Which 600 sportbike should I buy?

All of them have a reputation for reliability, only the R6 has had a few transmission issues that I am aware in recent years. However, like most of these stories they appear to be rare failures rather than something that is problematic. IMO though, the manufacturers count on the original owner selling or crashing the bike before its first valve adjustment. Riding any one sportbike for 50k miles is very uncommon. Most guys keep them for a year or two and trade.

All of the new bikes will have at least a year warranty, you should be able to shake out any infant failures by riding it a few thousand miles. You will have an initial 600 mile service, it is important to have that done. Also breaking the bike in per the manufacturer instructions is important.

Make sure you really want one though, they are not practical or very comfortable if you are bigger or smaller than normal. The 600's especially have been downsized dramatically in the last 5 years or so. Comparing and older bike with a new one, even from the same manufacturer and the differences are startling how small they have become.

 

Do not forget Triumph!

 

They are all so close in performance (and so far above most rider's ability), that for me it came down to ergonomics. Started out wanting an R6, but found the CBR600RR fit me much better...so that's what I bought.

If you can manage a test ride that would be ideal, but if nothing else go sit on all the bikes you're considering before you buy.

 

http://www.sportrider.com/features/146_0807_middleweight_cbr600rr_zx6r_gsxr600_triumph_675_yzfr6_600cc/index.html

 

I thought I would add that regardless of shootouts, if I had to buy a brand new 600 class sportbike it would be the Triumph 675.

A slightly more pricey option would be the Ducati 848 in the middleweights. If you are already spending nearly $10k on a CBRZXGSXR600, $13k for the Duck isn't that much of a stretch if you really wanted it.

 

I'm a Honda man myself...currently all my cars and bikes are Honda and I haven't had one single problem with any of them. All 4 of the major Japanese bike manufactures are going to offer competitive bikes that are similar in performance and price. They all have their downsides as well, so it comes down to what you want in your garage the most. I think the 600RR is the most beautiful of the 600 CC bikes, but I'm biased as right now I ride a 1000RR. I have ridden all the bikes in the past few years and I'm fairly well versed in these convos:

-R6 looks nice and is comfy but midrange SUCKS. Not a good bike for the street IMO. Definitely an eye catcher and a really aggressive track bike.

-GSX-R 600 is a great light weight bike with some real street and track appeal. Easy to find parts for and you can probably get a nice used one for cheap since every one and their brother gets one at some point...they have a huge used market so pricing is in the buyers favor. However, there are some well known issues with the frames breaking in accidents (many of them seemingly unncessarily). I wouldn't count it out for this reason alone, but you should know.

-ZX-6R probably second on my list as it's got the most horsepower, best seat position and ease of turn in. However, the new bikes are starting to look a little weird...Not many people purchase the ZX-6 so there aren't good odds of buying used. Kawasaki recently pulled their MotoGP presence so I'm thinking this may be the end of an error for Kawi street bikes for a while.

-600RR...besides going on and on about how awesome the Honda is, I will say first that Honda's have their fair share of electrical problems. I haven't had any in my bike but I know that is their biggest downfall. Typically I would try to recommend a newbie rider from getting a 600 in the first place, but since you won't listen I'll say this is probably the best bang for you buck. Easily the best looking, you get Honda reliability, and it's absolutely one of the easiest bikes to ride period. Also consider the F4i as it is just as competitive as the 600RR (many people prefer it as a track bike to the RR ironically). My friend Jared has over 140,000 miles on his 2004 F4i.

-Ducati 848...stay away from Italian bikes unless you have a ton of money or plan on never riding it. Maintenance maintenance maintenance! You're gonna spend a fortune on parts too, nothing discounted at the Ducati shop and they don't care how long it sits on the showroom, there is no negotiation. However saying that, there was one in my garage for about 8 months and it really is a blast to ride in the mountains. A $14k bike cost an extra $1.6k in maintenance in the first year not including tires.

The only bike I have not ridden is the Triumph 675. I understand it is an incredible bargain as it is actually priced less than Japanese bikes and gives you a lot for your money. One issue you will find is that...well there aren't any. The Triumph dealership in Atlanta never had one in their showroom the umpteen times I tried to go by and test ride it. There is going to be NO room for negotiation here. Also, expect a higher premium on your insurance as most insurance companies go by CC, and the Triumph is a little bit larger than the others.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about price or find a bike you like (especially Honda), I'd be more than happy to take a look at the ad and give you my opinion.

 

After having had one Ducati for 13 years and a second one for 4 years now, I can say through experience that owning a modern Italian bike is not any more difficult than a Japanese one, IF you do some amount of your own maintenance and stay on top of it. If you take it to the dealer for every little thing like oil changes and brake pad changes you will get soaked, but that will happen at a Japanese dealer as well. The valve adjustement issue is much overblown. You usually have to change a few shims at the first one, then one or two to change at the second one is not uncommon. After that, it usually amounts to just checks with few adjustments. If you are decent with wrenches you can do this yourself as well. Timing belts are $120 every three years.

