Hola mi gente,

I'm planning to buy my first CBR. Its a '92 600 F2. It has reasonable mileage, I guess. 26,000mi doesn't seem too much for any Honda. It has been very well maintained by it's original owner, a police officer here on the island. I haven't ridden a bike since I had my old '72Harley back in '93, and I really wanted a CBR then, instead of that leaky, old HD. Birthday's coming up, and now's my chance to finally get it.

This is the photo:



Clearly from the photo, it's in good shape, at least cosmetically,and I get to go see it on Monday, Nov 5, so I'll know more about how it runs, then. The owner tells me it runs fine, and that he's been riding it on a pretty regular basis, and just wants to get a newer CBR1000. The asking price is $3000/neg., which I intend to negotiate what I can, but motorcycles aren't cheap here on the island, as they are always in demand, regardless of their age and type - so I'm cool with whatever price I manage.
You guys in here seem to know your stuff about these bikes, whereas I'm a bit of a gremo. What do I need to know about this bike before I buy it? Are there any things I have to look for that might not be obvious at first glance? I need to depend on this as my primary mode of transportation to my job, and I can't afford to have this be the mistake some of my cars have been (and even that old Harley).

Please let me know if there are any issues regarding this bike. You know, stuff that a first time CBRbuyer, such as myself, might not notice. I want this to be a good experience, 'cause I really like this bike.

I'm open to any and all suggestions, and I thank you in advance for your input and advice.

Chao,

- rey

 

Looks prettyclean to me from the pic. whats the other side look like ? just as clean ? looks to me like its been pretty well maintained. Usally if somebody takes the time to keep a bike that clean they normally take care of the bike in general. If he rides it every day that shows atleast its a good daily ride, better than abike than has been sitten for a couple of years. looks like a good deal

 

Yes, it looks really really clean!

Isn't it an F3 though?

Ask the seller if he is the original owner, if not how many people have owned the bike? Does he have records on the bike's maintenance? Bills, etc.

Does he have the original owner's manual. Flip thru it and see if there are any notes the owner(s) jotted down when they changed the oil, other fluids, etc...good owners will keep meticulous records.

But that's not always the case.

 

Just want to make sure it looks just as clean under the plastics. looks like he did a complete swap to a 95 or 96 F3 plastics. So was it dropped bad or did he swap for the looks?

 

Yea it does look like he swapped out the fairings. Nice look though. 26,000 mi. isn't bad for an F2. I paid 1,300 for mine with 36k and it worse shape. I would make sure that it isn't leaking anything and that there isn't any problems with the charging system. Who knows you could be as lucky as me and get some of that special duck tape on the engine which gives it more horsepower.

 

get the vin and go to honda riders club site you can enter the vin and they will give you specs on the bike even the colors. you will know if it was a swap.

 

People people people.....

It's F2 bodywork.Look closely at the "ram air" passages on the upper.Badda-bing it's an F2.It's F2 bodywork with F4 "paint scheme" and colors with a decal that says F3.Nice color match too.

Fire it up,listen for "tics and tacs" within the motor.Look carefully for leaks.Look at chain and sprockets.If they are in good shape,odds are the bike has been taken care of like it should.If the c&s is nasty,big red flag.

Check for a manual cam chain tensioner.If it has one,odds are it's a good Honda.

 

Good call kjohnson... should have noticed that. btw a good place to check for leaks is the inside of the lower fairings. Not saying its the only place but some people who try to make everything look good forget to clean that up. I know my bike leaks and there is always some there. Just need to get that fixed now.

 

Wow, thank you all for your time and responses, I really appreciate it.

So, what I understand so far is that all generally seem to agree that it is a repainted, but very clean F2. And if the chain and sprockets are in similar good clean condition, it has probably been well maintained.

Cool, that means we're off to a good start. But...

What about this charging system issue? Any ideas on a way to determine if it is functioning properly? I'm pretty mechanically inclined (so I guess my past lemons have done me some good), but do I need special tools or equipment? The charging system was a major problem on that old HD. It was a generator model and I never could get it fixed completely, though somehow it still ran. I really don't want to go through that again.

This other thing, the 'Manual Cam Chain Tensioner'? I just 'googled' it, so now I at least know it has nothing to do with the drive chain, but where do I look for it? Is it visible from the normal view of the bike, or do I need to remove things in order to see it? Or possibly the seller may know, when I ask?

And as for leaks, am I able to see inside the lower fairing to where these might be? Or do they need to be removed?

Please bear with me guys, like I said in my first post, I'm kinda new at this... so if I'm asking novice questions, you understand, right? But I'm a fast learner, and if this works out, I'm sure soon enough I'll be answering questions with the rest of you in this forum.

Thanks again for all of your help and input. So, now I at least have a few other things to look at when I see this CBR next week. Hopefully it will pass the above criteria. If any of you think of anything else, please let me know.

Thanks again and have a great weekend.

-rey

 

The only way without a multi meter to check charging system is to ask him if he has had any trouble with the charging system. Most people will be honest. All it includes is the battery, the regulator and the stator. I've had problems with my bike keeping the battery charged and will be changing the rectifier this winter. it's not that costly to fix and i figured it might as well be changed out anyways.