Which sports 600?

[Teamcalibra]

I'm a big fan of sports bikes. Now that I've passed I'm eager to make a purchase. I've read lots of reviews but would like to hear from any of you who have owned one and can share your experience;

My max bike budget is £4K.

I'm 5'8 and 13 1/2 stone... 27 y/o so insurance isn't *too* bad.

Options;

GSXR600
R6
CBR6 RR

Not keen on a Kwak.

Cheers

[DaveS]

I went for the CBR600F-Sport because I wanted a sports bike but didn't want to take on the RR straight after passing my test.

I would recommend it, it's plenty fast enough for the road (IMO)and looks great. The bike is much better than me at the moment.

..DaveS
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2002 Honda CBR600F-Sport

[frogmella]

I've got a CBR Sport as my 1st bike. It's been fine. Supposedly a little less hardcore than the R6 or RR. Recommended. It also holds its value well.

[Jebus]

go green, some of the slighty older ones are meant to make ace first sports bikes, and they all look good in green
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2nd time around CBT: 8/9/11
125 Varadero

[Whosthedaddy]

Be different and get a Triumph Daytona
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[Dazbo666]

I'd suggest sitting on each bike and trying them for "fit"??
Try to get some test rides, or attend a promo event...

I'm about the same height as you, but found the GSXR has a slightly longer reach which wasn't as comfortable for me as the CBR. If you've never ridden a sports 600 though, be sure to be smooth and progressive with that right wrist

Just for the record, the CBR600RR was the 1st bike I'd ridden after my DAS, and the performance increase over a 500 (Suzuki GS500) was quite a surprise.... a pleasant surprise that it was probably the fastest acceleration I'd experienced at the time, but a lot to handle for a complete newbie like me.
Basically, if at all possible test 'em out before you part with your cash
HTH

Edit : BTW, after my RR test ride, I went down the 600F route, and think it's the best decision I ever made. More user friendly, and less "focussed" than the RR - which suits me
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1st bike (Sept'06 - May'10) : 1991 GPZ500S / Current bike (since Nov 2009) : 2003 Suzuki Bandit 600N
Word of the day : DILLIGAF

[NSR Mick]

Get whichever you like best.
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If you dont like the way that I ride.......Stop trying to keep up!!!

[Whosthedaddy]

[DaveS]

He says his max budget is £4k, which is about right for a decent second hand 600 a couple of years old I would reckon.

..DaveS
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2002 Honda CBR600F-Sport

[Teamcalibra]

Thanks for your replies...

DaveS and frogmella - A biker relative suggested I get a Honda purely for the reliability. I will look into the CBR Sport too.

Jebus - One of my boss' at work has a team green. I gotta get something different... Otherwise I'll not hear the end of it!

Whosthedaddy - It would be different agreed. Not sure about them though - probably because I don't know anything about them... I'll have a read up.

Dazbo666 - Thanks - sort of info I was after re: reach on the GSXR. Quickest bike I've been on is the GS500 I used for DAS but by the end of it, it seemed slow. Noted about being smooth and progressive as I'm a newb! I've parked myself only on an R6 so far out of my selection but plan to try them all.

gsxrmick - Very true but advice from people who have owned them always comes in handy.

and yup I won't be buying new

Cheers again

[stevo as b4]

So your looking at around an 02-04 reg machine within that budget. I don't think £4k will get you a CBR RR or ZX6R B1 however. The GSXR K3-K4 models and the R6 up to 03 are probably the best VFM, and there are a fair few of these bikes around to choose from, so you don't need to worry about finding one. Just a thought here, but are you sure that a current sports 600 is definately the type of bike you want? It would be easy for someone to buy a 600cc sports bike, purely out of image or expectations after passing your test. If you were looking at an R6 for example, and it's not purely a looks thing, then try out a Fazer and a Thundercat too, as you might find a less focused machine suits you better, and is definately more versatile too!

[Teamcalibra]

Yes looking at '03 and '04 bikes.

I'm not buying based on looks but don't want anything fugly! I'm open to alternatives and will take a look at those too...

Cheers

[jonboy22]

K4 (04) GSXR-600 deffo, for sub £4000 no probs, trust me I've bought one.

For value for money you can't beat it. Kicks the butt out of the rest in terms of overall package. Comes with all the trick bits that alot of the others don't. USD forks, radials, steering dampner as standard, most comfy riding position, funky little shift light. The only bike in the same bracket with all the gubbins is the Kwak 636 but you said you weren't keen, and niether was I.

Oh and if you're worried about it being too focused, I'm 6ft2 and have ridden it in all conditions from poodling through the countryside to booting it through traffic in the city, and it copes with everything.

Go for a test ride and you'll see

hth

[Irezumi aka Reuben]

Therye all the same. They go about the same, they stop about the same, to you and me at least.

Buy the one you like the look and feel of the best and which is the most comfortable to you for your uses of it.

