I am new to the board and currently have a GS500F. I am going to be giving that to my younger brother and moving up to a bigger bike. I really dont need a 1000 and I think i would be happy with the 600. But my question is, why does it seem that the 03's are more popular than the 04 and 05's? I see posts about "Is this a good price" and there is always talk about 03's being the best. Is it because they are the same as the 04 and 05, just cheaper if you can find one?

I have my bike through a Polaris Card and I saw a post about someone that went to the Polaris dealer and had them order a new 600RR? I think I may do that unless I can find a good deal on a 03 or 04... Any info would be great! Thanks

 

Don't think there are many differences mechanically between the '03 and the '04-'05 models. I would say the obvious thing is that you could get an '03 cheaper but I guess I don't see any certian year as having more owners than the others. I think it seems to be pretty even overall.

 

Check out the below link to a web site that describes the differences in detail. This site was developed and is currently managed and maintained by Jeffery Kufalk. He club races and does write ups on his race mods and progress. It is a really cool site.

Link removed and sent in PM due to violation if TOS.

 

First off, good job being smart and getting a smaller bike to start off with. i think the 03s might seem more popular because of the fact that it was the first year for the RRs. they are the same as the 04s so theres no real reason for them to be more popular. the 05s were when they changed slightly. they probably will be cheaper because they are older so good luck getting one.

 

An '05 is the one to get. Honda knocked off 20 pounds for '05 and increased the power. The earlier RR's had good color schemes (the blue is beautiful) but the '05 is the one that I would actually consider getting rid of my f4i for because the '03-'04s are actually slower on the street that the '01 f4i, and far less comfortable. They all will be a good step up for you but if you have the money, get an '05.

 

gotta love the 2003..........lol

 

whoa whoa whoa mazdjoe, i beg to differ that my shiny yellow 03 is slower on the street than an 01 f4i. when they came out the RR was the fastest straitline 600 on the market (636 doesnt count). now if honda made a faster 600, why would all the bike mags put the RR in the comparos to beat up the other makers 600? the f4i is a great bike, if honda didnt come out wtih the RR i would own an f4i, but its not faster then my RR.

 

whoa whoa whoa chillin, i beg to differ that your shiny yellow 03 is faster on the street than an 01 f4i. check out the link from sportrider. apparently according to their dyno and drag times, the 01 F4i was a mere 0.02 sec slower in the 1/4 than the 03 RR. It was also a second slower 60-80mph, HOWEVER it was faster than the RR from 80-100mph. So can you still say the RR is faster when you notice the F4i is 2 bike lenghts ahead of you at 100mph on a highspeed roll on? or right beside you on a 1/4 mile strip? Also the 03 is listed as faster than the 04 in everything but a 1/4 mile time. It is possible for older bikes to be faster than newer ones. Look at the ZX-9. The late 90s models were a good bit quicker than the later 900s. I believe the gsxr 1300s and R1s experienced that too. Want to know why? Its because of where the power is. When you have a 6 speed transmission bu you're running through the quarter in 3rd gear, you dont have enough gear. The manufacturers are creating more HP by one thing and one thing only.........ALLOWING THE BIKE TO REV TO 15,000 RPM. I think the key word that mazdjoe used was STREET. Street riding isnt at 15K. Also.........The f4i was 10 lbs lighter on top of this. So take it for what you want to take it as, but you cant say that the RR is faster than the F4i and you cant say the F4i is faster than the RR. At best, you could say they are pretty much even. No two engines dyno the same, no two identical bikes will run the same 1/4 mile. Is your 2003 RR faster than all other 2003 RRs? It can probably edge out some and will probably lose to others. Same with the F4i. You can probably beat some, you'll probably get beat by others. http://sportrider.com/bikes/146_perf_nums/

 

I'll add to the fight.... the F4 come with a +3 in the rear compared to the RR's. Match the gearing and redo that test.

 

I take these arguments to be "modifications aside". Stock vs. stock. If you do that with the RR, to be fair you have to be allowed modifications to the F4i too. To me thats like saying the RR has bigger intake and exhaust ports, if you did that to the F4i it'd be even quicker. Keep doing that and you'll have identical setups.