As winter has hit and my first season of riding has ended, I've sold my Hyosung GT250R. It was a great learner bike, but I'm ready to move up. After running into a few problems with the old bike, I'd really like to move over to the Japanese camp, but I'm currently in Korea which makes buying an "import" expensive as all hell. A 2001 F4i with around 20k miles on it will run me just around $5-6k, ridiculous when I get to reading about some of the prices I see for them back home... just imagine the price to repair one here.

Anyways, after reading a bit about the F4i and considering my budget, I'm torn between an '01-'02 F4i, '01-'2 R6 or an '09 Hyosung GT650R. At first I was really excited about getting the F4i and the decision was made, but after reading about 20-30 pages of the F4i section and reading about all the problems that people run into I'm back to square one in making a decicision. I plan on going back to the US in a couple years where motorcycle prices are a bit sane and plan on purchasing a newer bike, but for now I need something that I can hold onto for a while without worry of it breaking down on me just because I tap redline a few times and do a lot of throttle play, but I'd like to move away from Vtwins and learn what the inline 4 is all about. Funny, I can purchase a 954 for around the same price, but I've decided that a move from a 27 hp 250cc to a 127 hp 954cc might be a bit drastic for now.

From real first hand experience, any tips on what I should do from here? I've still got a few months before I'm gonna buy the bike, but I'd rather start gathering all the data I can now so I can make a smart decision as to what bike I'll be getting on come spring time.

P.S. I don't like to baby my bike, it may be different when I've got an extra 5k rpms to play with, but I generally like riding around redline. The Hyosung 650 is a vtwin with a 10k redline.

 

The thing about internet boards, and model specific boards in particular, is that you're gonna see problems very much out of proportion to what is reality. General rule of thumb is 1:10 will gripe about something bad where as only 1:100 will relay a good experience.

My suggestion is to buy what you like, ride it like you stole it, then sell it over there before you come back.

 

My bike has had no issues aside from a broken clutch cable, and I do more than redline it once or twice If you get a bike that's been properly maintained, you should be fine.

 

i would say get the f4i, i am biased, but i love mine. i have had a couple problems, but i dont think i can even consider them problems. i bought a wrecked bike with a thrown rod that had been sitting for over a year, so no telling what else was wrong with it. i put a new engine in it, took like half a day-and it didnt work. well after maybe 30 mins of troubleshooting in the wiring, found out my tip sensor was bad, easy fix. it wasnt even frustrating, a lil confusing maybe. it runs great. the only downside i think there is about the f4i is the used part market is wayyyyyyy overpirced. other than that sometimes people just like to tell stories about their bikes and whats going on with them. and everyone knows stories are better if they're exhaggerated a little bit.

 

Problems? Like what?

There's the cam chain tensioner lifter issue, but it's too minor to worry about. Among all motorcycles in the world, Japanese bikes have near the best if not the best record for reliability. (That's not the same as quality.)

The F4i is right in the middle of the pack. You can wail the hell out of the thing, maintain it poorly, leave it out in the rain and it will keep going. The same can be said of the Yamaha and Suzuki.

The F4i is probably the best all-arounder sport middleweight. Other bikes do thinks better, but the F4i does everything asked of it well enough to make it an exceptionally fun machine to ride.

 

well, chainstretcher really nailed it on the head. It was that CCT problem I was worried about it. It seemed that every other thread was about it and then I read people saying you can throw rods and your engine can blow because of the problem, it made me worry. At the end of the day, if it was that big of an issue, the bike wouldn't be so popular, also this is a great transition bike from learner to racer if I've got most of my facts straight.

 

The f4i is a great bike...I have an 01 and besides the cct..I have had very little issues with it...I love the fuel injection and the comfort factor...And with few aftermaket parts you can have a bike that will keep up to the newer 600's.. I paid 60$ for the manual CCT and paid another 80$ to have it put in...Purred like a kitten aftwards...You will not regret it...I can do 400 miles without breaking my back....Oh just make sure you get a corbin seat if you do buy the split seat version...honda seats lack cushioning...lol

 

I dont want to jack the thread but what exactly is the CCT issue? What are the signs/problems?

 

I'm not looking to keep up with the newer 600's just yet, trying to find a good transition between a 250 to whatever's gonna be after the f4i. As far as the seat, I prefer to have an uncomfortable seat so it motivates me to hang off of it more often

As far as I can tell from reading on the forums, it's the "Cam Chain Tensioner". Just do a search in the f4i section, you'll find pages of posts about it. Either way, it just starts making a really loud rattling noise, especially at around 5-6k rpms IIRC and should be replaced or your motor can EXPLODE. Well, that's what some people say, I'm pretty sure I've read post where people have ridden thousands of miles with a noisy CCT and the bike hasn't flinched on them.

 

Yep, but it's "Cam Chain Tensioner Lifter" (CCTL), and no, not replacing it won't make the engine explode, it's just an annoying and embarassing rattle. Easy $60 fix.
Just need one of these: