I've been looking for a sport bike for quite some time and last week I came across an ad for an '01 F4i. The bike is truly beautiful and I don't think the styling of it will ever get old. Yada yada yada I bought the bike and rode it home.

I went to go ride the bike the next day and it wont start . I started it and turned it off at least 5 or 6 times when I was test riding it so #7 was not my lucky number. When I put the ignition to 'on' all the lights come on and I hear some weird noise that I didn't notice when I test rode it. Its kind of a whining noise that happens for about 1 second and then stops. When I press the igntion the lights dim and the bike does not start. I re-looked at the ad (and then saved it to my computer) and the guy says that he recently replaced the battery rectifier. I figured it might be the battery so I went to autozone and had them do an overnight charge on the battery. This did not change the situation at all. I have looked around a little bit for a new battery and got quoted multible times at $180! Why so much??

I am also looking for an owners manual and cheap insurance! Geico/Progressive quoted me @ $240 /month

 

possibly the stator. That whining noise is the fuel injection if it is an f4i and is normal. This section is for f4 members so your question may not get answered by the best people becuase most of this section has the f4. It is obviously something to do with the battery or it stator. The battery seems like it will hold a charge because it was started that many times. The previous owner may have just charged the battery because he knew of the problem and wanted to get rid of it. Either way best of luck and post in the f4i forum for optimal response. Hopefully it is an easy fix.

 

Hey check the fuses under the seat. I believe i had a similar problem and it was the 3rd from the left side of the bike. There are only 4. Maybe that could be the prob. Good luck!

 

Sorry I posted in the wrong section, I saw that the years were right so I posted here.

Ok, so I just bump started it (clutch pop) the bike rides perfect. I tried to restart it after I rode around for a while and same thing happened. So either the charging system isn't charging the battery or the battery is bad. Or.. would the bike continue to run if there was a bad charging system?? How could it get spark??

 

put a volt meter on the battery with the bike off, it should keep a regular charge without dropping very much when turned off, if so the battery is bad. If you could start it multiple times then it just all of a sudden wouldn't start anymore then you may take a look at the ignition if the other two(battery and stator) check out alright . While running the bike should keep a constant voltage that is being supplied by the stator.

 

thats an odd one alright.. After riding it around for a few minutes, if you let it idle does it stall? If it doesnt then i doubt your battery is bad. Usually if its too weak to turn the starter over AFTER being charged for a whole night, the battery is shot but in that case it would also stall once the bike is allowed to idle. It sounds like you might have a problem with your starter. Check all the wire connections and do further investigation with the battery voltage like others suggested. It might just be that you need a new starter. Unfortunately its a pretty big price (hondaparts-direct.com wants $226) so try all other things before going ahead with it. You might be able to find a used one on ebay for a lot cheaper.

As far as replacing your battery $180 is ALOT of money. I replaced mine on my own last fall and i think the battery cost me around $90 from my local dealer.

 

i own an 01 f4i as well. if you can get to the starter try tapping on the solenoid (the smaller cylinder looking part of the starter) with a hammer or something to thataffect. and try starting it while tapping on it. if it turns over than you're guna need a new starter. fairly easy diag. unless its hard to get too. keep us posted