I have owned an 01 Ninja 250 and a 2005 Vulcan 500. I ran each for a year and have ridden many other bikes as well. I sold my Vulcan the season before last due to a lack of power. I couldn't find the bike I wanted last season so I waited for this year.

Today, I am going to pick up my 97 CBR600 F3 with 27,771 miles on it. It has a two brothers exhaust and is in less than perfect condition (It appears to just be normal post-27,000 mile wear and tear)

Now, my questions are in preventative care/maintenance. What tends to go wrong with these bikes and at how many miles? What should I be worried about with this thing?

Any advice is appreciated and I look forward to being an active participant on the forum.

 

Ibought my 97 with 22,300 in February of this year. Since then I have done the following:
oil change (Rotella t6 synthetic )
oil filter (mobil M1-110) Autozone
coolant flush and change (Engine Ice)
chain and sprockets. Did not really need to do this; but the one on the bike looked a bit haggard to me. Besides I like those gold tone chains and just wanted one.
Galfer braided front brake lines. (replaced oem harness and used two line configuration)
Dunlop Q2 tires 170/120
K&N air filter.

I purchased a manual cam chain tensionor from APE but have yet to install it. (seems to be a common problem)

I've read that people have headaches with the oem voltage regulator/rectifier but mine seems to be holding up.

I bought the bike becaue I wanted something sportier than my Hurricane for track days. I've had it on the track twice so far and it seems great. The bike is certainly faster than I am. lol

Other than that, I have not really had any issues. It's a Honda....do the basic maintenance and just ride the thing. Be safe and have fun.

 

+1 to what he said. Except that I'm partial to the Purolator Pure-One Oil filter.

 

Did you go with the stock sizes with the sprockets and chain? What are your thoughts on decreasing the front by 1 and add one to rear? Maybe just front? Rear? Hmmmm.

Also, what's the deal with the cam chain tensioner?

I have plenty more questions for you guys, so hopefully your in the moods for sharing the wealth :P

 

I went with the stock sizes for the sprockets. I figure Honda probably had a decent reason for choosing those ratios, and who am I to mess with that decision. I don't need either more acceleration or more top speed. THus, I'm pretty happy with the ratios as they came from the factory.

As far as I understan it, the oem cam chain tensioner can fail which is most easilly detected as noise from the top end at start up. This problem can be solved by replacing the original unit with a manual unit. If it is not a problem for your, then I would not worry about it.

 

Hey F3nthusiast....if you are interested in changing to steel lines, (cost me about $100 or so with new pads I believe) you might want to check out this threat:

Novice changes to steel lines.

 

Great thread! I will definitely be using this as a resource.

 

Quick thing about choosing sprockets: My bike came with a stock (15t) front sprocket and a huge 47 tooth rear. I am in the process of buying new sprockets and a chain, and wanted to mention that stock gearing is the way to go if you use your bike on any highway or freeways. I run my bike around 75-80mph, and my R.P.M.'s are so high that it makes the bike try and overheat for long periods of riding. most annoying. So staying stock or close to it is a good idea for those of you who commute or long distance ride. Also fuel mileage is not so good at that high of rpm's.

 

97 cbr 600 . I have 2 bikes one is a parts bike no title. as luck would have it both bikes have the same problem. the parts bike i bought from a motorcycle shop. they gave up on it. has new charging system, new pickup, new carbs,lots of other new parts. it runs good sitting in the shop .take it for a ride 1st gear runs ok . hit 2nd it all goes to crap.. boggs, cuts out . coast awhile and shift back to first and it picks back up again then same prob again.

 

Congrats and welcome to the CBR life. These really are great motorcycles.

Pay close eye to the chain and sprocket - 20K is about in for these in many cases. WHen I bought my machine over the winter I found the chain tight in some spots but slacked in others. When I was replacing the chain (and sprocket set - change them all at the same time) I found two tight links that was actall MISSING rollers......ugly and hugely dangerous.

I put my sprockets back to stock. It was geared 14/43 which made it uncomfortable for long stretches of highway slab. Back to stock, it's just what Honda sent from the factory that made these bikes such winners.

Look hard at brakes, too - easy to change and another critical maintenance item. Then there's pricey NGK spark plugs (get ready to swear like a sailor changing these gems...), filters (fuel, air, oil) and of course tires. I run Dunlop Sportmax Q2's...love em'

One common failure is the speed solenoid - which is a speedometer-commanded relay that switches induction air flow source to the engine based on speed. Mine failed, inhibiting any power above 25MPH or so. There's an excellent thread on this forum that offers lots of info on how to bypass the solenoid. It's an easy mod.

The folks on this forum are a huge asset - lot's to learn from these dudes so visit often and enjoy your machine.