Does anyone "know" this RF900?? [Archive]

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Mully

12th August 2007, 14:17

Hi all,

Went to Henderson Motorcycles yesterday and rode an RF900. The RF looks like it will tick all the boxes I want in a bike.

Anyway, wondered if anyone knew this RF. 51k miles, dark green, Scorpion can, Givi top box, Rip in seat (with black 100mph tape covering it) and damage to right hand side fairings from what looks (to my untrained eye) like a 0km/h drop.

Looking for as much info on this bike as possible, so thought someone here may know of it's history.

Cheers,
Mully.

Boob Johnson

12th August 2007, 23:17

I don't know the bike but have plenty of experience with 0 km crashes with RF900's so with a pic or two can confirm it :innocent:

Ive had mine a week & a half, fricken AWESOME bike, bullet proof motor.

Mully

13th August 2007, 08:44

Bike is here:
http://www.hendersonmotorcycles.bikepoint.co.nz/DesktopDefault.aspx?UsedBikeID=2742343&TabID=5496&Alias=hendersonmotorcyclesNZ

Seems to me that the RFs are underrated bikes.

Bend-it

13th August 2007, 09:11

Clivoris

13th August 2007, 09:37

Bike is here:
http://www.hendersonmotorcycles.bikepoint.co.nz/DesktopDefault.aspx?UsedBikeID=2742343&TabID=5496&Alias=hendersonmotorcyclesNZ

Seems to me that the RFs are underrated bikes.

Very under-rated bikes that were huge value when they came out and even huger value now. $5k (approx):gob: for bend-it's has to be worth a look.

Mully

13th August 2007, 09:53

Yikes!! $7k! I'm selling mine as I'm going overseas, and I want alot less coin than that!! Riffer (Mr Guatian of all RF Knowledge on KB) came around and had a good poke around on Saturday and proclaimed it in good health. Also, I'm due for a ride up to Akl week after next, so could pass it to you then, free delivery even! What da ya reckon? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=111425463

:)

Yeah, I thought $7K was a bit excessive. Wasn't even prepared/able to do a cash discount for me. Wanted to ride one (and get Miss Mully's seal of approval) before pronouncing it my steed of choice. Keeping an eye on Trademe.

When are you heading overseas?? We are waiting on a cheque to turn up (hopefully, in the next week or so but it seems to be taking forever) so I will be buying once that has arrived. *Watches the mailbox*

Bend-it

13th August 2007, 09:57

heading overseas 12 Sep, but I'm in Auckland Aug 25th, so we can do the exchange then if you buy mine.

$2k cash discount (off theshop price) and free delivery! :)

yod

13th August 2007, 09:59

dont pay $7k for an RF mate

i got mine a couple of months ago, 42k miles, a few minor scatches on one side from a stationary drop (someone backed into it apparently), i had to replace the chain and sprockets pretty much straight away so it ended up costing me $4100 - i think i was pretty lucky with that deal though, there are plenty of tidy ones out there for around the $5k mark

good choice of bike btw, im loving mine :rockon:

ManDownUnder

13th August 2007, 10:06

Great bikes but the one you're looking at ain't worth 7k

I bought mine about 5 years ago (a '94 on 29,700 kms) for $6,300 including givi hard luggage. In good nick (it's now up on 85,000kms and goes like a train).

They're dreaming.

Colapop

13th August 2007, 10:13

I bought mine last year (September) for $5k from Motorad. '96 with 36k miles on it. Apart from a little niggle with the forks that's been sorted (Thanks Riffer) she's been a beauty.

riffer

13th August 2007, 10:20

I paid $4750 for mine in 2005 with 43500 miles on the clock. All I've done to it is change oil, pads, sprockets, tyres, fork seals, grease and lube and clean it, change out the carbies for the high-performance ones, debaffle the pipe and put another 23,000 miles on it.

Is mine the highest-mileage RF in New Zealand with 65,500 miles? Mine will still easily pull mumbly-dy mumble kms/hr (11,000 in top for RF owners)... the clutch is starting to make shuddery noises at 1500 rpm takeoffs and the camchain adjuster takes a while to kick in (10 minutes) but apart from that she's all sweet.

Bend-it

13th August 2007, 10:23

Nahh, mine had well over 120k on before I wound the clock ba... oops! :dodge:

No no!! Just joking!! Go on riffer, tell mully what a nice bike mine is! :)

ManDownUnder

13th August 2007, 10:28

Is mine the highest-mileage RF in New Zealand with 65,500 miles? Mine will still easily pull mumbly-dy mumble kms/hr (11,000 in top for RF owners)... the clutch is starting to make shuddery noises at 1500 rpm takeoffs and the camchain adjuster takes a while to kick in (10 minutes) but apart from that she's all sweet.

Higher mileage than mine yes and I get the same shuddering through the clutch when loaded up. Might see if I can source a bulk pack of clutch bits at some point...

Dunno about your bike's gearing but on mine that'd be 260kph or so which I would have hit at Pukekohe except some dumb bastard made the back straight too short for the complete inexperienced novice astride my RF... 250 was easy enough though

:niceone:

riffer

13th August 2007, 10:36

Yeah, its pretty bloody good mate.

