Hey, I have recently gotten a motorcycle itch. Partly due to gas prices, I'll admit :lol: I was looking to spend ~$3k on a bike and this gen. CBR seems to be the one to get. I have a few questions that I know you guys can answer:

1) What is the first step I need to do to begin to ride? Go to the DMV and take a test? Where do I do the safety course, etc? Other courses I need to take prior to riding?

2) Bike maintainance is much more inexpensive than car maintainance (relatively). What can I expect to fix/replace on a 10+ year old bike?

3) [the stupidest question of all] How do I know how much gas I have? Every picture of the guages that I've ever seen has failed to show me a fuel indicator (because it doesn't exist :lol: ). So, do I reset the trip ODO every time I fuel-up and calculate my range based on MPG/driving style?

Thanks guys. Any other help would be appreciated.

 

1. Yes take the test at the DMV.To take a safty class you may have to talk to a bike dealer to find out where at and any other info.

2. Well as per a 10 year old car it will be a lot less. As far as a 10 year old bike you may have to speed a few on some wear and tear things likebreaks, tires, oil and coolent.......

3. This bike does not have a gas guage. You have to open and look into your gas. Newer bikes have that but we are old school. We dont need all that fancy gas light thingys.

 

I know in NC, you take a 25 question test for the permit. Then you can take an MSF course and when you go back to the DMV for your licence, they'll waive the driving part because they told me the MSF is way better than what they provide anyway. Just had to show them proof of my MSF. No big deal. The MSF is a great course for beginners and advance riders alike. Highly recommend it!

Stuff to fix or whatch out for on an F3: Voltage regulator (the biggest), chain/sprocket set, front fork seals (especially if the previous owner rode any wheelies).

As for gas, I just let it go until it starts to die. Then I swap it to reserve and head to the next gas station. You can watch your miles though by trip or odo.

 

Welcome to the world of motorcycle riding!! To answer some of your questions,

1. The first step is to make sure you ride legally... ie... get your endorsement before you hit the streets. You can take your test through the DMV but it would be a good idea to take the safety course. I believe some states require it if you are under 21. Sometimes those rider courses are booked up for months so I recommend that you sit in on one to seeif you can sneak in because someone usually fails to show up.

2. In terms of maintenance on the F3, regular oil changes and chain lubing are your basic. Additional things would you would be changing the fuel filter, clean the air filter, brake pads, and tires. Common items that go bad are the cam chain tensioner (CCT), regulator/rectifier (R/R), and battery (due to the bad R/R). I am sure I am forgetting a couple things, but for the most part that is it.

3. There are many factors that affect gas mileage, such as your weight, heavy wrist or not, wind resistance. In terms of knowing your range, you will get a feel for how far you can go. When you are running on the regular side of the fuel switch and begin to run out of petrol, the bike begins to sputter and run like a lawn mower. You then reach down and turn the switch to reserve. You now know that you need petrol. That is the gas gauge on the F3. If I dont ride the bike like it was stolen and am on the freeway, I usually get around 200 miles to a tank. I was on a cross country road trip and I was able to get 260 miles on a tank, of course that consisted of driving at 65 MPH and no more. To know how much farther you can go on the reserve, just look at your ODO and do a little math in your head. The fuel tanks' total capacity is 4 gallons. Of those 4 gallons, 1 gallon is for the reserve. So if you switched over at 100 miles, divide that by 3 to get an average of 33.33 which can give you an estimate of how much farther you can go. Eventually you will not even have to do the math in your head, you will just know.

 

#3
The manual says that the fuel tank capacity is 4.5 US Gal. including a .8 Gal reserve. I can personally attest that after running completely out of gas and coasting to the gas pumps (funny sight to see, riding with the bike leaned over to the left trying to get every last drop out of the tank), I could't squeeze any more than 4.4 gallons in the tank. I had gone just about 33 to 34 miles on the reserve setting. That's just about right. I average 43 mpg and 34.3 miles is .8 of that. It doesn't take you long to know how far you can go before needing to fuel up.

In all honesty though, your butt is going to want you to get off and stretch a bit. Especially if your going long distances.

 

Idodirt is right... my bad. By the way, you will want to get a manual too.

 

Marc, not correcting anyone, just spitting out the manual. No big deal. Like Marc said, get a manual. Lots of answers in there....

 

No offense taken Idodirt. It is kinda funny... I always thought the capacity was 4 gallons and when you said the it was 4.5, I was like... Whaa. So, I went to the manual looked it up and thought to myself... damn... Ive been sayin the wrong thing for 10 years now (LOL). I just never thought to look it up.

 

1. Gotta have a license. Also taking the MSF course is a big plus. It runs about $250 but totally worth it.

2. Well depending on tires and how hard you ride your tires can last from 2,000-10,000miles but will need to be replaced more than a car tire but cost about the same ($100-200 per tire). Especially the rear tire. You need to change your oil roughly every 3,000 miles and use synthetic at close to $10-15 a quart (you'll need 4 quarts) and a new Honda oil filter. It's cheaper if you do it yourself but if you pay someone to do it the price is going to be more than those $20 specials you see at car lube places. Then add in spark plugs and so on and so on it can get more costly than a car. Basically if you are wanting to save gas then NOT riding a toy is the way to go. Because after you spend $3000-4000 on a bike then even more for upkeep and insurance you could have pu that money into gas. So get a bike to get a bike not to save gas.

3. I use my odometer to gauge my gas. I get roughly 40-50mpg with me running rich. I normally fill up at 130miles on my odometer but I like a nice cushion since I explore on my bike a lot.

4 (I'm adding one) - Is this your first motorcycle? If so the F3 may not be a good first choice. Even though they have nothing on newer 600s they are still powerful bikes. So you can get yourself into a lot of trouble on one if you don't know how to ride. My F3 is my 2nd motorcycle.


If you are a beginner there are many other good options. The kawasaki Ninja250/500 and possibly 650r are good options. Then there is the Suzuki GS500f, GSX650f, Katana 600/750, and SV650 wich is a really good bike. With Yamaha you can get an older FZ6. Then with Honda you have the 599 which is a "Standard" but sport style bike that is still fun.

I recommend the SV650 above all else. It's a forgiving bike that is still fun in the mountains and fairly quick. Plus you can get used ones in great shape from $2500-4500 easy.

 

now my first street bike was an 98 f3 and granted i might still get scraped of the road dead someday, i thought it wasnt that impressive coming off a cr 250. i really expected a handfull but it seems to me to be a perfect first bike for myself..quite manageable power..granted this isnt my first bike, just first street bike..i thought it was perfect