[v12]

Congrats on your first superbike Rachit!! Just like everyone would say their first car was a Maruti....every superbike owner would say his first superbike was a Honda. I love the color you chose...looks like the classic Honda sportsbikes of the past. Not very loud but attractive in its own way. Homologation does get the worst attention on superbikes ... Especially the number plate and the saree guard. Good u got rid of the saree guard. Now to get rid of the front number plate as well.

I loved the part you mentioned about the Z800 and its comparison to the CBR. Maybe the bike is still new and hence you are feeling those vibrations. They should reduce once you have covered more kms.

Congratulations once again and ride safe Rachit. Feel good when a fellow bikers dreams of owning a superbike comes true. It's a feeling which cannot be expressed in words.

[VW2010]

Congrats Rachit.

If Honda goofed up with the pricing of CBR, I would have considered Z800 again.

Actually IMHO Honda did goof up pricing it this high. They had a chance to take this segment on their own. But considering its a Honda, they are always over priced even in international market.

They have very good resale value.

Regarding the Vibrations - Dont compare anybike with that Kawasaki when it comes to refinement. In fact my biggest gripe with Kawasaki is how smooth the bike is and how silent it is.

The reason why many pick a yamaha is to feel that roughness all the time. Its a noisy engine.

Inbetween comes the Honda. Wonderful power and mid torque that will wow you.

Both the z800 and CBR650F has a nice torque curve that would make your accidently accelration less scary and in fact somewhat planted.

THe 600s are usually noisy. The noise or vibration you feel is mostly from the numerous plastics all around the bike. Specially the speedometer, the fairing and the windshield.

I also do a trick by placing a nice micro fiber between the windshield and the speedo.
(

https://youtu.be/7NAN_UE-b4E

) check the video for example.

The bike is built for both street and highway and hence you have that wonderful torque available at all gears. The best torquey engine i have rode so far is the kawasaki 1000 which is perfect for many reason and that enormous mid range giving what you need.


Things to take care of

- Check air pressure regularly - Make sure you calculate your weight, time and fill the right pressure - Tyre wear will be higher than your normal bikes simply due to the torque and the way the bike grips to the ground

- lube and clean the chain(or vice versa) every 2-3 weeks. I do this religiously if i have been riding the bike over 15 days.

- Get a nice throttle holder. These bikes on cruise control are pleasure to ride.

- Get some solid chains to lock them up or atleast a disc lock.

- Get some waxing and clear coat protection going to maintain the look.

- Dont pressure wash ever. Instead take your time to clean it with a bucket and sponge which gives you enough time to inspect a whole lot of things.

Last but not the leaste, never let anyone even if its your brother ride it

[bigron]

Congratulations. Always nice to see a biker get his ride.

This is one of the better products in the middle weight category. Built from ground up, supremely comfortable , low tech not complicated electronics and everyday usable power.
I rode one sometime back while travelling overseas and found the handling agile , smooth clutch , braking more than adequate and that typical big bike feel. I did find the weight on the higher side though.
Basically a bike for all seasons.
Hope you have a joyful time with this. Ride safe ride far.

[mehuel]

Finally the ownership thread is up. Excellent narration Rachit, and my hearty congrats again. Since nothing is complete without a treat lets sort this issue out soon

As for the bike, trust me the pics look good but in flesh its huge, looks even better. I wonder how the Akra's would sound on this. Please do make it happen

[Shanenanigans]

Congratulations on the new ride. I'll be keeping an eye on the updates here since, a few years down the line, my next purchase will be between this and a Ducati Scrambler.

[Sojogator]

Congrats on the cracking new beauty ! Looks stunning, especially in the front 3/4 shots.

I think the vibes will go away as you keep clocking the kilometers. And easy on the right wrist, especially in our cities !

Wishing a thousands of happy miles on her.

[Doge]

Congratulations on the CBR. Any reason why you didn't consider the Benelli? A four cylinder one would have easily fallen in your budget.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by v12

Congrats on your first superbike Rachit!! Just like everyone would say their first car was a Maruti....every superbike owner would say his first superbike was a Honda. I love the color you chose...looks like the classic Honda sportsbikes of the past. Not very loud but attractive in its own way. Homologation does get the worst attention on superbikes ... Especially the number plate and the saree guard. Good u got rid of the saree guard. Now to get rid of the front number plate as well.

