Hey I have a few questions and I was hoping someone here might be able to help me out. I am in the market for either a 929 or 954, so obviously the engine and looks are different, but how about riding differences? Is the 929 a friendlier bike or anything? Also if someone could link me to a site with a technical comparison that would be cool too,

Thank you

 

I don't really know the exact differences. but I'm 6' tall and 230lbs and the 929 is really comfortable. and more than enough power I love it. You will probably get the same responses from the 954 owners

 

I recently purchased a 929 and love it, plenty of power and its comforable. I've riden my friends 954 and in my opinion all it wanted to do was wheelie no matter what you were doing. So in my opinion yes the 929 is more friendly of the two beasts.

 

954 has a bigger swing arm,basically same engine but bored out,front brakes are bigger-there is more but
i forget what exactly-as alot of the parts are the same-triax is correct,imo,as my 54 front wheel gets very light
-i keep going on about this-if you get a 929 or a 954-the first mod should be in the suspension-springs
to match your weight and riding needs-both forks and shock-as all 29/54 owners i have talked to agree
this will turn it into a different bike-for the better!!!!also for the 54 posible gearing changes,unless you like
to wheelie-both bikes are outstanding!!!-you cant go wrong either way as they are built by honda,both
do very well
hope you find a good one
o8

 

Ok thanks everybody. This will be my first liter bike, and I do not really want to be doing wheelies, at least not for a long while. Is it possible to even give the 954 full throttle and have the front stay down? Outsider8-am I understanding you correctly that by gearing the bike somehow it would help to keep the front down? I am relatively new to motorcycles, and I do not know much about them yet mechanically speaking so any info would be great.

 

I bought a 929 recently and i am about 250 lbs and im not sure i can give it full throttle without it getting light it seems you ahve to roll on lightly and past 1/2 throttle in the lower gears the front wants to get light so i havent taken it near red line. It has enough in the midrange i havent needed to wring it out like a smaller bike. Maybe some riding tips to help keep the front down....laying on the tank?

 

I have an 01 929 - beautiful, fast, capable bike. You'll do well with either model. I remember the reviews raving about the handling and brakes of the 929 - that's why I bought it (and its a honda). I think the 954 is slightly lighter and has an improved swingarm. Handling is awesome with either really. As to giving it full throttle and keeping the wheel down, it depends on the gear and speed etc. You could gear it down but it really would be better to just learn good throttle control. My bike will power up in first and second easily and a little bump will bring it up in third (at sea level). Don't be afraid of the throttle, but you should be careful of nailing it. Good luck, youre gonna love it

 

I guess cause mine's geared down (16 and 42) it doesn't tend to wheelie very much. I nail it hard off the line and it just goes like a slingshot with the front end planted. I don't know if it matters, but I'm 6 feet and 165 pounds, and I sit all the way forward against the tank.....I've never noticed if other riders sit that far forward...(?).

 

telepathboy i love that response,as when it is brought up about changing gearing to
slow acceleration with gearing via engine torque-the normal response is exactly
what you said-throttle control-learn to do it-dont change gearing,with me doing
it to my 54 it is more of a top speed thing[sm=smiley20.gif],i have not responded
till now as i can not think of a easy way to explain gearing-unless it is multiple
pages-somebody!! any ideas about this???on explaining it with out too
much detail
oh!!-d69'-short shift(quicker shifting)-this will keep the front end down under acceleration
and if you time correctly-it will not in any way hurt the performance of the bike but
will keep acceleration in control
o8

 

Hm, I've never had my 929 pull up on me, i'm 5"11 @ 230.. that could explain it i suppose, i did a 40 roll in second took her to redline in 2nd-5th.. didn't even come close to pulling up.. although with 17k on the clock she might be getting a little tired.