Honda CBR 600f

[robin7]

So, anything I should know?

I had a 125cc scooter when I was 17 and I'm in the process of finishing CBT/getting my license. Been looking around at bikes and was offered a CBR600f. I chatted to the examiner from the CBT about it for a while and he said it was a great bike and I'd be fine etc as long as it's not the RR version.

So my two questions are: Is he right? Obviously he's got first hand knowledge since he's seen me drive (he also told me once I've done my module 3 to book my test as he's positive I'll pass if that helps haha). But is there anything I should look out for?

Secondly just trying to find out if this is a decent deal. The bike is a totally mint CBR 600F (2012 manufacture, 2013 registered) with 3700km.

Also it has a brand new set of Bridgestone S20 Evo tyres, and the following mods: Akrapovic exhaust, official tinted screen and rear under panel, wheel hugger, asv levers, tail tidy and integrated tail lights, honda tank pads and a few other small things I belive.

The guy selling it is a friend of mine who I know very well, and I can see the bike is mint/very well taken care of. He doesn't 'want' to sell it, however he just got promoted (he's a police man), and said if I wanted it as my first big bike then he'd buy himself some crazy new 1000cc BMW that he can't justify right now.

Anyways, the price offered was 5k. It seems to be fairly cheap for this bike considering everything on it, however I don't really know much about bikes at all.

I should add I'm in Gibraltar hence it's km's not miles, and it would effect resale value (positively I guess?) since there are literally no other CBR's for sale at the moment (of any kind). There's not usually many bikes of any kind for sale privately, and dealers usually not such a great deal.

Anyways just any info on the bike and if that sounds reasonable would be appreciated.

 

[robin7]

Oh, I should add that I have taken it for a drive and it was lovely haha. But compared to the bikes I've driven before, it's not surprising

 

[robin7]

Sadly here in Gib we have a lot less bikes on the market at any one time. Never seen a street triple for sale ever haha... although there must be a few.

I'm not all too fussed on naked bikes though really. I prefer the sportier, fully faired look. I sat on a monster 696 I saw for sale (£3,800, but I don't know age or mileage etc) and it felt quite small really. Could just be in my head but it did feel small. The CBR is fairly small in any case (both feet flat on the ground with ease), but it does feel bigger.

Anyways, I'm totally open to suggestions. I think I'll start going to have a look in some garages as well, as private sellers are few and far between.

 

[robin7]

could you noit buy in uk and drive it back

Yup I could, but import duty on a second hand bike is 30% I believe (at least is on cars).

 

[robin7]

wow

30% of initial price or what you pay? get seller to make you a nice fake receipt for 300 quid

It's based on what 'they' value it at. My uncle brought in a brand new Boxter S which they valued at 12k because the book didn't have the new one in it... lol.

But then I've heard of people getting great deals in Spain (economic collapse means some cheap bikes/cars) and then getting shafted bringing it in.

I'm going to stay on the lookout for bikes. My idea was to spend around 3k for my first bike, give or a take a bit (like the monster if I could have got it for 3.4 or similar). But then when my mate offered me his CBR, I thought I'd find out a bit more about them, as I love the look.

 

[robin7]

So I passed my Mod 3 and I'm now looking seriously for a bike.

Seen a load of different ones, and now I'm back from my holiday I'll get around to posting them up on here to get some opinions (if you guys don't mind).

I'm really at a loss as to what I actually want to get though. I like the 'racer' look hence really liking my friends CBR, however as it's so new I'm worried I'll drop it and cause serious damage.

Also have seen a 'cheap' Honda Hornet (cb600f) for 2k, it was 2007 with 33k km on the clock. So perhaps that's a more sensible option as a first bike as it wouldn't be the end of the world if I dropped it? Less fairings to replace etc. Then again I saw CBR fairings on ebay for the 600F and they were pretty cheap if I needed to replace them. I imagine both bikes should be fairling similar in terms of experience? Or is there a big difference between a 2007 CB600F and a 2012 CBR600F?

 

[robin7]

Congrats on passing your mod 2.

Mod 3! Which in Gibraltar is essentially a license, as I can drive any size bike in Gibraltar on it. It's only if I go into Spain that I need a full license. But hopefully that won't be too much of a problem. The examiner I had told me to get a few weeks practice on a bigger bike and then book my test and I shouldn't have a problem.

