How good are Honda Motorcycles?

[bambookid]

I'm a newbie when it comes to Motorcycles so I searched all over the web for info but then it dawned on me...why not ask my good friends on Prime. The're rich, spoiled and love toys like me! hehehe.

I had eyes set on a Honda CBR600. I found one a 2001 Honda CBR600 for $6000. It's taken 1 small spill and only has 80 miles. The owner is getting married and plus he is too chicken to ride it anymore. Is this a decent starter bike or should I consider another?

I presume some of you have bikes. Any input would be much appreciated. Give me the pros and cons and dangers of owning a motorcycle!

Ed

 

[Biaggi]

Honda sportbikes

Well, first off if you are new to sportbikes take a Motorcycle Safety Riding Foundation course to learn the fundamentals of riding. This course is offered at many local community colleges for under $100. You'll get a certificate for safety (which some insurance companies carry discounts) and to boot- they also provide you with a 250cc bike to practice and ride on during the 2-3 day event (usually a night hawk or a rebel). Also, usually (depending on instructors) on the last day you can take the actual motorcycle driver's test and take that certificate to the DMV for your license. It's all good.

As for the CBR600 F4i, that's an excellent all around bike to start and grow into. It has plenty of HP, is light, sporty on the track yet comfortable for sport touring. You can't go wrong with Honda engineering! My '94 900RR has 36k miles and I bought it with 1300 miles used and still going!

Also, CHudson races Honda 600 F3's (as long as he stays on the track heh heh) So he can also confirm that you can't go wrong with honda sportbikes...

If you want more advice pm me ....

but good luck!

 

[mdb]

600cc is a good bike to get started on. I'm kinda partial to Suzuki's myself, but the CBR is a good bike Pros of bike owning are its loads of fun, straight line performance cars can't touch, ease of parking, carpool lane useage, etc. Down sides... only crashing really comes to mind at the moment, but that's not a given. I've put about 75,000 miles on my street bikes and only had one crash (80mph "WHOOPS!" I walked away from). I've raced motorycycles for about 4 years. A few more crashes at the track, but it's a rush that nothing can compete with.

Oh yeah the other down side. Anything you drive with four wheels will feel slow... really really slow I've got a bandit 400 for a race bike at the moment (just sold the spare last week). Spokane Raceway:

... and for beating the ever loving crap out of the cars in my neighborhood (high schooler kids especially), I've got a '99 Suzuki Hayabusa with a RayJay turbo charger running 11 psi (285hp at the wheel), and it's the bike I commute on too Some pic from Suzuki's site since I can't find one at the moment:

I say go for it, but take an instructed riding class BEFORE you start running around on the street. You and the bike will last longer that way. It's an insane amount of fun...

 

[nsxtasy]

Re: Honda sportbikes

Well, first off if you are new to sportbikes take a Motorcycle Safety Riding Foundation course to learn the fundamentals of riding. This course is offered at many local community colleges for under $100.

I see from the foundation's website that you can find where their "RiderCourse" is given near you by calling them at 800-446-9227.

 

[4AU4LIFE]

The're rich, spoiled and love toys like me! hehehe.

Ouch, but at least we can spell.....hehe

 

[cbr600]

I have a old CBR600 F2. I think CBR 600 is easy to ride and comfortable ( in sport bike's standard). Definitely a good bike to start with and enjoy for years. Like most Honda products, CBR is very reliable.

 

[nsxxtreme]

I have never had a problem with mine. I would agree with the others in that you should sign up for a motorcycle saftey coarse.

 

[milz50]

I have a '96 CBR600F3. It's not that fast as compared with other newer sport bikes. I can run mid-11 second 1/4 mile; less fat people can do it quicker. It is plenty of bike for me. I wouldn't suggest going with anything more powerful than an F4. Todays' bikes are getting faster and faster, but a novice is still just that - a beginner. This is a bad combination. Stay within your limits!