Consumables aren't any more either. Oil cost the same. Filters are $9-12 depending on where you buy them. The cost of exhausts and engine hop-ups are definitely more for the Ducati though. If you crash it, it might cost more to repair simply because there isn't as much used stuff to buy off Ebay from all the trashed Japanese bikes. Retail prices though in many cases are comparable. The Japanese have figured out how to take two pounds of ABS and charge $500 for it too.

In my experience though one big difference is that the twins won't tolerate abuse nearly as well however. Doing burnouts, riding wheelies, neglect, or constant trips past redline won't be tolerated for long without major repair bills.

 

Buy whichever one you fit on. People go on and on about the specs and relative performance of the modern sportbikes, when the truth of the matter is unless your name is Rossi, or you are racing and the various manufacture contingencies matter, there is no real winner.

If you fit on all of them fine, then......gulp.........buy the one that you think looks the best. I generally refrain from making vehicles purchases on looks, but none of the major manufactures makes a bad bike anymore. If Triumph isn't around you, then by all means get the Honda.

This is all assuming you have taken MSF and ridden a while and know what you are doing, otherwise buy a totally different bike.

 

There are a lot of good comments here so far. I can only add that I have owned both Ducati's and honda's. The dealer network is much bigger with Honda and I do agree with the others who have commented on the reliability of the Honda's. They are well made and seem to hold up pretty well. The Ducati is a little of a custom thing. You don't see nearly as many and the seating position is more radical than the jap bikes. Honda gets my vote.

 

You are talking about this bike, right? (w/ slip ons)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K08Tmg0gLSU

 

All of the modern sport 600's are so good, you would have to be a pro AMA racer to get everything out of them. With this in mind, buy the one which fits you best, and you LIKE the best. They really are that good. You can't go wrong.



Darrell.

 

Sounds like victory to me.

 

If you are new to riding, I suggest you avoid the I4 600's and go for an SV 650. You can find a low mileage, late model for around $3K.

 

YUCK!

 

What is wrong with his statement? The SV650 is probably the best newb friendly, yet track capable bike out there. If the OP is indeed a newbie, thats probably the best suggestion on the thread.

 

V-2 engines are fine for Harleys/cruisers, but give me an inline 4 for a sports bike,,,

 

That wasn't the point. The poster was stating that, for a newbie, the SV650 is a much better choice as there aren't any real beginner friendly inline 4's race reps.

The OP still hasn't ever really clarified this point, which is actually kind of important IMHO.

 

I would counter that while many think the SV650 is a great first bike, it still has more than 60 horsepower and is capable of more than 140 mph. In other words, plenty of performance to get a newbie into trouble. If you had dropped a SV650 back into 1973 against the superbikes of the day (CB750, Z1, etc) it would have waxed them in a straight line much less around a corner. At the time those bikes would have been considered for experienced riders only. So either new riders of today are better than new riders of 1973, or an SV is probably too much today.

It is much more about the attitude of the rider than the hardware between his legs. A new rider could be safe on a Hayabusa if he respected its performance potential and had the self-restraint to not use that potential until his skills could handle it.

OTOH, saying this bike or that bike is great for beginners IMO can do more harm than good. Beginners know nothing often times, and their opinions are formed by others. I personally would rather have a new guy a little bit scared of his "superbike" than lulled into a false sense of security because his new SV is the "perfect beginner bike".

BTW, the safest/cheapest way to learn to ride a motorcycle is a with a small trailbike like an XR100 in the dirt.

 

I asked this same question a year or two ago. After sitting on a bunch, I bought a CBR 600 F4i. I think it was a 2004. Much more bike than I needed, but fun as hell. I sold it after a few months. Didn't interest me and I didn't have time to ride it. I was spending all my time on my Harley Davidson Road King.

Read these discussions...........

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125843

and

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128928

Good luck.

Mike

 

**Disclaimer: Opinions are like... Well, you know the saying. Besides, every rider is different. Some have natural talent, some don't. Some have training and/or experience, some don't. Some use their brains, some don't.

With that being said:

I'll disagree about I4's not being a good choice for beginners. I think the Yamaha FZ6 is an excellent choice in that it's not scary fast until you get above about 7k RPM. This allows you to keep it tame and easy until you're ready to awake the beast, if you have a good sense of self-control. The riding position also inspires a little more confidence on the street instead of being so track-centered.

Now I personally think that starting on a 250cc is the smartest idea, but a 600 is easily manageable in responsible hands. I guess I'd say that learning on a 600 would be harder because of the extra restraint and control necessary. Then again, you won't have that "When can I get my 600?" feeling that a lot of small displacement bike owners get. That being said, mine's for sale if you're interested!

 

I agree 100%. The I4s are usually lighter and handle better which are both a benefit to a novice rider. My first street bike with I was 16 was a 1973 Kawasaki 750H2 which was a wheelie monster with atrocious handling.