Ok. so i've ridden Dirt bike my whole life. from liek age 3 i think my pops has pics of me..
anyhow. i'm looking at 3 different bikes. the F3, F4, F4i.
with all the reviews i've googled all i can realy see the F4i is injected. how much different in handling is the F4 form teh F3. are carbs realy that hard to deal with? i've had dritbikes for year and never had any major problem. but they only had one carb. and i've heard banshee owners cursing the 2 carbs, getting htem into tune.
some advise please..
i live in socal. am i insane for wanting a sportbike? i am married and have a 2 year old. i'm a very conscious rider on dirt but only been on street half dozen times.
i'm looking into the rider safety course. and all the gear. are street boots different then dirt boots? i knwo the leathers are. what is a good place to on road market place/prices. ebay? local steelership? please some help here.
how many miles is OK for these bikes?
one is an 98 F3 with 19K miles
one is a 99 F4 with 38K miles
one is a 2K with 13K miles
What is the average gas mialge of these i've seen reports form people saying they get 30 mpg. and othere saying they get 60. now mind you i'm not going to be racing ANYONE! yes i have control of myself. i would much rather be called a Pu$$y then be called dead. yes i have searched and read and read some more. i've been looking at a bike for the better part of 3 months now.
thank you all for any help.

HR

 

I would say that milage on a motorcycle isn't the same as on a car. I'd rather see a new bike have more miles than an older bike with less miles. Bikes will go to hell if you just let it sit around but if you run it it will stay running good.

 

Well one great place to find a good used bike in So. Cal is Craigslist. I found and purchased two bikes on craigslist within the last couple of years. You'll be able to find some great used bikes there. I found a 2001 Suzuki Katana and a '99 CBR600 F4. Both of the bikes were in GREAT condition with low miles and records of all the maintenance on the bikes, both previous owners were very meticulous on how they took care of their bikes. You'll be able to find all makes and models on craigslist by location. Good luck!! I'm sure you'll find exactly what you are looking for. On my F4, I get about 40 mpg, sometimes more, but I don't ride hard, I use it to commute to work.

 

Also check for the condition of the bike. The 3 bikes you have listed on here are different and the main difference is that the f4i is fuel injection and the others are carbs. I don't mind the carb because I'm already use to the maintanence but the next bike I get will definetly be a fuel injected bike.

 

as far as mileage it depends on how you ride...if your getting high in the RPMS your MPG will go way down...I get around 50mpg, Sometimes less, but I dont ride real hard...but when I do ride hard then I can defiently tell a difference in the mpg

My 00 has 18k on it now, and runs great, I wouldnt go too much on the mileage, hell a guy on here has over 100k omn his 04 F4i, I agree with Nauree I would rather have a bike thats been rode and has some miles then one that has just sat for long periods at a time

 

ok what does the maintance intel with the carbs? are they hard to tune? i know to look for fork seals, brake pads, spockets. odd engine noise. bad thing is i'm not sure whan i should be looking for. it's not very practical for the family. but i'm thinkin as a comuter it should be ok. maybe. if it gets 30+ mpg i think i'll like it.
i drive around town and see all the people on bikes, and i'm taken back to when i rode dirt bikes. the wind and open road was great. but in a sportbike, i'm worried about other peopls stupid children in car trying to kill me.
are they realy as dagerous as some people are telling me.?
thank you all for the input.

HR.

 

ok.. jackets? what brand is good? i know i have all alpinestar boots, but those are for dirt. i need street boots and jecket, any ideas on this?
thak again.

HR.

 

Boots:
I have a Alpinestar MP4 (I think) boots.
They are pretty nice and comfortable, IMO.
Just one zipper and the rest is velco.
They have the option of coming waterproofed as well.

Jacket:
I have a leather Icon jacket with the armor and a "nylon" FieldSheer jacket with armor.
Both work well and I can't complain about either.
Best bet is to go try a few on and see what you think, since we and all the jackets are different.

I'm assuming you already have a good helmet and don't forget about some gloves.

 

Most of the top brands are good. I have Joe Rocket and Teknic in leather for jackets and JR textile pants/Tek leather pants. Both are of good quality. A* is good if not overpriced and over rated.
For boots......it's impossible to go wrong with Sidi. Sidi is making the best boot available for purchase IMO. The Vert Race is an amazing foot cover.

Yes, it's every bit as dangerous as people tell you. The OTHER people on the road are the biggest hazard to a motorcyclist. If you watch traffic and leave plenty of room to move around both ahead and behind you should be fine. Just assume NOBODY sees you because 98% of the time......they don't and they wont care if they dont see you. They are too busy on the phone, yelling at the kids, smoking a heater, eating a Big Mac, and reading the paper to give a **** about YOU on a bike. An "I'm Sorry I didnt see you" wave doesnt do you any good if you're under the SUV that just ran over you.
Be careful and think ahead and you'll be fine.

Gear will save your life if you go down. I know what I've invested in gear and I'm pretty surethe $2000 in gear I wear is cheaper than a skin graft.Getthe best you can afford and enjoy it........it is dangerous but SOOOO much fun!! Do some track days if you get the chance....it'll change your life.

Carbs (when clean and syncd) are wonderful. It's hard to beat perfectly metered carbs.........they flow so nice. But, injection is nice as well. Just because it's injected doesnt mean it doesnt carry it's own set of problems. They still need to be synched, and if left to sit they will gum up injectors and you'll end up with the same problem as dirty carbs.
Get the newest/cleanest bike you can afford. A clean 45,000 milesis better than a beat up/stunted (by a rookie) 3000 mile bike ANY day.

 

doesn't matter if a sportbike or a cruiser, you always have people that wont see you, some are just idiots not paying attention, others you might be in their blind spot....you always have to be on the lookout

as far as gear I have a teknic leather jacket, and i just got a Icon Motorhead jacket, my wife has an alpinestars leather jacket, all three are heavy and come with padding in the elbows and shoulders, but the Icon is the nicest and has a removable full liner that goes through the sleeves, which is nice for this time of the year..

me and the wife both have Mesh jackets also that we wear in the summer, both have leather gloves, hers are joe rocket mine olympia - which are made just like her gloves

I also have 2 pairs of Icon boots, Super Duty 2 -which are comfortable, and the other icon are like the Field Armour boots, but an older version, there not comfortable, and have a metal peice on the back heel, that is very annoying, and slick when walking on tile....

Get some gloves....b/c if you go down, thats normally the first thing you put down to try and stop the fall....