Now don't get me wrong, I love my f3 but just wish I had the money to fix all the things wrong with it. Like get new oem plastics, upgrade to the f4i gauges, dyno tune it, HID headlight, integrated LED tail light,and completely custom paint job (US Army theme to it)

 

i have most of that for cheap buddy

 

I hear you Andy... except I NEED the 2009 RR... the Phoenix to be specific.

By the way...what happened to that pretty blue paint?!?

 

The f3's are behind as other bikes are all aluminum now and have better engines, aero, etc. I love the stock color scheme of my bike and I love the power but when I hop on my friends 03 Suzuki gsxr 600 or my dads 02 Suzuki gsxr 750, I realized the advancement of motorcycles. Like the majority of the "real world" of young motorcyclist I cannot come close to affording the insurance of a newer bike. I am twenty years old and once priced out insurance on a Kawasaki 636. I would have paid more a month for insurance than I would for the bike payment. I have a interest in drag racing this summer and I am thinking about doing some "mods" to this bike that will allow me to have some fun at the strip. I know people lean away from 600cc drag bikes but after seeing that Rickey Gadson campaigns a 1997 Kawasaki zx6. That was enough to say go for it. So keep checking me out on the forums I’m going to include what I do to the bike, the price, and my results. Its very likely that I will end up sinking more money than one would want to include in a older 600cc but in the end I’m saving due to what I pay for insurance.

 

Haha well while I enjoyed my previous paintjob for the last year, it was unfortunately only pretty from a far. From the previous owner my fairings were scratched to hell and the paint had been touched up on two separate occasions by him with different colors. Lol long story short I recently had a transformation.

 

I know the feeling Andy. I get TONS of compliments on my f3 but I have new bike fever like crazy. After my tail swap and f4i shock I think I'm going to sell her and buy my dream bike. A red and black 2003 CBR 954RR.

 

I've had a brand new R6, Ducati 749 and CBR600 F Sport to name a few as well as some nearly new bikes. I always had at least 2 bikes at any one time and although all the bikes I own now are old I still own 8 in total.

Over the years my riding has improved and I came to realise that on the road I enjoyed riding most things about the same. Depreciation and unreliability are now two things I hate so the F3 gives the best all round balance of everything including performance. As I have owned (and raced) more modern bikes I know how something should feel and handle etc.

Until I can get an early F4 cheaper than a steel frame I will stick with the F3. I've owned mine almost a year now and clocked up 3500 miles and here is a list of mods I think are almost essential for the road to keep it up to speed.

Double Bubble screen : The stock screen was hard to get behind and buffeted my head about, a better screen sorts the problem allowing you to reach to top speeds in reasonable comfort should you choose.

1997 - 1998 Linkage Dogbone ( for early F3 models): I like the look of the early F3 with the F2 rear light best, the alloy dogbone on the shock linkage is slightly smaller on the later F3. Fitting this to the early model gives a nice increase in ride hight. Coupled with a 15 - 20mm drop on the yokes over the forks gives modern 600 handling. A damper would be handy at high speeds if you travel fast on roads with sudden bumps, otherwise it is stable enough.

Rear Shock : For road use the standard Showa suspension is very good but will eventually tire and become choppy. A second hand rear shock with sub 20000 miles will restore performance to as good as as early R6 was new out of the box.

Forks : Again provided they haven't been too badly abused or never serviced the stock showa forks are good even now. New fork oil ( I use Silkolene 10w) will keep them that way. I reduced my air gap by adding another 20ml to each fork (420ml in total) as my Pre - load was maxed. This gives more pre load and compression damping. 10ml extra will be enough for most people but I ride hard on bumpy fen roads and am hard on the brakes. All settings may need adjustment when making any alterations, including changing the ride height.

