F4I for wife?

My wife is deployed to Kuwait and shes informed me she wants a new bike in the garage for herself when she gets home, she wanted a new R6 and I said I didnt think that was a good ideal, she has limited experiance on a Harley sporster and she will take the MSF class before she rides again, I told her I didnt think teh R6 was good for a newbie and the riding position would be to aggresive for her comfort, I suggested the F4 , not because I have any experiance with it because I dont but it looks like a baby Blackbird and I hear it has a very linear powerband, unlike the 600 race replicas, so a few questions. does the F4 roast you legs in traffic lika a Blackbird does, how is the new two person seat ? and any recomendations on higher bars? thank you.

What's wrong with an R6 instead of an F4? The R6 is lighter, more nimble, and faster than the F4. The sluggish (top end power) and "chubby" F4 will defintely be a disappointment compared to the R6. If your wife is into comfort, then teh F4 will suffice; but if she wants to have fun on a bike she won't outgrow too quickly, she'd be better off with the R6. Bikes are bikes...you can kill yourself on a 250 or a 1K...it all depends on the rider so I don't think there's such a thing as an off-limits bike for a newbie. I'd vote to get her an R6.

The F4, like most bikes, roasts body parts when it gets hot in stop-and-go traffic, otherwise, it's an even call....

well after a , what 35 or 40 HP sporster, I do think the slower and less nimble F4 is more up to her speed, for me yes. I would love to have an R6 or an R1, but were talking about a 42 year old woman who has no desire to race through the twisties, and she does want to ride to the coast and thats about a 400 mile round trip so yes I thought the F4 would be better suited for her, and as far as the heat, not all bikes roast ya, My Hayabusa puts out almost zero heat on the rider, My Blackbird cooks you like a Habachi! and I totaly agree with you, its not the bike that kills you, its your own stupidy or in experiance , and that will happen weather your on a Ninja 250 or a Hayabusa. My son is new and he started on a Blackbird, hes very responsible and has good self control, I would have killed my self if I started on a XX , so back to my wife, yes she wants a comfortable and sporty looking bike, she's not looking for the best apex carver out there. ????? I also figure if she out grows the F4, which I doubt , my 17 year old daughter also wants a bike so it would be a great hand me down for her.

I love my F4i
The seating position is fine on longer trips, but the seat kind of numbs the butt
I do not like the new 1pc, front and rear seat on the new ones.
I would find a leftover, or used one, but that's just me, and only because of the looks

The F4/F4i would be fine. The bike gets hot, but it doesn't "roast you like a hibachi". The seat is fine (basically the same seat on my F4). It is not as sporty as the split seat, but it is more comfortable.

I was also thinking of getting an R6 (my husband has an R1) I felt as a new rider the R6 was a little more aggressive. I love my bike. I am glad I chose the f4i. Heat hasn't bothered me so far.

sure, i'll trade you my wife for an f4i.





oh, wait. i just read the title and not the whole post. i wondered why this wasn't under the classifieds section.

Well send me pis of you wife, maybe we can work out a deal? I have a Hayabusa and a CBR1100XX and soon an F4I ?? LOL

I haven't ridden an R6, but from one female's perspective, the F4i is great! My previous bike was a 450+ lb Katana. Compared to that, this bike is a dream! I am only 5'3", so we lowered it 1" and I have ordered a Corbin seat for the 250+ mile rides we like to do on weekends. Right now, I wouldn't trade my bike for anything!

brand new R6 or just an r6? 06s will roast your wife if she makes a mistake...say too much throttle in the turn...low or highside...less chance with something like a 250...
it's not for a newb mang...neither is the F4i but much more forgiving...
what's that crack about the F4 having a sluggish top end? you mean lowend...if topend...you aint riding it right or the bike is jacked.

