I'm so happy to say I have finally gotten my first motorcycle! I had an old four wheeler that I really didn't use anymore, and traded it for a 1994 CBR 1000f. I test drove it, and it's a pretty nice bike. But I wanted to do some preventative maintenance on it before I really took it for a ride.

What particular things should I be looking at? I got this bike off my buddy, and it's been in winter storage since the end of last riding season. I just want to make sure I give it a good looking at before I start playing with it.

Another thing.. Are CBR's known for being "cold-blooded?" Not always, but sometimes it takes a few tries to start it up. When it starts I have to leave the choke on, and if I turn the choke off and try to rev it up, sometimes it will bog down, nearly shutting off. Do the carbs need to be cleaned? I know it needs a new battery, it's about 3 years old but before I took it out for a ride I made sure I charged the battery.

Thanks for reading and any tips I can get are really appreciated. So happy to be joining the CBR community. Ride safe.

 

That's a lot of bike to start out on... I don't necessarily agree with the "buy a 250" crowd but I don't advocate starting with a 1000 either. Be careful.

Check the chain tension and brake condition. Check the pad wear and obvious problems with the system. You can usually peek through the calipers with a good flashlight and see how worn the pads are.

Check the tire pressures. If the last time they were pumped up was hot they will be under inflated now.

Check the oil and it's condition. Even if it's clean sometimes it's good to change it so you know what's in it. You said you bought it from a buddy so you're probably good, he knows what's in it.

It's normal for it not to run perfect right off the bat. I am not familiar with that bike so I don't know it's nature but it sounds alright to me, as long as it runs good when it's warm.

Crack open the air box and inspect the air filter. Blow it out if it's obviously dirty, but they usually stay pretty clean.

Put some fresh gas in it with some seafoam for good measure.