I am looking into buying a 1999 CBR 900rr and am wondering if the bike will be too much for me....need some advice. I have owned Sportbikes in the past, mostly 600's.....Honda f3 and Honda F4. My latest bike was a 1999 kawasaki zx6r. I am a small guy ..5'4" with a very short inseam. I have had no issues riding my 600's , but have had to lower the bikes anywhere from 1' to 2 ". I also owned a naked Kawasaki 750 ( which was a bit heavier and more HP than my 600's). I am currently riding a 1996 Honda VFR 750 which i really enjoy riding ....the V4 motor is really cool.....the bike is a fair bit heavier than my 600's were .... as much as 75-95 pounds. The bike has also been lowered and is really quite manageable. Anyways back to my question , I would like to buy another sportier bike to go with my VFR, but most people i have talked too have suggested that the 900 rr is just too fast and not as easy to handle. The suggestion is that the 900 is too much bike for me. I know the 900 is still considered a lighter bike ( much lighter than my VFR 750 and also my Bmw R1200r naked bike) .... I haven't had a chance to ride the 900 yet ( seat height a bit tall ....would also slightly lower if i bought, but i am worried about the power, bulk and overall intimidation factor..The reason i would love to get into a 900 is that i have already owned 600's in the past and don't want to spend a lot of money on a new uncomfortable superbike. The older sportbikes are more comfortable for sure and are a lot cheaper. The bike i am looking at is $2500-$ 3000. I am also 56 years young but have ridden Sportbikes for the last 15 years......In fact had no problem going over a 100 mph for a short distance on my vfr today.......Should i be worried aout the advice i have been getting ....is the 900 too much bike for a little guy....any suggestions re handling the bike, the power , cornering, etc...... i have also read and been told compared to modern sportbikes the 900 is considered much more comfortable by todays standard..... My Honda f3 f4 and Kawasaki zx6r where old enough to be considered comfortable and my vfr with heli bars is really comfortable....Thanks for any advice in advance......

 

If you are asking this question humblely, and have experienced riding 600cc....you are ready. Make sure you have all your gears when riding. Respect the power in reserve...

 

I went from a 250 Ninja to a CBR 900RR with no problems.
Just be a little more respectful with the throttle.
Don't try to max it out, if you must, do it in steps and gradual increments over time.
Not really that hard, again, it is up to you, you control the throttle.

 

I'm a conservative rider,ie, ride like I want to ride tomorrow. I'm your age but have not had the depth of experience with more modern sport bikes that you have enjoyed. No doubt that you can handle this bike. I find my '93 to be a handful as the steering is so quick that I think it almost too nervous to inspire confidense. A '99 is better but maybe not as sorted as an F4. That said, my 900RR is intoxicating to ride with the power on tap. As you have suvived 56 years, you likely posses the maturity to go at it with respect.

 

seems you have plenty of seat time on multiple bikes......just seems natural to move up.

I rode my 600 for 10 years then moved up to a 1000 and it was great

 

I just got my CBR900RR. I started with a 04 Buell Blast 500cc one cylinder. That bike weighs a bit more than the CNET with 1/3 the horse power. The CNET took about 10 minutes to get comfy. The power is incomparable. Don't be scared, its like any other bike just more power. You need to respect the throttle. From what I see the bike doesn't start to generate serious power til you're over 5000RPMs. I love my CBR.

 

This is my first post listing the bikes I can remember.
Honda C70
Yam FS1E with pedals
Yam RD125 twin
Kawa KX125
MZ125
Yam RD250LC
Yam XS250
Suz GSX750ET
Suz RG400
HondaCBR125
NSR125R still own

CBR900RRV 96 I still own

 

Having owned my Cbr900rrs around 20 years an can honestly say she’s a very easy bike to ride. Throttle response is very smooth and linear. No surprises.
She can pull very cleanly in all gears from any rpm and if you want, it will take you to track speeds nice and quickly.
If I could fault them it would be the brakes. Definitely an area that needs maintaining but otherwise a good all round bike. Never selling mine !
Best of luck mate (I’m only 5’8 lol no issue lol)

 

Brakes
Braded hoses and sintered pads on my 1992 blade she stops on a tanner bit 👍🏍

 

As others have said, easy to ride, very docile below 5k revs, no sudden power band, tons of power above 7k revs but you can choose not to go there, handling is very light and predictable, don’t be intimidated by a blade but also treat it with respect above 6-7k revs 🙂