I'm looking to get an F4i for the spring as my second bike. I've been riding my Ninja 500 for 5k miles now and it's been great, so I'm looking for the same from an F4i.

I want to get the best deal I can, but I don't want to sacrifice reliability at all. What years/miles should I look for? What are the known problems with certain years, and what mileages do the problems occur at? If it's stuff I can just google, let me know.

Thanks in advance.

 

look for one with a 2 piece seat (imo)

 

A common problem seems to be the chain cam tensioner. From what I understand it won't cause any issues and can be replaced fairly easy and for about $50. But if you look at a bike and it sounds like BB's rattling in a can aroune 4000 rpm that's probably what it is.

Good luck finding a bike! I just spent the summer on a Ninja 500 too, and got my F4i on Thursday.

 

i never buy a used vehicle without looking at the brakes. if they're discolored in any way that's a good indication a squid has been at the helm...

 

finding a bike that was treated good is difficult. look at the overall condition of the bike. look at the paint and fairings for scratches to see if the bike has been down. look at the feelers and the end of the pegs to see if htey're worn down from hard riding. check the tire condition and the size of the wear strips. If it's clean and waxed, it's a sign the guy took care of it or at least fixed it up a bit to sell it. look at the fork seals and make sure they're not leaking. ask the guy not to start it before you get there so you can hear it start cold. look at the chain/sprocket condition. keep a mental note of all the aftermarket parts and work done to the bike.. you can gauge how the bike was treated sometimes by the types of mods and how much time was put into it. Check over the frame for dents and only look at clean titles. Don't bother with salvage titles no matter how well put back together the bike is because it's kindof like raw ******* a prostitute... you never know what you're going to get. look for pieces of rubber on the undertail (from burnouts) and discolored brakes like flylou said cause they're pretty telltail signs of squid abuse. there isn't anything really specific about F4i's to look for other than the cam chain tensioner that i can think of. as far as longevity i've seen videos on youtube of F4i's turning 100,000 miles.

oh yea.. another thing. ask to see the manual and look at the service interval chart and ask what has been done and what hasn't.

 

LOL that was me!! [sm=smiley36.gif]
https://cbrforum.com/m_366411/tm.htm

 

haha. very nice. that's a hell of a lot of riding man.