She's gone...it's your fault! ;-)

[piresito]

First of all, thanks to all forum members, this is officially the best forum that I've been. Everytime there was a member ready to help...I will miss this when problems arise on my future bike...for sure!


Aaaand...Yep...just sold my 97 faired GS500, and she will be sleeping in the street... 

As soon as I got her running at 110%, I started riding with friends RR's and just want more fun in the bike...the choice was to invest in better suspension and tires or to get a better handling bike. The first is a kind of investment that I will never get back (except for the fun)..and then I saw a Yamaha R6 ad that needed repair...then I posted here about the viability of the R6...then somebody (Twisted) whispered: CBR600 F3....  Then BaltimoreGS comes and say: That CBR 600 F3 is the only bike I regret selling?!
I had no chance, a man isn't made of steel...it took minutes to decide and post a online ad, that's how she looked like before she went:











Now...the fun part...CBR600F3 or Yzf600r? 
Which one of the is more fun? The more reliable? The best mileage?

I'm already biased to the F3, but the are more pricey than the newer YZFs with less kilometers...does it really worth the difference or are they toe to toe?

[mister]

Take an f3 for a spin. Take an r6 for a spin. Decide for yourself which of the two you feel better on.

[The Buddha]

 
None of those, get an F4, its everything an F3 is and has an aluminum frame.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Twisted]

None of those, get an F4, its everything an F3 is and has an aluminum frame.
Cool.
Buddha.

And FI but I think the OP was on a budget so the F3 would be what I would look at. Like mister said try and take one of each for a ride. Bum in seat works a treat 

[BaltimoreGS]

None of those, get an F4, its everything an F3 is and has an aluminum frame.
Cool.
Buddha.

And FI but

I apologize in advance if I'm starting to come off as a whiny know-it-all, I seem to be contradicting a lot of posts on here lately, but the F4 is still carbureted.  Fuel injection debuted in 2001 on the F4i.  Easy to distinguish by the dual headlights.

-Jessie

[Twisted]

I apologize in advance if I'm starting to come off as a whiny know-it-all, I seem to be contradicting a lot of posts on here lately, but the F4 is still carbureted.  Fuel injection debuted in 2001 on the F4i.  Easy to distinguish by the dual headlights.

-Jessie

My mistake and thanks for the correction.

[BaltimoreGS]

No worries   

-Jessie

[The Buddha]

The F4 is carbed, F4i is injected, and yea either or ... seriously I dont think you're gonna pay a premium for F3 vs F4 vs F4i in identical condition/miles.
I dunno I think steel frames are really for budget bikes. The public also isn't that sensitive, in fact 90% of the clowns think a GS frame is aluminum.
Just use the ignorance of the public @ large to your advantage.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Twisted]

OP is in Portugal IRC. It is hard to say what the market is like there and what bikes are readily available. Maybe he can give us an idea.

[piresito]

Yes, I'm on a tight budget, that's why I'm/was considering the YZF600r, they are slightly cheaper.
The F3 seems to be the best compromise technology/budget. The F4 are 25% more expensive. The asking price on a fair condition 97/98 F3 is 2000 Euro and the F4 99/00 is 2500 Euro. For the F4i, no less than 3000 Euro, and at the moment there is none below 3500€, but I've seen them at 3000€. For that money or a couple hundred more, I would get a Gsxr-750 K1, which would be a long term acquisition as I have a fetish with that bike...
The YZF's, I can get them from 1500€ and up, with mileages around 50.000Kms (31000 miles).
Funny is that one may think that with the financial crisis (and media terrorism...) in the country the prices will go down so that the people can get cash, it's actually the opposite. People are too afraid to lose money in a deal so the prices are going up! 

I do have to have a "stop price", and mine is at 1800 Euro. Yes, lower than the market asking price for the F3, but it's against my principles to bid at the asking price, and I bring cash, it make their eyes glow.... 

Now, how different would be the aluminum frame? Engine changes in the F4 vs F3? One point I forgot to tell, I might take it to the track sometimes in the future as I'm planning a simple track course as I get it. I can't be on the track thinking about all the money I spent in it, afraid to go down.
My goal in this bike is to have fun. It has to be fun, good brakes and suspension. The power isn't all that important, the thing that I most missed in the GS was good brakes and cornering confidence.