 

[ss_md]

A good starter bike - an oppposite opinion! Not knowing you or your physical and mental characteristics, it is hard to give you advice. However (IMO), a modern 600cc Sportbike is too much HP for any newbie to the M/C world. I would never tell someone not to buy something if they really want it. It's just that I've seen and heard of too many people getting injured, mamed and killed because they could not handle/control the power. The power to experience ratio is usually low. Even if you took the safety course doesn't mean you become an experienced rider. My recommendation to every new-rider is to start with something with less HP until you have riden for at least a year or more. Anyone can get injured on a M/C it's just that newbies screw-up more often.

Motorcycles are different animals than cars. The power/weight ratio is much higher on a M/C than on a car. On the 600 it's approx. 6 lbs. per 1 HP. Assuming the M/C weighs 370 lbs. w/60 HP. On the NSX its approx. 106 lbs. per 1 HP. Assuming the NSX weighs 3069 lbs. w/290 HP. That's 100 lbs. of weight added to the car for every 1 HP - huge difference. There isn't a street legal car on the road today that can pop-a-wheelie in 3rd gear going 60+ mph. In a car you have protection all around you, where as on a bike you don't. If you crash on a bike and are wearing Leathers you are still going to feel pain. Trust me I know how it feels to be thrown off of a M/C at speed. Asphalt may look smooth, but it is very rough.
Don't let machismo make your decision. I know the others have stated that a 600 is a perfect starter bike. IMO it has too much power. 10 years ago my opinion may have been different.

Best of luck in your decision.

 

[Zuerst]

...

Motorcycles are different animals than cars. The power/weight ratio is much higher on a M/C than on a car. On the 600 it's approx. 6 lbs. per 1 HP. Assuming the M/C weighs 370 lbs. w/60 HP. On the NSX its approx. 106 lbs. per 1 HP. Assuming the NSX weighs 3069 lbs. w/290 HP. That's 100 lbs. of weight added to the car for every 1 HP - huge difference.

...

That's a huge difference on the actual lbs to HP ratio for the NSX and your calculation too... Sorry couldn't resist...

 

[kgb_agent]

I had a 2001 F4i until April this year. Incredibly smooth, good power, and the best handling of most any 600 out there. IMO it was the nicest looking, too. Two complaints: (1) the seat. You don't realize how uncomfortable it is until you ride an R6; it also gets plenty hot in the summer. (2) The #@@%$ clutch cable is routed DIRECTLY in front of your gauge cluster.

Typical Honda bulletproof engineering and always dead reliable.

 

[true]

Milz, didn't know you had a Bike too.

I've been thinking of getting a Honda Dual Sport...the XR650L. Anyone know anything about this bike? As far as I've read, reminds me of the nsx..93-current no changes. It's as close to a street legal dirtbike I can find.

 

[DocL]

I've had fopur Honda motorcycles. It all depends what you are looking for. I've also had and riden Suzuki's, Ducati's and Yamaha's. A god started bike would be a 500cc without a lot of plastic fairings. You can find nice Kawasaki 500EX's very cheap and old Honda Interceptor 500's for good money. Even a 250cc motorcycle is faster than most cars and you can find yourself in a whole lot of trouble very quickly. Don't forget to buy the best jacket, gloves and helmet that you can afford. A 400lb motorcyle and 180lb rider are no contest for a 4000lb cage.

And remember there are two kind of riders: Those that have gone down and those that will go down.

 

[mikec]

I too have a 96 CBR600F3.

I've had many bikes including the more recent ones.

Kawasaki
GPZ550, GPZ750, GPZ1100, Concourse 1000

BMW
K75S,

By far, for me, the Honda is the most fun bike I've had. Its light, powerful, handles great, build quality is typical Honda. Your looking at a nice bike.. Go for it!

 

[Da Hapa]

A good starter bike - an oppposite opinion! Not knowing you or your physical and mental characteristics, it is hard to give you advice. However (IMO), a modern 600cc Sportbike is too much HP for any newbie to the M/C world. I would never tell someone not to buy something if they really want it. It's just that I've seen and heard of too many people getting injured, mamed and killed because they could not handle/control the power. The power to experience ratio is usually low. Even if you took the safety course doesn't mean you become an experienced rider. My recommendation to every new-rider is to start with something with less HP until you have riden for at least a year or more. Anyone can get injured on a M/C it's just that newbies screw-up more often.