I loved the part you mentioned about the Z800 and its comparison to the CBR. Maybe the bike is still new and hence you are feeling those vibrations. They should reduce once you have covered more kms.

Congratulations once again and ride safe Rachit. Feel good when a fellow bikers dreams of owning a superbike comes true. It's a feeling which cannot be expressed in words.

Thank you very much for your kind words. I am getting used to the vibrations and they are actually getting better as well.

My perfect bike would have been CBR650F with the Z800 engine.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Congrats Rachit.

Actually IMHO Honda did goof up pricing it this high. They had a chance to take this segment on their own. But considering its a Honda, they are always over priced even in international market.

They have very good resale value.

Thank you so much sir for your wishes and helpful advice.
I do also think that Honda probably priced it around 40-50K more than to be super deal. Lets hope their after sales is able to justify this premium.

In my case Vibrations mostly are felt in the handlebars, tank and the pegs. I have been told that its a trademark 600CC Inline 4 thing. They are not that obtrusive anymore.

Washing and waxing I can promise I will be regular with. Have been doing it for the car, bike is much easier.

For the air pressure, I have switched to Nitrogen. Will make sure to check it regularly.

Originally Posted by bigron

Congratulations. Always nice to see a biker get his ride.

This is one of the better products in the middle weight category. Built from ground up, supremely comfortable , low tech not complicated electronics and everyday usable power.
I rode one sometime back while travelling overseas and found the handling agile , smooth clutch , braking more than adequate and that typical big bike feel. I did find the weight on the higher side though.
Basically a bike for all seasons.
Hope you have a joyful time with this. Ride safe ride far.

Thank you very much sir. Yup, it does seem to have a good balance fun and practicality.

Originally Posted by mehuel

Finally the ownership thread is up. Excellent narration Rachit, and my hearty congrats again. Since nothing is complete without a treat lets sort this issue out soon

As for the bike, trust me the pics look good but in flesh its huge, looks even better. I wonder how the Akra's would sound on this. Please do make it happen

Thank you for much brother. Yup, the treat is definitely on me.

The exhaust will happen but probably in some time brother. Want to keep it stock for some time and enjoy this new bike feel which my Karizma had lost because of all the tinkering that I did with it. Plus my bank balance is pretty much in a shock right now.

Originally Posted by Shanenanigans

Congratulations on the new ride. I'll be keeping an eye on the updates here since, a few years down the line, my next purchase will be between this and a Ducati Scrambler.

Thank you very much sir. My wife wanted me to get the scrambler for the nice pillion seat it offered. Had a tough time steering her towards the 899 Panigale.

Originally Posted by Sojogator

Congrats on the cracking new beauty ! Looks stunning, especially in the front 3/4 shots.

I think the vibes will go away as you keep clocking the kilometers. And easy on the right wrist, especially in our cities !

Wishing a thousands of happy miles on her.

Thank you very much brother. Yup, need to improve my skills and comfortable with it before exploring the right wrist.

Originally Posted by Doge

Congratulations on the CBR. Any reason why you didn't consider the Benelli? A four cylinder one would have easily fallen in your budget.

Thank you brother. Honestly, I don't have a solid answer for your question.
I liked the Honda more than the Benelli. Is this bike worth nearly 2 lakhs more than the Benelli? I think its more of personal preferences.

Benelli is doing really good in India and I really like them for what they offer at what price. But this is a category which people relate to aspirations, brand image, show off value etc too. I think Benelli would need some more time to reach there.

Google has been one of greatest achievements by man kind. But for people like me it sometimes becomes a problem. It is too easy to find out what is best out there in the world for any category. Then you start lusting after it and probably put a huge hole in your pocket to get it irrespective of whether you need it or not. A lot of the good things that google told me were associated with Honda more than the Benelli.

Rachit

[VW2010]

In my case Vibrations mostly are felt in the handlebars, tank and the pegs.

This is normal. The engine vibrates heavilly at high rpms. Shift up to avoid this vibration and the bike has enough torque to keep it below 5K RPM all the time.


On tracks just rip this engine to red line to enjoy the rush in each gear.. YOu may find that why would any one need more than 3 gears

[loki]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

My perfect bike would have been CBR650F with the Z800 engine.

Rachit

I'm beginning to think the same. Maybe Kawasaki should do a Ninja800 using the Z800 engine.

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Google has been one of greatest achievements by man kind. But for people like me it sometimes becomes a problem. It is too easy to find out what is best out there in the world for any category. Then you start lusting after it and probably put a huge hole in your pocket to get it irrespective of whether you need it or not.

