CBR 600 owners

[MadeOfStone]

Hi all,

Passed my test first time 3 weeks ago and after hours trawling through e-bay, autotrader, dealerships and magazines, I think I have found my first bike.

It's a black 2000 W Reg CBR 600 FX 25000 miles - agreed price of £1750. Now, firstly, it looks great on pics, but missing the CBR stickers / decals - only has the Honda one at the bottom of the fairing and the CBR one behind the seat. Is this normal?

Is there anyone who owns a similar bike that can give me some idea about what to look out for when I go to pick it up - Wednesday night 16th June.

There's some pics attached, opinions very welcome....

Thanks
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Under neon loneliness....................motorcycle emptiness.................

[supZ]

my experience of cbr600s is that i've owned 2 of them, but they're both steelies so not personally experienced with the FX/Y variation.

from my pov id guess the panels been replaced as i would expect full decals but i might be wrong.

best thing to check is behind the fairing and look for any scrapes on the swingarm, frame etc.. to indicate its been down the road.

at the end of the day even if its been dropped and panels replaced as long as its in good order, all straight and you like the look then id say go for it

cant go wrong with a CBR (as long as its been looked after, heh)
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CBR954RR - Daily toy
CBR600RR - Trackbike

[Itchy]

Probably replaced panels, I've had to replace them several times (after it was knocked over in a car park)

Though CBRs crash very well, I put mine in a hedge at 'HIGH SPEED' and rode it home with a snapped swingarm.

Just check the usual things, W&T bent wheels unstraight forks etc, though cbers can be easily repaired.

You may also want to check for holes in the zorst on the downpipes as my 1999 CBR had holes in the downpipes by 2007 when I got hold of it, its a £235 SS replacement or a £10 spot weld.


Something people neglect to replace are the hero blobs under the footpegs too other wise they are fine solid bikes.
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[MadeOfStone]

Thanks supZ,

I have had another thought - the decals have been removed for racing / track use. A black bike, no stickers, tinted screen, black race can - that's stereotypical track fodder is it not?

I am suddenly very wary of this bike, but, on the plus side the guy selling seems genuine and has answered all my questions so far (he's yet to tell me why it has no decals though!!)

If I just ask outright if the bike has been used primarily on the track, he's gonna say no isn't he? so is there anything I can look for that is a tell tale sign?
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Under neon loneliness....................motorcycle emptiness.................

[el_oso]

what's wrong with it being a track bike.
IMO people that generally do track days have a bit more money than mr. councilflat and can be bothered and afford to keep the bike in good condition. just my opinion.
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Duke 390
Previous: '05 XR125L | '96 XJ600S Diversion |'05 Suzuki GSXR1000 | '05 Honda CBR125-R | '97 YZF 600R Thundercat | '11 Honda CBR250
Car: Jeep Wrangler 4.0L

[supZ]

if its a trackbike the telltale sign is immaculate standard fairing and scratched/scuffed swingarm/forks etc.. as they'll usually have road and track fairing and if its been down on the track it'll be the track fairing that takes teh beating along with the unreplaceables like swingarm, pegs etc..

as long as they're all scrape free its probably not a trackbike, or at least not one thats been thrown at the scenary.

i doubt its a trackbike tbh, its more likely its been dropped and had the panels replaced as plain fairing is a hell of a lot cheaper to buy than the rip off replacement panels with decals on. (cost me over £45 just for an inspection panel for my FW)
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CBR954RR - Daily toy
CBR600RR - Trackbike

[Bendy]

Are the decals missing on both sides? There was never an all-gloss-black FX/FY model, the closest thing being a (to my memory) slightly matt one with red decals.

So, someone either wanted an all black one and re-sprayed appropriately, and couldn't get the stickers to match as the OE ones have the 'fade' from one fairing colour to another printed on them, or simply bought used fairings from a newer CBR

The '01 onwards bike did have a gloss black sidepanel version, but the stickers were completely different to the 99/00 and wouldn't match the top fairing - easiest fix would be to take the stickers off.

I wouldn't worry about it at all. Mine went from black n yellow to more black than yellow to black through various iterations of 'I've buggered that fairing, I've got a cheap replacement, I've found the right colour, I'm turning it into a trackbike, I'm not turning it into a trackbike'. Its just cosmetics. Any bike 10 years old has probably been dropped, it isn't something to worry about.

As far as track use goes - don't worry about it. I did maybe 20 trackdays on mine and it was mechanically fine when I sold it at 40k miles. A bike that's been crashed is a bike that's been crashed, it doesn't matter if it was on road or track. And as the_godfather says, there's a fair chance that a track addict will look after it better (mine got an oil change every 2 trackdays, not every 4000 miles). It's a bike, it is meant to be ridden. Trackdays can do them some good, mine always ran better after having the bollocks thrashed off it for a day.

Look at the footrests. If they've worn in proportion with the rest of the bike, it's not been trackdayed much. Standard footrests with hero blobs that size doesn't look like a trackday hero to me! There's no crash protection other than the common R&Gs... trackday folks usually fit other bits. Check the wheels for chips and signs they've had a lot of tyre changes.... I just noticed, it's still got its centrestand. That ain't no trackbike.

And FWIW, no-one would remove decals for track use. They'd remove the entire fairings and fit either proper track ones, scabby pre-damaged road ones or some mashup of the two.

[MadeOfStone]

Thanks everyone (especially Bendy for your words of experience and wisdom spotting the things I didn't) my mind is pretty much at ease.

I am going to pick it up Wednesday night and enlisted the help of 2 mates - one used to work in a Suzuki dealership and the other has had more bikes than hot dinners so we should be able to spot any major flaws.

All in all I think it seems a good bike and as it's my first am just being over cautious, however I think you're all right, bikes are to be ridden and hopefully I'll be the one riding this one very soon. I'm off to e-bay to get some decals................
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Under neon loneliness....................motorcycle emptiness.................

[Grimnir]

MadeOfStone - it looks great from the pic (2nd pic too small!) just make sure your experienced mates ask the usual sensible questions. Then post more pics if you go for it!

[Itchy]

[Grimnir]