Honda reliablity
 

ok, as many of you may or may not know, i own a rc51 that i got off of another member of another board.

he babied this thing and it was in great shape, i on the other hand have ridden the piss out of this thing, track days to cross country trips

think 22,XXX miles in a year some odd months

to date i have changed the chain cause it was worn, and had a bulb go out on me and had to replace a fork seal... thats the only things that has gone out (other then tires)

I have changed the oil every 4,000 miles (rotella syn) and change the brake fluid once a year

I took it in to have the valves checked, the service guy took a listen to them and said they sounded fine and to not worry about them till either they made noise or roughly 32,000 miles which is double the service time that they recommend

my front sproket i was looking at replacing, took a closer look at it... its still in perfect operational order!!! 28,000 miles on that sprocket and its still in good shape!!!

my kawi that i had prior this was starting to crap out on me with only 16,ooo miles, the fast start cable, the clutch yadda yadda....

i just wish all bikes had the reliablity of a honda

the point of this thread: HONDA>ALL (all being the big four in this case)

I'm a honda man myself, always have been, not I won't or don't own other bikes, Honda just has that special place in my heart. Honda's are rock solid, you often hear that they are not the best handling, heavy, no top end etc yada-yada, but the average honda owner doesn't have the skills to realize any differences amongst the four japanese manufacturers so who cares..... Hondas Rock!:rockout:

Honda's are very reliable, but I have to say I have had very good luck with my Suzuki too. It's got a hair under 30k miles and no serious issues. And they're hard miles, everything from commuting to trackdays and everything in between.

my 87 600F has 42,6xx miles on it, I just finished cleaning the valves up after a previous owner's neglecting to rejet it for a full exhaust and she runs beautifully now. it feels like I'm riding a bulldozer, it just keeps on pushing no matter what.

and cue thirdgen to chime in :lol:

yeah, what's he up to? 150K by now?

144 per his sig.

IS that mofo going for some world record? most miles on a sportbike before a rebuild? or is he just trying to put 500k on it so he can show honda every time the odometer rolls over and say This bike got me 500K miles, can I have a new one?

to me it's refreshing to see though... in my experience it's rare to see a sportbike with more than 20K... and even more so that it's put on by one person.

I wanna get a brand new 600 and basicly do the same... keep the bike at LEAST until I get over 100k.

if ya think about it... the way these bikes change hands 3 or 4 times prior to reach'n 30k it's a wonder what maintenance has been done? I mean it's one thing to change the oil every 3-5k... but valve adjustments? fork oil? clutch plates? :idk:

good on ya third gen... and the rest of ya'll who rack up billions of miles on your bikes

Only 56K on my CBR1000F and it took a crap. Usual Honda weakness, the cam chain/tensioner. With 150 links in the cam chain, even if each link only stretches 1/100 of an inch, that's 1.5 inches of stretch. I think the CCT can't manage that much. Anyway, I'm replacing the chain, tensioner, lapping the valves, and I'm going to slot the cam sprockets for more accurate timing. Otherwise, I just love the bike. It really does do it all.

My 929RR had 69,824 miles on it when a high-side cracked the engine casings. I was the original owner, and many of those miles were NOT easy miles. It even survived a psycho ex-girlfried that put water in the gas tank at ~48k. That and a stator failure were the only issues I had outside regular maintenance.

Honda's reliablility is impressive to say the least.

You're welcome FUCK FACE

First I'd find a new guy to work on your bike, TIGHT VALVES DON"T MAKE NOISE TILL THEY MESS UP YOUR ENGINE.

I think the RC51 is one of Hondas worst bikes that I have owned. It was still better than most other bikes but as far as Hondas go you could tell the street legal stuff was a after thought. Wires that could be pinched easy, there is a wire harness that lays across the top of the engine, rear of the headlights looked unfinished. Lots of people had trouble with water causeing problems cause the wires were not sealed well.

The engine and chassis kick butt, the street legal stuff was just sub honda par. Still good but sub Hondas normal quality. There 600s last and last if you put a solid CCT on it from APE. I did have some 2nd gear problems on my F2 but I cause it doing wheelies

Oh I almost forgot I have a Sargent seat and CRG levers(sp1) for my RC51 in the garage still if your interested PM me.

interested in the levers

my 'cane was showing almost 30,000 ( i think i thad rolled) and it ran amazingly well after basic service. miss that bike

I miss my F2 and F3 42,000 and 36,000 on each. Great bikes. Theres a F4 in the garage with 18,000 and I had a RC51 with 12,000. Hondas work.

