I went ahead and got a red 954 from an older gentleman who was the only owner and babied the bike. I feel like I stole it for 4400. Its in amazing condition and is about to hit 13k. I've already put about 200 miles on it in the past few days. Its definitely a nice step up from a 600! Now you said make sure it heats up to 220 and back to 214. Mine hasn't even broke 200 yet that I've seen. I'm new at motorcycle mechanics. My forte is with helicopter rotor systems. Why wait for 220? And should I be worried about the lower temp?

 

no... and you won't get to 220 while riding usually either. but if you sit at a long traffic light in a very hot area (like swfl where i'm at), it will get to 220. the fan kicks on at 215, it usually rises another 5 degrees or so, and then it cools back down to around 210 or so.

i just like to watch the bike (while parked) start up - go all the way to where the fan turns on and cools down. you can watch the bike go through it's whole heating cycle then - that's all. no big deal.

normally when i'm under way and not in a lot of traffic, i run between 180-190... that's a good temp.


throw up some pictures!

 

Put a few pictures in the 954 threads under "new 954 owner" or something kilike that haha. I will be in the same situation as you are here soon. Home is Jacksonville. Stationed here in Tennessee/Kentucky in the mean time.