My friend is looking for a bike andhe's being really indecisive about it. He's been looking at earlier model 600 F3s and F4is and he keeps asking me for advice. He isn't really interested in a litrebike and is focused on Hondas and Yamahas. He's found an F3 and wants me to take a look at it and ride it home for him. I'm not completelyfamiliar with motorcycles but I've been wrenching on cars for a while and know the general signs of abuse/neglect, but what are common problems with these bikes I/he should should be aware of? I don't know how serious he is about riding, I just want to help him get the most bang for his buck and keep him interested in riding and alsoif/when hedecides to sell it. I guess I should add he took the Jump Start course back in July and that's the extent of his riding, he's taking the MSF course this coming weekend.
TIA for helpful responses,
Juggernaut

 

Here's a link to a buyers guide that has been posted here from time to time....

http://www.clarity.net/adam/buying-bike.html

 

Mr. Collins, thanks for the link. I forwarded it to him by e-mail.

 

Hope it helps. The best thing to do is to take someone along that isn't excited about the new toy. They will look for more than the buyer will.

 

Glad to hear he's taking the MSF course.

 

look at the bikes in the classified section, have him look to see if like anything there.

 

I suggest him starting on something smaller.




In fact, it just so happens that I have a 03 EX (Ninja) 500 for sale if you are close to the Cincinnati area.

 

Yup, I think your buddy should print that link that DCollins provided and carry it with him when searching for a bike. Those are the basics. But I have to disagree about getting something smaller. A 600 is perfect to start out with as long as he stays within in his limits. As he matures into the 600, there will be way enough power there to keep him happy. But then again, don't know what type of riding he'll be doing.

 

He doesn't know if he's going to keep riding (I think he will because it's just too much fun) and will be doing commuting and some twisties riding. I had typed up an update but my computer crapped out. He got a GSX-R 750 on Saturday after I test rode it and checked it for him (he seriously hardly even looked at it and misspelled "VIN" when he wrote up the bill of sale). He's not riding it because he doesn't have any gear and there are some maintenance items like new tires, new chain, new rotors and pads, 12 kmi. service.
Thanks for the help, doncollins' link was very helpful.