Has Suzuki figured it out?

Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;

Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how does that work?

If the stator supplies power to the injector while kicking, what if the kicker doesn't kick hard enough - does it flood the engine? 

I have never owned a bike with fuel injection that wasn't electric start or had a battery so just really curious how the Suzuki bikes actually work. Thanks

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OwenJakes
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sebree, KY, USA
5/19/2025 6:59am
Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how...

Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;

Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how does that work?

If the stator supplies power to the injector while kicking, what if the kicker doesn't kick hard enough - does it flood the engine? 

I have never owned a bike with fuel injection that wasn't electric start or had a battery so just really curious how the Suzuki bikes actually work. Thanks

They came out with fuel injection before anyone else had it. 2010 I think? I hope they get it figured out one day. 

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10
5/19/2025 7:03am
Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how...

Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;

Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how does that work?

If the stator supplies power to the injector while kicking, what if the kicker doesn't kick hard enough - does it flood the engine? 

I have never owned a bike with fuel injection that wasn't electric start or had a battery so just really curious how the Suzuki bikes actually work. Thanks

OwenJakes wrote:

They came out with fuel injection before anyone else had it. 2010 I think? I hope they get it figured out one day. 

I should have added a fuel pump has to be involved for an injector to work. Just seems a lot of power would be needed to energize a fuel pump and an injector. Obviously they have a stator system that does this with a kicking of the engine?

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AH387
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Bridgeville, PA, USA
5/19/2025 7:35am

EFI was on the RMZ first in 08. As far as EFI without a battery, I don't know the ins and outs of how it works, but there were several other bikes that did that, for a few years. My old '14 YZF as an example. I felt like that bike sometimes would start 2nd kick from cold, 1st when warm. And other times it needed several kicks to start (hot or cold.) I feel like the Suzukis have always been that way as well, but I could be wrong. I hadn't noticed any real change with them on that front though. 

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Alex814
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5/19/2025 8:04am

A lot of people forget the Japanese 4 strokes were EFI with kickstart for about 10 years. 

19

The Shop

5/19/2025 8:07am

I'm guessing like an EFI snowmobile. You'll never start one 1st pull; 1st pull is the charge the ignition.

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5/19/2025 8:13am

I'm guessing like an EFI snowmobile. You'll never start one 1st pull; 1st pull is the charge the ignition.

My RMZ starts first kick most times

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Bearuno
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AU
5/19/2025 8:14am

Suzuki use a Capacitor system, I think.

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EAmato88
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5/19/2025 8:18am Edited Date/Time 5/19/2025 8:22am

Condensor/capacitor has entered the chat.... A capacitor is basically a battery, it is a device that charges and holds a small amount of energy. Enough energy to fire the fuel pump and injector when needed until the engine runs

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wreckitrandy
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Granite Falls, NC, USA
5/19/2025 8:36am
Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how...

Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;

Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how does that work?

If the stator supplies power to the injector while kicking, what if the kicker doesn't kick hard enough - does it flood the engine? 

I have never owned a bike with fuel injection that wasn't electric start or had a battery so just really curious how the Suzuki bikes actually work. Thanks

OwenJakes wrote:

They came out with fuel injection before anyone else had it. 2010 I think? I hope they get it figured out one day. 

Oh no... Not again!! Tell him Ringo!

Sandusky26
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5/19/2025 8:47am
Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how...

Don't see Suzuki riders kicking and kicking like several years back. A few questions for people in the know;

Suzuki has fuel injection but no battery how does that work?

If the stator supplies power to the injector while kicking, what if the kicker doesn't kick hard enough - does it flood the engine? 

I have never owned a bike with fuel injection that wasn't electric start or had a battery so just really curious how the Suzuki bikes actually work. Thanks

OwenJakes wrote:

They came out with fuel injection before anyone else had it. 2010 I think? I hope they get it figured out one day. 

Oh no... Not again!! Tell him Ringo!

Round 3 lets fuckin go

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1
Zycki11
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5/19/2025 9:07am

Suzuki had Fuel Injection first of all OEMs in 2008.  The bike uses a small capacitor just like every other manufacturer before batteries took over. The first kick in the manual says to do it slowly to get power to the system and then you can kick it over.  Loved my 09 RMZ 450 but the trans was soft and 3/4 was sketchy and would find false neutral a lot. 

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5/19/2025 1:37pm
Zycki11 wrote:
Suzuki had Fuel Injection first of all OEMs in 2008.  The bike uses a small capacitor just like every other manufacturer before batteries took over. The...

Suzuki had Fuel Injection first of all OEMs in 2008.  The bike uses a small capacitor just like every other manufacturer before batteries took over. The first kick in the manual says to do it slowly to get power to the system and then you can kick it over.  Loved my 09 RMZ 450 but the trans was soft and 3/4 was sketchy and would find false neutral a lot. 

Thank you for that never knew of such a thing. The down voters apparently knew all along.

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gt80rider
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Boulder, CO, USA
5/19/2025 1:45pm

Kickstart is farrrr superior to electric start, it's ridiculous the other brands are pushing it so hard. Suzi knows their 10 yr old bike is just as competitive as "new" bikes from the others. And Suzi sees all the money is in ADV/DS sales right now, so that's where they are putting their money. 

So yes, Suzi has a better head on their shoulders than most. 

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10
Falcon
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Menifee, CA, USA
5/19/2025 2:26pm

I remember the first model year with fuel injection had a 2-kick start procedure; one to charge something, and one to fire it up. They changed over to a capacitor system a year or two later and the two kicks went away. There was also a reconfigured ignition phase at one point (somewhere around 2012, perhaps,) wherein the spark plug would fire at every TDC and not just on the fire cycle. This was "for easier starting" as well, but I don't see how it helps. 

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R66
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Atlanta, GA, USA
5/20/2025 6:48am

Anyone ever see an old lawn mower that you crank a handle around, wind up a spring, and then flip a lever and it spins the motor over? I have said for years this is how dirt bikes should start. 
Kick the kick starter to wind up a spring that would automatically release and turn over the motor. Easy to kick, and no battery required. 

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plowboy
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Location
Norwich, KS, USA
5/20/2025 7:05am
R66 wrote:
Anyone ever see an old lawn mower that you crank a handle around, wind up a spring, and then flip a lever and it spins the...

Anyone ever see an old lawn mower that you crank a handle around, wind up a spring, and then flip a lever and it spins the motor over? I have said for years this is how dirt bikes should start. 
Kick the kick starter to wind up a spring that would automatically release and turn over the motor. Easy to kick, and no battery required. 

Genius. 

1
coopernicus
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Broomfield, CO, USA
5/20/2025 8:02am Edited Date/Time 5/20/2025 10:07am
Zycki11 wrote:
Suzuki had Fuel Injection first of all OEMs in 2008.  The bike uses a small capacitor just like every other manufacturer before batteries took over. The...

Suzuki had Fuel Injection first of all OEMs in 2008.  The bike uses a small capacitor just like every other manufacturer before batteries took over. The first kick in the manual says to do it slowly to get power to the system and then you can kick it over.  Loved my 09 RMZ 450 but the trans was soft and 3/4 was sketchy and would find false neutral a lot. 

ATK was the first OEM to use Fuel Injection in 1992 in the USA for off-road motorcycles.  They actually sold a lot of bikes back then.  The owner since 1993 (Frank White) was just interviewed by Jason Weigant on his "Exhaust" podcast (number 294) and posted on Amazon yesterday.

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