Announcement

**xBhp** · 04-10-2020, 10:42 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Thread approved.

**rachitkdogra** · 04-10-2020, 08:48 PM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Originally posted by winturf99 View Post

Hello guys,

Here is a brief overview of my riding history. I'm a 25 year guy from Hyderabad riding a CBR 250R. I've owned DS500 and CB Hornet 160R. I've always had the urge to upgrade to a superbike but stayed back fearing the price one comes at and the expensive maintenance. I've then chosen to stick with single cylinder bikes for the past 4 years.

With the superbike market finally marking a prominent place for itself and the CKD helped keep the pricing in check for few of the beasts. Still, near 10L approx for a bike was so very much out of my reach at this stage and made me finally decide looking for one in the pre-owned market. My budget is around 5.5L and my choice of engine configuration is inline-4 for it's refinement levels and low rumbling smooth sound (I'm not a fan of after market exhaust). I've also had an approximate idea on the yearly maintenance costs and okay with that. With my budget finalized and choice of engine, I started looking for options and came up with only two.

1. Kawasaki Z800 2016-17: Japanese reliability. Not many issues reported by owners on the forum or the internet, but not many reviews either. I'm 5"9, 74 kgs and can just manage it's tall seat height and weight. I'm okay with the naked Street posture as it's better than the posture I've on my CBR. (I have ridden 750 kms in a day on my hornet but was a bit tired on a 400 kms ride on a CBR.)

2. CBR 650F 2016-18: Japanese again. Not many issues reported by owners out there except for the buzzy engine, which I'm not sure how much of an impact it creates on a long ride. Seat height is manageable too. Spares availability is okayish on what I've heard of, but the service in Hyderabad sucks due to the poor attitude of service guys and I've had a serious fight with one of the two Honda service centers that services bigger bikes which makes my choice much difficult. They intentionally ignore issues when reported and this leads to higher expenses and wait time when the magnitude of issue rises.

However, if CBR 650F is a better choice, I'm even okay to take it to Bangalore to get it serviced.

I'm not a fan of Benelli brand and so didn't look at the 600i.

My personal choice would be for an engine which is more tractable. Most of the time, the bike will see city roads with weekend 200 kms round trips and occasional long rides. I don't want to have a stressed ride trying to keep the bike in it's mid range all the time in city switching gears like in the case of my CBR 250R. The bike should be able to do lower speeds in any gear without much need to shift in the city.

I'm welcome to suggestions from fellow riders who owned these bikes. I'd be glad if you can guide me at what all to look at when going for a pre-owned superbike and let me know how long (kms) a well serviced and non abused superbike last. I can extend my budget upto 6L and any other options are welcome.

I'm not able to trust the bikes on OLX or other classifieds and would be glad if a fellow xBhp member can direct me to a well maintained bike.

Stay safe!

Both the Z800/Z900 and the CBR do very similar things but in very different fashion.
It is hard to suggest as both of them have their clear pros and cons which can impact your decision:
1) Z might be a better city bike as it is more comfortable for riding in traffic, plus has much more bottom and mid range punch.
2) On the highways, the CBR can be better as it is faired and provides some wind protection. But it depends a lot on how much you ride on highways and what speeds you ride on highways.
3) In my opinion, CBR is better for cornering.

I would highly recommend riding both and see for yourself which one you like the more.

Rachit

**winturf99** · 04-10-2020, 11:27 PM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Thanks a lot for your inputs. I'm not much of a cornering junkie but like those long corners where I can go in with good pace with a good inclination but not a complete lean.

I cruise at a speed of 120 kmph, anything more than which isn't safe for longer stretches on our highways (at least for me on my current bike). Yes, I'd be doing shorter bursts of higher speeds not lasting more than a few seconds.

With a 5 day work week, I go out for longer rides (1200-1400kms) atmost once in a quarter or 6 months. Rest of the time I'll be using it as an everyday bike.

With the low end torque Z800 makes me inclined to it, but it's not possible to get a test ride with the model discontinued.

I've got a chance to ride a Z900 for a shorter stretch and the seating posture suits me better but the ground clearance was a concern. Wish I could get a Z900 but it's out of my budget.

