I researched it, most were European models, the US never did a recall or even bulletins on it. Italy was apparently the worst. One site mentioned less then 100 had the issue in the US but I don't know how accurate that is.

 

I did some research on it.... See honda will only do recalls if there are enough problems within the time of the warranty. Otherwise none of this ever sees the companies eyes. THere has to be a high enough percentage during the warranty period for them to make it a concern. An seeing that it isnt somthing that will cause u to crash and harm you.. they pretty much said screw you. It doest seem like a big problem with the bikes. IT did happen to me, and yes i did ride the bike the way it was built to be rode. But i dont believe that i ever rode it to the point to make this happen. From what i understood its from flaws in the injection molding. Ive talked to other people on here and this is also what they have found

 

Never saw anything about this when searching the web for 954 problems. Was this limited to a batch of 2003's or 2002 and 2003?

Seems like they would all do it if it were a defect with the mold. More likely some poor quality aluminum got by quality control.

 

After a little more searching it may be limited to a few 2003 blocks. Maybe I'll be the first confirmed 2002 block that cracks.

Kinda glad I got this 2002, instead of the 2003 that I almost bought.

 

I was reading about this on that "other" forum and it has happened to an 02 as well. I just picked up an 03 with 1500 miles on it and now I'm wondering should I sell it before it springs a leak.

 

That case was never confirmed. I can't see all 2003's having this problem or there would be a lot more people raising hell on the net.

 

i have 2 '03 954's. the first one has 19k on it, i've ridden it pretty hard, and i still haven't had a single problem with it. the second one has 22k on it, it was drag raced before i got it, and it didn't have a single problem, still doesn't (as far as the block goes). i wouldn't call this an imminent problem for '03 954's.

i think everyone is makin' too big of a deal about this. if honda did have a problem with it in their american units, don't you think they'd fix it here before anywhere else (considering how sue happy america is)?

 

Since I am new a new owner of a 954 let me ask this. Do these bike run hot? I just picked mine up back in November and with the limited riding I was able to get in on the nice weather we did have, I did notice that temps would rise in traffic. What is normal? Could over heating issues lead to these issues?

 

Overheating can definitely cause a cylinder head or block to crack, but again, it would be more prevalent.

I still think that Honda got a good deal on some less than high quality aluminum core.

There's a post on another forum about a guy, in Colorado, getting Honda to pay for a new engine.