I noticed were a few drops dried up drop of coolant on the clutch cover, though the level in the radiator and the overflow reservoir was in spec and no warning lights were lit up on the dash. The bike heats up a lot at stoplights and in slow traffic and I have been caught in a jam earlier today (and most other days in fact) so I didn't worry about it thinking that some coolant leaked through the cap while the bike was hot and the fluid was under pressure.

I will take the bike to an authorised service to get it diagnosed, but I would like to know the range of possibilites for the fault to prepare myself for a rough cost of repair and to avoid being taken for a ride by the mechanics trying to sucker me into doing unnecessary repairs...

Thanks in advance.

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  • Why do so many questions on here assume mechanics are crooks - only there to bump up the job and do less for more?
    – Solar Mike
    Jul 9, 2018 at 21:14
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    All mechanics are people, some people are crooks. I'd rather be ready to spot a crook and be pleasantly surprised by honesty, then expect honesty and be taken for a sucker. Anyway, that reason is the least significant reason for my question - I mostly want to know what could be wrong and how much it will cost to fix, not being suckered into buying new blinker fluid is just a bonus ;)
    – Filip Kunc
    Jul 9, 2018 at 21:20
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    Add two large tins of snake oil....
    – Solar Mike
    Jul 9, 2018 at 21:24

2 Answers 2

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Turned out to be the fuel pump. It's getting replaced on warranty :D

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Check the colour of the coolant. Is it still green, or is it murky. I'm not familiar with your make and model of bike but on my bike, it tends to overheat whenever I hit traffic as the cooling system is dependent on me moving as to funnel cool air into the radiator. The fans just aren't large enough to funnel enough air through on its own.

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