I got my F3 about 2 months agoan love it. But I have ran into my first major issue. I was riding on the interstate and my bike sounded like it was running out of gas. It was about time to switch to reserve though so I switched over, but it did nothing. It continued to die and I went to the side of the rode. From there it was a long time of not starting. It would crank and crank, but no start. The light come on and the battery is brand new. Go the bike back to my house and pulled the gas tank, gas flowed out on reserve and on "on". There were no signs that I noticed. It has ran fine the whole time I have owned it. The bike has 15,000 miles on it. I pulled a plug and it had some "what looked to be oil, possibly gas" on it. I wiped it off and it cleaned right up. I dont even know what else to say...ANY IDEAS???

 

First I would check to see if fuel is getting to the carbs. I had a similar issue with mine, and it ended up being the fuel pump. Make sure it's actually working, and also check the fuel fliter, it may be clogged.

My fuel cut off relay went bad, which turns off the power to the pump. You can check this easily, by either listening for the pump to prime itself when you turn the bike on, and by putting a voltmeter up to the leads on the pump (it should read about 14volts, or whatever your battery is at).

 

The pumps on the f3's dont prime, if they do they are not loud like other bikes. Runthe check with avolt meter. It does sound like your fuel pump though, or your fuel filter is clogged.

 

I can hear mine cut on, only when the petcock has been "off" overnight or something. I turn the gas on, turn the key and flip the kill switch. The fuel pump makes some noise then I start it right up. Maybe my pump is a piece?

 

hmm..it makes thw whiney noise like the FI bikes??

 

It kinda gargles... for lack of a better word. It doesn't have that high pitch whine.

If I leave the fuel off, and cut the bike on, the pump just gargles until the fuel is on and after a few seconds it's silent. It may just be dying, which would be uncool

 

I just joined and saw this. I JUST replaced the fuel pump on my F3 because the same thing happened to me. It could be the fuel circuit relay, or it could be the fuel pump. I assumed it was the relay and replaced that to no avail, so when I had eliminated that as the problem I pulled the hose to the carbs off and tried to turn the bike over, NOTHING came out of the fuel pump. Replaced the fuel pump and away she goes. Also check your fuel filter first as this is the easiest and cheapest thing. The relay can be checked with a voltmeter but you would need to check the specifics of that in your manual.

 

ever changed the fuel filter? Mine was running crappy when I got it and when I changed the fuel filter rust poured out of the intake side of it. Ran great after that. So, the cheap thing to try is pull the filter and go find one at a dealer or find a clear one thats close at an auto parts store. If thats not it, its probably the fuel pump.

 

+1 for fuel filter...

 

If the fixes posted did nothelp, check your fuel line.

If it's theOEM fuelline chances are it could be rotting andcollapsingor kinked restricting fuel flow.

Time, ageand placement or storage of your bike nearelectrical items like compressors, A/C units, welders, breaker panels, battery charges ect.these electrical items throw off waves of energy that destroy rubber causing dry rot. Run your fingers over the fuel line, if they turn black, replace the fuel line. Also squeeze the line, if it does not bounce back to it's full diameter, replace the line.

I ran in to a kinked OEM fuel line last week, it gave me fits untill realized the problem.

She would run great at idle, crack the throttle a few times she was fine, take it out on the road, loss of power and die.

Let it sit a few minutes and it would fire right up.

It drove me nuts, the line kinked at the first bend leaving the petcock.

A trip to the honda shop for a 15 dollar fuel line and she ran like a champ, 135 miles on her Sunday without a hick up.

Another place to check for restricted fuel flow is the petcock fuelfilter.

Remove the tank and drain the fuel, then loosen the petcock nut and remove the petcock.

Look in the hole on the tankwhere the petcock slide out of, you will see a round plastic ring (orange/red in color, hard plastic)using needle nose plyers pull the plactic ring out of the petcock tube.

This is the fuel tank filter, it's around 1 inch in diameter and 7 inches long.

If you think the fuel line filter had rust and junk in it, just wait to you pull this filter out.

9 times out of 10 gunk has built up around this filter 3/4 of the way up the filter,

Simply and carefuly clean the filter using anold tooth brush, rinsein clean fueland replace.

Good luck!