Hello, im new to the site, and new to streetbikes. I was wondering if the F4i would be a good starter bike for me? I was thinking about a Suzuki 650 s, but have the feeling i will want more power once i get use to riding it. I have always loved the CBR looks, but am skeptical on getting one, due to my inexperience. Is it easy to manage, or should i look elsewhere?? Any help would be appreciated

 

Great question in my opinion, as I had the same one, but at the time had no one to ask. I purchased my '06 back in December as my 1st street bike. I have been very pleased with it. As far as being able to handle the bike, I have had no problems what so ever with very minimal customization. The others in this forum can give much better advice on setting up the bike to be more responsive, powerful, etc, but as an overall starter for me, the bike has been great. As far as having enough power, umph, accelleration, to me that is all personal preference. Since I have no reference, to me the bike has plenty of power and mine is stock. If you have other questions, don't hesitate to ask, but personally, I love the bike...now to get my pulled back to heal so I can ride again...ugghh!!!

 

I posted this same story in a different post.....but back about almost 4 years ago.....

Me & my brother decided to buy motorcycles. We had never owned or ridden one except for a 1973 Gemini SST 75cc mini trail bike, which was cool to learn on when we were kids.

I wanted a "starter" bike & went with a 2002 Suzuki Katana 600 & he went with a 2002 Suzuki GSX-R 600. The Katana is not a very fast bike. It is nothing like GSXR, F4i, R6 or ZX6R....it's slow compared to those bikes.

Anyways....these were both brand new motorcycles........I never dumped my bike when I had it, but he dumped his on the neighbor's lawn the first day he rode it. And then he wiped out making a left hand turn (swung out too far and hit the curb). He trashed the right side plastics & the muffler too....probably about $800-1,000 in parts damage.
I outgrew the bike in one riding season though after getting bored with it....because it was slow. Even though at first, it wasn't to me.

Every rider is gonna tell you that you're gonna fall or drop the bike....it's bound to happen. Granted it doesn't happen to every single rider.....it usually does.

So you have two choices....buy a cheap, small beginner bike, or even a used bike with some damage and learn on that until you get experience under your belt. Then sell it and buy a nicer, bigger bike.

Or take a big step and buy a nice, bigger bike and run the risk of dropping it or falling.

I did the starter bike first, and it taught me a lot and I feel comfortable on my F4i (just got it 3.5 weeks ago).

Whereas if you hop onto a big bike with no experience....you're gonna feel uncomfortable and a little nervous. And look at my brother...he had a sweet new bike and dumped it right away. He still has that bike and there are some scratches on some of the plastics still (he only replaced the side fairing & muffler), but he's a good rider now.

 

I have an '06 F4i and it's my first bike. I could not be more happy with it. Plenty of power, comfortable riding position and good handling. I personally wouldn't recommend it for an 18 year old first time rider due to the resposniveness in throttle and handling, but if you have some basic knowledge and common sense enough to take it easy and get a feel for it, it will be fine. I had looked at katana's and the sv650s, which are nice, but I wanted more as opposed to buying another one 6 months down the road. Everyone will be different though.

 

I think it is an ideal starter bike, although it was not my first. My first was a '96 Seca II that I put 26,000 miles on, and then I went to the new F4i. My only issue is that I wish that I had gotten something one step up. It was an impulse buy, and I should have gotten either the RR, an Fz1 or a GSX-R750 or something. I am 6'4" and 225 pounds, and so a more powerful bike is probably better suited to me.

But, this bike is fast and a lot of fun and very comfortable. I really can't find anything bad about it other than them going back to the banana seat, but I guess they wanted to make it more comfortable and to differentiate it from the RR visually.

 

f4i might be the easiest of the sports 600 to start with
but I would recommend the ninja 650r if you don't want a 250

 

I currently own both bikes, totally different feel for each. Inline 4 as opposed to a V-twin. Got used to the SV650s very quickly. Having a tough time adjusting to the F4i. Still not that experienced. Try to ride them both. Good luck.

 

I have a '01 F4i and it is my first bike. I got it a couple years ago and the only experiance riding on a bike I had before it was on a Yamaha 250 dirt bike that I rode a few times. I think that the F4i is a good bike to start off on as long as your respect it. The F4i is a powerful bike, any modern 600cc bike is for that matter. You want to take it easy on it for awhile (keeping the RPMs below 6000-7000) until you get use to the feel and power of it. Learn at your own pace and gradually increase your RPMs overtime because once you get above 8000, the F4i becomes a totally different animal. Also, don't let other people influence you into doing stuff on your bike that you don't feel comfortable doing, just do your own thing. So, that's my advice to you for what it's worth

 

Most experienced riders would argue that it's not a good idea to get a SS or larger bike for your first set of wheels. The F4i was Honda's premier super sport bike before the 2003 model season (replaced by the 600RR). If you have some experience either road or dirt, should be a decent purchase.

Get a used one. Odds are is that you're going to drop it.

It's a lot of power, I'd keep it under 8,000 RPMs, because after that, it becomes a monster of a ride. Lots of power, lots of torque.

 

The F4i was my first bike, bought it 2 months ago, hadnt much riding experience, just a bit of off-roading, but i am really happy with it. Havnt dropped or damaged it yet. Until i got used to it I was keeping it below 8000rpm, but am getting much more confident with it so begining to get the RPMs much higher now.
A very fun bike, just treat it with respect and it will respect you.