[Rachit.K.Dogra]

@Mods, Kindly change the title of the thread to:
A dream come true - My Honda CBR650F. EDIT: 1 year update on page 9

So, this update has been pending since some time. My sincerest apologies for not being able to provide it timely despite my very sincere efforts. A two year old kid, who just jumps on the laptop even at its slightest sight for her rhymes makes it difficult to take the laptop out.

The bike completed 1 year on August 19. So now its slightly more than 13 months old. I have covered around 8500 Kms till now. Its a bit less than what I had targeted, but no regrets as I could not materialize even one of the 2 hoped for trips.

The bike has been performing flawlessly. No issues so far. I did manage to drop it while taking it out of the parking at a friend's place. It was an awkward slope and I was not careful, plus my short legs didn't help. The bike was stationary, was almost about to start rolling when it happened and I sort of dropped it slowly on the ground. The ground had some stones and honestly my heart did skip a bit. I did not have the courage to lift it and look at the damage. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised. Not even a single ding anywhere on the bodywork. The Rear view mirror had scratches and the bar end weight, frame slider had minor scratches. The rear turn indicator had turned in opposite direction while on the ground, but as I picked it, it came back to its original shape by itself and without any scratch. God was really kind that day. A lesson learnt, thankfully not the hard way.

After this I did feel a bit of difference in the clutch feel and thought the lever had bent or misaligned. Showed it to the honda guys, they took it apart, lubed it and put it back and that fixed everything.

The bike has become smoother and the buzziness has reduced a lot. It is there at certain RMPs, but my brain is sort of used to it now so I have started noticing them much lesser as well. My friend, a ninja 650 owner just loves the smoothness of the CBR, not that Ninja is not smooth by any standards. But the inline smoothness thing is sort of nice.

Overall everything is holding up pretty well. The tyres still seem to have another 4-5K Kms on them. The brakes, the chain, the clutch, all good in shape.

One of the 2 issues I have with the bike is the Meter Design and the very long throttle travel. I cant do anything about the meter, but found a nice DIY to quicken the throttle a bit. There are Quick Throttle kits available but I couldn't find any for the CBR and they are expensive too. So this DIY was interesting and did bring in some difference. For people who do not know about it, here is the link on the basics:
http://www.r6-forum.com/forums/57-ga...-mod-pics.html

The long throttle in the CBR sort of makes it feel very tame. It is good for traffic and slow speed modulation, but does take away a wee bit out of the fun factor. This quick throttle DIY make a slight difference in the way bike feels.

Fuel efficiency consistently hovers around 22-23 Kmpl in the city.

Other than this, no changes to the bike. I am contemplating a windscreen change to the MRA touring one, but some time in future as it is not easy to source these things in India.

Likes:
1) Very Smooth engine for 80% of the Rev Band. Does feel silky smooth down low.
2) Very linear power delivery makes it very easy to ride and ride fast.
3) Very predictable handling. Its not a razor sharp thing, but that means it is much more forgiving to incorrect inputs.
4) Braking is very confidence inspiring on the bike. For me its not the power, but the modulation that the brakes offer provide a lot of control and confidence.
5) Ergonomics, generally comfortable.
6) Fit and Finish of the bike feels very premium. You have to look at the white sparkling paint on the tank to believe it. No rattles so far.
7) Ideal mix of ride and handling with a slight tilt towards sport.

Dislikes:
1) Meter Design could have been better. This feels a bit old age.
2) On some days when you are really on it, the power delivery does feels a bit too tame. You really have to wring the long throttle to get the rush. But when you do, it does pick pace quite well.
3) For somebody who has been out of touring for a while and not generally in the fittest of the state, long distance does take some toll because of the slight forward lean in the riding position.
4) Wet weather grip of the OEM Dunlops. Dry grip is more than sufficient for road use in my opinion.

Overall very happy with the bike. Greed aside, I still believe for my sort of riding this is a very good choice.

Now for some pics:


One of the Rainy Day rides




The End Result


After the wash


We went for a Day ride to Sariska, which was around 400 KMs up and down. I had not slept properly for the last 2 days and this is when while coming back, I was mostly crying in pain for the last 60-70 Kms or so. The harsh sun did not help the case either. While my friends on their sofas were having a nice time.






After a nice polish session




Regular Sunday Morning GFR runs




With a sister


That is me captured by a friend's gopro.


I have borrowed a friends gopro and made some test videos. I did not have the helmet mount and the wrapped windscreen blocked most of the view when mounted on the tank. But still if you guys want, feel free to view the videos and share feedback. I have got the helmet mount now. Hopefully this weekend onward, I could get something better.

Not sharing the videos here, as some sections have speeds which we don't advocate and I don't know how to blur the speedo thingy yet.

Here is the link to the channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbI...Z3f0YjU1T3jeAw

Please don't expect anything fancy. These were test runs by a first timer who is very creatively challenged.

I will make some more videos of the exhaust and all.

CHEERS!!

Rachit

[Nithesh_M]

Bro, are you talking about the throttle freeplay? Here is a DIY on how to adjust it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoodrrLoFHA

As for MRA touring screen, Horizon Moto may have them in stock by now. They told me they were expecting a price of 7.5k back when I asked them. They are based in Hyderabad. Do contact them and verify on Facebook.

