Good question for anyone who knows the market on used bikes...I picked up an 02 CBR600 F4i last December for $2800 (plus tax), it had 19K miles on it and a number of mods including projector style angel eye HIDs, Leo Vince exhaust, and new gear ratio. It also had a new K&N air filter, new front tire, and brand new battery. I took it in to the shop and spent $650 on new front and rear brakes, fork stem, and an oil change. After riding a bit I noticed the rear sprocket 54T is eating up way too much gas and causes the speedo to read way off. Looking at the wear bar, I think it's also time for a new rear tire. I contacted the shop and they said it would be $450 for parts and labor on new tire, gears, and chain. That said I have $3500 in the bike - should I cut my losses and sell the bike as is, I have a standing offer of $3k, or invest another $450 and keep it?? I would like to buy a newer bike, but otherwise am indifferent. Any advice?

 

Just my

Bikes are almost ALWAYS going to require some kind of maintenance when bought used. Same with cars. People put less effort and money in to maintaining them when they know they're going to sell them soon ad tend to sell when there are big service intervals coming up. It really depends on how much you like the bike. F4i's are extremely popular for a reason, they're tough and the ergonomics are quite good for the performance they offer, oh and they look really good. People can never quite believe my bike is 10 years old.

Go take some other bikes for rides if you can and see how they compare. If you have the money and don't want to deal with as much maintenance you could go for a newer machine but the maintenance is always going to be there with anything you buy. The advantage of getting something and doing the necessary (sometimes evil) maintenance is that you know it's done and it should give you many miles of trouble free riding. Try not to think of the purchase price and maintenance together. The maint. is kind of like gas, it's just the cost of riding.

Ps. You could probably do a chain and sprocket yourself and save a fair amount of money, it's really not very hard if you're somewhat mechanically inclined. Rear tires are expensive, you can try to look for more of a sport/ touring tire which will last longer and are usually a little cheaper at the cost of losing a little grip. If you're not at the track you probably don't need all the grip in the world anyway. You can look on Craigslist or at tire places for take offs as well. Hope some of this helps you.

 

+1 to everything MattSD said.

As soon as I bought my bike I started buying "goodies" and looking into what I needed to do first to maintain it. It's actually been part of the fun of owning it so far. And the OEM Sprocket/Chain update I'll be doing next will definitley be the first time I have ever done THAT...

Embrace the work... I have read it many times on here, and I'll repeat it myself... When you work on your bike you get to know it alot better, and that can only help you be a better owner/rider I know I'm learning stuff every single day... And I can say from personal experience that the '02 F4i has been a great bike. In performance and comfort. So if you stick with it, you'll be happy...

 

Like MattSD said it really depends on how much you like the bike. Also how much can you get for your F4i. My old F4i needed new tires, chain & sprockets and brakes all the way around. It would have cost me about $1K and that's with me doing all the labor. I decided I wanted to sell it and upgrade to a newer bike. Sold my F4i for $3500 and bought my 600RR for $5200 so it really only cost me $700 to upgrade to a bike that is 6 years newer and practically brand new at the time that I bought it. Now with that said I've already put tires on my RR and when the time comes I will put brakes and chain & sprockets on it because I love my RR. If you're mechanically inclined and have the proper tools then yes do the work your self and save of $$. However if you're not then I suggest leaving it to the professionals as you don't want to mess something up and have it break as your doing 80 mph on the highway. But I suggest getting that 52T sprocket off as of yesterday. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm going to end up keeping the bike and having the work done. Once I factor in the taxes and registration on a new bike it's practically a break even on having the work done. Besides I think I can get more for the bike selling it in the spring. I watched some youtube videos on swapping the tires and sprockets, looks easy enough, but I don't haves some of the required tools to get the job done. Much appreciated!

 

Glad to hear it!! That's one more bike being properly taken care of rather than passed along from owner to owner slowly deteriorating because nobody wants to maintain it. You will have a much easier time selling when the time comes if you've done the necessary work, too. Consider taking the wheels off (usually cheaper this way) and having the tires mounted by a pro. Balancing is something they can do easily but is very hard to do at home.

 

Good choice, IMO. Pretty much everything you mentioned is maintenance, typical on any bike. I'm also in the Chicagoland area. Last fall I paid 3400. for my 02 with roughly 20k on the clock. Albeit mint, it didnt have half the goodies yours has. The price is definitely not out of line for a bike as solid as the f4i, which is still a baby with 19k

 

That's a massive sprocket... Definitely get that off if you just want to street ride. It'll be easier to ride and you'll get much better gas mileage (if that's what you are looking for haha)

You can go back to stock ratio or go a common -1/+1 or -1/+2 if you want slightly quicker acceleration.

 

I just put new tires, chain and sprockets on mine for about $600 and it has 65K on it.
I could sell it and buy something else but I know I have taken care of my bike and it is in better condition than most with under 20K.

 

Quick question, while switching back to factory sprockets significantly hurt my acceleration and low end torque? I took the bike out for another 100 mile cruise today, haven't put the new sprockets on yet but will as soon as they come in. Noticed my RPMs are off the chart, 75mph in top gear puts me at 10K RMPS - Yikes! Can't wait to get that sprocket off there but hoping I keep most of the acceleration.