Ok, so here's the deal... I've been looking around for a bike for some time now and I finally found one. I went and bought it last night. Problem is, I don't know very much about bikes still. I currently have my permit and am going to take the safety course as soon as I can get into it and then get my license. So the bike... The guy said it was a 2003 honda cbr 954, which it is. Like I said I don't know enough about bikes to know what is wrong with it exactly... I know there is quite a bit though. All the cosmetic pieces are off and in shambles (the bike was in a wreck from before and has a salvage title) This guy I bought if from was going to fix it up and ride it, but has had a few accidents himself and lots of health problems. long story short I have the bike now and want to fix it up and get it looking stellar. Again big problem, I don't know what I need to fix. I don't know the names of the majority of the parts, how they work, what things to look for and what to do once I find an issue.

I know there is a small oil leak on the left side of the engine... don't know exactly what the piece is, but it's circular with a black case over it. When the fairings are on it shows on the left side. Anyway it looks like it has some kind of sealant around it (possibly JB Weld, I don't know for sure) The guy seemed to be doing a pretty ****ty job of fixing it up (probably looking for some sucker like me to pass off his problems to.) I'm well aware I got a pretty crappy deal here and I'm pissed at myself for buying it, but whatever, i've got it and I want to fix it up, I REALLY want to be able to do the repairs myself, but I don't know where to start. I'm downloading the manual right now and hoping I can get my bearings from there.

Any Ideas what I should do? Does any one live in Los Angeles area and might be willing to help me out? I'll buy all the parts and could possibly pay you for your time, but my main thing is I want someone to HELP me figure out what to do. If this isn't a possibility, then any advice would be much appreciated. Like I said I know I got screwed on this deal, but whatever, live and learn. I just don't want my first bike to depress me enough to never consider getting one again...

I can take some pictures and post them up in the next few days so you can really see what I'm talking about. Thanks for any help...

 

First you sound like you are over your head here, with repairs and the size of bike but thats not your question, so with that out of the way hopefully no one else will mention that, to your question, the oil leak on the side, first clean the bike if it runs clean it and put a 100 miles on it, this should help you find your leak (check right by the rubber hose coming out of your clutch cover, right side with the oil window) left side sounds like the stator cover was damaged and JB welded, not good, when you take this off oil will come out so drain your oil first, clean up everything and get a gasket and maybe a new stator cover, go through the bike section by section and refer to your manual and you should be fine, these bikes are tough and you will love it once your done. good luck

 

i gotta know....what did you pay for it?

 

Thanks for the info Hitman. I am a little over my head, but I have a tendency to jump without looking. Keeps things interesting however crappy the landing may be sometimes. I have been paging through the manual and you are right, it is the Stator cover thats leaking and thats where the jb weld is. I think the seal is jacked up and I'll replace that and the cover. I have oil pan all set, but I have to run buy some oil before I start. Whats the best oil for this beast from your guys' experience? Anybody know a good place to get some parts for the future? I have a lot of work to do on this thing and i'll need a good reliable source for parts. I've check around LA a bit and there are a few parts houses, but I don't know which would be the best choice - how many of the parts I need will they have? how much does their price vary from other places? will they try and give me a crappy deal?

not saying how much I got it for, but I will say I got it for well under the KBB value. Probably paid a little to much, but that has yet to be determined... Any other help on this would be awesome. Thanks.

 

well I would recomend honda oil 10/30 or 10/40, as far as the parts go, pick a place and deal with only them, you really should establish a relationship with a shop, this will come in handy in the future, i'e dealt with one shop and if i need some tires mounted they'll drop what they are doing for me and get me on my way, some of my friends dont have that kind of luck because they jump around a lot.

 

Some solid advice so far. I know this is all going to cost some coin, but since you have what sounds like a lot of work yet to do, you may consider going to a local shop and buying some bike stands, it will make your work a lot easier. The next advice i can give you is set up a photobucket acct. and take lots and lots of pics, the bike, the parts that are off the bike, etc. I guarantee you post enough pics we can all help you thru a lot of this stuff, most of us here have done a lot of work on our bikes, and if one of us cant help another probably can. BTW welcome to the site, and grats on the purchase, be patient and it will be worth it.

 

u should sell me the bike and go get a new one nah im just playin but that sound more likea winter project its too nice to be sitting in the garage your best bet is buy a manual and read it hopefully u r a mech of some sort u r in for a project i got mine in shambles also but it took me till last week to finish the minor cosmetic it needed but everytime i took something apart it cost me a hundred bucks almost 2 grand to get it done and now im off to the races again goin with the full ack exhaust but goin to make it a high mount with the custom map hondaparts direct is the best prices for oem i have found so far and then there is ebay and dont worry u will catch the bug or u wont i got it and so do most of the guys on here she will never really be done

 

Like skarocka i bought my bike in shambles too and built it from the ground up with nothing but the manual and Cbrforum.com. Took me about 6 weeks to get from parts in boxes to a running bike and then about another week to get from running to rideable, and then a few more weeks to get to fully street legal(I only work on the bike friday,saturday, and sunday of each week). Put in the time and effort and it will be worth it in the end! Ill do as much as i can to help you out.

for parts i mostly use ebay and one salvage shop around here, and like Hitman pointed out, its good to use the same shop over and over and build a good relationship with them, the guys at this place know me by name and call me when they get exceptional 954 parts in just to see if i need anything, and always cut me a deal on whatever i need.

Good luck, and just try to enjoy the process, its frustrating but you can make it fun.

 

Well thanks everyone for the support and excellent advice. I started out the day after a night of depressed drinking because I thought I bought a crappy deal and now I've got a formulated plan, a few good spots for parts and a fantastic forum for advice/help. i've downloaded the manual, but it's the 2002 edition and I need the 2003 since they changed a lot in those years. I'm no mechanic by a loooong shot, but I use dot help me dad work on cars before and i'm really good at figuring things out. part A goes into part B and lube it up with C sort of thing. I'll figure it out as I go I suppose.

I'll check out the websites mentioned and see what I can find. I'm planning on taking my bike up to my girlfriends parents house this weekend and working on it in their garage. I'll be sure to get loads of pictures online for reference. i have a little extra cash to spend and enough time on the weekends to do it. probly take me a little longer than most of you since i don't have much experience, but i look forward to the day when I can post pictures of my finish Frankenstein on here. I plan on getting all honda parts and making it look really sexy, but we'll see.

a few more questions while i'm at it I suppose... how do I figure out which parts are original, which ones after market and which ones replacement? I know i'll never know on some of them, but is there anything i can look for to help me figure it out? how do I know if some of the parts aren't from different models and shouldn't even be on a 954? Is there a big difference from a 954 and a fireblade? does anyone know where I can download the 2003 954 manual? or where I can go buy one?

 

2002 and 2003 are identical accept paint colors on the farings. So the manual you downloaded here is good to go. The "fireblade" is our bike, what what they called it in europe, so again same bike.