Hey guys,
I am new to the forum and new to sportbikes. I am going to purchase my first bike real soon and am looking at a CBR 600 as one of my first choices. When looking online all of the bikes that i find seem to have about 20k miles on them already. Is this too many miles to purchase a bike with? I know it depends on how the bike was ridden, but say an average bike that wasn't raced but still driven like a sportbike on occasion. It is a 96 CBR 600 with just exhaust(vance & hines) and 20K miles good shape never been dumped. He is asking $2600 OBO, I think i would offer $2100 is that rediculous? keep in mind I am in minnesota so the season is over and he is a motivated seller(college student needs cash). I just don't want to buy a bike and have to put a whole bunch of work into it right away, although I am pretty handy when things do start to break.

 

It also has a fresh chain, sprocket, and rear tire. I forgot mention that.

 

I bought my 95 600 with 21,000 miles on it, and its still running great with a little over 32,000. I paid $2,500 for it if that helps. I had the valves adjusted at about 29,000 and changed the plugs at the same time. Other then that just normal oil and tire changes. Honda makes some reliable bikes.

 

I have a 93 f-2 little over 60,000 miles

 

Its all about how it was taken care off I bought mine with 19K but it was very well taken care off....make sure everythings straight, check the oil make sure its amber and not black sludge......make sure the tranny is shifting properly, and big things like that......

As far as offering dude DO NOT be afraid to offer!!! THe worse he can say is no.....If he gets offended, calm him down, and say ok lets talk about it whats the min u will let it go for CASH....and u negotiate from there...

Ive purchased everything I own (except for my house) cash, and only one time I had a guy get pissed off at me for a low offer...he was selling a Lexus for 15K...I offered him 9K ..he got all pissed and insulted, I calmed him down and ended up getting it for 11.5K hahaha a great deal since book value was easily 16K

Anyway, thats just an idea....dont be afraid u never know how bad someone needs money....If he doesnt get upset and you see that he starts to think about your offer PUSH for that tell him its all you have u can pay now and bring out any time of deffect u can possibly find...i.e. tires, something scraped, cracked broken, etc, etc...anything...even pain chips, make him feel guilty about it.....and if he still doesnt budge add another $100-$150 and see what happens....u get the idea....

BE SHAMELES AND ULL GET A GOOD DEAL! BE AVERAGE AND U GET AVERAGE DEAL!

 

Some people would be surprised how long these things live. 20K is nothing if it was taken care of...valve adjustment once or twice over that time, and oil changes. Chain and battery can be replaced, as can brake pads. Things like wheel bearings and so on last a long friggin' time. You might have some cheap electrical parts...fuel pump or fuel pump relay's go bad...light bulbs and such....nickle and dime stuff...but even that will be rare....and you;re very unlikely to repair somethign more than once.

I have seen CBR's of various ages/dsiplacements with 45K+. I owned a zx7 with 45K...i torn it down to do a rebuild only to find EVERYTHING was in spec....all the bearings, rings, pistons...all of it. And that bike spent half its life in germany on the autobahn (previous owner was in the military). Even on the race track these motors will last a couple summers.

As I recall there was a guy in Sport Rider a few years back that commuted 100 miles a day on a 900rr...had like 130K on it or something. I've seen Goldwings with 220,000 on them, with nothing more than timing belts being replaced.

 

The old saying that "you can't judge a book by it's cover" is true. But, that said, most of the time if someone has taken care of the outside of the bike, they're most likely to have taken care of the inside as well (not all the time, but more often than not). I wouldn't even blink on how many miles it has. For most bikes it's the outside that gives up first. The paint fades, it gets scratches, external plastics get brittle. Most of these things are from lack of maintenance and proper care. If you're not sure, bring a friend who's familiar with sport bikes to take a look. Go for it....

 

I don't really have any friends that are good with bikes, but we are all pretty mechanically inclined so I think I will be alright with making a judgement on the quality of the up keep. I just didn't really know what par is as far as when things start to go even if maintained. Thanks for the input guys. Hopefully I will have a new bike soon, I am trying not to rush it, I think there will be more bikes coming onto the market now that we are getting so close to snow season.

 

i have a 98 f3 with a little over 46,000 miles on it and it still runs like a champ