Built Car vs. Bike
 

Dilemma!

So I am in the process of building my STi to around 450whp. I have everything I need except for a front mount which will be roughly another $1200.00. I have the FP Red, injectors, etc. blah blah. I planned on putting them on in about a month to kick off the spring/summer. I am pretty psyched about it. I also want a bike badly. 99% settled on a CBR600f4i. I've determined I shouldn't splurge that much this season.

It's come down to either:

FP Red'd STi and no bike.
or
Vf39 (stock turbo) STi Protuned and CBR600.

I've been in quick STi's, and the feeling is intense and amazing. I mean.. come on.. we all crave for more power it seems! I've owned the car for three years, but I've been set on this idea for two years and I'm a month away from completing it and having doubts. I have never been on a streetbike. I've been dirtbiking for 12 years, and have no doubt I can handle the streetbike, and I know I'll have fun. Obviously the car is going to be safer than the bike overall. I keep running different ideas in my head and just can't figure out what I really want more.

I know the opinion might be biased on here since it's a bike forum - but I would prefer opinions from people that have seen both sides.

So what say ye OT? Opinions? Criticism? Insults? Bring it on! :icon_wink:

go get your motorcycle license first. buy a bike that you plan on droppin and learn to ride. so id suggest finish the sti since your 1 part away from the build. get a crappy low cc bike to learn on.

enjoy.

Recommendations?

The reason I chose the 600 was because people say their very reliable and a good bike to learn on. My Civic has been reliable, so I would love if it was along the same lines of that. I figured a 01-03 for like 3-4k would be a nice starter bike.

Definitely open to suggestions and opinions though.

There is nothing like riding a bike. I'm not talking about the power because a pretty damn well built car can beat a bike. I'm talking about just cruising. No car will give you the feeling a bike can. Then you get on the bike and it pulls the front wheel. I want to see your STI do that. Don't get me wrong I really like a fast car but for ME to really enjoy life I got to be on 2 wheels.

i've been a lot of built cars... never owned them, but worked on them (usually muscle cars) / drove them/ and obviously rode in them.

trans ams LS1's (one that made over 500 hp)
a couple of older GTO's (one was a judge - man that was a fun car to drive)
also a couple of built TPI camaros

i've been in some pretty serious audi's and vw's as well.

turboed a4's (400 ish hp)
supercharged jettas - not too special, better than stock i guess


but nothing compares to a bike. nothing. couldn't come close. i completely lost all interest cars after getting a bike. cars are too big, too complicated, they're sooo slow, and they lean the wrong way! bikes are simple, parts are cheap, they're WAY faster out of the box, they don't cost an arm and a leg to fuel up, fun to take on trips, the list just keeps going on and on.


take the msf - its an easy way to see. if you like the idea of riding around in the parking lot of a lil honda 250, you'll love a bit bigger bike on the road.

as they say - 4 wheels move the body, 2 wheels move the soul.

nah man, thats just a nice bike. get an older one. late 90's make. you can get into them for under 2k, they're plenty quick, look good, reliable usually.

exactly what i was trying to say

Finish the car, then mid summer or fall when bike prices are dropping due to the upcoming winter, buy an f4i. Then by this time next year you will have a nice car and a nice bike.

I would stick with the VF39 and switch over to E85 if it is available in your area. With a proper tune that should put you around 300whp. IMO an FPred on the street is a little too much for a DD. Then take the money you saved and go pick up an F4i or a 600rr.

+1

I've considered E85 but the closest station is about 20 miles. So I'd always have to fill at that spot, which would be a huge inconvenience. If I were to have it tuned now I'd put down ~330whp/375wtq. (TBE, EWG, Fuel Pump, Injectors, etc.)

The STi isn't a DD. I have a Honda Civic that has that responsibility. The STi is purely a weekend warrior.

I kind of like the idea of finishing the car, and buying something when fall rolls around to get it cheap. I'm not sure why I hadn't considered that in the first place. :icon_shrug:

The problem with that is once you buy the bike you're going to fall madly in love with it and want to ride it every where and bam winter hits and it sits in your garage as you look at it and pray for warm weather

+1. Buddy of mine has a pair of SE-R Spec-V's. One has a built 2.5 that dynoed over 500hp. While it's a blast to go in a stright line, the damn thing changes lanes when boost comes on in 3rd gear @ 60mph from a roll. It's just too damn much to drive daily.