Based on your experience with the 650F, can you please let me know if it's tractable at lower speeds (say 15kmph in second, 30 in third, 40 in 4th) without any resistance? I personally wouldn't ride it like a commuter, but curious if the bike is tractable being an inline 4 without needing to shift much in traffic.

**Balgi** · 04-11-2020, 04:06 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Originally posted by winturf99 View Post

Hello guys,

Here is a brief overview of my riding history. I'm a 25 year guy from Hyderabad riding a CBR 250R. I've owned DS500 and CB Hornet 160R. I've always had the urge to upgrade to a superbike but stayed back fearing the price one comes at and the expensive maintenance. I've then chosen to stick with single cylinder bikes for the past 4 years.

With the superbike market finally marking a prominent place for itself and the CKD helped keep the pricing in check for few of the beasts. Still, near 10L approx for a bike was so very much out of my reach at this stage and made me finally decide looking for one in the pre-owned market. My budget is around 5.5L and my choice of engine configuration is inline-4 for it's refinement levels and low rumbling smooth sound (I'm not a fan of after market exhaust). I've also had an approximate idea on the yearly maintenance costs and okay with that. With my budget finalized and choice of engine, I started looking for options and came up with only two.

1. Kawasaki Z800 2016-17: Japanese reliability. Not many issues reported by owners on the forum or the internet, but not many reviews either. I'm 5"9, 74 kgs and can just manage it's tall seat height and weight. I'm okay with the naked Street posture as it's better than the posture I've on my CBR. (I have ridden 750 kms in a day on my hornet but was a bit tired on a 400 kms ride on a CBR.)

2. CBR 650F 2016-18: Japanese again. Not many issues reported by owners out there except for the buzzy engine, which I'm not sure how much of an impact it creates on a long ride. Seat height is manageable too. Spares availability is okayish on what I've heard of, but the service in Hyderabad sucks due to the poor attitude of service guys and I've had a serious fight with one of the two Honda service centers that services bigger bikes which makes my choice much difficult. They intentionally ignore issues when reported and this leads to higher expenses and wait time when the magnitude of issue rises.

However, if CBR 650F is a better choice, I'm even okay to take it to Bangalore to get it serviced.

I'm not a fan of Benelli brand and so didn't look at the 600i.

My personal choice would be for an engine which is more tractable. Most of the time, the bike will see city roads with weekend 200 kms round trips and occasional long rides. I don't want to have a stressed ride trying to keep the bike in it's mid range all the time in city switching gears like in the case of my CBR 250R. The bike should be able to do lower speeds in any gear without much need to shift in the city.

I'm welcome to suggestions from fellow riders who owned these bikes. I'd be glad if you can guide me at what all to look at when going for a pre-owned superbike and let me know how long (kms) a well serviced and non abused superbike last. I can extend my budget upto 6L and any other options are welcome.

I'm not able to trust the bikes on OLX or other classifieds and would be glad if a fellow xBhp member can direct me to a well maintained bike.

Stay safe!

Bro don't take this wrong way but you've ridden commuter and power commuter class bikes all this time so I have to ask you to really think about whether you're ready for a superbike. I'm just saying that even a 650 is a big leap in terms of the power gain. One wrong move and you might regret it later. I suggest you try the 300-400cc class first.

But if you're still interested in the superbike class then my personal suggestion would be the cbr650. The buzzy engine bit is nonsense propoganda and the bike has only as much vibes as it needs to let you know it's not an E-bike. I'm against the z800-900 because it has far too much power and is too front heavy. It'll be a pain to manage and it'll break the bank in spares. Additionally, you can look at getting a ninja650. The upright seating and superb torque are to die for and it's not slow by any standard. Plus it's easy on the pocket too.

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.

Cheers

**winturf99** · 04-11-2020, 05:49 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Thank you so much for your suggestion bro. I appreciate your concern and is a valid one indeed.