Inlet Cam : I fitted an F4 inlet cam ( £50 for a pair on ebay ). The stock engine has a sharp power delivery compared to other 600's which can easily cause a highside in the wet and needs respect sometimes even in the dry. Also the engine has a lot of braking causing the back to slide a lot for a 600. The F4 cam gives 5 degree overlap with the exhaust cam leading to a less harsh power delivery which allows the rear tire more grip. Generally the engine will feel the same power wise but will give the confidence to open the throttle earlier as you would on a more modern 600 as the tire is no longer fighting for grip. Also the engine pulls into the redline ( I change gear at 14000 rpm ) the flat zone between 6 & 7000rpm remains the same on my bike. I have not altered anything else, I'm still on stock jetting with a slip on can. Running the standard can (I also have one) will cause popping when closing the throttle at high revs.

Gearing : I just dropped a tooth of the front sprocket as like most 600's the CBR is a little over geared. With the other mods I have just hit the redline in top gear then got scared. Wheelies off the throttle in first are easy, as I'm light they are harder off the clutch in second but I could do them well with practice. General speed is about the same as my R6 was but a bit slower on the top end, that was a tooth down on the front too.

Ram Air Solenoid Mod : The F3 has a 2 stage ram air system, with age the solenoid which switches between them can malfunction. Sometimes my bike would refuse to rev up properly when not long started. Removing the solenoid and re routing the pipe work so it uses only the big scoop solved this. Instructions are all over the net and this site. Saves a bit of weight too.

End Can : The CBR600 F3 is one of the few bikes I have owned where changing the end can gives any benefits other than lighter weight or looks. Not only does this solve the popping issue when throttling off it also lessens the effect of the annoying flat spot I have between 6 and 7000 rpm. Removing the baffle almost eliminates it for me.

Brakes : I've not yet done anything to my brakes as they are actually a lot better than most people make out despite only having twin pot calipers. My master cylinders is starting to get sticky so I will be replacing it soon as well as the brake lines as mine are nearly 20 years old. Rolling stoppies are fairly easy to do although a couple of times the brakes lacked initial bite at high speed. Not enough to be a problem on the road as you shouldn't be racing. They are pretty good, I can out brake pretty much everyone with them on the road and the back lifts almost as easily as on anything else if it's a bit bumpy. (9 out of 10 of my crashes on track are on the brakes, I am last of the late brakers). The weight of the bike and grip on the front are the bikes limiting factors in terms of stopping ability, just like the heavy 749.

Dynojetting : On a bike like this I think it is a waste of money. The stock engine in the main runs pretty well and taking the carbs off is a time consuming task to say the least. Dyno time is about £50 per hour plus vat and you still have to buy the kit. Unless you make big changes it isn't worth it, a fresh engine is only £250 off ebay if it blows, I got a complete spare bike with bodywork damage for £750 with full history and 25000 miles on it. If you want perfect throttle response and carburation then you need to look at something newer. Old bikes will always have ****les, that's why they are cheaper. I can ride around a minor flat spot in the revs, compared to the 2 strokes I had when i started out it is easy to get on with.

Manual Cam Chain Tensioner : If your bike starts to rattle when cold it will most likely be a faulty CCT, I bought a manual one new on ebay with a genuine Honda gasket for £40 delivered. It is easier to fit that a standard one and takes about a minute to adjust. I went 8th of a turn tighter when the rattling stopped. No problems since, if you have to re adjust regularly you will need a new cam chain before it snaps and throws you into a hedge when the engine locks solid.

 

I have to second this. I have a 97 and my girlfriend prefers the 97 any day over the 05 RR. Luckily I just finished rebuilding everything on Lafonda (97 F3) and she rides SO much better than the Blackbetty (05 RR). Since re-valving the forks and shock on Lafonda, she is so much smoother and controlling ride than Blackbetty. I can actually corner better on the Lafonda since the wheels actually stick to the ground with bumps. The streets I've been dealing with are DC streets, and my poor rims can show proof of this. Thinking I need to re-valve Blackbetty now that Lafonda is up and running.