He's got another Spec-V with the VQ35 swapped in, and with a mild tune and cam, headers, it's just the right amount of power for a DD.

IMO finish the car and look for a cheaper bike later.

Powerful AWD cars are amazing fun all year round.

It's come down to either:

FP Red'd STi and no bike.
or
Vf39 (stock turbo) STi Protuned and CBR600.

Not too sure what these mods are( lol) but I used to like fast cars until I got a bike....now cars just seem to be transportation to me. If I take my car to work all I think about is getting home to take the bike out!

whatever you do, dont get less than a 600 sport bike. After having the power of a built STi you will be let down. especially with having dirt expierence. REMEMBER :: respect the machine tho...just cause you can rip a cr250r doesnt mean jack. research and take classes.

Skip the front mount and get a bike, Ive put a bunch of miles on a stock STi and they are fine with what they came with. unless your game is the highway...but then you are screwed anyway if you bought that car for 4th-6th gear.... If its only weekend warrior it wont have many miles on it by the time you can get a front mount. besides, the miles you put on your other cars will considerably drop when you get a bike. I knock an easy 10,000mi a year off my car. In that case i would sell the civic and just have a STi and f4i

Finish the car. Buy a bike in the winter for cheap. Get a bike that needs a little work. Bikes are easy to work on when you come from working on cars, and you'll save money. Then wait till spring.

What is considered high mileage and danger zone for a bike? Someone said look for something under 10,000 miles or it's going to need a lot of care. That's crazy, and hopefully not completely true.

If possible, since it's my first bike, I'd like to pick up a higher mileage bike that has a few scrapes/bruises. That way when it gets dropped - it's no big deal!

So my question - what should be the cutoff? Is there a point when they're beat to death? I know it depends how the rider used it and cared for it- but what am I lookin at?

Thanks!

10,000 miles is low but 20,000 and even 30,000 is okay as long as the previous owners have taken the time to attend to the required maintenance. Past 30k imo would be pushing it, and I would try to stay under 20k imo. And obviously it also depends on what year the bike was manufactured, etc.

Yes, Honda engines can last over 100k miles (I believe one of our members has 200k?) but don't risk it and assume all will be well.

Remember that just because a bike has low miles does not always mean that the engine is in better shape than a bike with more miles. Look at the condition of the bike and try to gauge how much the owner has looked after it. If he is an old hag or a GIRL, then buy the bike because they probably never rode it. I keed I keed, but you get the point; if the bike is full of grime, rust, has cracks, dents, scratches, leaks, etc., be wary as he or she doesn't give a **** about the poor bike. Check the tires!

My buddys evo with an fp black makes around 600 at the wheel at only like 30psi. Those dont even start making power till around 32+. He drives it detuned at 28psi and it still makes about 522 at the wheels. That thing walks 600s all day its fun as hell to drive but its no where near as fun as being on the bike. I dont care if its slower its just so much more fun, its like comparing apples to oranges. But if you can build the car and then still get a decent bike youll be set.

So if I were to find a 00-03ish bike, with 15k, that wouldn't be too bad - as long as it's been cared for? What does something like that go for. I've seen a few 97-99's with 20,000+ miles priced at 3500.00!! :icon_emm:

No way thats really overpriced. You can get a decent 01-03 for 2800-3000. $3500 will get you a minty f4i. I got my 01 for $1000 with 10k miles that only had cosmetic damage from a lowside. $500 in parts and some tlc and shes worth at least 2500 now. Once I get it all painted and sort out some other problems itll look brand new. So thats another way you can go but thats always risky since the bike has been crashed and there could be some serious problems you dont know about but on the other hand you could make out like a bandit. Your best bet would to be find one thats never been down for around 3k.

Honestly, even 60K miles is nothing for a bike. The reason you see so many bikes with low miles is because no one rides them. Most people feel sportbikes are not good to ride long distance, and they are more of a weekend toy for most people more so than daily transportation, so the miles usually stay low. They do require a bit more maintenance than a standard car, but not anymore attention than a similiar built car would. your only dealing with 600cc and putting down over 100hp. But the only maintenance they require engine wise is valve inspections at 16,000 mile intervals. There are other things laid out in the manual, but thats the only time consuming one. Other than that, your looking at just changing the oil, putting in gas and going. You will have other things to consider chassis wise such as bearings, drive train, wheels, tires, brakes... all wear items. But if the bike runs, hasn't been crashed and sounds good, I personally wouldn't care how many miles it had. I'd rather buy a bike that was driven instead sitting in storage 95 percent of the time. Thats when things can get really ugly. I would actually stay away from extremely low milage bikes. Unless the owner can provide proof that it was stored properly.

