After a mere 17 hours of driving yesterday with a couple of buddies, I finally picked up my 98 CBR600 F3.

Bike is in really good condition, especially cosmetically with two exceptions. I checked the bike as best I could mechanically. It's got new oil/oil filter, battery, and plugs. I need to winterize it though. I'll have a friend of mine who's had a lot of experience look it over and check everything out.

Flaws: The black area by the ignition (don't know what its called) is a little scratched in spots, he says because he had other keys attached to the bike key for a while. Not really a big deal. But, when he went to change the battery he was taking off the rear plastic piece under the seat (the one you see in the picture) and I guess it was too cold or something, and there is a hairline crack at the front-most part of the plastic. Not very noticable, and not too much of a big deal because I'll probably damage something much worse in the first few days of riding.. but nonetheless, that damage was not on the bike when I bought it on Ebay.

To compensate, he gave me a large HJC CL-12 Streetfighter helmet, that he only wore a few times. I think it fits really well and will be a good first helmet.

I also bought a Kryptonite New York noose lock, a Xena disc alarm, a Dowco cover, and Intuitive frame sliders. I'm still not convinced I want to chop the plastic to install the frame sliders, but that's another thread..

Comments, questions, anything?

Edit: You've all seen the picture.


[Modified by nerdish, 12:16 PM 1/2/2003]

 

for a nice clean F3! Treat it well

 

Congrats, good looking bike. Put the frame sliders on, they will save the bike from being totaled if the frame is damaged. Just make sure you know what to do to mark and drill.

If you will be doing your own work, buy pit bull stands.

Also gear up with as much protection as you can afford.

 

That is one of the cleanest F3's I've ever seen. Awesome choice for a bike. Frame sliders are also available in a non drilled form, so you do not have to drill. They are like a $100.

Ride safe as you can

 

I have read a lot of complains and fears about those because they apparently break and snap off when the bike is laid down. I think CBRMan might know more about this.. I understand the importance of frame sliders but I do /not/ like the idea of hacking at the plastic.

By the way, that aforementioned plastic piece under the seat with the small crack in it.. how much would that plastic cost to replace? Does it come painted with factory colors or would I have to get it matched at a body shop? If I wanted to replace it which I doubt I will..

It'll be cleaner when I take the Yosh stickers off. I really like how he has a carbon fiber gauge cover and carbon fiber handle bar ends to match the Yosh. pipe. Subtle and clean.


[Modified by nerdish, 12:33 PM 12/23/2002]

 

Would you rather have roached plastic and scratched frame? BE A MAN! DRILL

NEW PLASTIC:
the bike is probably too old, but try Ron Ayres. They are the cheapest for NEW plastic on the net. Otherwise you could have it repaired by plastic man. I have his URL somewhere...

 

here it is...
http://64.224.111.215/plasticdr/

 

The black piece by the key is the upper triple tree. It can be removed by removing 4 pinch bolts, and the steering stem nut. (2 bolts on handle bars, 2 bolts that pinch the triple to the forks. Then you can have it painted, powder coated, chromed, polished or whatever you like. (Polished scratches up too easily in that location. Trust me )

Or you can purchase a carbon fiber triple cover from lockhart phillips.
http://www.lockhartphillipsusa.com/lp.html
CBR600F3 '95-'98 427-1309 msrp $19.95

As for buying a new tail fairing, yes you can buy one and i recommend ron ayers. Since your bike is older ron ayers does not have an online microfiche. You can get the part numbers from http://www.ronnies.com, partsfish.com or you can ask your local dealer for the part number. Then enter the part number at ron ayers under the oem part search. I wish i could tell you the part number, but for 98 they have two different part numbers for sparkling red, there is two part listings see the link for what i am talking about:
http://216.37.204.202/honda_oem/Hond...e=13&A=28&B=38

Since you didnt specify which tail was damaged left or right.....

Right tail fairing
83612-MAL-A80ZA COVER SET, R. SIDE (TYPE3) (R127) (SPARKLING RED)
83612-MAL-B30ZA COVER SET, R. SIDE (TYPE4) (R127B) (SPARKLING RED)

Left tail fairing
83712-MAL-A80ZA COVER SET, L. SIDE (TYPE3) (R127) (SPARKLING RED)
83712-MAL-B30ZA COVER SET, L. SIDE (TYPE4) (R127B) (SPARKLING RED)

For 1998 they made 3 colors, all red like yours, red with black flames, and desert storm black burgandy tan. I would assume that the B in the above part numbers means the red/black one..... but that is an assumption on my part.

Ronnies prices for the R127 - tails are 116.38 per side,
Ronnies prices for the R127B -tails are 125.28 per side

Ron ayers price for 83712-MAL-B30ZA is 87.29
Ron ayers price for 83712-MAL-A80ZA is 93.96

They come painted to match and have the graphics already installed. Generally they do not come with the rubber gasket/spacer pieces on them, and the little black side lock it not included.

As far as drill free frame sliders, I have never seen them made specifically for the f3, if they are the mushroom type ones that use a small 6mm fairing bolt will snap if you have a wreck.

If you try to use a larger bolt to hold the mushroom sliders to the body be prepared to damage more parts.

Ask dkmssl on the stuntlife forum. He used those mushroom style sliders that use a small fairing bolt. He reinforced it with a bolt larger than the 6mm one and when he layed his bike down the fairing tab snapped and the slider punched a hole in the head. He had pictures of it up in the kawasaki forum of sportbikes.net, but that was before they shut it down.

