i've had the 03 954RR for almost 3 weeks now and 1800miles and counting but there is one this that i noticed with this bike compared to other bikes i've had (98 cbr900RR, 05 R1, FZR750 and some other ****y bikes). it seems like while in a turn it doesnt take much to upset the bike, meaning it will want to wobble or shake in a turn....with a flate smooth turn its no problem when steady on the gas but if i come into a corner hard where i have to completely let off the gas and then coming out of the turn i start to apply the power back on the second that i start giving it throttle the bike gets upset and not that i can handle it but it doesnt seem like my other bikes did this....i think the power comes on to soon......and the other thing i noticed today is when i'm on roads kinda rough the bike hates it....it doesnt like to soak up the bumps and kinda wobbles threw the turn....i'm not sure if the suspension is too soft and is compression too much or if its too stiff....what do u guys do with stock suspension?...is it worth looking into aftermarket...i'm not a crazy rider...i usually put on around 9-12k miles a year and like ride kinda hard on a nice back country roads and sometimes ride 2 up but i dont ride hard at all at this point

 

I have noticed the same thing and this bike is known for not acting this way. Currently my suspension is bone stock including the settings. I will put on new tires this week which I am sure is a huge portion of the problem. After that I will start dialing the settings. It should be an easy issue to resolve. But if anyone has a link or a good starting point for the settings I would love to have a head start. I found a page like this for my ZRX which gave great starting point, without someones help I might have never come up with the wild *** setting that actually worked.

I am 5'11 180lbs and ride similar to you. On the bike daily, 12k+ a year, love nothing better then a day at 80-90 with no brakes in the twisties of the Ozarks.

 

I have a 2003 954 RR and if anything, I think, if anything it tends to dive into the corners and I have to muscle it out. I bought a Scott's Steering Damper and that has helped a lot on the long rides and high speed turns.

 

im not sure of exactly what your saying but it sounds kind of like what my 1000rr was doing. i just let a few psi out of my rear tire and it feels much better. if you ahvent checked that i would..or i could be interpretting what your saying wrong but to me your tire pressure may be too high

 

i should check the pressure since i havent lately but i think its something else since it always seems to have traction but i'll look into it....maybe it could be the problem....i got my new tires in now i just need to install them!.

 

I have mynew tires mounted and Yes, tires will make a huge difference. I did slow my rebound dampening one turn front and rear and that also helped. It seems to rebound too quickly but like I suspected the tires seem to be the major issue. I have my new Conti. road attacks at 40 psi rear, and 38 front. They seem very planted, and finally so does my 954.

 

have you guys tried taking it to get the suspension adjusted as to your body weight?

 

+1. That will make a WORLD of difference in the handling.

 

what do u think honda setup the bike for??...it seems like most riders are in the 180 range....u think there is way to find out??

 

although i am no expert, i think honda set the suspension on this bike (as well as most sportbikes, from any company) for like a 140 lb-ish person. (ie: the average japanese person, no offense)