do you think the 93' 1000f will be ok for my first bike?

 

JREELO4, welcome, do you mean like never ever, no dirt bikes ect. ??? I feel the 93 kf, is one of the all time most balanced, ridable bikes ever... but... it is big and heavy compared to something like a ex 500, or an enduro of some kind. friends that ride my bike are amazed at it's lack of bad traits. I believe in msf classes, even as a refresher for "born agains". I got to be honest, a 550lb+ ( about 600w/ gas) bike, is not the easyist thing to keep upright. I tell everone to get a cheap dirt bike and go thash it, till you feel very comfortble. maybe friends would let you... sorry, no, you cant ride my duc, yet !!!!!!!!!!!! Get the hang of stay'n upright... we were all there once, if there ever was a place for take'n it easy, it's now. clean and free, only smoke'n harleys!!!! Ripp'n

 

Gotta agree,
The bike is HEAVY, I have had a license for over 20 yrs, and I managed to drop my bike last weekend. Stupid really, but trying a U-Turn in a small area, very slowly, bike began to topple, put foot down, and got it trapped under engine side case! No damage (foot took entire weight of bike and me, CRUSHING pain!) but it does show how really easy this bike is to drop over at slow speed. If you do buy one, practice slow manouvering where it will make no difference if it falls!

Ara

 

As said, 1000F isn't the best bike for new rider, but it's your own attitude what counts. You just have to learn how to control bikes mass in different situations, and you don't do that by thrashing through traffic like a lunatic. Best places to practise cornering, braking and driving slowly are empty parking areas, may feel boring when you want to hit the streets, but trust me it will save your *** some day. It may take time, but when you respect the bike, it respects you. Don't be afraid even if bike is heavy, you will notice that it has it's advantages with great stability and balance. So I say go for it, just remember to learn with time how to keep it under your control.

I have a friend whos first bike was Hayabusa, he took it slowly, learning how to control it, and now his driving skills kick ***, you can see that he trusts his bike and he knows what he's doing. On the other hand, I know guys who has had 10 different bikes and they still drive like blind handicapped and probably some day end in statistics with fatal motorcycle accidents.

 

yeah i know it's heavy i've rode dirt bikes, and a few r6's not to there potential though, i wanted some thing bigger
then a older 600 so i will respect it more.

thanks

 

To be quite honest, there is a hughe difference regarding the chassi and handling capability on a more modern 600 or 1000 compared to a heavy and somewhat outdated CBR 1000 F. If you know how to ride and have the skill and committment, the old CBR will outperform any modern bikes with unexperienced drivers. However, with two equal and experienced drivers the CBR does not have a chance on track conditions or twisty roads and is not as forgiving as a lighter and modern bike with a stiffer frame and much better suspension. I dont believe that the more modern Blackbird is much better in this respect, it is a question of weight and chassi geometry. The brakes are also much better on a more modern and significantly lighter bike. The CBRs are highly priced due to its brand, comfort and quality, but you should also consider a more modern bike if you can find one for about the same amount, the handling difference i hughe. I hate to say all this because I really love and enjoy my CBR 1000 F -92, but I would not choose it as my no 1 bike since I drive really active at some times and need to have the chassi on my side in those situations. For a one only and not to expensive bike, I would perhaps look after an early Kawazaki ZX9R which are priced about the same here in Sweden as many CBR 1000 F from the same years. A more modern bike will not give you any more skill by itself, but when you have learn the basics, the Ninja would certainly be more enjoyable and maybe also safer for active driving. If you are just looking for a really good tourer, with high building quality to a low price as a used bike, the CBR 1000 F is probably a better choice. Old Kawazakis are not known to be very reliable. I bought my CBR 1000 F for about only 2 k USD, that was a price that could not be met by any Ninja or anything other than older and very sluggish and boring 400 CCs from the early 80´s. So I got a lot of bike for a good price which I'm happy with and also impressed of, since I did not expect it to be so powerful as it is and it is used as a commuter. It doesn't handle bad if you find the right line and balance it right with the throttle on exits. The backside is after drivning a more modern bike the day before, the CBR feels very heavy and unprecise in corners when you begin to puchs the bike hard. You get used to it again after a day or two, so it is no cathastrof, but when stepping down from a modern bike you really feel that chassis have developed a lot since the CBR was designed.

 

I rode a honda 185XL to start, then I seriously downgraded to a honda CT70... then i didn't ride for 10 years.. I then got my 1000F, and I really dont'have any regrets.. if you know the basics of riding, it's not a bad bike, even for people who aren't too tall (not a problem for me.. but).. it's a comfy bike too.. mine has handlebar warmers which are a godsend around here..

If you dump the bike, you better have some muscle to lift it back up.. but as soon as you're moving, it's really not noticable

 

I'll agree on that, but then again, there is no such thing as "the best bike for beginner". No matter what bike you decide to buy, you still need to learn first how to control it, or else you'll go down when pushing it to the edge.

Like R1000 said, 1000F will definitely lose a race against newer 600 or 750 in track, but 1000F was never designed for that use. 1000F isn't by any means a pure race bike for the street. It's still a sport bike, it has plenty of power and will go fast. Little softer suspension and frame will lose time against clock, but guess twice which of those bikes is more comfortable in bumpy roads. So if you need that race bike, look something else instead, no matter if you're beginner or pro. If you want a bike which you can ride your everyday journeys, take a short (or longer) trip with your girlfriend/mother/grandmother in the back, ride up the freeway and twisty roads and even take it sometimes to the track, 1000F is a good choise. It maybe isn't the best bike for each direct purpose, but it does everything pretty damn well. Not the best race bike, tourer or commuter, but a friggin' good all-around bike. Well... Not maybe for off-road dirt track...

Offtopic: R1000, I visited south of Sweden a week ago, and damn how good roads there were! Sadly I drove with a car, route from Malmo through Trelleborg, Skilllinge and Ã…hus along the coastline, and oh how I wanted my bike with me! Well, I probably wasn't the only one who had noticed those roads good for riding, there had to be like thousands of bikers there on that sunny day.

 

Yes there are a lot of bikes out here in Sweden now and all roads, except within villages, seems to be free from dirt and gravel. I use my CBR 1000 F every day now to and back from work and really enjoy its great all around performance and high speed stability. I have Michelin Power tyres on and they feel very good.

I have noticed that the clutch slips a little at peak tourque when the engine is in the last stage of its warm up phase. This can happen within the first 20 km or so, after that it appears to be solid. I dont push it hard at all within the first 10 km's. I'll try to change the half-synthetic 20-50 to a full syntetich 10-50 since it is used at very high rpm frequently anyway, and see what happens to the clutch. Else I guess its time to change the clutch components.

 

Hah, guess what? I have had this bike for 2 years now, and I noticed that same clutch slip first time yesterday. Engine was still cold, it was around 9,000rpm and it slipped just a bit, then I rode it slowly so the engine warmed up and tried again twice, and there wasn't any slipping anymore. I think it's because of oil hasn't warmed up yet, but weird that I have used same oil type and brand all this time and it was until now that I noticed it. But anyway if clutch plates were worn up, it would slip no matter if the engine/oil has warmed up or not, also worn clutch plates tend to make some alarming noises too. Or should we do an article "DIY: How to change clutch plates on 1000F" together?