Suzuki RF900 feedback wanted

**Redstar** · 28th July 2003, 21:59

On July the 10th 2004 at 12.15pm I will trade my zxr400 for another bike. and I,m considering a Suzi 900RF.
So far i've heard that.

the needle slides wear so they run rich and lumpy
the gearing is tall and they vibrate at 100klms/hr
they get notchey from 1st to second
the alternator seal bearing packs

all very fixable

and other probs?

**What?** · 29th July 2003, 15:41

Struth! that's a lot of things going wrong... I'd been led to believe thr RF was "Mr Reliable.

Ask mikenash@xtra.co.nz I think ha has probably stacked up more miles on an RF than anyone else in NZ.

**SPman** · 29th July 2003, 18:19

Originally posted by Redstar
On July the 10th 2004 at 12.15pm I will trade my zxr400 for another bike. and I,m considering a Suzi 900RF.

Nice to see someone who knows exactly what they want to do

**mangell6** · 30th July 2003, 23:42

RF900RR - Great bike - Sold ours at 69,97?kms. Dealer didn't wan't us to ride it home so it would stay below the 70,000kms mark.

Wife road it around the South Island March 2002 with pack on packrack and tankpack, She's 5'6 and we only sold it cos she wanted her bike seeing as I had mine, FZ1.

The vibration and the other stuff are minor. The alternator/starter rubber bearing lasts about 40-50,000 kms depending. The bike handles well and is very forgiving if you get the line wrong or bounce through corners (sudden dips).

The bike was great for touring and on the track. The damn thing cost me 55 demerits and $600 last year, open road no traffic on my side of the road.

Mike

**SPman** · 2nd August 2003, 10:55

A great sport/tourer, Baz from Leading Edge put up over a 100K on his with stuff all trouble and a mate in N.P traded down? from a ZZR11 and really enjoyed it - lots of 2-up 800k weekends. Cheaper to run than a ZZR he reckoned and he could still cover the miles, comfortably, at similar speeds. Still a great value for money, real road bike .

**MacD** · 20th October 2003, 18:46

Originally posted by mangell6
The vibration and the other stuff are minor. The alternator/starter rubber bearing lasts about 40-50,000 kms depending.

Took one of these for a test ride on the weekend and was fairly impressed. Is there any way of telling whether the alternator/starter rubber bearing is worn, or is it just something that is going to wear at that mileage?

**mangell6** · 20th October 2003, 19:18

MacD wrote

Is there any way of telling whether the alternator/starter rubber bearing is worn, or is it just something that is going to wear at that mileage?

MacD,

The term 'bearing, is misleading, it is actually called a generator damper according to the service manual, the rubber is to prevent the sudden 'shock' of starting being passed through to the generator.

The easiest way to tell if the bearing is stuffed is that you have a flat battery, the headlight is dim, or it is hard to start, like a car with a flat battery.

On the weekend I saw my, oops, our, old RF900 at the RustyNuts Grand Challenge, got chatting to the new owner and he is really enjoying it.

Mike

**MacD** · 20th October 2003, 20:16

Thanks, Mangell6, for explaining that. I guess if the rubber goes, no drive is transmitted to the generator?

Most of the reviews I've read have been fairly positive about the RF900.

**Redstar** · 11th July 2004, 21:03

Originally Posted by Redstar

On July the 10th 2004 at 12.15pm I will trade my zxr400 for another bike. and I,m considering a Suzi 900RF.
So far i've heard that.

the needle slides wear so they run rich and lumpy
the gearing is tall and they vibrate at 100klms/hr
they get notchey from 1st to second
the alternator seal bearing packs

all very fixable

and other probs?

Bought one at 12.15 from Holeshots 1997 RF900

**Kwaka-Kid** · 11th July 2004, 21:56

now how did you know the exact time matey?! did you have a lump of money coming at midday that day that u knew about a year ago? crazy... and what a mistake :P what about the ZXR400! wicked little bikes. Ah well, RF900's are nice bikes so well let u off!

**moko** · 12th July 2004, 01:35

Good solid bikes.One of our top bike journos has one as his personal wheels,and that`s a bloke that`s ridden everything.They didnt sell well here when they were current,GPZ900 was the one everyone wanted.Now they`re becoming sought after,same as the CBR1000 of the same era,and prices are edging up.All the ones I`ve seen have been in excellent condition which points to decent build quality,and the motor is supposed to be a gem.RF600 was the same,in the shadow of everything else but everyone I know that`s owned one raves over them.

**F5 Dave** · 12th July 2004, 10:35

I replaced my touring bike & the RF was the obvious choice. Ugly as sin with a fat arse but so cheap for what you get it’s hard to pass up. They have several dumb-arse faults if you want to use one for a sport-tourer but they are all easy to fix.

1. Handlebars are too angled. Wrists get sore. It’s not the height it’s the angle is unnatural. F1 engineering make some handlebar replacements. They seem expensive at over $200 but they are well made & are worth every cent. This guy does make some nice stuff it seems.

2. Pillion pegs are too high unless you have a 4’ Japanese girlfriend. I made some plates out of 10mm ally & lowered then say 50mm & 30 further forward. You have to then cut the exhaust pipe take out a section & reweld it, but it is down by the original weld & out of sight. The pipe doesn’t drag & it means the muffler is less likely to burn a hole in your panniers.

3. Which brings me to the next point. The rear indicators are so far forward you can’t mount panniers without taking up the space over the pillion pegs, even with them moved. I made some tags to move them back (welded to the packrack bars if you have them).

4. The thermostat is a ballsup & is too cold which doesn’t help carburetion. Replace with Automotive Tridon p/n TT2003-195, which is around 90 deg. Drill one small hole at the top like the original (but not the other 4 on the inner).

5. The rear spring is Waaay soft. Well it was on mine, we got them from several markets mine was an E6 (on sticker on headset) & the rear would slump with the girl on the back even on full preload so the kickstand would be hard to put up & neither of us are big. I measured the spring to be ~65kg/cm which is pathetic. Replaced it with one of a GSX600 + a couple of adaptors so the width & length were the same & would fit the RF shock. Not sure if the GSX spring was std as it was a little bit stiffer than the early GSXR750 I tested. Only just done this but the bike turns a lot better so hopefully will steer less like a chopper with a pillion. Had to adjust the headlight it made that mush difference solo.

Vibration at 100? Nah, can’t feel it. My friend’s fairings rattle, but I RTVed the ones by the screen & no problem

**Kwaka-Kid** · 12th July 2004, 15:53

i gotta RF900 shock on a GSX750 swinger on the GS1000, bloody firm i thought! need to soften and lower the GS atm... awesome shock for a 1978 bike designed only with twin shock... i say dont complain :P

**White trash** · 12th July 2004, 16:33

Yeah I bought one of them.

It's not quite like any other, however.

**Redstar** · 12th July 2004, 19:02

Originally Posted by Kwaka-Kid

now how did you know the exact time matey?! did you have a lump of money coming at midday that day that u knew about a year ago? crazy... and what a mistake :P what about the ZXR400! wicked little bikes. Ah well, RF900's are nice bikes so well let u off!

:sneaky2: Perceptive little bugger arent you.
I was always planning this 10th is pay day and 20years bonus from work.
but yeah it was 12.15 and yeah it was a 900RF despite they gave me a SV1000 for the weekend ..Bastards talk about temptation with scorpion cans it sounded awesum

but out of my range. had a bit of fun.
This weekend gone was a gooden bumped into Petethepom he had his T on
nice chap too! I am a pig in shit!