 

[robin7]

Damn it

Haha. It's weird here, as I had a bike 7 or so years ago and they only introduced the CBT last year. Before then when I last had a bike you just had to walk in, pay £5 and then they hand you your learners license. So having driven a bike before, and having a car license, made the CBT here laughably easy. I suspect it might be harder/different in the UK though. I'm glad I had to do it though as it gave me some good practice on a geared bike (had a 125cc scooter previously).

 

[robin7]

Nowhere will be easier than America where you just get on a bike and do an easier mod 1, at your leisure, at most by the look of it.

I was amazed when I was in NY and my cousin told me her driving test was in an auto but counts for manual cars also... like how is that allowed? lol

As long as you've got 2 brain cells to rub together and a bit of balance it's stupidly easy here as well.

Haha fair enough then! Balance was the worst for me for the first 5 minutes on my Mod 2 as I've not even ridden a bicycle in the past few years so was a tad wobbly but was fine after that. Funnily enough driving my mates CBR 600f was easier than the little 125cc in the mod 2/3. His bike was so much more forgiving and easier on clutch control.

 

[robin7]

Don't get a Sports Tourer then get an out an out Sports bike. You'll get bored of a CBR-F within 3 months anyway.

Other than a 125cc scooter I had for a month, 7 years ago, this will be my first bike... is it really that boring? haha

I'd be amazed if that was the case.

That's what I thought haha. Also thought it would be nice if I decide to take some longer drives through Spain into Portugal, France etc... but that's not for a while.

Not if he gets the old ones when there were still a sports bike

Haha, the one I looked at is 2012 model, 2013 registered.

 

[robin7]

To be honest I was only taking the ****, A CBR-F will do ya for a year as a first bike especially seeings as he plans on doing a bit of touring.

Haha phewph! When I test drove it, it felt like a heck of a lot of bike to me. But considering my previous experience is only on a 125 I guess it would.

What other bikes should I look out for that are similar? Ie. good for a bit of touring, but have similar sporty looks?

Before I settle I'm going to have a look around all of the (usually) overpriced dealers to see their used sections. My mate would take £5k min for his bike, so it's a fair bit of budget for me to look for other used 600's I think.

Oh and found this pic on my phone I got him to take of me on his bike. Head blanked as we took it at the end before I left so bike was off and I wasn't wearing a helmet lol...

Looking at it now, bike actually looks a bit small? Sitting on it, it feels huge to me, but in the photo it's not so big.

 

[robin7]

It's a lovely bike & a lot less Toury than I thought it would be. One thing I'd worry about though is spending 5k on your first big bike. You could get a very capable bike for under 2k. It's your money though so it's your choice just my opinion.

As for other bikes just about every manufacturer does a Sports Tourer, All you have to do is decide what kind of bike you want & then look at every manufacturers example.
Honda are the best for reliability & resale value though.

As for the bike above looking small it's because you are looking down on it to take the pic, Next time crouch down level with the bike.

Lastly feel free to ask as many questions as you want as I'm like every biker in the World who can chat **** about bikes/biking all day & all night.

Yeah I think it's because of a few things, the different screen, slightly lowered handlebars, and then the tail tidy with the integrated tail lights, so no little stick-out indicators. Makes it look a lot more sporty than the stock CBR600F (the new one at least).

Agreed also that it's probably a great deal and would lose barely anything if I sold it in a year or two as it's priced cheaply for Gibraltar.

The only issue is like you said... it's a lot of money for a first bike. If I dropped it tomorrow it would hurt haha.

My idea originally was to be 'all in' at around 4-5k. So bike, plus good gear. I've mostly decided on the gear I want (Alpinestars, plus HJC RPHA-10 helmet) but that's 1k already. Hence 3-4k was the most I wanted to spend on a bike. Going to have a look around a few garages in the next few days. I've not found anything at all so far that I like as much. I saw a few cheap bandits for 2.5k and 2.6k respectively, but I really just don't like them at all.

