I took my F4 (21k orig. mi.)...to the shop because I noticed it was randomly stalling last season. (fall 08) It wont stay running when I try to start it every so often...(battery is on charge).
When it DID start, it was hesitant to use 4 cyls.. and when it was running - maybe 1 minute at best - its still on only 2 cycls...so it sounds) Then dies and wont start at all.

Long story short - (appx. jan 09 I took it in) the battery is new, the carbs were cleaned, new plugs, the fuel gauge/sensor? was replaced, and still it sounds like only 2 pistons are firing instead of 4. (the day I brought it home, it ran & sounded fine!! - just enough to get it into the back yard...till today - 2/27/09), it is back to square one as if I never got it worked on...
Today - It starts up after 6 times of trying (choke for 60 seconds), runs on 2 cyls...then w/choke off, it stalls...if I try to turn the throttle at all, it stalls. ]
Thanks!!
Sue

 

Question one, did they sync the carbs as well when they worked on it??

Question two, are all of your sparkplug wires and coils new??

Question three, How was the condition when you bought it?? did it have a bunch of lights wired into it? Was it ever laid down and some hack tried to mickey rig things back together?? If so then you may have a short somewhere causing only two cylinders to fire.

Also does it have any kind of power comander on it?? if that is faulty it could cause some serious problems if it wasn't installed properly.

 

Thanks so much for getting back!!
I bought the bike brand new - all milage is from me...I do beat on it 85% of the time when I am riding and I did 2 track days in 2005.

Question one, did they sync the carbs as well when they worked on it?? -
***carbs have been synched 2 times in the 9 years I've had it...and yes, this was done in Jan 09.

Question two, are all of your sparkplug wires and coils new??
**** new plugs were put in BEFORE it was taken to the shop in case it was a simple fix like that. Some oil was on the plugs, but not on the threads.... New plugs are in it now, but I fear after all this, they may be banged up again.

Question three, How was the condition when you bought it??
***showroom....
did it have a bunch of lights wired into it?
**** nope - all stock - I only had flush mount signals and a jet kit put in....appx. 1 month after I bought it (2000)
Was it ever laid down and some hack tried to mickey rig things back together??
***never went down....only far enough to drag my knee on turns
If so then you may have a short somewhere causing only two cylinders to fire.
**** good point ......a couple of years ago someone did my brakes and didnt reconnect some wires (blinkers?)...then recently this guy said some wires werent connected AGAIN after the plugs were replaced....so, he said he did it.

Also does it have any kind of power comander on it?? if that is faulty it could cause some serious problems if it wasn't installed properly.
**** jet kit was done in 2000, could it be a problem 9 years later??

Thanks so much for your help.
I just wish I knew how/why this guy was able to getting sounding sweet, and now 2 months later its sounding exactly how it did last season....

Sue

 

Coils/spark plug leads

 

thank you - I will mention it to the mechanic next week when it goes back for repairing.....
Because I am not familiar with these things, could you please elaborate what this means?
(I've never had to "learn" about my bike before - but here i am , 9 years later, feeling like it is about time.....)

So, are these "coils" the things on the top of the plugs? (looks like a hook?)
Or is that the lead?
(sorry for the newbieness)

Thanks!
Sue

 

BTW, I should mention in case it wasnt clear that when this problem initially started last season (fall 08) the first thing that was done was new plugs. And that didnt do it. So, in the shop it went.
The mechanic said the plugs were still good, so he left the same ones in....he worked on the bike, got it running and sounding great, then I trailered it home (was like 20degrees out) and rode it into the shed. Several weeks later I start it, and thats when it produced the same problem as initially. (not starting for the first 6 attempts or so, running on 2 cycls. for about a minute, then stalling....then not starting at all)
I went out out today (55 degrees) and the exact same scene played out.

 

I appreciate the advice and the links...hopefully I will be able to get to them before I take my bike in again....
I teach at "On the Road Again Motorcycle School" (which is now called "Manna's Motorcycle School" as of last spring).

Have a great day.

Sue

 

I am leaning towards the issue being that there isn't enough spark. This could be caused be a few things but I am going to go with the battery is low or dead. This could be from the battery being left attached to the bike and in the cold. This will draw down the battery over a period of time. The other thing is that the battery might not be charging due to a regulator/rectifier issue.
When the battery is low or almost dead and you are running the bike, it will either stall or run like crap because of the low voltage.

 

Hello Sue and welcome to the forums!!

Gosh, you do seem to be having problems here .. the trouble is this sort of thing can be caused by different factors, dirty carbs, bad leads/plugs/ ..bad wiring (corroded) ... it really is a question of just going through everything ..I would check every terminal is clean and bright too ... I wonder also if the regulator/rectifier is playing up ..one other thing, the diaphrams in the carbs can leak and become mis-shaped with age ....

Good luck and keep us all informed!! :-)


Jules