2018 Honda CRF1000A

MOTORCYCLE LOSES POWER INTERMITTENTLY WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY, SPUTTERS AND STALLS. DEALERSHIP STATES THERE ARE NO ISSUES AND THAT THERE IS NO FUEL CONTAMINATION WITHIN THE FUEL TANK. THE MOTORCYCLE CANNOT BE TRUSTED DURING PASSING MANEUVERS AS INTERMITTENTLY IT WILL SPUTTER AND STALL OR NOT HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO COMPLETE THE PASS. WHEN SLOWING DOWN AFTER THIS OCCURRS THE MOTORCYCLE OFTEN CANNOT GET ABOVE 2,000RPM OTHERWISE IT WILL BEGIN TO SPUTTER AND THE MOTOR WILL NOT RUN UNDER LOAD WITHOUT STALLING. TYPICALLY, TURNING THE MOTORCYCLE OFF AND LETTING IT SIT WILL ALLOW THE MOTORCYCLE TO RESTART AND RIDE REGULARLY FOR A WHILE BEFORE THIS OCCURRS AGAIN. THE DEALERSHIP STATES THEY CANNOT REPLICATE THE PROBLEM.

MOTORCYCLE ENGINE DIED WHILE RIDING ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY. BIKE SLOWED DOWN QUICKLY AND I HAD TO MOVE OVER TO THE SHOULDER QUICKLY. AFTER A FEW MINUTES I COULD START THE BIKE AGAIN BUT THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES ON MY WAY HOME. I FOUND THAT THE FUEL PUMP IN TANK IS STARVING, RESULTING IN STALLING OF THE MOTORCYCLE. PRE FILTER AND FILTER IN THE TANK FUEL DELIVERY MODULE ARE CLOGGED WITH GREY FLAKES. FLAKES SEEM TO BE CORROSION OR COATING OF TANK WELDS. I CLEANED THE TANK AND INSTALLED A NEW PRE-FILTER AND COVERED THE ENTIRE FUEL DELIVERY MODULE IN A FILTER TYPE SOCK TO PREVENT FUTURE ISSUES. I PURCHASED THIS BIKE NEW IN JULY OF 2019 AND THE BIKE HAD ABOUT 6,000 MILES WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURRED.

THIS IS THE KNOWN, DIRTY FUEL TANK WELD SEAMS ISSUE THAT ONLY AFFECTS THE LARGER, ADVENTURE SPORTS MODELS. THE MATERIAL ON THE SEAMS FLAKES OFF AND CLOGS THE FUEL FILTER AND FUEL PUMP. IT IS A FERROUS, WHITE DUST. THE FACE BOOK GROUPS DEVOTED TO THIS MODEL ARE FULL OF PHOTOS AND DESCRIPTIONS FROM MANY, MANY OTHERS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS ISSUE AND MY DEALER HAS DEALT WITH THIS BEFORE, I CAN PROVIDE MANY, MANY LINKS TO FB POSTS WITH PICTURES DOCUMENTING WHAT IS IN THE TANK WHEN THIS OCCURS. THIS OCCURRED AT 4,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. I WAS ATTEMPTING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC AT 10MPH AND WHEN I APPLIED A MEDIUM HIGH THROTTLE AT 2,200 RPM, THE BIKE BUCKLED LIKE YOU WOULD EXPECT IN AN OUT OF GAS SITUATION AND I LOST POWER WITHOUT THE ENGINE TURNING OFF, BUT I HAD OVER 3 GALLONS IN MY TANK AND FROM THE BEGINNING, HAVE BEEN USING ETHANOL FREE 85 OCTANE IN THE HOPES OF AVOIDING THIS ISSUE. WHEN I WAS ATTEMPTING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC, MY APPARENT ACCELERATION AND THEN A SUDDEN SLOWDOWN WITH NO BRAKE LIGHTS ALMOST CAUSED SOMEONE TO HIT ME! I THEN HOBBLED THE BIKE HOME WHILE STAYING OFF THE HIGHWAYS. IT NOW WILL ONLY ACCELERATE UNDER LIGHT THROTTLE. [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

2018 HONDA AFRICA TWIN ADVENTURE SPORTS. AT 1,750 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE, I DISCOVERED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF WHITE SEDIMENT IN GAS TANK DUE TO WELDING SLAG IN THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS. THE SEDIMENT ENDED UP CLOGGING UP THE FUEL FILTERS AND STOPING THE FUEL PUMP. THIS RESULTED IN THE MOTORCYCLE BEING STARVED FOR FUEL AND NOT RUNNING. I WAS STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

FUEL TANK LINER IS RELEASING FROM THE TANK WALL AND SEAMS. THIS IS CAUSING THE FUEL FILTER TO CLOG FAST AND PREMATURELY. THIS ALSO CAUSES STRESS AND WEAR ON THE FUEL PUMP FROM BEING STARVED OF GASOLINE. WHICH ALSO CAUSES THE MOTOR TO CUT OUT AT 4K RPMS. THIS IS DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO PASS OR AVOID ROAD OBSTACLES. THIS HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT TO WHERE SOMETIMES THE BIKE NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN AND LET FUEL TO INFILTRATE THROUGH THE FILTER TO RESTART AND COMBAT FUEL STARVATION. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. *TR

WITH 3,000 MILES ON THE MOTORCYCLE THE ENGINE SURGES WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AND HAD A LOSS OF POWER. UPON RESEARCH, I FOUND SEVERAL ARTICLES DESCRIBING FUEL TANK ISSUES ON THE HONDA AFRICA TWIN ADVENTURE SPORT (ATAS) MODEL. I REMOVED THE FUEL TANK AND FOUND CONTAMINATION IN THE FUEL PUMP AND THE FUEL FILTER. CONTAMINATION CONSISTED OF WHITE FLAKY MATERIAL (LOOKS LIKE DANDRUFF) AND SMALL BITS OF DARK POWDERY METALLIC FLAKES. AN INSPECTION OF THE FUEL TANK REVEALED NO OBVIOUS BREACH OF THE TANK LINER INTEGRITY, HOWEVER THE WELD SEAMS APPEARED TO HAVE A WHITE DISCOLORATION IN THE SEAMS. THE MATERIAL COLLECTED AT THE FUEL PUMP APPEARS TO BE DUE TO LEACHING OF THE WELD SEAMS ON THE AFRICA TWIN ADVENTURE SPORTS (ATAS) MODEL. AFTER I ALLOWED THE FUEL PUMP FILTER TO DRY OUT - I VERIFIED THE DARK POWDERY METALLIC FLAKES WERE FERROUS MATERIAL ( I USED A MAGNET TO VALIDATE FERROUS CONTENT). MY CALL TO HONDA CORPORATION VERIFIED THERE WAS NO RECALL OR NOTICE REGARDING THIS ISSUE. HONDA CORP. WAS COURTEOUS AND WOULD ONLY RECOMMEND TAKING THE MOTORCYCLE TO A DEALER. *TR

THE FUEL TANK HAS A GREY MATTER THAT IS FLAKING OFF AND CLOGGING THE FUEL STRAINER, FUEL FILTER AND MOST LIKELY DAMAGING THE INJECTORS. THE BIKE STALLED WHILE TURNING IN A BUSY INTERSECTION ALMOST CAUSING A ACCIDENT. I CLEANED UP THE FUEL PUMP, FILTER AND STRAINER BUT WITHOUT A PROPERLY BUILT TANK THIS PROBLEM IS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN. THE BIKE HAS 7,873 MILES ON IT. *TR