so ive decided that im going to buy a honda cbr whenever i get money for one, it will be my first bike and im just debating what to do atm.

i have friends that ride, and im set on getting a 600 as my first bike, im in college so money is a little tight, especially with all the medical fees and uniforms/stethoscope/other random stuff i have to pay for before next fall.

i really would like to get an f4i, but around here ive seen them all going for over 3500 dollars and most over the 4k range

would i be better off getting an older bike? like maybe an f3 or an f4?

the main thing that i really like about the f4is and rrs is the dual headlights on the front end, i think it looks so so much better than the old ones.

ive seen some older f3s and f4s with the f4i headlights though, is this a hard mod to do? plausible for a first time biker that doesnt know much about mechanics?

ive also been informed that the older bikes (F4 and younger?) have carburetors instead of being fuel-injected, how much of am impact should this have on my decision? are they harder to keep up maintenance wise? anything else i should know about?

thanks for reading this and i would appreciate if some of you experienced guys could share some knowledge! i know their are some cool guys on this forum that would love to help a noobie out!

 

no the thing you like about the the F4i vs F4's down is that they are fuel injected. Much easier and a nice step up from carbed bikes. My advice is to get one that has been laid down in a slow speed accident and ONLY has plastic damage. They cant go over 2K and are still good bikes minus the pretty paint job. But finding one that only has cosmetic damage is the tricky part.

 

Keep in mind if 3500 is too expensive you may want to hold off on riding for now

a jacket will run you another 300 and a helmet about the same..

 

Is there some new law stating that because an F4i has been down it can't be sold for more than $2,000? I don't think I've seen a single F4i lately for sale with zero damage to it, and I've seen very few(even with damage) at $3,000 or below. A seller might knock a few hundred off for cosmetic damage, but not thousands.

+ insurance, tags, title, inspection (if your state requires it). Might need tires, brakes, oil change, etc. There are a number of additional costs to tack on.

As for the F3/4 to F4i front end swap, it's definitely been done, but it's in no way a direct swap. You or a friend will need to be able to do some custom work to make it all fit nicely. Plus, you will easily drop hundreds on buying the parts to do the swap, just take a quick look on ebay for F4i front fairings and headlights.

As far as carbs go, carbs are fine as long as they are clean and tuned correctly. You will probably find a lot of used bikes that say "great condition just need the carbs cleaned." This could range anywhere from the bike just taking a long time to warm up, to running poorly, to not starting at all. If you are confident and capable enough to do the job yourself, it could run around $100, but if you have a shop do it, you're looking at $4-500. If the bike runs fine when you get it and you let it sit all winter without properly winterizing it, the carbs can get gunked up and you could be looking at any of the previously mentioned problems come spring time. Fuel injection is definitely more convenient and requires less owner upkeep, but you will pay a fair amount more for a fuel injected bike.

This post isn't aimed at turning you away from getting the bike you want, but hopefully it puts things in a bit more of a realistic perspective. Can you find a decent F4i cheap? Definitely, but it's peak season right now and bikes are being bought and sold left and right (and prices are definitely higher than in the winter). Watch craigslist and ebay as often as you can, good deals will pop up every now and then. If the bike you want gets sold, don't panic, there will be others. I had two F4i's sell as I was on my way to look at them and I ended up getting an even better deal later on with the one I ended up buying.

 

I am not against carbs at all, but GET AN FI Bike.

 

Sounding very contradictory here. Lol

 

Nah - makes sense to me too - OP stated

Spending a touch more to not have to try taking him through a "rebuilding my carbs" thread, makes us all winners :-)

 

Now that I can agree upon lol

 

Yeah, the first time you have to clean your carbs expand your vocabulary exponentially from creating new vulgarities

 

eh, im always a fan of the old cbrs
been on the new 600rrs up to 07' and on the f2, the f3, the f4, and the f4i
and my personal fav is the carb bikes because of the feel.