If you had choice between two bikes that were close to the same year and condition, obviously you'd choose the one with lower miles, but in no way would I not buy a bike that had high miles. The only downside to buying a high milage bike, and I do mean the only downside, is a lot of people have the mentality that you spoke of. They think anything over 10,000 miles is bad, so it may be hard to sell it if you decide to later on.

mid 90's bikes for 3500 is way too much. you can easily get into early 2000 models for that. It may be hard right now since the season is really revving up, but in a month or so, people will come to their senses and the prices should come back down.

If cars are your thing though. Its not hard to make a car outperform a bike. Its expensive, but not hard. It will take some good suspension parts, but you can out corner a bike with a well tuned car. Im not sure 500hp will do it, but it will be close. Plus you have the learning curve on the bike to actually make the bike perform. Cars are easy to drive fast, bikes are not. It takes some serious seat time to be able to make a bike to perform well.
But the satisfaction of make a bike perform cannot be matched by a car. It truly is something that has to be experienced to truly know what people are talking about.

My $5,500 bike runs mid 9s. Just sayin'. Haha.

As a fellow Subaru enthusiast, I can certainly attest to the desire to have a fast, awesome car. However, as most have said, the feeling on a bike is just totally different, regardless if the bike is actually faster or not. Sure, your STi could probably beat my F4i though a lot of straight and twisty situations. But do you get to do it with the wind rushing through you and your body 18" from the ground, being touchy on the throttle when you start to feel that back tire slide just a little bit... No comparison!

I enjoy having both types of vehicles (and subsequently, both a straight-line bike and my F4i), so I can enjoy all sorts of vehicular fun depending on my mood.

I'm gonna echo a couple others and say finish your car and find a cheap street bike. Take an MSF class, ride on the street, see how you like it, and either skip the bike or buy whatever is appropriate for you. Don't skip the MSF course, and don't cheap out on gear. Wear it all the time!

Thanks for all the advice guys! This community is definitely a good one. I am going to finish the build in the next week or so, and then enjoy that for a while. I'll probably end up taking the course, and looking for a bike a little bit after that.

I definitely feel a lot better about the higher mileage bikes now though! Oh.. and all gear all the time. I don't plan on having passengers for quite a while, but I am sure the lady will want to ride at some point. She's already asked if I am going to make her wear all the gear, and she wasn't too happy. You guys showed me "degloving", and I'm definitely showing her that before she complains about getting on it.

Thanks again guys!

Does anyone think looking at local dealers would be worth it? Or should I stick to private party?

You could look around if the prices are ok (although they probably will be quite a bit higher I'm guessing..) but I would personally go to a private party and make sure there is as much service history available as possible.

Take the course before shopping around for bikes so you can test drive them and bring a buddy that knows bikes. He'll be able to check the important stuff (leaking forks, worn chain and sprocket, CCT, rust, strange wear, tire life etc. If the bike has been laid down check for straight frame and forks). Whatever you do, test the bike first. Most people here suggest to start on a small bike but I started on my 600 F4. Over here getting a license is quite a process (an expensive one) and I had been riding for years overseas. I would get a 600 but go really easy on it untill you get to know the bike.

I've been in fast cars before (M5, 2009 Nissan GTR etc.) but nothing compares to a bike. You'll love the feeling of the wind, cruising with your girl and soaking in the sun!

Regarding the gear. I wear textile because I ride daily and all year round. Although leather is considered to be safer (high speed riding), textile is plenty safe and MUCH more practical. If she doesn't like the idea of wearing textile pants at least invest in some kevlar lined riding jeans. Don't like clunky boots? Look at some motorcycle shoes. I wear my jacket, gloves and helmet (often boots) all the time. I don't always wear my pants unless I go for a long highway ride. You are in control so make sure your girl is as safe as she can be.

:)

today my friend let me drive his built scion with around 400+whp...fking amazing. turbo kicking in everywhere and me getting sucked into my seat. i thought cars were boring but built cars are fantastic. Not as "fun" as a bike but it was a great change of scenario.