Well we went ahead and purchsed a new 05 red F4I. 7999 OTD, I will be picking it up next week, I'm sure we made the right decision when comparing it to an R6 or another race replica. maybe a GS500F would have been better but I'm sure my wife will do fine , I rode one the other day and it seems very mellow unless your way up in the rpm's , Ths SV650S was way to torquey , if she accidently brought the front end up it would scare her and she might give up before she really got started, So Im happy with our decision, besides it was a hell of allot cheaper then the new Benz she wants, My beautiful wife wont return from her deployement to the gulf untill mid Dec, so she probably wont get much riding in this year, I wonder how long before she wants my Blackbird?

and thanks Throttle girl after she read what you sent me she said I feel allot bettter now.

If you ask my humble opinion....she should really wait and try out a couple of bikes for herself. What might feel right to you, might suck for her. Personally, I like the f4i, I like the 2 piece seat....I'm a bigger fellow 230 lbs and I can get my bike up to 60 or 80 in a few seconds and the 2 piece is way more comfortable riding more than the piece of leather draped over sheet metal of most 2 piece bikes....

Everyone always says to get the R-6 and that anything else is a "chick-bike"...Unless you have some kind of complex where, at all times must race and defeat all other "non-worthy" bikes to prove something the F4i is awesome. I dont know the stats as far as horse power or weight but I assure you its not that much difference...maybe if you were on the track or something....but I think most of your difference is going to be in the rider....and who cares man...just go ride. I can also assure you that no matter how fast your bike is you can not "outrun motorolla or other police radios or your registration with your address popping up on that cops laptop in his car"

I pride myself in not being a bike snob and alot of people are...."you have a what?" Its either the R-6 snobs, or the Litre bike guys against 600 cc bikes or cruiser vs sportbike, harley vs sportbike, and of course the Goldwing guys are well in a class by themselves....... I could careless what people ride as long as they ride....

Dont get me wrong the R-6 is sweet. Nothing wrong with it, a fine piece of engineering.....but everyone and their dog has an R-6 now a days.....I dont see as many f4i's and thats why I love my bike...

Thats just my opinion and you know what they say about opinions "they're like a-holes" everyone has them!

happy shopping!

Moss

Well it's going to be the F4, she wants it in the garage when she gets here, I asked if she wanted to go shopping when she got home and nope, she wants the F4 here and waiting for her, plus I need to do a few things to it, bars. pegs, shield etc. . she has seen allot of 600's over in kuwait, allot of the soldiers have bought them and she really likes the F4's , she's sat on my balckbird and liked the feel and the F4 feels like a little XX , on a sad note one of the soldiers she knew was killed on a 600 while he was in Kuwait, she says the guys ride at top speed on the roads over there, and its the 4th or 5th most dangerous place in the world to drive. and I agree about the motorcycle snobs out there , Hayabusa owners think my Blackbird is yesterdays news and I should get a Hayabusa, then I say well I have one of those too and I preffer the XX!

the r6 has quite more hp than the f4i...but yea lots of people have them...and noobs too...so i see lotsa crashes here.
same mofos dawging my f4i with their RR or R6 were the same guys that had to move out of the way for me in the canyons...cause they slow like that...

quote:

ORIGINAL: mossman

.....but everyone and their dog has an R-6 now a days.....

FYI...my dog has a gixxer, and my mom has a ninja! hahahhahahahhaha

Wow...didn't mean for this thread to degenerate into a misconception about the F4i being an inferior bike...fellow asked the question which would be best for his wife, and I gave an opinion...the R6. I have an F4i, but in my 11 years of riding and track racing, have owned numerous bikes from a Gixxer 400RR (overseas) to a V-Star 650 cruiser. Before I bought my F4i, I went around test driving the Gixxer 600, R6, ZX-6, and of course the F4i. I agree with the post that you have to shop around for your bike because what feels great to someone else may feel very uncomfortable for others. I had to put a Yoshi exhaust on my F4i to feel the same responsiveness and the top end power I experienced on a bone stock R6. Simple as that and no, my bike's not jacked and yes, I know how to handle it. I don't know about the "snobby" bikers who think the {insert popular bike here} is the sh*t compared to everything else on the road...I just concern myself with riding and enjoying the unique aspects each bike has to offer. Again, my opinion...I'd recommend the R6 over the F4i, but to each her own.

