So I recently purchased an f4 and it doesn't turn over unless I use a battery charger to give it a little boost in the beginning. I took the battery to autozone and they said it was a good battery at around 12v. I'm a rather new rider so there are times that I stall out accidently and have to turn the bike on again. If I'm able to ride it long enough and I stall out, I'm able to start it up again with no problems but if I need to start it up like 3 times, it dies around the 3rd time (luckily, I'm just doing some neighborhood riding so I'm able to fred flintstone it back to my house).

I've heard that the bike needs to be ridden above a certain mph or just long enough to get the battery charged up but for fear of accidentally stalling out while I'm getting used to the bike, I can't take it too far or fast. It's like a catch 22 almost. Obvious symptoms when the bike is dead is weak horn sound, dim headlight, dim neutral light, etc. The bike doesn't crank at all - instead, I just hear a clicking sound.

Any suggestions on what I could do to figure out the source of the problem? Should I just buy a new battery altogether and see what happens from there or are there other things I should try first?

Thanks in advance for any advice for this newb and sorry for the lengthy post!

 

Electrical issues are very common with our bikes. There is a ton of information on here about them, but it sounds as if you are having stator or rectifier issues. Do a search for "F4 stator/rectifier issues" and you should get some very useful information.

There are diagnosing tips and procedures in addition to instructions on how to replace the items if, in fact they are the issue.

Otherwise you would need to provide a bit more information in order for someone to guide you in the right direction (speaking from experience). Info like: battery voltage, wiring condition, charge times, etc. Good Luck

 

what voltage is the battery at when the bike is running at idle? When at 3k?

 

i am in pretty much the same exact situation as you, except my battery was pretty much dead when i got it diagnosed. i have been unable to start up my bike ever since and the bike still wont turn after i installed the new battery. the electrics work but i dont know how to further diagnose it.