Sorry this isn't really technical I just felt like this was the best section for my question. So I'm buying a motorcycle. I've chosen to buy a cbr 600 f4 because I've heard nothing but good stuff about them and I think they're the best looking bikes for the price range I have. I found two, both 1999s and the same exact colors for the same price. One looks like it has been taken care of pretty nice with only a few very minor scratches and has 20,000 miles. The other has a dent on the gas tank and a dent on the rear and is not as nice as the other but only has 9,000 miles. I know that sport bikes don't last for as many miles as most because of the high power output and the way people ride them. Which should I choose??

 

well, my opinion is completely biased.
i wouldnt buy any f4 i would buy an f4i, im tired of carburetors.
we also have someone on this forum who rolled over 200k miles on his f4i
other than that, i would look at them very carefully they are low milage 15 year old motorcycles. if thats in a dry place thats fine, but if they lived in florida...
check for rust inside the tank is always my first choice considering new replacement tanks are expensive, also check for pitting on the chrome on the forks.
alot of stuff is expensive and or time consuming to repair. scratches are cheaper than dents if that bothers you.
when is the last time the carbs were rebuilt? unless the owner has maintenance proof, for your saftey expect to replace the fluids and brake lines, check your coolant lines as well, fork seals and oil.
both of them are coming on a valve check/adjustment 16k mile interval but.. were the valves ever checked on the 20k mile one? tons of little stuff.
again my advice is to purchase fuel injected but otherwise i would go out there with a seasoned rider who works on his own bike to inspect them both.

 

Don't let the mileage fool you - rudy is right. 9000mi = 600mi/year... I'll do that in a weekend. If a bike wasn't stored properly, or worse - something was wrong which made it sit, you could be buying a headache. I'd go for the bike with a better service history. If one is store in a garage and the other outside, go for the garage kept. Is the owner an idiot or does s/he have knowledge of the bike?

I agree with above, take someone with you that knows bikes, or better yet, get it inspected by a reputable shop. That $100 can save you a ton in the long run. It can also save you a ton in the short run - maybe the bike needs the valves done, or chain/sprockets. You can sometimes get the current owner to knock some $$ off the price.

 

WUT? Sort of misinformed on your first account, ironically because of your second. Sportbikes catch a bad rap of being pretty much disposable, because most end up getting wadded up before they see their full potential. Those that **** out before they die a fiery death are usually poorly maintained. The same would happen to a $30k harley if not maintained properly.

Rudy said pretty much everything I would have, but I would add that the member he speaks of with 200k plus on his F4i somewhat recently did a tranny rebuild and took a ton of pics. The innards were clean enough to eat off of. Oh and those 200k plus miles are commute, cross-country road trip, and TRACK DAY miles.


Oh, uh.. interesting screename

 

not trying to scare you off man, i have a 13 year old bike sat in florida for 6 years, i got for about a grand and put 1,500 into it easy.. fuel pump was a third of that.
with carbureted you dont have to worry about that or so i think.. but hell to carbureted..
dunno how much i have put into her now but its alot, yet worth it. all work i did myself except when i was stumped on the fuel pressure regulator.

 

20k miles is barely broken in. Get the clean one without the damage, provided it checks out.

Sportbikes catch a bad rap of being pretty much disposable, because most end up getting wadded up before they see their full potential.

This is correct... Plus, the ones that get the bad rap are not made by Honda. Honda's have a rep of outlasting the others, by far.

 

Absolutely.

A honda motor is a honda motor is a honda motor. My Integra had 240k on the motor, Civic had 190 and know countless other Honda motors that will more than likely outlast anything side by side. Things break sure, but they mostly break due to neglect. With proper scheduled maintenance these bikes will pretty much run indefinitely. So keep that in mind when considering a purchase yall!

 

Take the 20k miler all day before the one that has wrecks. Always take the one that's been taken care of vs the one that has fewer miles and hasn't been as well taken care of.


If you don't think bikes can do high miles - look up thirdgen. Ask him how many times that odometer has rolled over back to 0.

 

Thanks for all these answers. They were a big help! If I had someone to come look at the bike with me I would. (But it sounds like I can check for the main issues) And I'm looking for cheap f4is cause I have heard carburetors are a hassle, but I can't find any within my price range at the moment.
I would wait and save up but I've been driving my father-in-laws cbr 600rr and I MUST get a cbr, I have absolutely fallen in love lol

 

If you dont mind me asking, whats your price range? You didnt mention if this was your first bike purchase or not, but it just so happens this time of year is a buyers market. What was out of your price range just two months ago, you can damn near "steal" now. Absolutely no reason to settle between only two bikes in Dec. Assuming of course you buy from a private seller, vs a dealer.

Oh, as already said, go with the F4i. Doesnt really make sense to get the F4. Aside from the obvious advantage of FI over carbs, the F4 was only produced from 99 to 00. I'm guessing that would put quite a damper on aftermarket parts and accessories. I'd pick an F3 over a 4 any day of the week.

Just for grins, I took a quick look at F4is listed on CL local to me. I found 3 listed for under 3k, including this-

http://chicago
.craigslist.org/nwc/mcy/4229603500.html



$2700. with 22k miles. Already had its valve adjustment and all maintenance. Wow, Yoshi exhaust even. I really wish I wouldnt have seen this.