To the original poster...glad your wife will be back soon to enjoy the riding. Too bad about someone not respecting the bike and killing himself in Kuwait. We don't have the luxury of riding motorcycles here in Iraq, but I wish we did. Sweet roads when there aren't any roadside bombs.

Out here.

quote:

ORIGINAL: regener8ed

sure, i'll trade you my wife for an f4i.

Too funny

i'm not dogging anyone...but seriously, limited experience and an R6 = disaster. based on your judgement between f4i and r6...yes, i say r6 hands down powerwise, trackwise, and throwing around wise. but as far as newer riders...would have to side with the f4i.
f4i is limited but with a little bling, can be prepped well and hang with the others. but all that aside, you shouldn't recommend either to a noob, but you choose the friendlier of 2 evils and that is the F4i.

I "should" recommend? Uhm...the fellow asked for an opinion. I gave it. Why is this an issue? He said his wife has limited experience on a Harley which means she's not a newbie...she's ridden before, just not sportbikes. I realize different people have different opinions on bikes. The Harley Sportster is an 883...he was asking about a 600 which is a better starter bike than an 883...even by Harley standards. Last I checked, the person's throttle hand decides when the bike goes and my opinion is based on that...doesn't matter what bike a person starts on as it's not the bike that kills people...

quote:

ORIGINAL: Tahoe SC

i'm not dogging anyone...but seriously, limited experience and an R6 = disaster. based on your judgement between f4i and r6...yes, i say r6 hands down powerwise, trackwise, and throwing around wise. but as far as newer riders...would have to side with the f4i.
f4i is limited but with a little bling, can be prepped well and hang with the others. but all that aside, you shouldn't recommend either to a noob, but you choose the friendlier of 2 evils and that is the F4i.

yes you can give the board your opinion, and i can give the board mine.
but no need to get upset when someone doesn't agree with your opinion.
i my opinion is that recommending an R6 to a noob is recipe for disaster.

fact is...harley is nowhere near an R6.
limited experience on a harley...which turns nothing like an R6 or any sportbikes.
i've ridden 1100 cruisers, etc. and they don't compare to 600 sportbikes. totally different, in speed, forgiveness, etc.

you're right, the throttle hand decides when a bike goes. no need condenscending about it in reference to last time i checked, etc.
also know this...like i said before, if a rider with limited experience accidently 'jerks' the throttle yes, the hand controls it...but unintentionally.
that's what i'm getting at. that's when there will be a difference between a newb on an R6 and a noob on something less.

I love my F4. Very comfortable, and quick. If she wants a little more oomf downlow drop a tooth like I did. I'm very satisfied with it and still enjoy it. It's definitely not a terd, but weighing at 115lbs at 5'7.. the bike fits me perfectly. Can't go wrong with it. I rode the r6 and was not impressed with it, gotta muscle it in turns too aggressive for my liking. Not to mention the reliability of the Honda. Can't go wrong there. The f4 begs to be leaned over. Pick a line and she complies with no hesisitation whatsoever. Comes up 1st gear through 3rd if you aren't careful. I've gone 500 miles without the slightest ache other than tiredness from the twisties. Very forgiving, excellent bike. I reccomend it.

Kathryn

Stephygee,

I don't want you to take this as coming down on you, but I agree with Tahoe SC. He makes very valid points that must be considered. The original poster said his wife had very limited seat time on a Sportster (ick). You stated that limited time did not mean she was a noob. I disagree, that is the exact definition to me. Limited, as far as time goes, means a short period. She will be a Noob on a sportbike. Heck, to drive the point home, I have been riding on the street for over 20 years but recently one of my pals got me out on a dirtbike. I haven't ridden on the dirt since I was a kid. It felt so foreign to me (physics of the bike). I knew if I pushed it or if I was on a screamer of a 2-stroke, I would have hurt myself. With that being said, I am not a slouch on the twisties (street) or track. I ride a F4i and have ridden an R6. The R6 is more twitchy or nervous (feeling) in the front end. I would not suggest a Noob to start their sport bike career on it.