Hi all,
I have an '87 600 F1 with 26xxx miles on the odometer, not sure how many are actually on the motor, since it's a replacement.

I bought a new battery last spring and it ran good for a while but after a few hundred miles the problems started. The charging system doesn't seem to be recharging the battery good enough. After a few hours of riding the bike will just randomly die at idle, and then won't start again because the battery is too low (fuel pump won't work). I have to hook the bike up to a battery charger after every ride if I want it to start again.

When the bike is idling the battery shows 13.1 volts. Is this too low? Can somebody point me in the right direction as to what the problem could be?
Also what size batter (amps) should I be using?

I have a parts motor that I can pull things off of, I just dont' know what to look for. Thanks in advance.

 

The regulator/rectifier is a common problem on this model. If your battery was fresh off the charger it looks like you would be reading battery voltage at 13.1. If you rev it up to 5000rpm it should rise to 14.8, much higher than that and it will cook batteries.

 

mine cut out at idle a couple of days ago. my problem was the negative connection at the battery was loose. so after i tightened it i had no issues. also with the cable loose it seemed not to charge the battery. just a thought. good luck

 

Thanks thrasher, I'll look into that when I get the bike running again (it took a dump on me on my way home from work yesterday )

darryle, I also had that problem last year and tightening it worked for a while, but I made sure it was tight this time, so that's not the problem.

 

another shot in the dark, but the battery i had issues with was a walmart battery. but if yours is not a walmart batt then i would go with thrasher's advice, he helped me with my charging issue a few months back.

 

Here's the wiring diagram from the 89 an 90 F1's. It might be a little different but it could help. I think at home I have the diagrams for your yr too but i'm not home right now so idk for sure. I would say if your having trouble with keeping a charge and its a new battery/not from walmart, then its probably something in your wiring system like the regulator/rectifier or the alternator or even a bad ground connection. Any of these things can hinder the charging cycle. But I'm not an expert so my advice /(what has really worked for me at least) is to call up all your local bike shops an tell them what you've done an see what their professional about your problem is. Hope this helps a little.. and here are those diagrams...

-Dylan



https://cbrforum.com/forum/attachmen...4&d=1267995367

https://cbrforum.com/forum/attachmen...3&d=1267995352

 

to check the alternator, the stator wires come out of the right side engine, up to a plug by the airbox under the gas tank. check the resistance between any two of the three yellow wires, it should be below 1 ohm. check all of the wires, in any combination.

at the same connector, the wires continue to the voltage regulator, test the other three yellow wires. any two should be less than 1 ohm.

at the 4 wire connector, check for battery voltage between the red/white wire and green wire. leave it connected, go in through the back.

 

If at idle you get 13. 1 and at 3 - 5k you get 14.5 volts, it isn't the charging system (unless it goes way higher).

I would look to the battery and connections first.

KongBastard