Motorcycles are different animals than cars. The power/weight ratio is much higher on a M/C than on a car. On the 600 it's approx. 6 lbs. per 1 HP. Assuming the M/C weighs 370 lbs. w/60 HP. On the NSX its approx. 106 lbs. per 1 HP. Assuming the NSX weighs 3069 lbs. w/290 HP. That's 100 lbs. of weight added to the car for every 1 HP - huge difference. There isn't a street legal car on the road today that can pop-a-wheelie in 3rd gear going 60+ mph. In a car you have protection all around you, where as on a bike you don't. If you crash on a bike and are wearing Leathers you are still going to feel pain. Trust me I know how it feels to be thrown off of a M/C at speed. Asphalt may look smooth, but it is very rough.
Don't let machismo make your decision. I know the others have stated that a 600 is a perfect starter bike. IMO it has too much power. 10 years ago my opinion may have been different.

Best of luck in your decision.

IMO, this is some very good advice.

Take the MSF course. Ask your instructors. They're likely agree with what's posted above.

Honda makes great motorcycles and the CBR600 is an excellent bike. Its true that you can learn on that bike but IMO, its also true that you'd be better off starting with something a little more tame.

Think Honda Nighthawk 750 or Suzuki SV650 or maybe even Kawasaki 500e/Ninja 500R (my first bike). All of these bikes have more than enough power for even a seasoned rider, offer a comfortable riding position and have ergonomics that are much easier on a new rider. In addition, they're all cheaper to own, probably cheaper to insure, and probably cheaper to maintain. Finally, you can find a ton of them in the aftermarket.

Riding is awesome. Its really like nothing else. But don't follow your balls, follow your brain. Invest in good riding equipment, get all the training you can, and be careful.

I found that riding made me a better driver and it made me much more aware of my surroundings and how God awful the avg. driver on American roads has become.

Good luck.

 

[len3.8]

I am new to riding as well, Though I opted for a cruiser VTX1800.
I took 2 Training courses and bought a beater bike to practice with, because I knew I was going to have a mishap sooner or later. I rode as a kid in the dirt, so the mechanics came bake after practice. I would definitely suggest the MSF course. There are people that have been riding for years that may not be able to pass the course. I was told that the VTX1800 was too large for me as my first street bike as well. I took to it quickly and have ridden it over 3200 miles in the last 2 months. Having said that, I practice all the time, It is not a sport bike, I ride very responsibly.
Please! take the time to get aquainted with the bike and it's habits,your bad habits , your bad habits, and prepare your self in stages before going out on it. Take time not to get caught up in peer pressure. It's real easy to be macho on the bike. Accidents happen sooo quickly it's a shame. Having said that I wouldn't be afraid of the 600 as a first bike if you respect all of the aspects of riding. Trees, Cars, Trucks don't care if it's a 250cc or a 1800cc bike. If you approach the bike and riding with respect and become a student of it before you get on the bike, then you have done a lot more than the guys that just buy them and get on them. Wear protection, so WHEN you go down you'll have something to drag other than just your skin. Get as much non-peak hours riding in as possible before trying to conquer the heavy traffic.

To asnswer you ???. Yes Honda Motorcycles are very reliable.

 

[AaronR]

I had a Purple 94 600F2, great bike, loved "almost" every second of it. I still have a few plastic shards left in a chest of keepsakes sitting in my attic
Aaron

 

[Ludgero]

I am also new to riding but I did purchase the CBR600 F4i as my first bike. So far, I can say that the bike was quite easy to get use to, however, it is a little heavier than the Suzuki GSR 600.

 

[MYNSX]

OTHER than my Ducati, my honda f1,f2 and f3 were the best bikes I've owned, super dependable ,mechanic friendly, comfitorable
riding and great performer w/ minor mod's.
MYNSX