Hello all, I'm new to 929's and forums, I've been riding motorcycles for 33 years and for the past 30 have ridden and worked on Harley's, I also used to have my own bike shop, I have been a professional mechanic on automobiles and trucks since 1981 and have a state inspection license from my home state.
I'm purchasing an '01 CBR929RR Erion Racing model that belonged to my best friend who was murdered 10 years ago by his girlfriend, she shot him in the back of his head, I just sold a Buell XB9R to make room in my shop for this one, his family has had the bike for the past 10 years and have kept it maintained in a heated basement and took it out a couple of times every summer just to keep it road worthy, I'm looking for any advice from knowledgeable owners about the finer points of owning and maintaining one, I'm not so interested in performance upgrades, it already has a K&N airfilter and a performance muffler, so much as I'm interested in advice for the longevity of the machine, such as, is a Power Commander or equivalent helpful for a richer air/fuel mix so the top-end lasts longer (the newer Harley's benefit from them a good deal, they've got them so lean I've had to hammer valve guides out of them that were baked in harder than any 50 to 60 year old original bike I've ever seen, I've had the heads so hot trying to get them out that the valve seats fall out sometimes), after 30 years of working on Harley's my advice on maintenance to someone who's just getting into them can save them a lot of headaches in the long run and what I would like is any similar advice for these machines.
My best friend that owned this bike had many different Japanese motorcycles from all 4 of the companies over the years (I'm 53 and we met in the 1st grade) and he always said the Honda's were always just a notch or so above the other 3 when it came to the fit and finish on them.
Anyways I'm very happy to be getting my hands on this motorcycle and plan on keeping it for the rest of my days, I had always planned on my one Japanese motorcycle being a mid 80's Honda Interceptor, I was a senior in high school in 83 when they came out and fell in love at first site, and I was finally going to go out and find one when this came up about his family getting rid of his bike and I would much rather have it, so any advice on the finer points of one will be much appreciated, thank you.

 

Keep the fluids fresh, chain lubed and good tires on it. Then ride the hell out of it.

You may want to look into a steering dampener and setting up the front end for your weight. The stock springs are way to light for most people and the seals are probably overdue. If you keep the valves adjusted, you should have no top end problems.

When you replace the chain, replace the rubber slider too.
When the charging system fails, replace the stator and regulator together.

 

Thanks, one thing I should have pointed out, I'm not going to be running this bike hard, or on a track, or anything like that, it will probably only get taken out a couple of times a summer like on his birthday, it's one day before mine and he was shot 3 days before them, I'm not looking for performance upgrades so much as advice like the replacement of the chain guide like you mentioned, checking chains and keeping the fluids up is standard maintenance and I've got all that covered from 37 years of being a mechanic, it's maintenance advice for a CBR929RR in particular, ie chain guide replacement everytime a new chain is put on is the kind of advice I'm looking for, this bike is not going to be run hard or used for racing street or track, I've got other bikes for that, it's going to be treated like a vehicle you would see on Jay Lenos Garage or something similar, strictly a collectors piece now, this bike means more to me than I can describe and I cringe at the very thought of it getting even a little scratch on it so needless to say as long as it's in my possession it will never be anywhere near it's redline or get run anywhere near it's potential, I know that's not what they're made for, god knows I have run most everything I own to where it's amazing that they don't all have a connecting rod sticking out of their cases but this one is a different story, is there anything about these engines running so lean that it shortens engine life like on all the new Harley's? I'm wondering if I should get a Power Commander for that reason, any input along those lines will be greatly appreciated, thanks so much for any advice, as I'm sure you can understand this bike means more to me than any other one I've had for the past 33 years.
Thank you 👍👍👍

 

There is not a lean problem. They tend to run a bit rich if anything. A power commander is only necessary if you want more performance out of it.

I would ride it more than a couple of times. I don't need to tell you what happens to machines that sit and don't get used much. You don't need to redline the motor, but don't dog it either. They are designed to be running at high rpms and getting air flow through the radiator. The battery won't even charge until almost 5k.....

 

Great Bike.. enjoy.