Hello all,

I am looking at two bikes currently - will go check them out this weekend and possibly pick one up. One is an 01 f4i with around 4.5k miles and alight lay down going for about $3800. The other one is an 03rr with about 8k miles,telef plastics and going for $300 bucks more. I am leaning towards the rr without physically seeing them but wanted everyone elses knowledge.
If I go check them out and they are both in good mechanical order - which one would you go with?? What are the main advantages of one over the other?? Thanks

 

I still have to ride an RR so maybe am not the best judge. However, the main differences are the obvious ones: Ergonomics, the F4i is more road biased and therefore slightly more comfortable whilst the RR is more track oriented and with more aggressive styling. There isn't much difference in performance and weight (at least till 03 I think - can someone in here correct this?). It all depends on what type of riding you will be doing. Which one I choose: well, I pray to God every day that Honda changes its mind and start producing the F4i again.

 

You have to ask yourself... "what is this guys deffinition of a 'light lay down." Really inspect the F4i for potential isues that could go along with drop related damage. Personally if it was me and i was buying my bike again, i would go for the RR. and the thing that i would use to sell it to myself would be that$300 for a bike that is2 years younger and hasn't been dropped is well worth the extra coin.

Question though, is this your first bike? then i think my oppinionmight change.

 

Well not really my first bike but my first true sport bike I guess. Have had a katana :/ and have a Ninjette and a Shadow in the stable. I will be using the bike for some commuting (only 15 miles) and fun. Not really looking to do long distances on it if it is uncomfortablesince I will still have either the Ninjette or the Shadow.

The styling of the rr appeals a lot more to me even though I have seen what people have done to their f4is here and they look sick!! I am not a fan of the race plastics he has on the bike but I was thinking I could probably trade someone for their stockies or paint it if it comes down to it. I guess it is all going to boil down to actual physical inspection tho ... maybe I'll post up some pics when I get home tonight...

 

LOOK AT THE RADIATOR FOR HACKED REPAIRS. Both the F4i and the 600RR my friend bought has damaged and repaired radiators. Both had leaks at the right side outlets.So the RR radiator wastaken to a shop for a professional rad repair, but the 4i, well lol, I just a super nice JB weld fixon the minor leak. The RR rad was about $75 to have fixed the 4i was $4. LOL

Also take a close look at the upper fairing in the area where the mirrors meet the upper fairing. Looked for cracks in the fairing. If you see a crack I will bet you money that the upper cowl stay is bent or cracked itself. Again, both the RR and F4i needed them. They are about $60 for the cowl stay. Wiggle all the fairings and the headlight and what not to see how tight they are in there. The F4i had a few broken tabs and the headlight was super loose.

 

Thanks TBFGhost - will def. inspect that closely!

 

edited my post if you did not notice....added a few things that came to mind.

 

[sm=smiley14.gif]Taking notes

 

The RR sounds like a better buy to me, in many ways is a superior bike. With that said, I prefer the F4i, and if I never rode an RR again it would be too soon. If you are not unhappy with the RR ergos, then this decision is a no-brainer.

 

depends on what style of riding you prefer, like kukku said, if you want to lean more towards track style riding or the comfort of cruising on the streets. also depends what you're gonna use the bike for. if it's for commute it'd go with the f4i... actually either way, i'd still go w/ the f4i cuz they are just great bikes! all-around style of riding and it's definitely honda's most well balanced sportbike