Buying a used sportbike

I am not sure if this is in the right area but I couldn't find anywhere else to post.

So, I am looking for a used motorcycle and was wondering if any members were knowledgeable on buying a used sport bike.
I have about $3000 and I have been shopping around for a used Honda cbr 600. I have found numerous deals in my area but all the bikes I have looked at have around 20-30k miles on them. Is that too much for a properly maintained bike? Am I going to be wasting my money on a wrung out bike or will it go for another 30k? Is there any other manufacturer I should look at? Also what are your thoughts on bikes with salvaged titles? When looking at these bikes is it acceptable to ask to pull fairings off so I can look at the engine/tranny for leaks or any other issues like frame damage or is that out of line? Or how about doing a compression check?

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

a reply to: bananashooter

Most of the 600 sport bikes are usually bullet prof as far as the engine goes .tires,chains,sprockets and the regular cosmetics stuff can be easily examined . Maybe get a hold of a mechanic for his opinion would be a good thing .For 3000 $ you should be good for a few seasons with most used bikes .

a reply to: bananashooter

Good choice on Bike! The CBR 600 is a lot of Bike for the money. Reliable too.

I wouldn't touch a salvage bike myself. You just never know the truth on all the damage. You could be fine 9 out of 10 times but you sure don't want to find out you lost the gamble doing 100 k's on the highway!

I'd suggest trying to get lower than 30,000 k's. 20,000 would be fine. With good maintenance you'll probably still sell the bike rather than ride it to the end. I'd expect about 60,000 k's out of a CBR, but they sometimes get ridden pretty hard so it's not certain.

I got a GSXR when I started out riding. Awesome bike that I tried to kill myself on but failed. I did find out the bike goes faster than my bravery! If the US government is going to freshly pave Interstate highways as smooth as glass then they really should expect a few test flights on them!

a reply to: bananashooter Compression check on the cylinders for sure. Bikes are fairly easy to take apart so if you are mechanically proficient you can do any work yourself

Perhaps go for a Suzuki, the GSX GSXR GSF aircooled have a good record and many years of evolution behind them.

a reply to: bananashooter

Some advise From my experiences. I have owned Suzuki, Kawa, and Yamaha.

Avoid anything over 5k miles on a sportbike. Its not hard to do.

600 don't hold up remotely as long as 1000 motors. People get used to the power fast and wring em out more.


You can pick up a 2001 r1 on ebay w 8000 miles for 4k list price.

If your set on a 600, get as low as mileage as you can find.

10,000 miles on a bike can kill it, if the oil wasn't changed, so test ride it up to a mechanic and do a compression test, it will let you know the condition of the piston rings, valves etc.

If you have 3k, do hard cash offers on guys who are asking 4k. Never pressure yourself, offer cash or walk, someone will bite and someone will want the sale enough to. Don't get excited and settle fast in your search.
Another 100 more will come along in next weeks ads. Easier said than done, believe me.

I sold my 2007 r1 with 5000 miles for 5500 a couple years ago.


Tons of deals out there, use the internet to search.
All brands of jap bikes are pretty close in performance these days.

a reply to: bananashooter

This is all you need to hear:

Good choice on Bike! The CBR 600 is a lot of Bike for the money. Reliable too- noeltrotsky

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
a reply to: bananashooter

This is all you need to hear:

Good choice on Bike! The CBR 600 is a lot of Bike for the money. Reliable too- noeltrotsky

I agree Hondas are bulletproof, but with 3k cash, there is no reason to settle with a 20k mile bike.
That's just a waste of money.
All four brands are pretty close in performance and reliability with each other. The sport-bike market is very competitive from year to year, especially after 2000.

It is more about which style you like and what fits your height the best. I know yamis are much better for taller riders.
I'd suggest hitting a few dealers and sitting on them to see what most comfortable brand is.

I'm getting my 1967 Honda CL305 Scrambler ready for the season, giving my 1978 Honda 550K a rest.

a reply to: ugmold

550k miles? Man that is unreal. How many rebuilds did you do during that?

originally posted by: Mandroid7
a reply to: ugmold

550k miles? Man that is unreal. How many rebuilds did you do during that?

The Model is a CB550K, lol, sorry for the confusion, I like them vintage. My 67 305 has about 10k on it.
Here is a pic of Jim Morrison's, later Von Dutch's 67 Honda CL77 305.

Mine ain't that purty yet.

Seems like a few bike lovers in here.

I love motorcycles, my Mom said she'll commit suicide if I ever rode one... so I never got a chance to buy one.

Say, if I do want to get one, I want the one in my dreams... my dream ride:

www.ducati.com...

Can anyone tell me if this is a super bad idea for a starting bike?

I mean, am I really going to kill myself on a 1000CC bike?

I've been told again and again, to start with something like a 500CC, because I WILL BE dropping the damn thing.

So... what do you guys think, am I going to kill myself riding that?

a reply to: truthseeker84

That's a lot of bike there missy!

A lot of it is in the mind to be honest. You can ride a big bike like that nice and easy...never see any trouble except the other crazies on the road. If you ride like a lunatic that's the perfect bike to get you to heaven in a real hurry!

The strange truth is that big sport bikes are BETTER...they handle amazing and stop as fast as you can stay on top.

Go take the learners course and get a motorcycle license! Even if you don't buy one, you've done a 'class' and know if you want to take the next step and buy one. If you take the class thou I'm 100% sure you'll buy a bike.

a reply to: Mandroid7

I agree with Mandroid! If you can get lower mileage always do that. It's more important on a bike than a car. As well, looks matter. If a bike isn't pristine then you start to wonder how the engine was treated and cared for.

originally posted by: ugmold
The Model is a CB550K,

You've waited long enough that 'cafe racer' style is coming back strong now! Fix'er up and you'll be surrounded by modern bikes trying for the same old look!

originally posted by: truthseeker84
Seems like a few bike lovers in here.

