oh no.. it's not broken, it
s just the fuel level bars aren't there. but it's been explained to me in the post above. thanks for the info on the gauge. it's different, but i'm sure i'll get used to it.

i turned up the rpms to 1300 at idle, i charged the battery for a few minutes with my truck, big no-no i guess
but the problem still persists. i'll get my multimeter out tomorrow and check the voltages going to the fuel pump. i don't know why it's cutting out like this. after it dies. it starts back up just fine. i have no clue.


and i have another question. how hot can the engine get just sitting at a light or something? it was up to about 230F today. but once it is moving, it stays around 175F. 230 isn't bad, but i just don't want it over heating. it has such a tiny radiator fan.i'm not sure what color the coolants is supposed to be, but it looks like windshield washer fluid, from what i can see in the coolant reservoir. is there any benefit from using something like Water Wetter? just to help keep it running a little cooler.

 

That's the temperature range my bike runs at, and I believe it's normal. The fan on mine kicks on before 223F. Regarding the coolant, if in question, go ahead and flush it, it's really simple to do. When I flushed mine Irefilled it with 50/50Prestone Extended Life ($13 cheap) and distilled water.According to the label, is safe to useon the bike. Engine temperature is governed by the thermostat, and even if you utilize a "cooler" running additive, it will still operate withinits normal temperature range. imo

Here's the Prestone label:

 

To clarify the bars on your fuel. Those are your reserve bars. They only show up when your on your reserve and when the bike first starts up. What I do is reset one of the trip meters and keep track of how many miles I ride. Usually when I hit 125 miles on my tank, my reserve will kick on. So long bike runs, I get fuel when there's a station around. Those 300 mile road trips make you keep an eye on your fuel.

 

today when i was about to go riding, something interesting happened. i had the bike in neutral and running. i put the kickstand up and the engine died. i was looking at the wiring going to the kickstand, looks fine, but i'm wondering if there is a bad connection and when the engine dies while i'm riding, it could be because it thinks i put the kick stand down. does this seem logical to any of you? the battery is fine, it's holding a charger and starts up just fine, so that is ruled out.

 

Kickstand sensor doesn't activate in neutral. does the motor bog or anything or does it just cut off as if you pressed the engine cutoff.

 

i don't know why it died when i put the kickstand up.

it doesn't bog or anything, it runs great. when it dies, i have to flip the engine cut off swich to stop and bak to run, then i can start the engine again.

 

i don't know where or what is causing this, but it's really bad.

i let the bike warm up and right when i was about to get going.... i had the clutch pulled in and in neutral. i brought the kickstand back up, and the engine died. and.... as soon as i put it in gear, it died again! this is bugging the crap out of me. i can't even enjoy the bike cause it dies every 30 freakin seconds.

 

I have never heard of such a problem. The kickstand kill switch is only activated when you are in gear. So why is it dying when you do it in neutral? My guess is you have a bad sensor or switch. I think theres a way to bypass your switch, if you can bypass it, that would help you isolate the problem. Or the kill switch on the handlebar could be going out too. That would make more sense, because that would effect any gear your in. I bought a used one on ebay for like 30 bucks. takes an hour to install, cuz you have to take off the gas tank and air box to get to the throttle cables. That would be my next route to go to trying to fix it.

 

cs2jz,
You seem to be doing a couple of things wrong to start with.
[ol][*]Like Stephens said, the fuel gauge on the F4I is actually a reserve gauge.[*]You shouldn't top up your engine oil immediately after stopping the engine. Oil remains in the engine before it drains to the sump. You may have ended up flooding your engine with oil.[*]You need to check your battery voltage with the engine off and then with the engine running. If your charging system works ok, it should show (i think) greater thank 13.5v.[*]Check that your battery terminals are properly tightened.[*]The kickstand bit is tricky. You may need to bypass it to see if it runs ok. The kickstand sensor/switch might be bad.[/ol]Good luck.

 

had a similar issue after i changed my spark plugs. on the left side of the bike under the airbox there is the MAP sensor. when i replaced my spark plugs i had this slightly ben and it caused my bike to die as soon as it was warm and i attempted to ride. took me about 5 hours to realize this but hopefully you have a simple issue like i had.

Good luck