Hello all I just have a bunch of noob questions about my 2002 F4I! I bought it about 4 weeks ago? and I am taking the MSF course next week! anyway here are a bunch of noobs questions!

1. When do I know if I need an oil change? the previous owner claimed he took care of the bike well but I looked at the oil window thing the oil color is like yellowish or brownish?
2. I turned on the bike earlier and let it warm up. I put it on first (clocked down) and the neutral light came off. I tried to release the clutch slowly but the bike wont move for some reason? (Also about 2 weeks ago my dad dropped my bike because he forgot to put up the kick stand and the bike fell on the clutch side) also when the motor is off I know its in neutral because I can move the bike, but two weeks ago if I click down on it to first gear the bike wont move but earlier today it just wont shift down. Why is this?
3. About how long do F4I's last? mine has about 36000 miles on the clock! and the previous owner said it runs good 10 out of 10!
4. Last question guys! if I wash my bike can I just run water through it? like the insides are so dirty! full of dust and the dashboard is very dirty also! can I just run water on it? I am worried it might get into the wires and electrical stuff!

Thank you all!

 

Moved to the F4i section and a little paragraphing

 

OMG I didnt put it in the F4I section? Sorry I didnt know haha! but thank you for editing! looks so much better haha!

 

Nope was in the F4 section

1. Regardless of what the previous owner said, change the oil anyways. That way you know when your oil change rotation began (for the next one). And you know what oil is in it. It'll also give you a chance to look a the oil for any oddities. In fact, change all the fluids. Brakes and coolant. No telling how old any of those are.
2. Can't answer the shifting issue. Could be a number of things (or nothing) and will need some more indepth discussion
3. Lifetime of these bikes is highly dependant on the owner and how well he / she treats them. thirdgenlxi, a member here, crossed 200k miles last year on his. We think he's trying circle the earth a couple times
4. I personally wouldn't run water thru my bike. Water + electrical connectors rarely mix well together after years. In 9 years, I'd bet the dielectric grease has dried out and connectors are coming loose. If water gets in there, you could be chasing electrical shorts till they dry out. That said, I'm prolly being overly cautious and there prolly are guys that do it all the time

 

1: Have you ever seen new oil? lol. Sounds new to me Still change it or only run it for a thousand of so.
2: Sometimes in order to get a bike to engage gear when it's not running ou have to roll it forward or back a inch or so
3: Kuro covered
4: I powerwash mine when It really needs it and then wipe it down between rides with plexus

 

i personally like to hand wash my bike.. she's my baby..
but i don't leave water on electric parts too long don't need any shorting out problems or connectors that don't wanna come loose...
some guy's use honda wash, just my opinion another thing to brag about doing, and more money to spend.. lil soap and water with a micro fiber rag works great... but what do i know i a newbie

 

You can use a hose line normal, just don't power blast the insides through the fairings and whatnot. I myself, when I do a really in-depth wash, will usually put a small microfiber towel or something under the seats to cover my main electronics. And then just make note of where some major electrical connections are, and avoid blasting those areas with water too often.

 

1 - Old oil is typically Black. Like JP said, I would run it for a thousand or so and then change it.
2 - Make sure you are FIRMLY pushing the lever down. You can run across a "false" neutral where the light might be off but the bike isn't ACTUALLY in gear.
3 - There's a thread on higher mileage F4i's - bottom line, don't worry about it.
4 - I make it a point not to soak electrical connections/components - you should do the same.