 

[robin7]

My ideal bike would have been 2011 CBR600F rather than his one year old one (2012 model, first registered late 2013) as it would be bang in my price range. Just sadly not seen anything like it around. And then as he pointed out a stock 2011 one in price isn't going to look the same and I'd probably end up doing a load of the same mods lol. Also thanks for saying feel free to chat haha! I always feel I'm asking way too many questions/open ended questions that don't really have an answer. But I guess every first time rider goes through similar

 

[robin7]

You're going to have to go a long way to beat your mates bike, You know it's History, It's already been sensibly modded & it's at a fair price according to You for Gibraltar.
Just about anything you try now will feel inferior & probably will be anyways.
As for dropping it you can fit crash bungs which will prevent most damage on a walking pace drop.
You will be keeping the bike for a few years though so even if you binned it you could still make it rideable & rebuild it as & when you have the cash.
Just because it's your first big bike it doesn't automatically mean you'll drop it, You've spent a year on your Varadero for starters & there fairly big for a 1T.

Varadero? I had a 125cc scooter for a month 7 years ago haha. This would effectively be my first ever bike . The only reason I was considering something like this is because both examiners I had for the CBT were telling me I'd be fine on it/something similar rather than getting something smaller. And of course if I want to tour etc on it... a 125 would be murder lol.

The rest of what you're saying is very true. It's the only bike I've seen so far that excites me and I think looks great (I've seen a few cf600f's and hornets for 2-3k but it's not the same sporty look I like). And as you said, I know the full history and that it's been treated well. It's the same friend I would go riding with if I bought it haha. (he would replace it with a Tuono )

 

[robin7]

Sounds to me you've already made up your mind but you have a few 'what if's'...Pretty sure they would be gone once you are riding it down the road

Mostly it's more of a 'argh it's so much more than I planned on spending'... but that probably happens to most of us buying a bike?

 

[robin7]

Robin, to see your dimensions on various bikes use this website...

Motorcycle Ergonomics

Oh man, I had seen this website before. But when you said to see my dimensions I realised I must have been missing something. Now playing around with silly arm angles etc

 

[robin7]

To be honest how you look on it makes no difference, it's all down to how you feel when you're on it.
You could get a bigger bike and it look "right" but that's of no use if you feel like your flapping about when you're sat on it and can't get comfy.

In that case it's really comfy and my feet are flat on the ground when I put them down (although slightly up in that pic as you can see, but it's pretty comfy resting flat.) However when up on the pegs it's a comfy angle. If I sit middle of the seat I feel like I could ride it all day, and when I put myself further back and lean down more it feels 'sportier' I guess. But my biking experience is so limited I have really little to compare with I guess.

 

[robin7]

No gloves... Or helmet haha. Took this just before leaving lol. Was just in an empty carpark anyways. And that's cool, I'm pretty restrained but will keep looking for now

 

[robin7]

TBH that looks perfectly fine size-wise. You don't look to be a particularly tall person so any bike will be fine.

6ft actually but I look short usually lol. Yeah it feels comfy. It's just that it felt massive when I was there, but looking at the pic it looks smaller. Just not used to a bigger bike I guess

 

[robin7]

Thread update.

Went around all the garages in Gibraltar and shall post my findings below.

Two bikes that I liked, were sportyish and weren't crazy old, or crazy powerful (I can't drive bigger than 750 or insurance will be tons).

Yamaha R6. My verdict: ARGH. It's WAY too much bike for me. If a CBR600F is a bit too much for a first timer... the R6 is just silly. No thanks. Was only 500 quid cheaper anyways, older, and no idea of history/track use etc.

Triumph Street Tripple. My verdict: Ahh... the bike suggested on the first page. Very nice. Had a nice little sit on it while the sales guy watched from afar. After about 20 minutes of no help I decided to approach.

Me: "How much is it?"

Sales Guy: "£4,500"

Me: "Thanks, can I try it out?"

Sales Guy: "No it's already sold."

Oh... thanks for spending 20 minutes watching me. Also offering no help or further "What are you looking for, we can find you something?" style questions.

And there ended my search. Nothing going privately, nothing going at dealers. Going to keep fishing around, but I'm mostly set on getting my mates bike and then fitting crash bungs. Or engine sliders/casing and the little spindle things for front and rear.

Did however buy a silly helmet, the HJC RPHA 10. It's quite pretty though