Honda CBR 650f

[kannot]

Anyone got one and is it any good? Am thinking of getting back on a bike again, had various bikes over the years all Suzukis gsx250 gsx 750es gsx r 750wn gsx r 1100n Suzuki Katana final edition etc

I whizz round now on a Yamaha scooter but long for a big bike..........yeah I know how dangerous Thailand is for bikes.

I see they are about 300k, I don't want a powerhouse of a thing but aint interested in the 2 cylinder offerings here, they sound crappy and at 300k the Honda a looks ok to me.

[OmegaRacer]

I'm not a big Honda fan, but when I test rode the 650f I was very impressed. Handling was superb thanks to a well balanced setup. Smooth gears, responsive brakes, comfortable sitting position (for my 170cm) were all great.

I don't like the whining sound of in line 4s, apart from that, 2 thumbs up from me.

[DILLIGAD]

Search and you will find a very long thread about them

[eeeya]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/658608-honda-cbr650-2014/

59 pages long

[kannot]

Search and you will find a very long thread about them

I did about 50+ pages, just wondered if opinions had changed since, seems a good price for what you get so will probably order one, thanks for the replies so far

[WingNut]

Have had one since around the beginning of the year. Haven't driven it that much in the last few months because of the heat, but love the bike. Can't think of another bike that I would rather have except an R1 or any Augusta 3 or 4 cylinder sport bike. But none of those make much sense unless your a serious track guy.

Edited June 21, 2015 by WingNut

[kannot]

Have had one since around the beginning of the year. Haven't driven it that much in the last few months because of the heat, but love the bike. Can't think of another bike that I would rather have except an R1 or any Augusta 3 or 4 cylinder sport bike. But none of those make much sense unless your a serious track guy.

Thanks Wingnut I saw you were one of the first to get one, just checking to see if any problems or anything as when you first get some bikes you think they are great and later find somethings aren't to your liking etc, It looks a nice machine Wife is gonna buy me one. Im in Pranburi guess Ill order from BKK Bigwing as they seem to be ok?

Is there still a waiting time when ordering I wonder?

[WingNut]

There are a few Big Wings in Bangkok I think. At least 2 I know of.

I am not sure on waiting times. It can't vary depending on stock availability. When I bought mine there was no waiting time. I got the day I paid the money. Also, no problems I am aware of so far.

[darkian]

I like them visually, but that's as far as I've got to riding one. Actually I'm thinking next time I'm in Chiang Mai I'll rent one for a day to see what it's like. Not sure how it compares to the ER6n for example, but there are tons of those around Bangkok. I see relatively few 650Fs...

[eisfeld]

Here in Phuket you can see way more 650F than ER6. Based on the frequency I'd say there are about 10x as many around. I see more Z800 than ER6.

The 650F are very capable no-nonsense bikes. A very good deal in Thailand. But as always test ride or rent first

[eeeya]

There are a few Big Wings in Bangkok I think. At least 2 I know of.

I am not sure on waiting times. It can't vary depending on stock availability. When I bought mine there was no waiting time. I got the day I paid the money. Also, no problems I am aware of so far.

I was at big wing ratchapreuk and there was about 10 or so new 650s out the back with the plastic still on.

[WingNut]

Ratchapreuk is the branch on the Ram Intra Highway? There is a branch on Rama 3 too I think.

[kannot]

Ratchapreuk is the branch on the Ram Intra Highway? There is a branch on Rama 3 too I think.

I called them today they have the RED one I want in stock, do they come with ABS here?

[Crowleys]

Yes, It comes with ABS

[WingNut]

I think they only sell the ABS model in Thailand. In the states you might have a choice of ABS or no ABS. So all models should have ABS here. Red is nicer I think. I like black bikes, but not this partially matte black color they have here which looks a bit like it's been weathered from the sun to me. I think in some other countries they are offering a pure black, but not here. Having both 1 red and 1 black bike I can say that red is a much better and more practical color IMHO. Hardly shows the dirt at all compared to black. But if you park something red in the sun all the time it starts to fade and turn a bit orange. That was my experience once with a red car. But if you keep it covered it should look nice for a long time.