My 96 CBR600 F3 has roughly 45,000 at the moment and still going strong. That includes it being wrecked (Not by me).

I think the reliability thing is about like the fastest bike thing. Honda overall edges out the comp with reliability but most people aren't going to run or own (Or keep it from being crashed) a sportbike long enough to find out the differences. I say that any of the Jap 4 are going to be good bikes.

I like Honda because I bought two 11hp Pressure Washers that my buddy bought used and had sit underneath a deck for 2 years. All I did was change the gas and it started up and has made me some decent money. Infact when I first got it I wanted to see if it'd run a little. So I pulled the chord slowly thinking the ignition was off in order for me to get some gas in. The ignition was on and it started up instantly. Honda won my heart right there.

But on motorcycles I wouldn't think twice about owning a Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, or a Honda.

My thoughts EXACTLY. all of the big 4 are great if you take good care of them. both of my ZX10's show over 26k on them, one being 39k actually, suggesting its survived a LOT of shit only to die cause someone refused to change the damned oil. seriously.

but the big 4 are equal in quality, aside from having a few weak points in their lineups but still. overall, I'm impressed with my 1000 because its not hard to fix. I just need to get some new heads and camshafts for one of the motors. oh and another crank, some rods, and hone the jugs. fuck.

I honestly cant see any thing hard to believe about any of the 4 japs reaching high miles without issues

just maintain the bike properly... and dont abuse it... (abuse and riding hard are 2 different things)

I had a honda that I sold with a little over 20k....

and now I have a suzuki..which I dont see it exploding anytime soon... even though I dont ride her as much and I doubt ill see high miles on it

those asian engineers know what they are doing and are getting paid very handsome for it.

I have an F4i with 22+K. The only real problem has been CCT noise. I changed the CCT to an APE manual and fixed that.

Have any of you found your valve clearance off any when checked? A friend just had his 25,000 mile valve check and all were dead on spec.

Any of the big 4 are great bikes. The reason you don't see too many high mileage bikes is that they usually get wrecked. And if they don't get wrecked, they wind up laying on their side at one point in their lives and it eventually causes engine issues.

I mean really how many bikes has anyone here seen, never dropped, that just got too old that it was ridden til it died? I can only say I've seen a handful of examples. Every other bike I know gets passed down from owner to owner until it gets to some newb who has a liter bike as a learner bike and wrecks it.

People talk about high mileage bikes, 25k, 36k, high mileage is over 100k. Go ahead, there are plenty of folks out there who ride their bikes forever.

My brand loyalty is basically "whatever is the best deal I can get at the time I'm looking" I agree that all of the big fun makes great machines.

I'm planning on putting 100k+ on the 600rr I'm buy'n... my goal is 36401 miles by the end of December this year... as it has 1401 miles on it now. so 4 years... over 100k... should be doable. not that I plan on selling the bike in 4 years anyhow...

Freudian slip?:lol:

LOL that's one if there ever was!

Got 30k on the superhawk so far. All from me. Still runnin strong :dthumb:

I'm going to check/adjust the valves this spring.

Manual CCT?

HOw many miles TYPICALLY before the CCT noise rears it's ugly head?

Possibly. Going to inspect while I am in there. Will probably swap it for an APE manual CCT anyway.

Tires are the only thing I've replaced on my VFR. I do need to replace a fork seal and check my valve clearances. Luckly I don't have cam chains so I dont have to worry about the CCT devil that seems like a lot of bikes have problems with.


She has 34421 miles now, which 14k are mine.

Only thing about Honda's I don't like is their paint is usually pretty thin, and also their engines usually aren't as smooth as the R6 and R1.

I've rode a 1000rr like yours, i like it, what other hondas have you owned?


back in the day, i had an f2 and an f3, i rode the piss out of those bikes

Had Honda z50, 70 trail, MB5, 750 four, a F3, Interceptor, F4I and the 1000rr

I have a 650 that needs restoration and a 750 hondamatic in my dad's barn.

I keep my friends ST1100 for about 2 years that I would ride occasionally to keep the battery up as well.

I got a honda CL70 I need to restore.

any bike will last forever if well maintained. its simple. but the reason honda's are so reliable is cause they're so fuggin complicated to work on sometimes and usually defy every law of reason and logic. I know, i've owned 2 so far. If they needed constant maintenance people would end up rolling into dealerships and shooting up the place. granted they've gotten better, but damn... sometimes i wonder.

i disagree, some bikes just plan shit out, no other way to put it

thats cause honda is built better


:ws: man up and do the work yourself

I agree... no matter what you do... a motorcycle will fail eventually... too many moving parts... no matter how often you change the oil... the motor will eventually wear out due to friction and heat/cooling cycles... BUT... I'd say that'd be well passed 1million miles if properly maintained.

