Hey everyone, I am sure you get these threads all the time, but I am contemplating buying either a 929 or 954, but first would like get the advice of some more experienced riders before I decide on anything.

About me: I am a big guy, 6'1", 200lbs, pretty strong. I am by no means an utter newb but by no means a pro. My riding experience is as follows. I used to ride a cbr600f2 which I owned and rode everyday for about 6 months. In those 6 months I put probably about 10k miles on the bike so I was riding A LOT. I couldn't get enough . I felt very comfortable on the f2 both in the corners and redlining the gears through the straights and even by the end of that 6 months I was almost bored with the acceleration. I did have one accident about 4 months in where I was riding too late at night on an unfamiliar road too quickly and a fox ran out into the road and long story short I went off the road and dumped the bike.

I consider myself a good rider. I am a smart guy, took the MSF course, ALWAYS wear gear, understand entry speed and throttle control etc. For what it's worth, many people I have ridden with were surprised when I told then I had only been riding for such a short period of time. I was forced to sell the bike in Dec. of '04 so I have not ridden a bike for I guess almost 2 years now. I have recently been craving to own a bike again, just that freedom of being out on the open road on 2 wheels; I truly miss it. My financial situation right now is such that buying another bike would not be too much of an undertaking so I am starting to really think seriously about it and gather some information, shop around etc.

Why I am considering the 929/954 specifically:
-They look sick for one and from the research that i've done thus far they seem like great bikes. You guys all love them right?? Plus, it's a honda so reliability isnt too much of an issue.
-When on the F2 the comment I received most often was "You look big on it" or "The bike is small" or whatever you get the point, so a physically bigger bike would be nice.
-I saw 3 R1s and like 4 GSXRs today alone. I have yet to see a 929/954 in my area, which is a major plus.

I realize that going from an F2 to an RR is an illogical, maybe even stupid leap but I feel that if I start slow, fully respect the bike, and just take it easy in general and be SMART (i.e. no fox infested mountain roads at 2AM) that I would be ok on a bike of this calibre.

My question to all of you is quite simply, given my riding experience and everything else into consideration, do you think I would be getting in over my head with a 929/954?

Also, any helpful information or links on these bikes would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance to all who take the time to read this and reply.

 

sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. with that said, i think you should go for it. take it slow of course since it's been some time since you've been on a bike and this by far is no f2. i'd take the 954, but you can't go wrong with either one.

 

Hell, I rode a FZR600 back in 1997. Only had it for about a year. That's my only streetbike experiance, but I grew up riding on 2 and 4 wheels since about age 8. So, for 9 years, I haven't touched a motorcycle.

That being said, I came across a used '03 with 4,500 miles on it for only $6k. I was going to buying soon, and planned on buying new... However, I rode home on that 954 and grinned ear to ear all the way!

I've had it about 4 months. I've respected it, and in turn, it has treated me nicely. You sound like you have enough sense. An idiot on a 250 Ninja is just as dangerous as an idiot on a literbike. Catch my drift?

Good luck, be safe, and enjoy the hell out of it!

 

I've never owned a bike before in my life and the 954 is my first! Btw, I'm 6'8 and all my friends say the bike fits me well. I sit on my friends 600 gsxr and I get a laugh out of em. I feel like I'm riding a minibike, and apparently I look like it too.

BTW, mine is an 02 with 6k miles and I bought it for $6k on the dot. Get yourself a good RR, and get out on the road with us!

 

the gixxer 600 is not any smaller than the 954...
so why are your friends laughing?

just a question...

 

954 all the way[sm=bounceybounce.gif]-just factor in cost of steering damper-and consider having the forks resprung for your
weight and revalved as well,also rear shock to match,also look into regearing to suit your needs,as this bike is user friendly
good luck
o8

 

Do you have any more information for this stuff? A link to an RR aftermarket site would be very helpful. I can just search for one if you guys think there is a best one or something. Insider knowledge is always more useful than just searching, so I appreciate your time.

Thanks for everyone's input. I think I am going to go for it. I know bike prices usually fall in the Fall as the market is more saturated but do you think that there would be that much of a difference between the prices now and the prices say in another month? Two months? Three months?

Right now there are 2 954s on Craigslist in my area (seattle): A red/black 02 with 7700 miles asking $6700 and an 03 Titanium black with less miles for $6800.

I am new to the market obviously, so I do not know if this is a good deal or not.

Thanks again

 

imo-if you are going to spend-6k-7k$range-find a 54 with low miles-4000 and lower,i got lucky mine is a
02 with 1800 miles,anyway-my project at this time"operation r1 killer"-demands first mod is suspension
forks and shock-some links i have found for fork work and/or parts-petersson pro suspension
www.ppsracing.com-ohlins internals,and race tech-www.racetech.com(manufactures site-should be able to
direct you to a local service center)-its does not sound like you will be getting to involved with internal
mods to forks/shocks-spring rate change i would recommend-forks will cost approx $100.00 add labor
local honda dealer should be able to install them
hope this helps
o8

 

just remember that racetech's vlues for the spring rate is a bit on the low side so you'll need to order high spring rates for your weight. ohlins is pretty much dead on.