[ALFREDO]

Do not understand, why they are so crazy in Udon Thani with that test ride around the building with no more than 20 km/h, anyway not much more possible. lol

I would maybe bought one since weeks, as I saw the bike parked and thought looks ok, price ok, I will take it,

but that test ride let me get the opinion the bike is head heavy in that slow corners and more was not possible to say.

Sorry!

[WingNut]

^ Maybe see if you can rent one somewhere if you really want to drive one for a longer time. Maybe they have them for rent in Pattaya. In Bangkok I was only allowed to also do a short test ride in the parking lot of the Big Wing dealer. But it didn't matter for me. I was happy to buy the bike without riding it.

Also, I think you said it's slow in the low gears. I don't quite agree. You can go up to 100km in first gear if you want. But I usually change gears more quickly.

[ALFREDO]

^ Maybe see if you can rent one somewhere if you really want to drive one for a longer time. Maybe they have them for rent in Pattaya. In Bangkok I was only allowed to also do a short test ride in the parking lot of the Big Wing dealer. But it didn't matter for me. I was happy to buy the bike without riding it.

Also, I think you said it's slow in the low gears. I don't quite agree. You can go up to 100km in first gear if you want. But I usually change gears more quickly.

100 km/h in a small circle around a not sooo big building. They allow only 20 km/h

I had my Test ride today on the CB 650 F and it was good, she could be more powerful, but with that engine you live probably longer in TH, than with the Yamaha FZ 09, Kawasaki z800

and Ducati Monster 821 with their more aggressive and powerful engines.

Know somebody a good exhaust with more sound? + Power Commander?

Edited June 24, 2015 by ALFREDO

[WingNut]

^ When you are comparing bikes with 800cc engines to a 650cc bike then the 800CC bikes should be more powerful. But the CBR650F goes 0-100KM in 3.6 seconds. How much more power would you want? Unless you are a track rider you don't even need the kind of power the CBR650F has for street riding. The CB650F you rode might be a small bit slower though because it has no fairings.

You can listen to my exhaust here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYfONb-aiz5cPoErKVLYGA

I have no plans to put a Power Commander on mine.

[guzzi850m2]

^ Maybe see if you can rent one somewhere if you really want to drive one for a longer time. Maybe they have them for rent in Pattaya. In Bangkok I was only allowed to also do a short test ride in the parking lot of the Big Wing dealer. But it didn't matter for me. I was happy to buy the bike without riding it.

Also, I think you said it's slow in the low gears. I don't quite agree. You can go up to 100km in first gear if you want. But I usually change gears more quickly.

I agree, the 650cc class is perfect for Thailand, okay you don't have the massive acceleration as you have on +100HP bikes but still lots of fun.

Also riding a bike around a building at 20km/h tells you nothing about the bike, you have to get it out on the open roads to get proper inputs.

I could also not test ride a Versys 650 but read all the on-line tests and checked overseas forums as well and that was good enough for me. bought one and glad I did, love the bike, can't fell comfortable on a cbr650, but that's me, younger riders will likely prefer the cbr650 over a Versys. I am 53 and want first and foremost sitting comfortable on a bike, that is the 1st I check when shopping for a bike.

Yesterday I was out riding and had to U-turn at some stage. I waited for this little Swift car zooming by at app 120 and I U-turned and gave it all it got and app. 8-10 sec later I overtook him, he-he, that was fun.

You could had done that in perhaps 5-6 sec on a +100HP bike but as I said fun enough on the V and it can go +160 all day long if needed.

The cb650 is without a doubt a very good bike, it got a relatively simple engine and the power at app 80hp will very likely assure a long engine life too if taken good care of, it's a Honda after all.

One other thing, the Honda's and Kawa's 650cc class are made here in Thailand which means spare parts are very cheap and you will max wait 1 week to get them, heard the Dukes can take 3 month for spare parts, 3 bloody month <deleted>!

[Lucky33]

I've had a CB650F for a couple of months now and I love it. Great all around bike, plenty of power for out on the road and easy to ride around in town. I don't think that you can go wrong getting one.