I got a well maintained honda sitting in my garage right now that just popped a motor.

well maintained but also ridden hard.

exactly, it was well maintained and still popped. Plus the whole race head and cylinder and not exactly honda stock sorta changed things up.

U ride it like its supposed to be ridden. and then on top of that you still ride it. Go figure.

Buddy. Pal. Ur talking to a honda fanboy. I agree with EVERYTHING you're saying. it just makes it much sweeter to rock the wings when, after you appease the other jap bikes, urs is the one still running like brand new.

U always pay for what u get. yes i said that correctly. kudo's if you know where i got it from.

anyone thinking knock on wood?

you were doing 55 on the gap with it... it served well

But proper maintenance is key. I've got my RC51 all torn apart because the previous owner beat the crap out of it (in a bad way). I bought the bike with bent rims, leaky fork seals, front and rear sprockets worn out after only 12k. I know that the right side radiator is brand new, and she's been dropped on both sides. I know that the previous owner abused her and I doubt he did much in the way of maintenance.But she still rides well. Once I'm done with the repairs and mods she should go like a champ. I'm looking at keeping this bike for a very long time.

I've got two Honda's now and they both run strong and reliable.

I have this annoying rattle in my cluster or somwhere in that area between 3-4K....07 600rr

I know it's a pain(serious)... but have ya tried pulling the guages out and opening them up? :idk:

if it's not IN the cluster... just by getting TO the cluster you should be able to fine wtf is the issue :idk:



on that note... anyone have the link for the shop manuals for different bikes?

I don't know the Honda I had leaked more oil than my Harley :lol:

154,300 miles, original motor, still runs as smooth and strong as when new... that's all I gotta say! :rockout::rockwoot:

Ehhhh...too lazy. Its only between 3-4k and I'm usually at 9.

hey need a manual? I got a link for one ;)

if you're that close to the cluster that you can hear it it's probably your helmet hitting it :lol:

Air Force One isn't as well maintained as your bike.

My bike has about 42k and is poorly maintained (by previous owners and I'll admit myself). Still runs smooth as hell and the guy who dynoed my bike said it's the smoothest running 600 he's ever seen at that age. He was a Suzuki Master mechanic and use to race superbikes.

My favorite testimony of Honda is my pressure washers. 11hp with a CAT pump. Got it from under a deck in which it sat for over a year and was COMMERCIALLY used before that for a few years (I knew the previous previous owner). I bought it and accidently cranked it thinking the switch was off. Just a soft pull and it fired up. Gas was complete shit so it ran like crap but after new gas it runs perfec.t 4 years later I still own the same pressure washers and they still run strong. My pumps are going to shit though.

send me the link i havent been able to find one for the 06 600

here ya go all I have is 07-08.... I'll see if I can find the 06 though...

I've had a couple Hondas, none of them were as reliable as my Kawasakis. Actually, a CBR600 broke down while I was racing and cost me a championship back in 2001.
Then, the last Honda a couple years ago, broke down on the interstate and there I sat. That damn regulator/rectifier went out, just like on every Honda I've had. That bike went on the auction block the next week. That made me mad.
I never had a Kawasaki leave me sit, ever. I run the piss out of my bikes, race, track days, and just general abuse. The Kaws can definitely take it. I work for Keith Code when California Superbike School comes to Mid Ohio.....you should ask him what the most reliable bikes made are. There's a reason he chooses Kawasaki for their school bikes, and has for all these years. And NO, it's not because Kawaski gives him the best deal.
MY 2000 ZX9 had 33,000 miles on it and all I ever did to it was replace the fork seals. Great bike. Still wish I had kept it.
And strangely enough, my GSXR racebike was way more reliable than any Honda racebike I ever had. Don't get me wrong. my generator is Honda, my weedeater is Honda, my push mower is Honda too. I just happen to not think their bikes are all that great. That's been my experience.

Honda regulator/rectifiers are 80% shit, their stators are 50% shit, and their paint jobs tend to run on the thin side just like Suzuki. Other than that, they're OK I guess. I still think Yamis are the best.

C'mon you already put 33,000 miles on a 2009 sportbike? Did you live on it?

You might want to re-read that.

Send me the link brah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Kawis are the most reliable bikes.

looking for the 05-06 600RR manual anyone have it?

check the archives at 600rr.com that's where I got that one