my son has just passed his test and bought himself a cbr600f.
anyone got one,had one, got an opinion?
i took it out yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it but would like to know what to keep an eye on, any weak points etc as i will be the one servicing it while he learns how. cheers.

Well done on him passing . Not had 1 but there very popular bike so cant be that bad. As for your son learning to service it I thought that got my son his 1st bike at 17 he is now 24 and I still end up doing it he does try but you hear this voice from the shed saying O carp dad where does this bit go or why don't this fit.

  It's a HONDA  xj     Nuff said     Just regular oil changes (3000 mls) and routine maintenance     Enjoy                                                                                                                                                                               

i have visions of it being a lifelong thing. or at least till i go senile and "forget" everything.                                                                                                                                                                             

All the hodnas i've had have been pretty bulletproof emzed, nearly as good as the xj.                                                                                                                                                                              

see my profile photo pics...........     was my 1st bike, loved it.    Only thing went wrong was regulator, clutch cable broke, and i had a chain and sprocket replacement.   Forgave me all my stupid mistakes without mishap just after i passed my test.   Although i love the VFR, i do miss it. Sold it to a guy in Bedfordshire, he loved it too.                                                                                                                                                                             

I love my Honda although its a CBF 500....solid bikes they are.                                                                                                                                                                                

  As Andy has mentioned it   Depending on the age/mileage/previous owner's   You may need to keep an eye on the charging system *    A reg/rectifier can be obtained via fleabay for anything from £10*   But that's about all apart from consumables   * Bad earth connections are the worst culprits for destroying electrical components     * I've seen OEM reg/rectifiers @ £50+                                                                                                                                                                                 

I was going to a right-up with a bit of length but Emzed said all       its a good bike just keep the battery in good condition    and don't put silly bulbs in it    every think else is just servicing                                                                                                                                                                                 

upgrade the reg/rectifrier.. ;) with one from Electrex an it'll be sorted                                                                                                                                                                              

simply awsum bikes xj..licence destroyers if you let them off the leash..
As al have said..its a Honda! So change the oil and filter as often as you can,change the plugs when U think its gtn harder to start or missfiring and check the valve clearances occasionally (7.48 dia replaceable  shims I think). Charging issues due to poor conns or reg failure are not uncommon on older bikes or ones that see all weathers.
I serviced a few over the years...                                                                                                                                                                             

Let's do this the other way round.
Has anyone, anywhere ever had a bad 'un?
Thought not...                                                                                                                                                                             

@ steve_H,                        Now that you’ve put it this way; then yes" I did break                       my thumb-nail  one’s putting a set of sparkplug in                                                                                                                                look that one                                                                                                                                                                                  

Yes when I asked around for a 1st bike, almost everyone said CBR600................so I did !"!!!                                                                                                                                                                             

thanx for the replies guys, appreciated.. especialy the bit about silly bulbs, that was going tbru my head.                                                                                                                                                                             

Almost as bullet proof as an old vfr750.

Good fave for London couriers which should tell you it can handle abuse. And they crash well ;-). By that I mean they ride again with tearing them selves to bits after you lob it down the road.

Should see a few hundred thousand miles with out any issues

  On the subject of "bulbs"   Although the HID kits are generally considered to "overload" the charging systems on some small & medium capacity bikes   The bulbs I'm listing here are exactly the same "loading" as OEM  (60/55W)    I have them fitted in my 400 CBR & I can highly recommend them   http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-x-H4-OSRAM-NIGHTBREAKER-PLU...48547eb853   They may be available elsewhere at higher or lower cost but they are a worthwhile "upgrade" to the stock halogen    They may need an "adapter" to fit Mr Honda's lamps, (also available on fleabay), or you could just snip off  the tabs* which are spaced differently, as it's highly unlikely that the bulb would move once installed correctly    * I've done this on my Ducati with no problems, using a bulb I got from Netto                                                                                                                                                                                

xj I could really help you out here ,,,,,,,,,,,but I cant be bothered as you didn't get your passport for france                                                                                                                                                                             

That's not fair Stutts, you know XJ gets seasick on the Woolwich Ferry, so coming to France with us to have fun wasn't going to happen.                                                                                                                                                                             

ahh bless his little cotton socks