Good luck dood.

 

Looks like you got great feedback, congrats on the bike... I know its overdue. Hope you enjoy yourself and live to tell us about it. Btw, get those sliders on. Some people like to take the plastic off, "dry fit" the slider and mark on the inside of the plastic where the slider hits. Start w/ a hole too small and dremel the edges until you have a snug fit. It's probably not going to be round which is when you go and cut a bigger perfect circle w/ a little clearance around the slider. Best of luck. Oh, and make sure that lid fits. Nice looking rubber, looks like you got a good deal

 

Question about the frame sliders.. is there something I can put around the edge of the hole I drill, to make it look a lot nicer? Some sort of gasket/grommet thing?

I think there's a FAQ out there for the F4, but it won't work for the F3 for some reason or another.

What are some good CBR sites that I should bookmark and read?

Thanks for the feedback guys! And the nice comments tony.

 

Use a uni-bit style drill and the hole will be cleanly cut. Also, the Frameslider itself will be larger than the hole, so you should not even be able to see the hole in the plastic.

There are zillions of sites dedicated to the cbr600. A net search will keep you buzy


[Modified by figment, 1:34 PM 12/29/2002]

 

Also, the Frameslider itself will be larger than the hole, so you should not even be able to see the hole in the plastic. ?????????????

If you follow the directions given by the manufacturer, intuitive in my case, they have you drilling it out with larger than the slider. There was a post on sbn about a black edging ring available at office depot that would clean up the area around the slider.

I will take pics of the sliders installed on my f3 to show you what they look like.

I love it how everyone keeps trying to tell you how to do this on a bike they do not even own.....

 

I was going to ask the same thing.. pics will be appreciated.

I think I read the Office Depot trick, or something similar, but I read that it wouldn't work on an F3 (only F4+) because of the angle of the fairing or something. But I'm sure your pics will help cbrman.

And as for CBR sites, I know I can search for them.. but I was wondering if there are certain GOOD sites. Kind of like there are dozens of Honda message boards, but only a few good ones like H-T.

 

check cbrworld.net

I think that is about the only good cbr specific forum that i know of.

You could probably get some of that flexible rubber door edge molding and go around the innder fairing with it.

It tells you to use a keyhole saw that is either 2" or 2 1/4" in diameter. I will see if i can post some pics. I have to find a photo server.....

 

Here are pics of the sliders on my f3, and pics of my 929 before/after paintjob.....

Was red, now is white/blue

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrow...elected=131988




[Modified by cbrman, 11:59 PM 12/30/2002]

 

that sucky photo hosting place wont let you link images externally Anywho... check out the slider pics.

 

Yeah I had found cbrworld.net a while ago, it seems to be okay. I checked out the frame slider pics, they don't look like too much of a sore thumb. I'm not gonna be able to install them until it gets a little warmer outside though.. but when it gets warmer, I don't know if I'll have the patience to install the sliders when I could be riding.

I gotta start trying to fix those plastics..

 

Are you putting this type on?

 

Umm.. yeah.

 

I heard those shorter types are not as effective bc some of the plastic still hits the ground. We know the one's that stick out more are ugly, but if it saves your bike, who cares

 

Yeah, the intention is to save the frame, hence 'frame sliders'.. however it would be nice if they protect the plastic too. It seems like in cbrman's pictures, and other pictures I've seen, those intuitive sliders stick out more than in the pic above.. I think for the CBR some plastic would still get scratched, though not as bad.

Edit: I just realized that the frame sliders stick out different lengths, the one on the right sticks out more (to protect the exhaust?).. so, mine probably would look like that guy. But it would be interesting if we knew what the same crash would look like if he didn't have frame sliders at all.


[Modified by nerdish, 12:19 PM 1/2/2003]

 

umm... then I would not use those. They are not long enough. The ones I have seen for the 600 use hard parts passing through the lower cowling. I believe they are made by Diamond, called Diamond Delrin frame sliders. Anyhoo, enjoy the bike



[Modified by figment, 1:36 PM 1/2/2003]

 

As you can see by the previos picture the frame slider did not keep the frame from being damaged or the engine alternator cover from being severely dented. Of course, you will never be able to protect all the plastic, but you should keep the frame and the alt/clutch covers off the ground if at all possible. Why? because the frame or a cracked engine case can spell big trouble.

The Sliders I have are about a half inch or so longer than the intuit sliders and no one notices.

 

If you look at the pic of the frame slider on the f4, you would notice that it has been down. Look at the inside of the hole there is jagged plastic where it looks like it has been sliding down the pavement. All sliders i have seen are nicely machined on the end and have a taper to them on the end.

If you check the link I provided you will see the exact sliders on the exact bike. They do stick out a good bit but.......... You can get them in red so they will be less noticable....

Oh and on that pic what's to say the frame wasnt damaged before the sliders were put on. A majority of racebikes are predamaged insurance vehicles with a salvage title.



********* On a side note, i have seen a few f3's crash including my own. They can take a hit pretty well. The things that get damaged most are the inspection doors, the footpegs bars, mirrors and the upper. usually the tail makes it out unscathed. Too bad i didnt have my sliders on the f3 before i had my spill.

 

As per color matching frame sliders.. I think I prefer the solid black frame slider opposed to the red that probably won't match the bike's paint.

And cbrman, do you think that would be typical damage to an F3 that is layed down WITH frame sliders?