Go and sit on some to test this out.
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Pictorgraphicalfantastical

[Teamcalibra]

Thanks for the info.

I must admit that the GSXR is sounding very good and second hand prices quite reasonable. Just need to go sit myself on one to see what it's like for me.

Hopefully my local bike dealer will have various bikes I can try as per some of your suggestions

[Teamcalibra]

[double post - arrghhh]

[rocket_richie]

i have a zx6r f3 on a p plate you can pick up a mint one for around £2500 ive had my one for two years the longest i have ever kept a bike for.i have never had a problem with it. starts first time every time and hits plus 160 mph. p.s green ones are faster lol

[dainesefreak]

Firstly congratulations on the test pass.

Now the bike, are you thinking of commuting and using the bike all year round or is it going to be a pick and choose/use the car when needed?

[jonboy22]

Yeahy, glad to hear that the Gixxer might be the flavour for the raver who likes quavers....um...yeah

Anyway would be interested to hear what you think of the riding position and all that. I found, and I think a few bike magazines have agreed that the GSX's have the easiest going most rounded riding position of the lot. Well that's for K4 onwards anyway, not sure about those mental SRADs...

HOWEVER!! the only downside to the Gixxer,......,is the fact that you become another one of that grey mass of Gixxer riders. Go to a bike meet or a big bike event, spend the rest of the afternoon looking for your bike.....I'm a wee bit lucky in that I got one of the more minging paint schemes that sticks out like a sore thumb, but I like it so that's all that counts....

[Teamcalibra]

Hi all,

rocket_richie - I don't think I'll be doing anywhere near 160!!

dainesefreak - Thank you . My car is my day to day transport for work. The bike will mainly be used for short rides out on the weekend. A few longer weekend trips are planned but as I say mostly shorter journeys. So likely to be out only in half decent weather.

jonboy22 - LOL ... One of my mates pointed that out about Gixxers + bike meets. TBH that doesn't bother me. More interested in the best bike for my money and one that suits me. It'll be good to see how much the riding positions differ between them all. I've heard and read that the CBR RR is the most full on race style... I interpreted this as meaning awkward!?

[GSXR_Warrior]

We need more gixxer owners on this site......only joking
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GSXR600K4 Blue - fastest colour. No mods as yet. Happy with standard bike.
www.twitter.com/GSXR_Warrior

[dainesefreak]

My point was that if you can pick and choose then perhaps you can look at buying something a bit less practical than say CBR600F. Nothing wrong with them, in fact I would recommend one as a comfortable reassuring year round bike.

Saying that I commute year round on my Blade which I would imagine is a very similar, if not an identical riding position to the 600RR. The only issues I have is when the weather changes and the roads get slippery. Because of the power, delivery and the front end feel to the bike it spins up the rear very easily, which I would imagine (again) is the difference between the two because of the difference in RWH and torque.

I have owned a 2001 R6 and found it to be more uncomfortable and harder to use than I do my Blade. The riding position was very knees up wrists down, making full lock turns difficult. I found I was constantly backing off on country B roads and bumpy A roads due to the flightiness for the the front end and it's propensity for slapping.

The later incarnation was supposed to be a very good road bike in a similar vein to the CBR600F, but in my opinion better looking and you could get it in black.

I would arrange some test rides and see which one you prefer and suits what you want to do with it best. Something else to take into consideration is where and who the dealers are. It can be a real pain in the arse trekking miles for a decent place to service your pride and joy.

I could recommend a Honda dealer and a Yamaha dealer that I have/do deal with on a regular basis. Suzuki, I've never had any dealings with as well as Kawasaki. Aprilia, I could tell you some horror stories but you aren't going there anyway.

Good luck

[Teamcalibra]

dainesefreak Thanks for the useful information. I couldn't agree more about dealers. Last year my old car (BMW) spent 6 months at an authorised dealer. They were useless... From forgetting to reset the service lights to forgetting to put the trim back in after changing hood motors. Multiple scratches to the bodywork, charging for parts that the car didn't even have... and much much more! BMW UK didn't want to know either

Axeman LOL... I take it there's a 'few' on here



I am planning on going to East Midlands Superbikes this weekend just to have a sit on a few of the bikes. I would go to J & S but they only offered to knock me a quid off a 2003 R6 up at £4,999

I'll also see what reputation the nearest Suzuki dealer has... Sutton Motorcycles in Tamworth although I did my DAS opposite them and popped in a few times.

[dainesefreak]

Sutton are now Honda at both sites mate, you'll still get 2nd hand stuff there but nothing new now. I deal with the Boldmere one quite regularly and can recommend them, I've not had any dealings with the Tamworth branch though.

Alf England over in Bedworth/Nuneaton are worth dealing with for Yamaha. They usually finish in the top 3 of Ride mags surveys, Sutton also in the top 5. I think East Midland might be import dealers, but I may be wrong, not dealt with them other than a couple of phone calls.

[colin1]

get some test rides and see what you prefer
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colin1 is officially faster than god