I love motorcycles, my Mom said she'll commit suicide if I ever rode one... so I never got a chance to buy one.

Say, if I do want to get one, I want the one in my dreams... my dream ride:

www.ducati.com...

Can anyone tell me if this is a super bad idea for a starting bike?

I mean, am I really going to kill myself on a 1000CC bike?

I've been told again and again, to start with something like a 500CC, because I WILL BE dropping the damn thing.

So... what do you guys think, am I going to kill myself riding that?

The new bikes are not much different as far as weight goes. The power is a whole different animal though.
The R1 in the picture above was a six speed and did 114mph in first gear at the rev limiter.

I grew up riding motocross bikes, so I had a little background before switching to a gsxr 600 for my first bike.
Riding offroad on a small bike before hitting the streets is highly recommended by me. It helps you learn to control bad behaviors, like using your front brake in turns. As well as slide out control on slippery surfaces. This translates well for sand patches and oil slicks on the street. Having said that , I would have jumped to the liter bike instead to save the cash. You just have to be extremely cautious with the power.

I would never recommend someone jumps to a liter bike if they hadn't had any other experience.

^This advice is for sportbikes.

That Ducati looks like a more conventional cafe type bike. Much easier to ride upright, like a bicycle.

This is probably the easiest config to learn on.

Still heavy enough to rip your leg off, if you don't recover from a front end slide properly and get it caught underneath.

Either way, be cautious, or work your way up to the weight and cc as your skill progresses to stay safe-er
Bikes are a ton of fun, addictive and cheap to operate.

After learning to keep it upright, dodging the cages is the main danger. People look right at you and pull out in front of you constantly, they say because they are so focusing on looking for cars, so you don't even register to them half the time.

originally posted by: noeltrotsky
a reply to: truthseeker84

That's a lot of bike there missy!

A lot of it is in the mind to be honest. You can ride a big bike like that nice and easy...never see any trouble except the other crazies on the road. If you ride like a lunatic that's the perfect bike to get you to heaven in a real hurry!

The strange truth is that big sport bikes are BETTER...they handle amazing and stop as fast as you can stay on top.

Go take the learners course and get a motorcycle license! Even if you don't buy one, you've done a 'class' and know if you want to take the next step and buy one. If you take the class thou I'm 100% sure you'll buy a bike.

I'm a dude, srry about the misleading Avatar lol..

I'm 32 this year, my Mom still treats me as if I'm her baby in the crib. So she freaks out when she hears that I wanna ride a big sports motorcycle.

Thanks very much for the advice though. I guess it is really all in the head. If I drive like a old man, slow down a bit, I should be good.

originally posted by: Mandroid7

originally posted by: truthseeker84
Seems like a few bike lovers in here.

I love motorcycles, my Mom said she'll commit suicide if I ever rode one... so I never got a chance to buy one.

Say, if I do want to get one, I want the one in my dreams... my dream ride:

www.ducati.com...

Can anyone tell me if this is a super bad idea for a starting bike?

I mean, am I really going to kill myself on a 1000CC bike?

I've been told again and again, to start with something like a 500CC, because I WILL BE dropping the damn thing.

So... what do you guys think, am I going to kill myself riding that?

The new bikes are not much different as far as weight goes. The power is a whole different animal though.
The R1 in the picture above was a six speed and did 114mph in first gear at the rev limiter.

I grew up riding motocross bikes, so I had a little background before switching to a gsxr 600 for my first bike.
Riding offroad on a small bike before hitting the streets is highly recommended by me. It helps you learn to control bad behaviors, like using your front brake in turns. As well as slide out control on slippery surfaces. This translates well for sand patches and oil slicks on the street. Having said that , I would have jumped to the liter bike instead to save the cash. You just have to be extremely cautious with the power.

I would never recommend someone jumps to a liter bike if they hadn't had any other experience.

^This advice is for sportbikes.

That Ducati looks like a more conventional cafe type bike. Much easier to ride upright, like a bicycle.

This is probably the easiest config to learn on.

Still heavy enough to rip your leg off, if you don't recover from a front end slide properly and get it caught underneath.

Either way, be cautious, or work your way up to the weight and cc as your skill progresses to stay safe-er
Bikes are a ton of fun, addictive and cheap to operate.

After learning to keep it upright, dodging the cages is the main danger. People look right at you and pull out in front of you constantly, they say because they are so focusing on looking for cars, so you don't even register to them half the time.

Wow... hahahah...those are some very valuable advises, I thank you much.

UK GSXR 600 2005 25K full service history. I've ridden over 4K miles in less than a year (a lot for me) & never missed a beat....
I've missed a few things tho'...scarrrry.

originally posted by: truthseeker84
Seems like a few bike lovers in here.

I love motorcycles, my Mom said she'll commit suicide if I ever rode one... so I never got a chance to buy one.

Say, if I do want to get one, I want the one in my dreams... my dream ride:

www.ducati.com...

Can anyone tell me if this is a super bad idea for a starting bike?

I mean, am I really going to kill myself on a 1000CC bike?

I've been told again and again, to start with something like a 500CC, because I WILL BE dropping the damn thing.

So... what do you guys think, am I going to kill myself riding that?

Unless you are a responsible mature male bike rider and I have only met a few of them you are

Wait a second, those mature responsible blokes I know dont ride big Ducs.

You will smash your bike and smash yourself, surviving is yet to be seen

Dont even think about doing it if yiou have testosterone or estrogen