Hey all,

First post here and just wanted to ask a couple of questions before I *possibly* purchase an old F1

I suppose I'll just fire them off:

[ul][*]Are these bikes worth it? Would it be a fair beginner's bike/tinker with bike?[*]The bike in question has a "oil/coolent" leak; most likely a gasket and is an easy fix or is likely a crack somewhere and pretty darned expensive to fix?[*]25k-let's assume I want to do a top end rebuild; no one makes pistons/rings so far as I can find?[*]Is there any way to adapt other pistons/rings from a different model/later modelto this bike or would I just be screwed?[*]Are parts for this bike all but impossible to get or is there some sort of super-secret CBR 600 F1 website that even Google hasn't been able to find yet?[/ul]
Since I figured some people may not want to take the time to answer all my questions I figured I'd do a poll to get a general consensus!

Thanks everyone in advance for any help given,

-Matt

 

FYI, polls are (and have been) broken. Will be fixed *if* the upgrade happens.

 

q1 -to your first question, i'll answer that last.

q2 - more than likely a gasket fix unless the bike was abused. if it is a crack, it will depend on where it is. it could be weldable or in a spot that totally makes the head scrap.

q3 - go to speed shops or find a good motorcycle shop with a competent mechanic. rebuilds are done all the time even on really old bikes. so if some old dude can restore an old bsa which they don't for sure make parts for anymore, then there must be some way to do so. if you want pistons and rings, ask wiseco. they can help you cross reference. if you are really having a hard go of it, let me know and i can find info for you.

q4 - not really as later models were complete redesigns that didn't use much from previous models.

q5 - depends on what parts you are looking for. a decent set of body panels are like gold. but engine and suspension parts are relatively easy to find. you just need to spend the time looking around various sites and places.

now back to q1. from my standpoint this bike will tech you alot about electrical and carb troubleshooting. the engines are pretty bulletproof unless as i stated before, it was abused and not taken care of. don't just look at milage, look at the whole bike, top to bottom, side to side, front to back. you may find other things that are wrong or that need fixing. and together, those items will pretty much determine if it is worth your time and in this economy, your money. you may catch a break with a little maintenance and tlc find that you got a real good bike. or you may find that you got yourself a money pit that will frustrate you to no end.

plenty of both in the forum. just depends on where you end up.

 

yes the bike is worth it if the price is right, you will be pulling the carbs often.
You will learn quite a bit.

is the leak coolant or is it oil? or is it both? where is it comming from?

no there isn't an aftermarket company that makes any form of performance piston, and no talking to Wiesco will not help you, not unless you plan on ordering 20 custom pistons, because thats the minimum order requirement for Wiesco's Custom Piston Division. They will however direct you to another company that will make just 4 custom pistons, however you need to know a **** load of details before they will consider making any. (Bore/Stroke, Connecting Rod Length/Thickness, Combustion Chamber Size, Valve Travel, Desired Piston Ring Size, How many piston rings/oil rings just to name a few requirements)

Also unfortunately, this bike does not have cam journal bearings, the head itself acts as the bearing, so if the bike was abused and the journal areas are scratched or worn, thats the price of a new head to fix.

No other parts from other years are not swappable, unless you're swapping engines.

No parts are not impossible to get, try the old fashioned way, go to the local dealer.

 

if the bike runs and has no bad noises and a clear title, its worth it. but NEVER look at ANY bike as an investment. its a vehicle, or a purchase. you dont invest in a bike, because bluntly put, you're NEVER going to get back what you've sunk into a bike. ever. I absolutely HATE people who think a bike is "an investment" of any kind. it isnt, never will be and shouldnt be seen as such. sorry if I sound like an A hole, but that bugs me when people think of a bike that way.

that said, the Hurricanes are a GREAT first bike, plenty of power throughout the rpm range, and I feel there is plentiful torque in the low to midrange rpms for city riding or real world non track riding. Its by no means a monster like the 600RR or 1000's are in terms of power, nor will it ever be.

IMO you can get a Hurricane 600, start riding on it, and keep it well into your motorcycle career, as it'll actually be the perfect bike to grow into and have real world function. yeah parts availability SUCKS for the 600F, but hey, thats just how older bikes are ya know?

 

yea i pulled into a gas station last month and a guy was like holy **** is that a hurricane! I said yup with original plastics (mildly repaird) and he was all excited and proceded to tell me that was the first bike he ever bought.

 

Mine is a HEAVILY abused bike, been down on the right pretty good, no bodywork, and its still a ROCK SOLID engine, even though I push it to the limiter fairly often in the first gear or two. just keep the valves adjusted, the oil and filter changed regularly, and some decent fuel in em, they'll go FOREVER. a decent oil filter and some full synthetic stuff for oil makes a MASSIVE difference in these babies. I absolutely love mine. wouldnt trade it for the world.

the Hurricane was also my very first bike ever to even ride, at 17. fell in love with it then, wanted one ever since, and now I've got the bike I've always wanted, its my baby.

on the tires thing, I've actually found some dirt cheap but good bias ply tires in a 110/70 and 140/70/17 size for these bikes that are like $60 at most per tire, Duro HF918 tires. I'm running one as my rear, just put it on like 160 +/- miles ago and so far I LOVE it. tires are easy to find if you're not dead set on radials(not that our bikes require them anyways)

I love people telling me, yeah man you need to get a fuel injected bike, get a newer 600, uh huh, sure, maybe. as a 2nd vehicle. I'd probably still keep my 87 as my baby, and probably restore it after I find a decent F4i or something like that.

 

I have a 1990, 600. With 69700 Kms on it, thats 43309 miles!! And it's still runs awesome. (though i do need a tune up lolols) It seems here in Canada mines pretty rare. But the nice thing is you can still order alot of new parts for it, though Honda loves to charge you through the nose for them. Infact around here finding used parts is the problem. I've been looking all summer for a used white maintenance panel.
I think the 600f is probley the best allrounder you can buy. It's happy traveling long distances, it's happy racing, it's looks cool!. I get alot of attention from it, and people asking me what it is, or remembering when they came out. But far astunning it up into a full race bike, why bother.
The main mods seems to be K&N filter, muffler, gearing, carbs if you have an older version. Turrning it into an awesome street fighter lol
If your getting it cheap, why not. If your looking for a bike you can tune, and turn into a racing bike. Id save up a little more and buy a F3, or something along those lines.

 

Hey everyone thanks for the replies. I have yet to see the bike in person but all in all it's shaping up. From the pics it looks like it was fairly well taken care of. Someone made it into a "naked" bike at some point in its life.

I thought of a further question; let's assume the leak is from a blown gasket, would it be likely that the gasket was just faulty or would this be from someone beatin the **** out of it or indicative of poor maintenance? (ie, the bike was stored inside so the exterior looks nicebut mechanically it may have been neglected)

Also, I was being a bit facetious about the tires

Thanks again for all the help, ya'll rock.