Hi everyone

I'm a newbie - taking my DAS test next week and hope to get a CBR600F as a first big bike. I'm 28 and can keep it garaged, so insurance isn't toooo painful. I'll be using it for weekend riding and the odd longer trip every month or two (4-500 miles).

I've got a max budget of £2000. What's most important - to get as low mileage as possible or to get as new a bike as possible?

Is there any particular year I should stay away from? How much is 'too much' mileage - I need something that's reliable and won't spend most of its time in the workshop. At what kind of mileage would you expect to need to do a major service (ie replace shocks, etc)?

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Safe riding,
Sam.

 

whats up sam?

First I would have to say milage is most important as long as the bike wasnt beat on too hard and properly taken care of. Im not sure about all the F series, but the f3's (95-98) are awesome bikes that are very durable. Some guys on this forum have 30k-40k miles on their bikes! You should be able to use common sense looking at a bike to see if it was properly maintained and well kept. Im not sure about the market and demand for bikes in your country but that seems like a good amount of money to find one of these. if you do find one, dont get too excited and jump on it first thing because you might end up paying too much
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is that currency euros?? if thats right thats equivalent to around 2700 USD. So you can get an older 90's F2, or maybe a 95 or 96 F3 if you get lucky.

also, i assume you mean highest gas milage, i personally wouldnt worry too much about that. There is never "too much" milage for a honda cbr, guys have driven theirs for over 100000 milesand it just keeps going. the only problem is the amount of maintenence increases as the milage increases. things just start to break. I would look for one around 10,000 miles

I just bought a 98 with 12000 miles for $2500 USD not running.

 

£ is pounds, £2000 will buy you a good CBR 600 FV (1997) I bought mine with 10500 miles on the clock and a full service history off of a copper, and it is mint for just under £2000. Milage isn't an issue as long as it has been serviced regulary. Try and stay away from one that has been crashed and try to make sure there are no cracks on the fairings, check the fork seals are not leaking and that there are no strange rattles from the engine.
Try and get an original one with OEM fairings and colour scheme, this way you know it less likely to have been in an accident (I am always a bit weary about bikes that have been painted).
Ebay is good but make sure you check the bike out first.
Here are some that look quite good.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1998-HONDA-CBR...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2000-HONDA-cbr...QQcmdZViewItem

Quite a clean F2 with lots of history.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CBR-600-F-SUPE...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1997-HONDA-CBR...QQcmdZViewItem

I would say go look at a few and then you will quickly learn how to spot a good one from a bad. The F2's are good but I would say get as new one as possible. And once you get a bike make sure you get some decent gear, I have dealt with these guys and they are good. http://stores.ebay.co.uk/p-rclothing...Q3amesstQQtZkm

Cheers

Mike

 

The 1st one on Ebay sounded genuine enough. Anyway, my addition to the above advice, is to take someone with you that hopefully knows a bit about bikes, its very easy to get a caught up when buying & another opinion may make you focus on the task at hand. (I'm actually the worst one to give that advice). When I bought my CBR (& although new) I didn't even take it for a test ride. Don't expect pristine paint, a bit of wear is expected, but on the other hand, if it looks tatty, walk away. look for rust on the metal bits (forks, pipes & so on) good luck

 

allright. good to know what that symbol is...you probably think im retarded for not knowing that though...you can get a good bike for that amount. Listen to mike..hes from the UK(apparently..lol) he should have a better idea of your situation over there. If you buy out of the US, its gonna be a bitch to ship it over there...

 

Hey CamSam, good luck on the test. I just won an auction about an hour ago on ebay for a 1998 CBR 600 F3. It appears to be in good condition with low mileage. For US $2650.00 I figured I couldn't loose. I'll be flying up to NY to ride it back to Florida in a couple of weeks. As for how they handle aging, my 1000F has 37000 miles and my wifes 97 F3 has about 29000 miles. Both of them are running great with minimal maintenance required. Good luck looking, the deals are out there.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=200142396264

 

Ask how the bike wheelies.If he/she starts to answer on "how to", walk away.Wheelies kill motors,there is no exception.

Ask how long it has been sitting,make them fire it up for you.If it requires alot of action to get her started,price drops.The easier to start,the better it has been taken care of.

Look for pitting/scrapes on the fork tube uppers (the shiny part of the forks).They must be clean.While looking here pay attention and try to see if there are any creases/tweaks.Also look at the lower triple clamp,and see if the bottom of it is level.This will reveal if it has been crashed.

Remove the tail section bodywork,then the seat.This will reveal the subframe,and will reveal whether or not the bike has been down hard.

Scrapes on the wheel lips.

Ask if the carbs have been adjusted/synchronized.If not,price drops.

K&N or BMC filters are not good in street bikes nor are they good with stock motors.Paper works best in this instance.If they are using a high flow filter and they did not adjust the carbs,the bike has been running lean,and this is not helpful to engine longevity.

Cam chain tensioners are required on all CBRs.The OEM ones go bad,often.

I'll check back later

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the info so far - I'm a lot more clued up than I was 24 hours ago!

Dare I say it on this forum, but a few people have told me that a cbr600f might be a bit loopy for a first big bike, and that I'd be better off cutting my teeth on something like a Yamaha Fazer 600 - what do you guys think?!

Another reason for this (they said) was that servicing and replacement parts would be cheaper on the late 90's Fazer than on a late 90's CBR...

 

It depends, I was looking for an sv650 before I bought my CBR the guys in the shop said it would be a waste of money as I would get bored on the SV within a few months and want to upgrade, I think the fazers are a bit of an old man's bike, whatever you buy stay away from 500cc bike as they are dated and very boring. Servicing on CBR's is cheap as, all you have to change is things like oil and filter most of the other servicing is just checks i.e. valve clearences every 16000 miles. One common failure is the cct but these cost less that £50 to replace.
They are a lot of bike for a first timer and have more power than you can handle, but they are a very neutral bike and like to stay rubber side down, aslong as you don't get cocky with the right hand.
I love my CBR and doubt if I will ever sell it, it does everything my mates 600 rr does and is way more comfortable, and way better for carrying pillions