Well, I came across an interesting deal and pulled the trigger. I will always have a special place in my heart for the 650R. It was my first real bike. Truly, I wish I had been smarter and bought a used UJM or older 500cc bike to learn on. Here are a few reasons I made the change.
1) This was a truly unique deal. The bike I bought is a '03 CBR 600 F4i and it has 373 original miles on it!!!! The owner bought the bike new and the first thing he did is pull the wheels and have them chromed (actually did a good job with it). I am not a big fan of chrome but with the silver/black color scheme and the TBR slip on it does look really good. He put an aftermarket windscreen and billet pegs as well. Then, he got in a serious car accident and knew he wouldn't be able to ride for 3 or 4 years so after he got his settlement check he just sold it to a place that buys bikes (fast cash 4 bikes). I was concerned about it sitting but I couldn't see any fork seal leaks, tranny seal leaks, or and degradation of the tires (garage stored at all times).
2) I am a bigger guy 6'2" and 235 lbs. The lack of suspension adjustability was killing me. The 650R has preload only on the rear and nothing on the front. I had the preload all the way up and the sag was ok but not good. But at that high preload the bike would pogo pretty bad when it hit bumps. Having fully adjustable front and rear suspension and having a shop set it up for me should help stability a bunch.
3) Better brakes.
4) Sound...OMG. Personal preference here but to me nothing sounds better than I4's with a pipe. wow. My 650R sounded like a lawnmower...and if you put a pipe on them they sounded like angry lawnmowers.
5) Ergos aren't NEAR as bad as the modern SS bikes. The clip ons above the triple aren't too bad. The pegs are noticeably higher but not like R6, GSXR, etc. And when riding my Ninja, the horrible seat would make me have to stop after 1.5 hours anyway because my butt would be killing me. I didn't have all day comfort on the Ninja anyway. Also, most of my riding consists of Sunday morning runs down the local river to unwind, get away, that kind of thing. I don't tour (don't have time with a baby girl) and don't race (don't have money). All day comfort is not a big issue with me.
6) I felt myself getting lazy with the Ninja. The bike was almost too easy to ride. There was power everywhere in every gear (not a ton of power, but it was everywhere). You didn't have to think about gear or rpms. It was so flickable that it steered itself....the flickability was nice but it was also rather unstable...that is the prie you pay for flickability. My throttle control was getting lazy because you could ham fist that bike all day and not worry about anything. I think getting the F4i will ultimately hone my skills and make me a better rider in the end.
7) Variety is the spice of life...my goal is to ride every type of bike by the time I hit retirement. I already have ridden a standard, now I will try the true sportbike.
Here is a link to the craigslist site that advertised the bike:
http://toledo.craigslist.org/mcy/549117350.html Now I have a few questions for you guys
- Are the stock D207 Sportmax tires as bad as everyone claims? I don't want to put a bunch of money into tires right after I bought the bike. They look great, no dry rot and still have the little hairs on them from being so new.
again
to the F4i family!! 