However I've had a fair share of time on a 2018 N650 (3 months) which belonged to a friend of mine when he had to travel to US. The bike was amazing, never felt intimidating, linear in acceleration and the looks but the ground clearance was always a problem, had to literally crawl over the speed breakers when my Dad used to be my pillion. I've got used to the power so easily and never felt shy to twist the wrist within a couple of weeks. To be frank, the urge to upgrade started in that phase. Thank you once again for taking time and helping me out with your inputs on the 650F. It makes sense to look at it in the long run on the light on pocket factor. During my search for a prospective bike, I couldn't find one on OLX or any such platforms in my state.

Originally posted by Balgi View Post

Bro don't take this wrong way but you've ridden commuter and power commuter class bikes all this time so I have to ask you to really think about whether you're ready for a superbike. I'm just saying that even a 650 is a big leap in terms of the power gain. One wrong move and you might regret it later. I suggest you try the 300-400cc class first.

But if you're still interested in the superbike class then my personal suggestion would be the cbr650. The buzzy engine bit is nonsense propoganda and the bike has only as much vibes as it needs to let you know it's not an E-bike. I'm against the z800-900 because it has far too much power and is too front heavy. It'll be a pain to manage and it'll break the bank in spares. Additionally, you can look at getting a ninja650. The upright seating and superb torque are to die for and it's not slow by any standard. Plus it's easy on the pocket too.

Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.

Cheers

**Balgi** · 04-11-2020, 04:01 PM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Originally posted by winturf99 View Post

Thank you so much for your suggestion bro. I appreciate your concern and is a valid one indeed.

However I've had a fair share of time on a 2018 N650 (3 months) which belonged to a friend of mine when he had to travel to US. The bike was amazing, never felt intimidating, linear in acceleration and the looks but the ground clearance was always a problem, had to literally crawl over the speed breakers when my Dad used to be my pillion. I've got used to the power so easily and never felt shy to twist the wrist within a couple of weeks. To be frank, the urge to upgrade started in that phase. Thank you once again for taking time and helping me out with your inputs on the 650F. It makes sense to look at it in the long run on the light on pocket factor. During my search for a prospective bike, I couldn't find one on OLX or any such platforms in my state.

Yeah I'm not surprised. You want 650f then best place to find one isn't on OLX but on 650f groups and forums. Hell you'll find good 650f in the honda showroom itself sometimes as owners bring them in for repairs after letting them sit for a long time. I saw one go for 6 lakhs with only 2 grand on the odo. Try the honda 650 page on Facebook or see if any of your friends knows someone who owns one. They'll help you out.

**winturf99** · 04-12-2020, 01:51 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

That sounds good. Thanks alot. I'll give the showroom and Facebook groups a try. I've already tried from my friends and their groups but couldn't find my luck over there, as only one of them had it and wasn't ready to let go.

Originally posted by Balgi View Post

Yeah I'm not surprised. You want 650f then best place to find one isn't on OLX but on 650f groups and forums. Hell you'll find good 650f in the honda showroom itself sometimes as owners bring them in for repairs after letting them sit for a long time. I saw one go for 6 lakhs with only 2 grand on the odo. Try the honda 650 page on Facebook or see if any of your friends knows someone who owns one. They'll help you out.

**soumya_digi** · 04-21-2020, 09:57 PM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Originally posted by winturf99 View Post

Thank you so much for your suggestion bro. I appreciate your concern and is a valid one indeed.

However I've had a fair share of time on a 2018 N650 (3 months) which belonged to a friend of mine when he had to travel to US. The bike was amazing, never felt intimidating, linear in acceleration and the looks but the ground clearance was always a problem, had to literally crawl over the speed breakers when my Dad used to be my pillion. I've got used to the power so easily and never felt shy to twist the wrist within a couple of weeks. To be frank, the urge to upgrade started in that phase. Thank you once again for taking time and helping me out with your inputs on the 650F. It makes sense to look at it in the long run on the light on pocket factor. During my search for a prospective bike, I couldn't find one on OLX or any such platforms in my state.

This will be a problem for the CBR650F as well. The same reason why I had to hold off booking a Z650, despite of the lucrative discounts.

Ground clearance matters a lot specially within city commute. The speed humps are designed to kiss the bike's belly. And some pot holes are just craters.

Z800 will give you more ground clearance and peace of mind.

