I'm brand new to sport bikes and i'm big on keeping all my toys in good running condition. I have a few questions for you guys and would be very interested in hearing your response.

I just bought a '99 CBR F4 with 14k on the odometer and it will be used primarily for joy riding (no racing or stunting).

What is good motor oil for this bike? I believe the last owner was using conventional, but i have heard full synthetic can be good for motors with that kind of mileage.....any ideas? How often should it be changed? What is the correct weight i should be using?

Any particular kind of break fluid that is better then others? How often should it be flushed?

Any radiator coolant that is better then others? How often should it be flushed? How would i check if i was low on coolant?

Fuel filter, how long does it last? Any recommendations if it needs replacing?

I'm also having a tech issue with the bike right now. Its runs great when ice cold and never stalls. When i come across frequent stopping (i.e. traffic lights) and the bike gets towards the higher end of "normal" running temperatures, the bike easily stalls.

It has a relatively new K&N air filter, slip-on exhaust, and new plugs....any ideas?

I really appreciate any and all comments, thanks again!!!

 

Oil? You'll get about 1000 different answers. Personally, have run all makes, from conventional to full synthetic motorcycle specific oil and the only difference I've noticed is smoother shifting with the synthetic. Even that isn't motorcycle specific.
Get what you can afford. Synthetic is good. Change it every........what ever the manual says. My 900RR manual said to change it every 8000 miles. Of course I didnt do that, but it was maybe every 3000-3500 miles. Ran great. Never a problem.

Brake fluid? Probably DOT4 on that bike. Dont mix DOT4 and DOT5 so double check your manual. Most any will work fine.

Coolant? I have never changed coolant in a bike so I dont know. I would probably recommend Motorcycle specific for that. I dont remember why, but it seems it doesnt contain somthing bad for your water pump that conventianal does.

As for your tech question. Got me. Does it re start easily? Do you need to give it throttle to restart? Does it do it at every stop once it's warm? Does it go away if you drive for a while and cool it off more?

 

Bike will restart just fine.....when it cools off there are no problems either.

It only happens when the bike heats up from frequent stops...then it stalls regularly going into first gear from a stop.

 

you don't need bike specific coolant, just one that has the same spec as the one for the bike (like silica free or not, etc.).

i flush mine 1/year at least...but i'm like that...ditto on the brake fluid, dot 4 only...

fuel filter...manual never says to change it, but i would say 10K to 20K is good...but i haven't changed mine in awhile either...usually people only change it when something bad happens, like bad gas, etc...

is your bike running hot? my friend's f4 sputtered like that when it got warm...we were never sure what it was! i'll ask him later and post up.

T

 

Just a thought:

If it truly is a F4 and not the F4I, having a K&N and a slip on could be making it run lean since it can't correct itself like it's fuel injected brother. Most carburated motorcycles come majorly lean from the factory to pass emissions. Having that stuff on there just makes that condition worse. (Some model bikes can handle it some can't) Get a stage one Jet kit installed or maybe go back to a stock filter and see what that does.

If there is a Specific condition to the F4 I am not aware of it.

 

A fuel injected bike can not "correct" itself based on that. That is why you have power commanders and custom mapping. It's rejetting a bike from a PC.