Hi All,

I am brand new to the forum and I don't even have a bike yet. I do, however, already have a question. I am madly in love with the 100% stock yellow-and-black 2000 F4. I have been looking for one for about a month and I haven't been able to find one that is clean enough with low milage and a price that I can afford. However, there are a lot of other F4's going up for sale (suprisingly newer ones) that are great deals, I can afford but are not the exact bike I want. I am not sure what I should do. Should I just suck it up and by another F4 that is a great deal, is available, but I only love maybe 85% or should I just wait for da one???

Thanks!

 

Howdy, welcome to CBRF.

Interesting dilemma. Honestly I'd say if you can land a newer one I'd grab that. A 2000 F4 is carbed. Anything newer than that will be a F4i, meaning fuel injected. Maintenance and troubleshooting aside (cause cleaning carbs suck), the F4is are more responsive. Not necessarily more powerful. But definitely go when you say "Go!"

But if you hold out for what you want, you'll have one less thing to regret if something pops up. And something always pops up in used bikes So would you rather be cursing an A/F issue, thinking "This fecking red and black PITA!!!". Or just cursing the AF issue?

What kind of riding experience do you have btw? If you've never ridden before, chances are very high your first bike will not be your last bike. Get your learning outta the way and then in a few years (with savings and whatever you get from resale) get exactly what you want. And not drop it from the usual n00b mistakes

Laters

 

Hi & welcome aboard!
Good luck with the F4 search...might be kinda hard to find the one your looking for (bike is over 10 yrs old after all....)
U might want to expand your search if you cant seem to find an F4 in yellow in good condition.
Good luck and enjoy the forum!

 

OK.....I think I have made up my mind...

I am going to make an offer today on a red-black '04 F4i with 3000 miles for $3,500. It's just such a good deal for that bike, I can't pass on it.... I hope I won't regret it... You guys agree that it's a good deal?

~Soon to be Newbie

 

Damn good. I paid $4500 for my 06 with 2500 miles

 

Oh...I forgot to say that it's 100% stock (which is what I want) clear title and never been dropped...

 

I am meeting the dude in 3 hourse to test drive and hopefully sign the papers....I CAN'T WAIT.....my wife hates me now though...

 

She has pretty much buried me already...in her mind it's pretty much guaranteed that I am going to die within the next six months and leave her and my 14 month old behind.... How do I make her feel better about this? I can't enjoy myself 100% knowing that she hates it every time I get on the bike...

 

Welcome to the forum! I think you made a great choice with the stock F4i, man. I would have suggested you do the same thing. And that is a GREAT deal. I'd like to find one like that.

Anyway, on the wife thing...... yeah, that's tough. Riding can be dangerous, but to say you're gonna die is more than harsh.
In 2008, there were 393,042 registered motorcycles and 231 fatal crashes in the state of PA.
That's roughly a .058% chance of dying if you own a registered bike.
I read that in 2009 it was actually 14% less, but haven't seen the stats.
Obviously, there are some issues with using registered cycles vs. deaths in crashes, but I think it should work ok in this instance..

The thing is, though... (and not enough people realize this), a good amount of these accidents can be prevented.
I think nationally, about 30% of fatal accidents involved alcohol (over the legal limit). And then another high percent involved unlicensed riders, etc. Then another significant percentage were speeding.

Get gear, get your license (MSF is the way to go to get some training!!), don't drink and ride, and don't try to be Valentino Rossi everywhere you go. All these factors give you an even better survival rate than the .058% number above.
In other words.... don't be an idiot....LOL..

 

Well you're in PA and the MSF is free for you... And your wife

Why not go take the course together? She doesn't have to complete the course and get her license or anything. Just go through the classroom portion to get a balanced perspective. And also to see that you're trying to do everything to remain safe. Then again, that could backfire too... She might get her license too and then steal your bike when you're not watching too closely

Seriously tho, fears like this are usually born of misinformation / lack of information. As a cable tech, I work on telephone poles constantly. People are always saying how dangerous that is and how I could fall. The reality is that biggest chance I have of getting hurt is when I'm carrying the ladder. Once up there and belted on, it'd take some idiot taking out the telephone pole to bring me down

Another thing you can try is take her gear shopping. My girlfriend got to play fashionista with me when I did. But she also got to see for herself just what I was doing to protect myself. She asked the guys questions and a better understanding of it all.

Basically, try to involve your wife as much as possible. Fear is usually born of ignorance. Knowledge, especially gained for themselves, helps to assuage those fears.