I also got some news...today I tested an F3... I though that was the 97 model, but it was a 96 model registered in 97! Sh*t! Anyway, I rode it, and I never rode a bike with more than 50hp! WWooowoo, that was fun! 2nd gear full throttle (testing for gearbox problems) revs going up and around 9000rpm bang...ultra-fast-super-turbo-KITT mode! Crazy power! Slowed down looking at the speedometer at 140Kmh (around 85mph) in a country road...that put a big smile in my face! I noted that as I took me hand out of the clipons, the bike would have a tendency to go right, it wasn't much but it was there. As my friends tough me, it might be a indication of a warped frame so walk away...so I did, and it was the older F3 model anyway. But still fun!!   


EDIT: thank you for your inputs, I really apprecciate you all sharing your experience like this! Thanks! 

[BaltimoreGS]

The F4 had bigger forks than the F3.  The engine was a complete redesign but it did not produce a lot more power than the F3.  F3 to F4i is a much bigger leap forward than F3 to F4.

-Jessie

[SAFE-T]

The YZF600 design went through a couple of different designs over the years from plain YZF600R (two models from '95-'96) to YZF600R2 (Thundercat) between '96 and '98, and then YZF-R6 starting in '99, then later an R6'S' model which was an older version of the R6 in between a couple of generations of YZF-R6 from '99-2007.

In general, the Yamaha motor in that bike was smoother than the CBR600 engine, with better shifting. It was also the bike that first featured Yamaha's monoblock front calipers, still considered great brakes today and sometimes used as an 'upgrade' on other earlier model Yamaha's like the FZR600 and FJ1200.

The only thing that might steer me away from the bike is the availability of people to service carburators in your area, although that may not be a concern for you.

[tt_four]

I'd pick a CBR F3 over a YZF600r, but I'd pick an R6 over an F3. I'm sure the 600rs are nice enough bikes, I've just always thought they were ugly haha. If I was looking at bikes from that time period though, I think I'd go for a Suzuki SRAD hands down, gorgeous bikes. Not sure how the price compares to F3s though.

[Twisted]

How much do the late 90's gixers go for in Portugal?

[piresito]

SAFE-T, the YZF600R in Portugal was sold even after the introduction of the R6. I think it was sold up to 2004 or 2006. Are those bikes (post 99 Thundercats) all the same or did they got some modification after the 98?
Servicing carburetors is not an issue as I learn to mess with it in the GS500, and I've got a repair shop just down the street, I can go with the bike rolling without engine to the shop if something goes wrong... 
What makes me think twice about this bike is that 2nd gear jumping issue that a lot of Thundercat users seem to complain and that might not be as sporty as the CBR. Are this concerns legitimate or it is the same as the CBR?

Twisted, I've seen late 90's GSXR-600 (carbs) starting at 1800Euros, asking price. I have considered them, they are a little cheaper that CBRs, although I don't see any of those bikes with high mileages (>80Kmiles) and running great like I do on CBR. Is it just coincidence?

[yamahonkawazuki]

Be sure whomever bought your gs. that they come here.  as you continue to do so. ive been w/o a gs for 4 years now. but have been here since 2003 so that may be my own weirdness.

[piresito]

Be sure whomever bought your gs. that they come here.  as you continue to do so. ive been w/o a gs for 4 years now. but have been here since 2003 so that may be my own weirdness.

I will remember to give him that direction...he's just starting to ride the bike so I think he might need all the help I can get, and not only this, this is a great forum.

I thought about making a suggestion to the Mods to create a Other bikes section, but I might diffuse and ruin the forum as it is. I haven't seen anyone complain other bike question in the forum like it is and having no specific section moderates it a bit.


I forgot to say, here in Portugal (and most of the Europe) we pay high taxes in fuel, I heard close to 60%, so a liter of gasoline is close to 1.7€ = 2.24$ which would make a US gallon cost 8.5$...so consumption is also a factor although far less relevant than fun.

[Juan1]

I think Motorcycle Consumer News summed it up nicely in a comparo.  Both motorcycles are well rounded.  The YZF-600r is superior in the comfort department and is better on the freeway.  The F4 is superior in the performance department and better on windy roads.  It is all a matter of what you prefer.

[Twisted]

Twisted, I've seen late 90's GSXR-600 (carbs) starting at 1800Euros, asking price. I have considered them, they are a little cheaper that CBRs, although I don't see any of those bikes with high mileages (>80Kmiles) and running great like I do on CBR. Is it just coincidence?

Srads are pretty damn good bikes.

[SAFE-T]

If Yamaha continued to sell the Thundercat in Europe after they stopped racing it in World Supersport (where it kicked butt, BTW) I doubt they would have changed much