Rachit

Haha (No kidding). My thoughts too Rachit! I blame Google and the internet for my stupid-looking bank balance. Classic case of why information sometimes can be a bad thing (to your bank account atleast )

[Happysmiles]

Congratulations Rachit.

Nice ownership report.
The feeling of owning your first superbike is unforgettable.

One more suggestion to add to your aftermarkets list.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-H...452208620.html

For the r&g parts check www.rg-racing.com
They deliver directly by FedEx to India.

Enjoy your ride and take good care of her.

[djay99]

Many congratulations Rachit. CBR650F is an all rounder. Ride it in stock form for few thousand KM before you add a slipon and other performance parts.

Do you know if honda makes 650F in repsol color combo?

[mantrig]

Congratulations Rachit!! That's a beautiful bike you choose and certainly, one of the best money can buy within the 10L range.

Nice color scheme & great pics!!

Thank you for the amazing write-up which will be used as reference by many (like me) for making a well-informed decision.

Happy Riding!!

[mail4ajo]

Originally Posted by djay99

Many congratulations Rachit. CBR650F is an all rounder. Ride it in stock form for few thousand KM before you add a slipon and other performance parts.

Do you know if honda makes 650F in repsol color combo?

Congrats Rachit. Actually there seem to be no slip-on exhausts for the CBR due to it under frame design. You can get full systems from Yoshi, Akra, Arrow, SC, IXIL, Two Bros, Devil and some others. So average cost will be around $1000.

Also no repsol scheme globally. Sadly in India, only one color scheme.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by VW2010

This is normal. The engine vibrates heavilly at high rpms. Shift up to avoid this vibration and the bike has enough torque to keep it below 5K RPM all the time.


On tracks just rip this engine to red line to enjoy the rush in each gear.. YOu may find that why would any one need more than 3 gears

Yeah, I think I am starting to learn what gears at what speeds to maintain.
Plus after the Run In I will not have to try to keep revs in check so hopefully that will also help.

Originally Posted by loki

I'm beginning to think the same. Maybe Kawasaki should do a Ninja800 using the Z800 engine.

Haha (No kidding). My thoughts too Rachit! I blame Google and the internet for my stupid-looking bank balance. Classic case of why information sometimes can be a bad thing (to your bank account atleast )

Sometimes I look at my bank account balance and even after searching for good 10 mins on the screen end up not finding any balance.

Originally Posted by Happysmiles

Congratulations Rachit.

Nice ownership report.
The feeling of owning your first superbike is unforgettable.

One more suggestion to add to your aftermarkets list.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/For-H...452208620.html

For the r&g parts check www.rg-racing.com
They deliver directly by FedEx to India.

Enjoy your ride and take good care of her.

Thank you for your wishes brother and useful links.
Yeah, I am just right now trying to find the best sources and cheapest prices.
Lets see how this quest takes shape.

Originally Posted by djay99

Many congratulations Rachit. CBR650F is an all rounder. Ride it in stock form for few thousand KM before you add a slipon and other performance parts.

Do you know if honda makes 650F in repsol color combo?

Thank you very much sir. There are no specially designed slip ons for this bike, I think. The reason being stock exhaust is one piece. You can cut and add any slip in which a lot of thailand people seem to have done.

There are 3-4 full systems available now - Two brothers, Akra, Scorpion, Not sure about Yoshi. Performance parts for me will come later sir. First I need to get used to this much only.

This bike has no Repsol Color scheme available yet. Plus in India this is the only color available right now.

Originally Posted by mantrig

Congratulations Rachit!! That's a beautiful bike you choose and certainly, one of the best money can buy within the 10L range.

Nice color scheme & great pics!!

Thank you for the amazing write-up which will be used as reference by many (like me) for making a well-informed decision.

Happy Riding!!

Thank you very much brother..

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Congrats Rachit. Actually there seem to be no slip-on exhausts for the CBR due to it under frame design. You can get full systems from Yoshi, Akra, Arrow, SC, IXIL, Two Bros, Devil and some others. So average cost will be around $1000.

Also no repsol scheme globally. Sadly in India, only one color scheme.

Thanks brother. Yeah you are right on both accounts. I was aware of Two brothers, Akra, Sporpion and probably Yoshi full systems for this bike. When I get it, I will probably get the Akra only.

Rachit