Regards

**winturf99** · 04-21-2020, 11:27 PM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Originally posted by soumya_digi View Post

This will be a problem for the CBR650F as well. The same reason why I had to hold off booking a Z650, despite of the lucrative discounts.

Ground clearance matters a lot specially within city commute. The speed humps are designed to kiss the bike's belly. And some pot holes are just craters.

Z800 will give you more ground clearance and peace of mind.

Regards

This was something I hadn't thought of in CBR 650F. I've a tough choice to make now and really don't want to worry about scraping the bike all day in city and highways especially on our Indian roads with sudden bumps and potholes. I was always leaning towards the Z800 but there was this maintenance costs (especially for the spares, not the usual service costs) I was skeptical about. I can now see that the major costs I'd be incurring would be from fork oil seals, clutch plates and chain sprocket set other than the usual brake pads which would need a change say once in 3-4 years(with my amount of riding) which I'm okay with. Regular services for oil change and all I can get it done from Inline4 Engineering in Hyderabad with better quality of work and lower service costs.

Thanks Soumya. I'm searching for a pre-owned Z800 and would appreciate if anyone could help me with a well maintained one (much better from active folks on xBhp

).

**rachitkdogra** · 04-22-2020, 12:16 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Not to add to your confusion, but I have owned the CBR650F for almost 5 years now and done about 28K KMs.
When you are riding single, there is hardly any speed breaker where my bike must have scrapped. You need to be conscious on the big ones, no doubt, and take them very slowly. But generally the bike does not scrape. With a pillion, things might change.

Rachit

**winturf99** · 04-22-2020, 08:41 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Originally posted by rachitkdogra View Post

Not to add to your confusion, but I have owned the CBR650F for almost 5 years now and done about 28K KMs.

Rachit

It's so good to see how the 650f owners vouch for their machines which clearly makes a point on how happy and easy it is to live with. It's like tipping scales for me with mind suggesting 650f on one side and heart wanting the Z800 so badly and tough to decide. With enough time till end of this lockdown, I'm yet to see one Z800 owner give his views.

**rachitkdogra** · 04-23-2020, 12:57 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Originally posted by winturf99 View Post

It's so good to see how the 650f owners vouch for their machines which clearly makes a point on how happy and easy it is to live with. It's like tipping scales for me with mind suggesting 650f on one side and heart wanting the Z800 so badly and tough to decide. With enough time till end of this lockdown, I'm yet to see one Z800 owner give his views.

Here is my humble opinion and I am sharing because I was there 5 years back where you are now, contemplating between Z800 and CBR650F:
1) Think realistically about how and where you are going to ride it. What part of riding you like the most like cornering, Speed runs on highways, traffic light launches or just cruising along. Pick a bike that is more suited for that role.
2) None of them is a bad bike, Test Ride. I can stress enough the benefit of a test ride. Get a feel for yourself.

Best of Luck!!

Rachit

**winturf99** · 04-23-2020, 02:19 AM

Re: Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Thanks Rachit. I've to live with my choice for the next 10 years and yes, it makes no sense to get one without even knowing or having a feel of which one suits me.
I don't even know if situations going ahead would allow me to get another big bike after this one. [emoji846]

My riding preferences would be city rides twice in a week at least, once in a month short rides(200-400kms) and once in a quarter long trips mostly solo all the time. To be precise, I'm gentle with the throttle 90 percent of the time and lurk for a smooth ride with sufficient low end torque for the city and state highway rides rather than a kick in the pants feel. I'll get a test ride of both these bikes and decide which one suits my preferences.

Thanks again for adding some sense into me.[emoji14]

Originally posted by rachitkdogra View Post

Here is my humble opinion and I am sharing because I was there 5 years back where you are now, contemplating between Z800 and CBR650F:
1) Think realistically about how and where you are going to ride it. What part of riding you like the most like cornering, Speed runs on highways, traffic light launches or just cruising along. Pick a bike that is more suited for that role.
2) None of them is a bad bike, Test Ride. I can stress enough the benefit of a test ride. Get a feel for yourself.

Best of Luck!!

Rachit

Announcement

Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Need help in choosing a pre-owned superbike in the price range of 5.5-6L

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment