Hey all, it is very possible that I end up with a CBR 600 shortly here. Long story short, my Talon spun a rod and I just cant afford to keep fixing it, however I will get a substantial amount of money for the part out.... just enough to buy myself a bike. I have always liked bikes and I heavily considered it after the bearing spun last summer. Now that the part out is official I am looking for something fun to drive again and I asked some local DSM guys (many of which own bikes) what a good bike would be to start. The general consensus was that a F2, FZR, or a Ninja 500 would be good first bikes. Well, one guy chimed in saying I could buy his F4. For the goods it has a newly rebuilt carb, brand new front tire, K&N filter, after market lights (I assume head light and tail light as he did say lights but he only listed a LED tail light, and it has an aftermarket exhaust. I believe he said the front half was Yoshimura and it has a Jardine slip on. As for the bad things, it was set down a few years back but it wasnt a big, violent accident and the compromised parts were replaced and has never broken down since. It has around 20,000 miles, but most of (as I understand) are commuter miles these past two years. He is asking $3000 for the bike. What do you guys think? I havent seen a F4 for under $4000 anywhere regardless of the miles, I was pretty stoked when he said that. How long do these bikes last? It probably wont see more than like 2000-3000 miles each summer for the next two and I think it'll end up getting sold then because thats when I will be getting an appartment on my own but it would be fun as hell while I had it. Anyway, any and all help is greatly appreciated! Thanks all.

I should say I know this might be a bit more of a bike than a beginner should start with, but I feel I can handle it. I only know one guy that hasnt started on something 600 or bigger and everyone I have talked to says it should be a fine first bike. Also, I have been riding four wheelers since I was little so I am familar with the front/back brake concept and the clutch.

 

I'd say the F4 is a great first bike, mine's my first big bike. First I started off on a 125 and then went to this after that cos of my age. The bike itself is very forgiving compared to some others out there. It's got a lot to give and can be a hell of a lot of fun when you wind things up a bit As for the bike this guy is selling, I was just wondering which year it is? Also do you know a lot about bikes? It'd be an idea to either check it over yourself first if you know enough about bikes, or at least get someone who does to check it over for you. With the bike having been set down, I'd check out what damage was done and what exactly was replaced and such, but as long as he's taken care of the right bits after then I wouldn't worry too much cos these bikes are pretty much bomb proof motors. Mine's been down a couple of times and still comes back for more lol. It's just a shame the plastics break cos they aren't cheap lol, but that's the same for any sports bike anyway. As for him saying the bike has after market lights you'll usually find that it'll be the tail light and indicators that have been changed or at least the indicators. Anyway they're a comfy bike to ride, even over long distances (which I've done a lot of personally). Though if you plan on taking a pillion on the back (passenger) then I'd suggest getting some kind of grippy cover for the back of the seat as people on the back often tell me that they keep slipping forward with just the normal seat and no cover. The problem you may find with the F4 is the whole Cam Chain Tensioner problem, it'd be worth reading up about that, there's a few posts on it in this forum, so It'd be worth reading about that. Anyway, as far as first bikes, go i'd say the F4 is a good bike to go for. It's a good bike anyway even if it isn't your fisrt bike and it should last you a long time if you do decide to change your mind on selling it after 2 years cos you've become too attached to it lol. Anyway good luck with getting a bike, whatever you decide to go for in the end.

 

Sweet, you are like the 4th person I have heard of that had an F4 as a first bike and they all have liked them a lot. I dont know much about bikes, particularly Honda's. I was pretty into Yamaha dirt bikes then street bikes a few years back, but I lost interest when I came across DSM's. I have a good general knowledge of enginesfrom my car background, but bikes are a whole new chapter. My buddy Dave is going to go there with me not next weekend but the weekend after to look it over and give it a test ride. Dave is another guy that his first bike be a F4 and he loves the hell out of it. Oh, and the one I might buy is a 1999. I'm glad to be reading that they are reliable and comfortable, those are two definate plusses... not only for me, but for getting my parents to go along with it. Also, I should say I found the thread on how long they last, thats definately reassuring. I realize I might not want to sell it, but when push comes to shove I may have to. These are a way more practical way of transportation anyway though, I never carry more than a back pack with me, plus the insurance and gas are both way cheaper as is the parking pass for school. We'll see how it goes.

I do have a couple more questions though, mostly pertaining to the gear. I know I need a helmet which I plan on getting a plain black full face HJC one. I will also get some gloves, I love the feeling of having driving gloves on anyway. I was wondering about boots, pants, and jackets. I definately plan on getting a jacket, but is leather a necessity or will the textile ones do ok as well? I would imagine the leather would get awefully warm in the summers plus the leather jackets are like 2x as expensive as the textile ones. I dont wear shorts much so I kinda plan on just wearing jeans for the leg protection, is that what most of you guys do? I dont think I've ever seen a sport bike driver with protective pants. What about boots? I would like to just use normal shoes so I can walk around normally in them, but if boots are a big deal I will just deal with it. Thanks for the comment man, keep em coming guys!

 

My first helmet was an HJC, they're cheap, but pretty decent.
Textile jackets are fine, but as they say, they only help once. If you go down with it on you'll need a new one as they get torn up pretty easy, whereas leather can stand up to punishment better. I have a leather jacket for the cooler times and a textile one for hot summer days.
As for boots, I've seen too many people with crushed ankles/feet from minor accidents to wear sneakers or sandles while riding, you might look into ICON's footwear, they're fairly comfortable, protective, and look a lot like regular hiking boots.
As for pants, a decent pair of jeans is fine, I've gone down wearing a pair of heavy jeans, and they held up fine, just some minor abrasion.

 

I am sorry to say that this is complete bull****. Well he is right about the HJC and textile, but he is completely wrong about both the boots and pants. Icon "boots" provide little to no ankle support which is where most of the damage occurs if you wreck. Also, jeans are completely worthless in a crash. I believe "heavy" jeans last about 7 feet in a slide (I will find the article that said this later). You should at least get some overpants (leather or textile) that can go over our jeans. You really need leather pants though.

 

F4 is a GREAT starter bike, i had never rode a motorcycle of any kind before i bought mine, just 4 wheelers and things, but this bike is awesome, plenty of power, smooth ride, and just a fun easy to ride bike, i would recommend it to anyone that is just getting started. Thats my 2cents, good luck!

 

Thanks guys! I am getting excited, we're going to go look at it next weekend.Is there anything in particular I should look for?

 

I didn't say the Icon boots were perfect, but they're far better then sneakers or sandals, and I didn't mean to imply that they were great footware. I personally use sidi vertebra 2, but from what he said he wasn't looking at getting half-calf boots unless they were necessary, I was just giving him an alternative which is why I suggested the Icons. As for the jeans, you're right, they're not designed to go sliding across pavement in, but I still wear em anywhere except the track. I have a pair of textile overpants, and they're simply too hot to wear when going out on a casual ride.

Anyway, back to Thor... What you go out to ride in is completely up to you, what you wear will vary from person to person as much as bikes do. Have a picture of a guy flying past me wearing no gloves, no helmet, shorts, a t-shirt, sandals, yet he had an armadillo strapped on, was the funniest thing I'd ever seen... I ride in a leather jacket (textile if its hot), heavy jeans, helmet, gloves, and my sidi boots. It's just a balance between protection and what you're comfortable in. You'll obviously get the most protection from wearing a full suit, strong ankle-supporting boots, gloves, helmet, etc. But only you can judge if you'll need all that if you're going down the street to get a hamburger.

Also we seem to have a lot in common, I came from DSMs (kinda, actuallyfrom the3S crowd, but it's close enough :P ), first bike was a '00 yellow F4 too.

Edit: also here's a decent guide for what sort of things to look for and what kind of questions to ask:
http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

 

7feet? lmao, you'd be lucky if they last that. But you're right in what you say, I've come off in jeans more than once. I've came off at slow speed on a roundabout and that made a mess of my knees and that was on a 125 with jeans on. And they went right through and I was mostly rolling about for that too not even sliding! I've also slow speed highsided when I was running tyres that were stupidly worn out which I shouldn't have, but anyway, I went straight at the ground for that one. Ok the jeans didn't go through amazingly, but cos there was no impact protection there my knees were a mess and hurt like hell for the next few weeks and took ages to heal. I've also been off when I went into the back of a car (not my fault, this post explains it https://cbrforum.com/m_233494/mpage_.../tm.htm#239848 ) though luckily I was wearing leathers. That time I got off easy, the bike was a mess, but all I came away with was feeling sick dizzy and a little sore, but a lot of that was due to whacking the crown jewels off the tank [:@] lmao. So yea, after comming off with various forms of kit and personally feeling the consequences of my choices, I'd say feel free to ride in just jeans to anyone, but also forgive me if I call you an idiot for it lol. I know I was when I came off in just jeans.

Also as for protection you'd be best getting the best you can afford, it really is worth it. Luckily with bikes you get what you pay for with equipment. As helmets go I use AGV, though I'm gonna look at Arai for my next helmet. As for HJC I've not used them myself but personally I stay away from them, but that's just me, they look a little too cheap for my liking. With boots I'd go for a decent set of boots. I use Sidi vertabra (the old style) which I got when I first started out over 2 years ago and I still use them now, they last and provide good protection.

With gloves, again you want a decent set cos the last thing you want is messed up hands. You my put your hands down in a crash once without gloves but you'll not do it again if you have any sense lol. I also like to have the knuckle protection on my gloves too, I won't even consider using gloves that don't have it.

Also with the issue of being too hot for wearing decent protection I think it's far better to be protected and a little too hot (though it soon cools down when you're going at faster speeds) than to have little or no protection. I'd far rather stand a chance of comming home in one piece than becomming an organ donor really, I'm sure there's plenty of others who'd agree with me on that

 

Sweet, thanks guys. I'll probably end up getting a decently full and protective suit, probably by late July (some of my friends and I are having a car meet and going to a road/drag track) but I will never wear less than riding jacket, helmet, gloves, and atleast some sort of protective shoes. So how often do people go down? Has pretty much everyone set one down?

I am getting stoked for this guys. I just got another email from him, the bike is yellow and black . I'll let you guys know how it goes when I check it out.