After years of owning sports cars, I decided it was time to tip my toes into the world of motorcycles. Having never ridden a motorcycle before I immediately began researching everything I could about them. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money as it was my first bike and I always heard horror stories that everyone drops their bikes. I knew I wanted a sport bike so that’s where I started. After reading I heard a lot of people saying to start with 250/300 as your first motorcycle but I saw almost everyone ended up selling them within a year or two because they weren’t powerful enough so I knew I wanted to go bigger than that. While I liked the idea of a liter bike I decided that wasn’t in my best interest for my first one and I settled in on the idea that a midsized bike was my best option.

Unfortunately for me I decided the buy a motorcycle in early spring, know who else decides that’s a good time to buy a motorcycle? EVERYONE! Anytime I found a halfway decent deal the bike was sold by the time I got to the seller. I didn’t get down and kept searching finally coming across this ’95 CBR600 F3. I liked the engine size, liked that it was a Honda as they are well known for their reliability, and really liked the asking price. Luckily it was still there when I showed up and while the fairings had seen some better days the drivetrain was in perfect condition. This was the bike for me, I could ride it all I wanted since it was reliable but if something did happen to the body it wouldn’t be the end of the world since it was already in less than perfect condition. Not to mention, I never planned on keeping it long-term. This bike’s job was to help me decide if I wanted to ride, get a better idea of what I’m looking for in a perfect bike, and get me the practice and experience needed before I moved on to something else.

I brought cash with me and made the deal with the seller. The bad part for me was I still didn’t have my motorcycle endorsement and had not ridden a motorcycle yet. Luckily the seller was a good guy and as we weren’t far from my house he rode it over and I gave him a ride back home. I pushed it into the garage and drove straight to the DMV to get my learner’s permit so I could start riding without delay.

Since it was springtime getting into an MSF course was not easy but I found one with an open spot. It was a drive but I made it and got my motorcycle endorsement.

I have to give Honda credit, while this bike was over 15 years old when I got it, and had 25,000 miles on it she ran beautifully. The engine ran buttery smooth, the transmission shifted without issue, she loved to lean into turns and had good power for not only a mid-’90s bike but for new bikes as well.

I kept the CBR600 for two years before I was willing to move on to something better and have never regretted buying it. I have sent moved on to a cruiser but I keep thinking about going back and buying another sportbike to relive the pure joy I had on it.

Stay safe, be kind, and help those in need.