Hi everyone, I am new to the forum so hoping you can help me. I passed my test last August and after a summer on a thundercat I have took the plunge and swapped for a Honda CBR 600F Sport, I am hoping too buy it tomorrow but before I do I need help with something.
The bike is 2001 registered and has only had 1 owner from new and he has only done 3600 miles majority in the first year of ownership, from 2002 hes done no more than 2000 miles. The bike has been sat in his garage due to him being in the forces he's had no time to ride it so he hopefully will sell it to me tomorrow. I took it on a test ride today, not the best day as it was wet and very cold. The bike started no problems, however in low revs upto 3000-3500 its not very responsive on the throttle and doesnt pick up until around 4000 revs where it rides like a dream no problems whatsoever. Its a great bike and i absolutely loved riding it, just concerned over the lack of response in low revs. The owner explained that this problem was mentioned in the last 2 services and he was told that because of lack of use it has "stale fuel" causing this problem and found no other reason for it to be any other problem. Bearing in mind the bike has done no more than approx 300 miles a year but in times it has just be stored in a garage and not used regularly sometimes not ridden in 2 years and not for long when he does. I rode for 50 miles and the problem seemed to get better but is still struggling in low revs after this ride I used approx £10 in fuel so would have thought I would have burned up the old fuel in the tank.
I am hoping someone can put my mind at rest and that this is a problem due to not being ridden and stale fuel and hopefully I can rectify after using it more than he did. Could it be a spark plug problem, dont think in 9 years they have been replaced. Any ideas and should I be worried

Thanks for your help
Nick

could be a sprk plug problem, but it seems more fuel to me. It should be injected, sorun a fresh tank of gas through it with some FI cleaner in it. That should help it.
Does it stumble, or hesitate in these lwer revs?? Or is it just lazy down low??
These bikes are gutless really low. torque wont peak toll like 9000 rpms, and hp near 12 or so!!!! so remember that!!

try the FI cleaner, change the fuel filter, air filter, and plugs......thats what id do!

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1998 CBR F3 R.I.P.
2004 zx6r R.I.P.

Hi blkpitbull, thanks for your response. I guess bit of both lazy and hesistant, you pull back on the throttle and theres nothing there lack of response until around 4000 revs and up then it really hits home. I will do as you suggest thanks for the advice.
Nick

What year is the bike? I'm with him, it sounds more fuel related. Even if you have run all the "old stale" fuel out, the bike sitting will cause the fuel to gum up the fuel system. The old fuel will leave deposits if stored without a stabilizer. If the bike happens to have carbs, this problem is common. I'd run a good fuel system cleaner through it like blkpitbull suggested. If it does have carbs and doesn't clear up, you may have to pull them off and clean them inside or have a shop do it. But also like he said, these bikes don't "come alive" until at least 5000 or 6000 RPMs. Good Luck.

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Thanks 87Hurricane, its 2001 Honda CBR600F Sport, it has injectors not carbs. Sounds like good advice as the bike has done more sitting in a garage than on a road and the fuel has been sitting in the tank for awhile.
Thanks for your help

I would expect the lazy response down below 4k rpms...as Pit said, these bikes don't get their get up and go till much later in the rev range. If it stumbles, that could mean your hitting the throttle too hard too early in the rev range, even the new bikes will do that, as you dump all the vacuum the engine had when you open the throttle to get more air flowing. Thats a common thing. Definitely take their advice and give her a good cleaning, and some fresh fuel, I'd even run some sea foam thru it. (very good fuel cleaner/stabilizer, I swear by the stuff..so do many others on here)

Something that wasn't mentioned, as the bike has been sitting, not just the fuel will have been affected, but other parts as well, Tires! check them, make sure there is no dry rot, and that they still feel (soft? Pliable?) If the tires are older than say 3-4 years old, with so little ride time on them, I'd consider replacing them soon. Even if they have plenty of tread. Tires have a "shelf life" of about 3 years, any longer, and the rubber begins to harden, and eventually break down.

Seals! Check your front fork seals for visible leakage, or cracking, probably wont have any, but its worth the look.

Change the oil if its dirty, oil too has a shelf life, when you do, add about 2 cap fulls of Sea Foam to the crankcase, then run the engine for about 10-15 minutes, (riding it would be fine, and more fun than watching it idle.) Then let it cool, change the oil and filter..this should get the bulk of any gunk that may have formed from it sitting.

Just a couple tips of things to watch for, Honda makes a fantastic machine, and if you keep up with the maintenance they literally can go hundreds of thousands of miles. (couple of posters on here with F4i's with 100k+ on the odometer with no major breakdowns..ever.

Look forward to seeing some pics of your new girl, post'em up! And, Welcome to the site!

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2000 CBR929RR- Cams, Micron cf pipe and headers, Power commander 3 (custom mapped), heads, decked, ported, polished, zero gravity shield, Frame sliders, polished frame and swingarm, remote controlled red neons, Stainless Braided front and rear brake lines. RK 520 race chain and -1/0 Vortex sprockets, bitch pegs and rear seat removed, OEM rear seat cowl, Pirelli Diablo Rubber.

Thanks fireblade929, it seems the bike needs a good fuel cleaner. Thanks for the advice, pics to come

I went ahead and purchased the bike, hoping some overall maintenance will cure this problem. He's had the bike since new so for 9 years and covered only about 1500 miles in the last 7 years. During this time due to his concern over little use he had it serviced 5 times. 1st 2002, 2nd 2006, 3rd 2008 , 4th may 2009 and 5th October 2009 when he decided to sell it. On the 3rd service he reported this hesitation in low revs problem and they said it was down to stale fuel, so drained and added fresh fuel and fuel system cleaner. The last service he had a cam tensioner fitted and in all services had oil change so oil is good. He's looked after it but has been idle for some time, the non responsive in low revs is more like the bike stutters like it is only running on 3 cylinders but once it gets to 4000 revs then the bike rides like a dream, could this problem be the same as in 2008 bearing in mind he has only done 200 miles in 16 months. Hoping its not a major problem as other than that the bike is awesome.
Cheers
Nick

yes it sounds like fuel mostly. I would drain the gas, put in fresh gas and some fuel treatment, Seafoam!!!! Pull a couple plugs and, oh hell if you pull em you might as well replace them!! Then id be willing to bet it will run ALOT better!

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1998 CBR F3 R.I.P.
2004 zx6r R.I.P.

totally agree pretty wild he had a cam tensioner put in that early, they usually don't go bad really until you've got at least 20k on em. But hey, good for you, as the stock tensioner is not all that great, it does its job, but wears out too quickly. Hopefully he had the aftermarket one installed, if not, still not a big deal, as the tensioner will be good for a few seasons at least Glad to have you as a fellow rider, welcome to the CBR club!

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2000 CBR929RR- Cams, Micron cf pipe and headers, Power commander 3 (custom mapped), heads, decked, ported, polished, zero gravity shield, Frame sliders, polished frame and swingarm, remote controlled red neons, Stainless Braided front and rear brake lines. RK 520 race chain and -1/0 Vortex sprockets, bitch pegs and rear seat removed, OEM rear seat cowl, Pirelli Diablo Rubber.