Hey to all in the forum! My first post and my first CBR. I picked up a lightly used CBR and think I got a fair deal. I'll primarily be commuting with it, year around....about 1000 miles a month so I was glad to find a low miles bike in my price range.

96 CBR1000F
6250 miles (plus my 15 so far..)
Never been in the rain
Never down
Well maintained, oil changed often even when sitting...
Paint good, looks near new.

Included was a Fieldsheer Jacket, KBC vented helmet and some nice insulated gloves. $3950 (I was happy with the price)

Got it insured....daughters bday today so I need to let it sit all day...but tonight I'll have to go for a spin! It's nice to be back on a bike. My previous roadbike was a 82 Vision 550 vtwin. Night and day...night and day! This bike is very heavy though...good for commuting but I did get to feel how heavy it was when it leaned a bit too far in the driveway...didn't drop it but it go my attention! I need to get some sliders in case it tips over. A few questions for the board

1. Best manual to get
2. Frame sliders, what would you recommend
3. Best tank bag for commuting, medium trips (something i can easily remove and take with)
4. Tire pressure for dry and wet? I'm 200-220 lbs
5. Tire pressure for doubling up? 400 lbs?
6. Good links, resources for aftermarket parts, plastics etc heaven forbid.
7. Best commuting clothing, gloves....live in Seattle so it gets wet
8. Best tires for all around driving, commuting
9. Theft prevention, any tips? Lock recommendations etc? Do you chain it to poles etc? I'm ok at work, under cover in a secure lot...at home it's very safe but at the store etc?
10. Any recommendations on street bike handling courses that are affordable and geared to the non-racer? I've had moderate experience on a bike and have taken the good 'ol state motorcycle safety course...but lookin more for tips, techniques to help me keep the rubber side down. (for instance, how hard do i need to lean on the bike when it wants to stand up in the corners etc....I'll be riding very conservative but when I find a nice curvy road you never know )
11. Maintainence schedule? What would you recommend...oil type?

Anyone up for a ride? I'm in the seattle area..

dan.reynolds@alaskaair.com

 

That was the one down in Chehalis/Napavine wasn't it? That is a sweet CBR, of course I saw it on Craigslist 2 days after I got back from Sacramento with my '90. Oh well, enjoy the ride. I've ordered a Fieldsheer Hydrotour jacket, looks like a good jacket for our weather.

Ron

PS I"m in Centralia and we'll have to sneak in a ride before the weather turns,

 

The answers you seek are many in the forum.

I use a Tourmaster magnetic tank bag. It stays in place and is as easy to remove. Grab it and run. I keep my clear or tinted face shield in the front part and gloves, ball cap and face shield cleaning rag that is inside of small plastic container.

I also have the matching Tourmaster removable bags. They take about 1 minute to install and the same to remove. I have had to carry a twelve pack of 12 ounces in each one once.

 

Hey Dan,
I'm in the Seattle area as well. Renton as a matter of fact.
To answer a few of your questions:
Best manual to get
Factory and a Haynes
Frame sliders, what would you recommend
Hard to find if there is any at all. These bikes have them built in. It's the little "wing" right at knee level on the fairing. They hide a solid tube extrusion. If you drop it, it's like $20 each to replace that and the engine cover piece.
Best tank bag for commuting, medium trips (something i can easily remove and take with)
Lot's of choices. I have a magnetic and it's easy to take off and on. Once again. lot's of choices in magnetics and strap on type.
Tire pressure for dry and wet? I'm 200-220 lbs
Tire pressure for doubling up? 400 lbs?
36 Front 42 Rear. Single or double. You might want to turn the rear shock damping up to max with two up.
Best commuting clothing, gloves....live in Seattle so it gets wet
Lot's of good choices again. First Gear Killaminjaro <sp?> jackets and HT over pants are really nice. OR Aerostich is top quality stuff too.
Best tires for all around driving, commuting
I like Metzler Roadtec Z6 and Michelin Pilot Roads. Both are great in the wet and offer good mileage. Both are sport touring tires rather then really grippy sport tires, However they do grip well and last longer on our heavier bikes.
Theft prevention, any tips? Lock recommendations etc? Do you chain it to poles etc? I'm ok at work, under cover in a secure lot...at home it's very safe but at the store etc?
I use a disk lock with a long slinky type rope that attaches to the throttle and says "Remove before Flight" so I dont take off with the lock on. That's bad.
Any recommendations on street bike handling courses that are affordable and geared to the non-racer? I've had moderate experience on a bike and have taken the good 'ol state motorcycle safety course...but lookin more for tips, techniques to help me keep the rubber side down. (for instance, how hard do i need to lean on the bike when it wants to stand up in the corners etc....I'll be riding very conservative but when I find a nice curvy road you never know )
If you have taken the MSF Basic rider course in the last couple of years, then take the Experienced riders course. If it's been more then five years, re-take the basic to get rid of all those bad habits. Yes these bike are a little heavy, but with practice you can do u-turns in a parking stall and figure 8's in a single lane. The ERC will really help you expand on your riding skills. But still... practice.. practice....
Maintainence schedule? What would you recommend...oil type?
I change my oil every 3k. Don't use any oil that has friction modifiers, as it will cause clutch slippage. Other then that, do an "Oil" search here. There are several if not hundreds of opinoins on types and brands. You can do your own Valve adjustments (no special tools and no shims) and carb syncs too. ALso the plugs are really simple to change.

Welcome aboard. BTW I did the Mt Rainier loop today. It was spectacular! Flowers in full bloom and the Mountain was really beaming! I'll post some pics later.

 

Greetings Rino,

Once ya get settled in on the forum, be sure to post up a pic or two of the ride. That sure does sound real nice getting a bike with that few miles on it. TimBucTwo is right. If you do a search on this forum there will be over 4,000 threads that I'm sure you would find helpful.

Haynes manual to accompany the owners manual will suffice as this forum and the people in it are very, very knowledged. And the fact that not everyone lives in the same location or time zones, you can almost always find recent posts to questions, etc...

Tires?- See the forum
Gear?- See the forumSliders?- Factory are already there, but vortex will work with a longer grade 8 or better bolt matched to the thread patter of motormount bolt. There's a thread in the forum of someone doing this and posting pics.
Tires?- Others like sport touring, I like bridgestone battlaxe bt014 or the conti attack. In 6,000 miles I just put a new front tire on and replaced the back one about 500 miles ago. The BT014 is a great tire in both dry and wet conditions.
Theft prevention?- I don't have any other than 2 big dogs in the garage at home and it's always parked where I can see it, and if I can't I have a fit, just ask my wife (hahaha).
Travel Luggage?- I have a magnetic bagmaster that is a medium size bag yet also expandable. I think it is about 19 liter and expands to 25. It does come with a safety head strap but I have never needed it snapped around the head tube. The magnets are great and the under side of the bag has a good material that doesn't slip around or leave scratches ( I don't know the name of the fabric). It cost me only $49 on ebay. When not expanded, I can fit my laptop, digital camera, hand sized camcorder, spare shield, gloves, the rain cover for the bag, a shirt, all personal items (wallet, phone, etc...). When expanded, I could put a 12pack of soda in it, and everything else already mentioned. It has a map pocket on top that you can remove the inner bag, and just zip the map pocket to the magnet base. I have been over 140mph and it didn't move.
Riding Recommendations?- I know this may sound funny, but orange cones and an open parking lot. Try getting use to doing really slow and small radius turns on it. This bike is heavy, and combined with the size of tires some have 170,180,190 series tires, this changes turn in and exit of corners, in combination with what amount of throttle is applied. I have lay this bike over far enough to utilized all of the rear tire surface and this bike was very solid while doing it. Even scraped a knee a time or two. I wouldn't go doing any late apex cornering just yet with it. This bike is amazing and you will see how quickly it takes little effort to counter push the bar going into a corner. I'm not saying its a 600 lightweight, I'm just saying that after ya get comfortable on it, you'll be telling us how much you like the corners too!

Have fun with it and welcome.