I have an opportunity to buy either an 03 for $5,200 or an 06 for $6,000. Both have about 4,000 miles. Apples to apples, conventional wisdom tells me to spend a little more on the '06 since it is 3 years newer. I'm thinking I will pick whichever is in better shape cosmetically.

Are they more "issues" w/one year over the other? Oh, the only thing about the '06 is that it has an aftermarket side exhaust instead of the factory undertail, and I would want to switch it back to factory. Any idea what it would cost w/parts and labor from a Honda dealership to get it back to spec?

Just joined...you guys have a great setup here. I own a Kawi Cruiser and am on Kawi forums all the time. Most of the Kawi sport bike guys say that the power band on the Honda is "bland" because it is more linear than a Kawi. I can't refute that general consensus, so wondered what you guys thought.

 

to bland? thats weird.. i hate kawis, their pb is bigger but so are their rpm ranges. they spin too high for me. plus they sound like crap and look wierd. i dont like the power band on my friend's 07 at all so imo our pb is way better. anyways, get the 06. honda redesigns the models every two years and the 05 06 is way better then the 03 04. plus they have inverted forks! you should be able to pick up a stock 05 06 exhaust for like 30 bucks off craigslist, everyone tries to get rid of them so they are cheap.

 

Sounds like I should roll w/the '06. Excuse my ignorance, but what is an inverted fork and what is its function. About the "bland," it's everywhere on the kawi forums. It's almost like they band together against Honda. The general consensus on Yami R6/R1 is that they are track kings but are "gutless" for everyday use because all the power is in even higher rpm ranges than the others. It's weird, the Kawi/Suzuki guys seem to huddle together and the Yami guys are fans of Honda.

Has anyone seen/have a CBR w/25k + miles? A Honda is a Honda no matter how many wheels it has, at least that's the confidence the brand has bred in me

 

haha. 25k is alot of miles on a bike that you havent owned for those 25k miles. i wouldnt buy it just cuz thats alot of road that that bike has seen and you dont know for sure what abuse it has seen. honda makes great engines and great machines but some riders are just jack @sses.

haha thats so funny, its cuz kawis cant stand up against cbrs and suzuki riders (majority) are squids and dont know how to ride their bikes very well thus are always left in the dust. i just plain think suzukis are pieces of ****e, but thats imo. r6's are ligit on the track, and cool on street, but they lack the mid range of the cbrs-and thats what street is all about. r6 is the only other bike i would rep on the street.

to the fork question, the "forks" are the front forks that connect you tire to you bike... maybe you should invest your time in taking a msf course, i would advise you do it anyways, it will teach you everythin you need to know about riding and being safe and some about bikes in general. inverted refers to how they compress and inverted forks are better than traditional and 05/06's have them compared to the 03/04.

 

I have taken the MSF course and no they didn't discuss parts of the bike other than the controls...ie, kill switch, clutch, both brakes, throttle, signals, etc. I know what the forks are but my question was what make the "inverted" ones better or more usable?

Glad you found my findings to be humorous. I guess each brand will stick together no matter what as a means of justifying their purchase. Most people have only ridden one type of bike anyway, so it's rare to find comparisons based on experience and actually riding the various 600's.

I'm 4 months in, so not a total noob. Thanks for looking out for me though Do you use Super Premium gas in your 600/is it recommended?

I was SUPER pleased to find out how State Farm provides insurance to motorcycles. I have a 900 cruiser and the 600 would actually be cheaper. They go strictly off of cc's, not the actual bike or class of bikes. How sweet is that? I went w/Progressive on the cruiser (felt like a cheater because I have renter's, 2 cars, and a ring policy w/them for 10 years) but now I'll have to put the 600 back w/them. Point is.....if you have a cruiser, State Farm may not be the cheapest, but for 600 sport bikes, they are the bomb.

 

eh i have owned a suzuki. not a gsxr.. but a suzuki. andtwo hondas and a kawi. so i have been around the block a little bit lol. of course those are all different models and different years but still i just like the way hondas are put together. and yes, we do stick together, but thats cuz hondas are the best.... no but really they are.....

yeah i use premium, its recomended and worth it.

 

You know what made me 100% go Honda was my wife's 750 Shadow Spirit. Like you said, it just feels like it's "put together better." Her 750 shifts better after only 90 miles than my 900 Kawi does at 1,150 w/Mobil 1 synthetic oil. As icing on the cake, the labor rate of the Honda shop is $10 cheaper per hour out here. Do alot of guys use the 4ST racing Mobil 1 synthetic?

 

Man I could NOT agree with you more on that. Ofcourse suzuki's and kawakaki's band together...theyre both squid bikes!!! Yamaha was always my 2nd choice after Honda..

Now to answer your post: the 05/06 cbr 600 is lighter than the 03/04 and has improved midrange power (yes its noticeable). the 05/06 also has inverted forks. Both BOTH are great bikes...I say go for the 06

Theres a guy with a cbr f4i who has 130k on his bike...he is a member here and on youtube. Ive seen these bikes (personally) with 50k miles and running GREAT

 

^^ i agree with that, these bikes do run great with well over 100k miles on it, but i wouldnt buy a bike with over 15k on it personally cuz i dont know what the bike has seen. i know what abuse i have put on my bike personally, i dont like not knowing what abuse a bike that i put my life on the line while sitting on if i dont know what its been thru.

and pbni agree again, yamaha is the only other bike i would ever ride seriously...kinda want a gsx or an 04 636 to stunt.. but thats to abuse lol.

back to the thread, get the 06, but if its got 25k on it then find a different one. go on craigslist or soemthing, there are alot better deals out there