[ALFREDO]

^ When you are comparing bikes with 800cc engines to a 650cc bike then the 800CC bikes should be more powerful. But the CBR650F goes 0-100KM in 3.6 seconds. How much more power would you want?

Sure, 800 vs 650 cc I meant only the more torque you have with the bigger engines are nice.

Your slip on, how much? Lost power? You satisfied? Thank you.

[ALFREDO]

can't fell comfortable on a cbr650, but that's me, younger riders will likely prefer the cbr650 over a Versys. I am 53 and want first and foremost sitting comfortable on a bike, that is the 1st I check when shopping for a bike.

I am 53 to and I have to say, that the sitting position on the CB 650 F, was very comfortable.

Probably the best on all my tested bikes. Including the Kawasaki 650 ERn.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/826754-ducati-monster-821-yamaha-mt-09-kawasaki-z-800-which-one/page-9

[WingNut]

Your slip on, how much? Lost power? You satisfied? Thank you.

My slip on is a cheap Taiwanese made pipe, similar in design to an Akropovic style exhaust. The pipe is nice quality and has a nice sound. It also doesn't get very hot at all, which is a good sign. It has a good quality black matte carbon finish which matches with the black matte trim on the bike and it cost around 9,000 Baht total.

I don't know if I lost power. I haven't had it on a Dyno after the pipe change to check it. But the bike has plenty of power so I don't worry about it. Normally with pipe changes you can lose a little bit of torque and gain a bit of HP at the top of the power band because of the added air outflow. If you want to do it right then you need to change the air filter too to increase air inflow and you should put a fuel controller on to really readjust everything. These are all things I'm not concerned with though.

Also, the way I did it isn't really the right way to do it. I didn't put on a full exhaust system because I didn't want to spend 20,000-25,000 Baht for a high quality system.

I think K-Speed has some cheaper full systems for around 15,000 Baht, but that might be a cheap quality shorty pipe and very loud perhaps. I wouldn't want that either.

But I went to another shop in town and what they did is just cut off the end of the original factory exhaust (which included removing the catalytic converter), and then attached this new exhaust like a slip-on. So the original headers are still on the bike. As I said, it's not really the right way to do it, but I didn't want to spend a lot more money on it and the pipe sounds good and looks nice, which was my objective.

I'm not 100% satisfied with how they connected the new exhaust with a cheap looking piece of stainless steel pipe that they attached in the middle, but that was the sacrifice I made when I took the lower cost option.

If you want to do it right and make sure you don't lose anything in terms of power then put on a full exhaust system, change the air filter (which might make the bike a bit louder too), run a Dyno on it, and then add a Power Commander V if you see you have lost any torque. All together this might cost you close to 45,000-50,000 Baht total to do it that way using all good quality parts.

It is possible I haven't really lost any torque though, but I'm not going to check it out on a Dyno at this point. If no torque is lost then maybe a Power Commander isn't really needed, but as I said, I don't know what has happened or not happened to the power exactly.

But even if you put on a Power Commander anyway to try and increase total HP by adding more fuel then I think you might only get another 3-5HP out of it. Not really worth it to me for the cost and to have to pull the bike apart to connect a fuel controller. I feel if you really want more HP then buy a bigger bike or a 600RR and you will get a lot more HP. To me a Power Commander isn't needed for a bike like this unless you plan to try and race with it.

But maybe you don't mind to spend more money on it and to do things differently. But that is up to you to decide.

I hope that helps...

Edited June 26, 2015 by WingNut

[ALFREDO]

A positive ride in the drivers opinion.

[kannot]

Bike arriving tomorrow from Bangkok

[DILLIGAD]

A positive ride in the drivers opinion.

Yes. He's a funny guy. Never forgot his ride on a MT09. He (had) been only riding about a year and it scared him sh!tless.

[kannot]

Unlike these fruitcakes, they seem to think this is some sort of macho thing, still not too long they wont be around with any luck. There seems to be no end of this type of video in Thailand.

[kannot]

Bike at dealers ,Wife just sent the photo

[DILLIGAD]

Bike at dealers ,Wife just sent the photo

Looks great. Congrats and ride safe.