[Mashblue]

Wonderful update Rachit and awesome pictures .
Regarding the throttle freeplay, (one will struggle to max out the throttle in one grip) i felt the same and did some DIY freeplay adjustment, it's better than before but a proper quick throttle will be awesome and safer now, especially now after clocking considerable mileage and knowing the bike's characteristics. i sometimes feel Honda opted for this long throttle throw to make this bike Newbie-friendly

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

Bro, are you talking about the throttle freeplay? Here is a DIY on how to adjust it:

No bro. Not the throttle free play. This DIY is the reduce how much turn it takes to reach full throttle. From what I could gather, some bikes have 3/4 throttle and some have some other ratios I don't remember. But I think what it means is the degree of circle the throttle needs to move to reach full throttle. CBR has a very long throttle and sometimes you just have to turn the throttle too much if you are in the sort of mood.

Originally Posted by Nithesh_M

As for MRA touring screen, Horizon Moto may have them in stock by now. They told me they were expecting a price of 7.5k back when I asked them. They are based in Hyderabad. Do contact them and verify on Facebook.

Ok Cool. Thanks bro. Right now don't have the Vitamin M, but it is definitely on the list. Will contact them once I am ready. 7.5K seems okay because even in US it is around 120$.

Originally Posted by Mashblue

Wonderful update Rachit and awesome pictures .
Regarding the throttle freeplay, (one will struggle to max out the throttle in one grip) i felt the same and did some DIY freeplay adjustment, it's better than before but a proper quick throttle will be awesome and safer now, especially now after clocking considerable mileage and knowing the bike's characteristics. i sometimes feel Honda opted for this long throttle throw to make this bike Newbie-friendly

Thank you very much brother. Yes, the same with me. Now that I am comfortable with it, I sometime find the throttle throw very long. Honda definitely chose to make it Newbie friendly which helped initially.

You can try this DIY. There is Thai Video of Z800 by sighbored channel. Its a fairly easy DIY with not much tools required. The only thing is everything is very tightly packed so taking out the throttle grip and putting the cables back on it takes some effort.

CHEERS!!

Rachit

[PraNeel]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Attachment 1560896

The rear tyre looks damaged in this picture. Or is it the camera angle? Please do keep a stock of the tyre's condition.

[loki]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

I am contemplating a windscreen change to the MRA touring one, but some time in future as it is not easy to source these things in India.

More than a year now! The last year just flew eh? Keep up the good stuff Rachit.

Check out Post #11 in my thread. I've put a comparison image between the MRA and Puig Touring screens. I'm not exactly sure if one is better than the other. The Puig is available in Bangalore @ Orion Motors I think.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...a-cbr650f.html

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by PraNeel

The rear tyre looks damaged in this picture. Or is it the camera angle? Please do keep a stock of the tyre's condition.

I think its the camera angle. The tyre has about 4-5K Kms left.

Originally Posted by loki

More than a year now! The last year just flew eh? Keep up the good stuff Rachit.

Check out Post #11 in my thread. I've put a comparison image between the MRA and Puig Touring screens. I'm not exactly sure if one is better than the other. The Puig is available in Bangalore @ Orion Motors I think.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...a-cbr650f.html

Yup. 1 year just flew brother.
Thank you for the pic. Already checked it.
I like the MRA one better. Waiting for Vitamin M.

CHEERS!!

Rachit

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

So finally I was able to get the GoPro thing to work. I have made a short walk around and some exhaust clips. One issue that I am facing now is wind noise. Gopro catches a lot of wind noise. Trying to figure out ways to reduce them in post processing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eL0kCwsUMg

Rachit

[Nithesh_M]

A good external mic should solve the noise issues. But that Akra still sounds nice nonetheless.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

This past weekend, we made the throttle even quicker by putting in a thicker Zip Tie. Also since last 2 tank ups I have been using the Speed 97 on the bike. Boy o boy has this made a difference in the bike. With the speed the bike even sounds a bit different, louder to be precise. The throttle response is much sharper and there is a definite increase in the urgency.

This time the quick throttle has had a significant change in the way bike feels. I would not say perform because technically it is not changing the performance, but its mostly the feel. The difference was such that I will have to readjust myself to this new setting. I observed I had to use a lot more brakes than I generally do. Overall the bike has become quite fun and I don't sort of wish for a 1000 that much after these changes. I will have to be conscious while coming out of corners because since the throttle has become sharper, I will have re calibrate and get used to this new setting.

But overall very happy with these 2 changes and the excitement to ride is back to its prime again.

CHEERS!!

Rachit

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

@Mods, Kindly change the title of the thread to:
A dream come true - My Honda CBR650F. EDIT: 4th Service update on page 10

So 4th service here may sound confusing as the bike is around 1.5 years old only, but here is why the 4th service. So I actually had to skip the 2nd service for my bike, because I had not covered enough KMs but according to the Time Interval, 3rd service was only a month in future so Honda did 3rd service on my bike and skipped the 2nd. Even this time, I actually had not gone for a service. My bike had just done 10K KMs and the service was due at 12K.

