i purchased my 954 two weeks ago have put close to 700 miles on it so far. i am very happy with the bike. it is an 02 with 17k miles. i would post pics if i could figure out how. the bike is stock except for a shortened scorpion exhaust. it has a constant slight mild tick to it. plus at low rpms when under a load it falls on its face til about 3k rpms. even when just revving it up it you can hear it kinda gurgle at low rpms under hard throttle. i heard that the power commander smooths things out on these but i wasnt sure if this was normal what im experiencing. i plan on doing -1/+2 and power commander soon. i was also wondering if i could do anything to the stock header back to get better flow without hurting performance. thanks advice is appreciated!

 

I am having the same problem. Plus I get engine hesitation at 7,000 rpm when the Vtec engages. Mine started after i replace the servo motor (a part of the EGR- flappers in exhaust and intake). Also my fuel pressure regulator is bad. Check that and see if it has fuel coming out of the breather tube(located on left side of fuel rail). My tick is coming from the throttle body which is odd. Use a long screw driver and hold the metal end to different parts of the engine and the other end to your ear to pin point the tick. Most 954's will have a tick but normally fades when the bike warms up. Let me know if you figure out how to solve the problem I would love to know.

 

1. slight ticking is normal for me. its been like that for 5 + years and ive never broke down due to engine failure.

2. a pc with custom tune will smooth out the lower rpms

3. unless you are using the servo motor set up the way it was designed you will get the low end bog.

4. my servo has been removed and replaced with a servo eliminator kit recommended by Conrice, which cost me 30 bucks. best 30 i spent. my exhaust flaps have been laced open. i compensate for the low end bog by more throttle and less clutch....

5. also from Conrice's recommendation i bought a smog plate remover kit for 30 bucks, these cheap mods clean up the engine nicely and eliminate the need for an expensive servo when yours fails....

6. if you lace open the exhaust, then remove the flappers in your airbox.....

 

Ok ill have to check that out thanks. And the low end bog gets worst with more throttle under a light load it doesn't bog. And the tick does lessen as it warns up I'm assuming its no big deal then. One question how much work was it doing the bypassing and eliminating your talking about?

 

For the servo motor, it was receive module, unplug servo, unbolt from mount, pull out, plug is module, zip tie out of the way.

For smog blocks, disconnect electrical harness, unhook from mount, unhook hoses, remove that and toss to the side, unbolt 4 bolts holding factory plates, bolt aftermarket plates, plug hose cap on airbox that is supplied with kit.

1 hour for both tops, have to lift tank, and remove airbox. Seems like you gain a square mile when you remove those components. Engine looks so nice without them....

 

a little bit of tick is okay, thats just a little bit of play in the valves - the tick should (for the most part) go away as the bike heats up. my bike has a little bit of tick too. and considering the miles your bike has (>16k miles), honda reccomends a valve adjustment - but unless the tick is crazy loud, or you have issues with performance, i wouldnt worry about it.

as far as the mods txmainevent mentioned... well i certainly believe it them. it simplifies the bike, less can go wrong.

and remember - our bikes weren't made for riding below 3k rpms, so they are naturally dogs below that. and as your exhaust starts to have lower backpressure (shortened can), you're going to have more of a loss of low end power

it sounds like you have a solid bike to me though. welcome to cbrf