I just bought a 02 CBR 954rr with 26,000 miles. It's my first bike so I'm new to it all. When I bought it the guy had already told me what it was doing, its making a clanking noise but not engine sound. It doesn't always go in gear and when it does it sometimes kills the engine, other times it will go in gear and the clanking will stop untill you start riding. My guess is obviously something from the trans, he says the nut backed off of the clutch basket. Is this normal and is it hard to fix? I'm very mechanicly inclined and have alot of tools just no bike experience. Please help I'm ready to ride. Thanks

 

The clanking noise could be the Cam Chain Tensioner. Also check your chain and sprockets. The previous owner saying the nut backed off the clutch basket sounds like someone didnt know what they were doing. There is a lock nut on the center nut to prevent this problem. Download the service manual from this site and start troubleshooting. I would completely disassemble the clutch just to make sure it was put together correctly. This will eliminate the clutch as being a problem and allow you to see if the trans is ok. When these bikes are abused the trans will have problems. Second gear is usually the first to go from clutch up wheelies. You had better hope the trans is ok because they are expensive to fix. Most people just find used motors instead of repairing the trans. To repair the trans the lower part of the motor must be split.

A 954 is not the best choice for your first bike either. I hope you have previous experience on some type of motorcycle and respect it. When this bike gets running good its power is more than enough to get you in trouble real fast.

 

I do have previous experience riding just nothing this powerful, I did research on this bike and I've herd this alot, thank you for your advise. But on the tensioner why would it kill the engine sometimes when I put it in gear, and sometimes when it's in gear it still rattles. I have downloaded the manual and I'm deff. going tear the clutch down. Thanks for your responce.