During one of the rides, for some reason one of the bar ends came of the bike while riding. I went to Honda to get a bar end weight. During the discussion we figured that the 4th service is supposed to be done either at 12K KMs or 1.5 years whichever is sooner. They asked me if I wanted to get the service done, and I had no reason to say No. So I agreed.

This was going to be the first Fully Paid service. Honda says Air Filter cleaning at 12K and replacement at 15K KMs. I asked them to straightaway replace the Air Filter. The only other thing that I asked was the Bar End weight which was in stock and costed only 280 Rs. Plus I could only get the one required, no need for a pair, which was even nicer.

The bike needed some basic Clutch, Chain adjustments and that is about it. This time again, Mr. Dilip the technician at Honda just was superb with the way he carried out his business. The whole process took around 4-5 hours. One might ask why, because their attention to detail is so exemplary that he takes an hour just to clean the chain. He would go to a polythene, take out a new rug, spread the newspaper below the chain, and then spray the cleaner and then wipe the chain each link by each link. Such meticulous is the way they do these things that it feels extra ordinary.

The Air filter comes sealed and pre lubricated which is nice as I am not very fond of lubricating Air Filters. I have had K&N in my Karizma and it would splutter for a full day once we refueled the air filter.

Overall damages was around 6K, which is within the expected range. I am attaching the copy of the bill.

As you guys know that I had done that quick throttle DIY on my bike. What it has resulted in is no throttle play. There is absolutely 0 throttle play in my bike. So what I wanted was that if some play can be added from the throttle body. But Mr. Dilip said that the throttle body is much further in and would require more dismantling to which I said, leave it. We will take care of it when throttle body syncing would be required.

Overall, Honda's after sales continuous to be delightful and extra ordinary. For the bike, it feels smoother and rock solid.

Some Pics:
The service bill




After a small cleaning session


With friends at our regular Sunday Morning Dhaba.


During 1 of the Foggy Sunday Morning Rides in Delhi winters on Gurgaon Faridabad road.




Regular spot again


Completing 10K KMs.


We went to KMP expressway for a Ride. Boy what a piece of tarmac...






My Trio, getting ready for a cleaning weekend.


Regular Spot again


CHEERS!!

Rachit

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by Rachit.K.Dogra

Overall damages was around 6K, which is within the expected range. I am attaching the copy of the bill.

Thanks Rachit for sharing the bill details. I currently own a Ninja 300 MY 16 and look to upgrade to the new CBR 650SF MY 17 model early next year which I feel is a perfect upgrade to a middle weight super-sport coming from Ninja with similar features like riding posture, linear acceleration with capabilities to do touring and cornering comfortably.

I would just need to swing my leg over and adapt the CBR dynamics.

The new 4hp gains due to new intake and exhaust system, LED headlamps, new color scheme and with the revised pricing that seems on the Honda website would make it more attractive i feel.

Going through your thread has set my eyes perfectly on the CBR now. I was looking at a Versys too but I feel the cornering junkie in me won't go away.

Regret if I may have missed out, have you changed brake pads and how much do they charge for one set? And any idea on the MY 17 launch in India?

Cheers,
Amey

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by Amey Kulkarni

Thanks Rachit for sharing the bill details. I currently own a Ninja 300 MY 16 and look to upgrade to the new CBR 650SF MY 17 model early next year which I feel is a perfect upgrade to a middle weight super-sport coming from Ninja with similar features like riding posture, linear acceleration with capabilities to do touring and cornering comfortably.

I would just need to swing my leg over and adapt the CBR dynamics.

The new 4hp gains due to new intake and exhaust system, LED headlamps, new color scheme and with the revised pricing that seems on the Honda website would make it more attractive i feel.

Going through your thread has set my eyes perfectly on the CBR now. I was looking at a Versys too but I feel the cornering junkie in me won't go away.

Regret if I may have missed out, have you changed brake pads and how much do they charge for one set? And any idea on the MY 17 launch in India?

Cheers,
Amey

Hi Amey,

CBR can be an ideal upgrade from the Ninja 300, considering their breadth of abilities are very similar. You can tour, cruise, commute and even carve a few corners on them.

I am not sure what you mean by the Pricing on Honda's website for the new model. I am quite confident that Honda has not released the pricing of the new updated CBR that is supposed to be launched soon. Last I spoke to them, they wanted to wait for the GST to come in effect before finalizing the prices. From what I have heard, it should be here in Aug/Sept time frame.

I have not changed the brake pads yet. The service center told me, it has good 30-40% life still left. I have seen somebody else getting it changed. I think it costed around 5-6K for the front 2 pads.

CHEERS!!

Rachit

[loki]

Around Rs. 2500 including labour for the Rear disc pads and around Rs 6500 for the Front 2 pads. Pretty cheap compared to the competition I must say.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by loki

Around Rs. 2500 including labour for the Rear disc pads and around Rs 6500 for the Front 2 pads. Pretty cheap compared to the competition I must say.

Very similar price for the kawasaki versys as well... There's nothing cheap about it. Ofcourse, its all relative.

The ebc pads abroad cost less than half the price.