Just bought a 2002 f4i. Previous owner said that it had a new battery but the bike will not hold a charge. Even if i bump start it and ride it, and then shut it off, the bike will not start. The clock on the guage cluster resets too. Does this seem like the bike needs a new battery or does it sound like another issue? Thanks!

 

BUMP! need help guys. Today i rode the bike and it seemed like the battery charged itself because i started it a few times fine. When i got it home and tried starting it to pull it in the garage, it had enough charge for the lights but it would not start... Im lost!

 

Check battery connections. If they've been tight, then take the battery out & take it to the shop to see if it will hold a charge. If not, you need a new battery...regardless of what the previous owner said.

Try that first, if it wants to die after the battery issue is sorted out, then we'll tackle the next problem.

 

You might need a new regulater. I had a similar problem. I had a bad regulater, got a new one for $120 and its good now. Take it to a shop and have it tested. It is possible you may just need a new battery.

 

I had the same problem recently with my bike. It would run fine for awhile, then suddenly not be able to crank, so I had to push start it, then the next time it would crank up. I'd shut it off at a gas station after running for awhile, and it wouldn't crank back up. Turns out the battery connections were badly corroded, so I cleaned those up (Top AND bottom), and then took the battery to Advanced Auto Parts. They did a free diagnostics check on it and it came back that it was only pulling 9.xV instead of 12.7. I thought they were just trying to get me to buy a new battery, but the guy behind the counter said to take it back to the place I bought it from and exchange it, since the battery was only two months old. Replaced the battery about a month ago and haven't have a problem since then, knock on wood. That's the easiest and cheapest thing to check first. I was worried it was the starter motor or the RR at first, but it was just a simple fix.

 

I used http://www.offwidth.co.uk/bike/gener...lt_finding.pdf to determine I needed a new stator. Its a pain in the *** to go through each step (recommend a buddy to help) but might steer you in the right direction