Well ill add my half cent worth

My first bike is an F3 and i love it. I didnt like the style so much to say but thats easily changed lol. But as for being reliable I drive my bike 40 miles a day to work and it has never let me down rain or shine (upon proper maintance) Note check your clutch cable for wear lol.

Anyways i bought mine for $600, spent around $1000 more on it with a new motor and doing the f4i/rr swap.

Whats nice about these bikes is they are simple, parts are cheap, and they move pretty good for their age.

Im going to tear mine all apart this winter chrome the frame, paint it all up and possibly do a 900rr swap

 

My first bike was and still is my F3, awesome bike. For us taller guys its a perfect riding position. A lot of my buddies on newer R6's and RR's are always leaned forward so much it looks SO uncomfortable, yet i can sit straight up and still reach the bars. makes for better long distance rides. Oh and if you haven't sat on any other bikes you should, cuz the F3 seat is super soft compared to newer bikes where it just feels like your sitting on a piece of plywood. Got mine two years ago with 15k miles and she's just shy of 38k now and will last another 38k. oh and tires are cheaper. 160/60's always seem to be cheaper than the 190/70's and 180/65's and what not.

My only complaint is the complete and total lack of a tail trunk. Cop pulled me over once, asks for my lic and reg, and as I'm removing my side fairing in order to get to that tiny space they call a trunk for my reg he's like, "wtf are you doing?"

 

I ended up buying a 96' CBR F3. It's got yellow and purple plastics which are scraped up. The bike has 27,000 miles on it and I will get some pictures an/or a video when I pick it up tomorrow. It's a shame, I really like the color and would love to have brand new fairings of the same style, but I don't know if they are possible to still get?

 

odds are you can find some somewhere. I have a 96 too and i found plenty of fairing sets on ebay. but just be carefull who you buy from and whether or not it fits your model. i have a 97 converted tail light so mine was 97 plastic (since the only difference between 96 and 97 is the tail light. if its not oem, which none on ebay are, its not gonna fit exact. i just put new plastic on mine and had to bore out a few holes to make things fit, and they still didnt fit quite right. on the other hand OEM will fit, but its going to be a lot more expensive

this is my first bike too and ive had a blast. when i bought it i didnt know anything about bikes and ive had a few problems with it but ive been able to learn most of the ins and outs of how it works because of that which is pretty cool. good luck with yours!

 

Who do you guys have for an insurance company? I think my insurance providers are being paid in crack. The guy quoted me at $1,500 a year, and I have taken the MFS course... Let it be known that this is more than my CAR, and the $1500 is only for liability. I was expecting a $200 a year insurance plan. I am 17 years old. Where should I look for cheap insurance before I go down there and knock this moron out?

 

I ended up with an F3 for a first bike and so far (knock on wood) its treated me well. I've had some minor issues but nothing that someone with some mild mechanical know-how and a socket set couldn't deal with. One thing I definitely like about my bike is its easy low speed manners. As a newbie easy parking lot handling makes me a lot less likely to do something stupid and drop my bike in a parking lot. Last weekend while out for a ride with some friends we were getting gas at a station that had a "toll booth" arrangement for its pumps about two cars wide between the pumps. When I was done I started up, swung the bars to lock and made a u-turn between the pumps and parked next to my friends bike. He looked at me like I made the damn thing fly. He couldn't believe that my bike could do that, and much more that it was so stable I put my feet on the pegs while doing it. I've been on some other bikes and they were all a lot more of a handfull at parking lot speeds.

As for insurance - I'm spending something like $40 a month with geico but I'm also 23 which could help a bit.

 

my 96 was my first road bike also. never let me down and i just love it. honestly dont think ill sell it just hand it down to my son. i pay $16.36 a month for liability insurance through progressive. was higher when i first got it but its gone down twice since i havent gotten a ticket in a while (knock on wood). word to the wise if you have any problems get ahold of Idodirt hes helped me out a lot. especially with the gsxr rectifier swap (highly recommended btw)

 

I started on an 04 SV650S. I had it for 2 years and totaled it, high side = broken frame. Took the insurance money and purchased a 2000 CBR1100XX Blackbird. I was wanting to do some track days but no way I'm going to use the Bird. So I picked up a 96 F3. Reworked the suspension and started working on getting more from the engine. Have plans for a complete rebuild this winter. If you get a F3, it handles get in corners. People really slow me up in corners, almost run them over. On the straights the newer 600 spin up faster and take me. That doesn't happen all the time, if you trust your brakes and suspension.

First thing to do if you get one is freshen the front end. Even if it has low miles, 12+ years fork oil and seals.

 

I bought an '95 F3 this past saturday. This will be my first street bike. (i've rode dirtbikes since I was 10). I've been riding it everyday to work and around town and I absolutly love it. I was a little worried about starting on a 600 but as long as you respect what your riding you shouldn't get yourself into trouble due to engine size. F3's IMO look great and can be found at a good price so when/if you end up dropping it or messing it up you mind as much. You also won't get bored of it in 6 months-1 year like most people do on a 250.

Oh yeah and I saw someone say how comfy they are for taller people, I'll attest to this. I'm 6' 2" and I don't find myself all scrunched up and I can sit up stright and still reach everything comfortably. :P

Good luck on getting your new bike!

 

I got my 96 F3 last July, I love it, it handles great, and is faster than many of my friends 600s with just a k&N, slip-on, jets, and an ignition advancer. and it still provides a upright seating which is unheard of on the newer sportbikes.

I wrecked it last week when a lady ran a stop sign infront of me, it was all cosmetic but still $4600 in damages from the dealership. I plan on buying it back and fixing it myself though. I'm 23 and have a clean driving record for the last 3 years and had lost my license for speeding tickets before that. But I still only pay $74 a year for liability through allstate (my cars and house are also through them).

But i remember looking for a bike when i was 17/18 and the lowest insurance i could get was $1300 a year on a 94 ninja 600. I gave up wanting a bike until last year for that reason. Unfortunately given your age you might look at starting on the 250 or a cruiser style bike (like a honda rebel) just for insurance reasons. Once you have 3-4 years of road experience behind you the figures will drop significantly.

Good luck with the new bike!