Got a fancy height-reducing touring seat and all too, plus the original, so you could buy it and flick off the touring seat to that short-arse Boob Johnson so he he can reach the ground and stop dropping his one :Pokey:

Still has the 532 chain on it - Bend-it reckons he hasn't adjusted in in a year and its still got okay tension - jeepers my 530 needs adjusting every 500kms. Bridgestone BT014s on it. 180 rear which I don't like but each to their own - I prefer the 170 for faster steering. Heated grips, pack rack and a Ventura headlight protector round out the package.

Very tidy bike - apart from the usual scratches on the fairing from 0km/hr drops.

It's a good one. :yes:

$5000 is a good price.

riffer

13th August 2007, 10:38

Dunno about your bike's gearing but on mine that'd be 260kph or so which I would have hit at Pukekohe except some dumb bastard made the back straight too short for the complete inexperienced novice astride my RF... 250 was easy enough though

:niceone:

Standard gearing Nigel, but I reckon next time I'll go one down front 2 up for the rear. According to the RF mailing list its the sweet spot for the RFs - pushes the revs up to about 5000 at 100km but makes up for it with heaaaaaps more torque all round.

I miss not being able to lift the front off the throttle on this bike.

ceebie13

13th August 2007, 10:40

Anymore takers? Going...going...

yod

13th August 2007, 11:47

Still has the 532 chain on it - Bend-it reckons he hasn't adjusted in in a year and its still got okay tension - jeepers my 530 needs adjusting every 500kms. Bridgestone BT014s on it. 180 rear which I don't like but each to their own - I prefer the 170 for faster steering. Heated grips, pack rack and a Ventura headlight protector round out the package.

mine had already had the 530 conversion done and i stuck with that - DID X-ring - should last me well
I'm thinking i'll stick with the 170 on the rear as well, i'd rather have the quicker steering also
where can i get a decent price on a pack rack? it seems almost every RF out there has one except mine!! local shop quoted me about $150 for the rack and $200 for a 40 litre (ish) pack - is that about standard?

Boob Johnson

13th August 2007, 18:05

Got a fancy height-reducing touring seat and all too, plus the original, so you could buy it and flick off the touring seat to that short-arse Boob Johnson so he he can reach the ground and stop dropping his one :Pokey:lol yeah id be into lookin at that seat for sure (price dependant)

$7 is def dreaming.

Mine is a 94 with 75 thou Km's, "HAD" a brand new paint job (till a few days ago :innocent:) both tyres are 90% tread, but needs a new chain soon & needs new brakes disks all round, but I only paid $2950 :Punk:

Had mine at 250Km/h on the Ramarama straight's with plenty more RPM's to go, fricken amazing value for money these bikes. Still turns heads on the street & goes like the clappers, not to mention a bullet proof motor :Punk:

Mully

13th August 2007, 18:28

Thanks Lads,

Bend-it, got Mrs Mully's permission provided the cheque turns up. Will let you know closer to the time. Your bike looks like the go at this stage.

Of course, if you people are ganging up to sell me a lemon, I will hunt you all down and beat you like rented mules.

Boob Johnson

13th August 2007, 20:24

Of course, if you people are ganging up to sell me a lemon, I will hunt you all down and beat you like rented mules.There's no such thing as a bad RF900, just an overpriced one :msn-wink:

*skulks back to RF heaven* :innocent:

MacD

13th August 2007, 21:02

Higher mileage than mine yes and I get the same shuddering through the clutch when loaded up. Might see if I can source a bulk pack of clutch bits at some point...

I started getting some shudder and clutch drag at about 65000 km on my 94 RF. A new set of steels and friction plates fixed that easily.

I only moved on to a Bandit as my neck was complaining about the clip ons, but otherwise they're great bikes.

ManDownUnder

13th August 2007, 21:09

I started getting some shudder and clutch drag at about 65000 km on my 94 RF. A new set of steels and friction plates fixed that easily.

I only moved on to a Bandit as my neck was complaining about the clip ons, but otherwise they're great bikes.

Do you recall what they cost - where you got them?

MacD

13th August 2007, 21:24

Well I bought them from Colemans, and I think the steels were about $20 each and there are 10 or so? I'll look in my records and see what I can find.

You could probably do better from overseas at the moment, try Bikebandit.com (http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/parts). If I'm reading their microfiche right it looks like ~US$6 for a friction plate and ~US$12 for a steel.

The clutch changed somewhere between the 94 R and 95 S2 models so you'll need to work out which one you have. The original 94 clutch needs a large 50mm? socket and a holder to get the pressure plate and diaphragm springs off (I have these if you need to borrow them). The later clutch just has 5 bolts holding coil springs on the pressure plate.

emaN

13th August 2007, 21:34

Is mine the highest-mileage RF in New Zealand with 65,500 miles?.
oooooo, dunno bro, could be a close contest that!:gob:
mine's got 58something showing, but the speedo cable broke not even halfway into our europe trip...and europe not being "little", i reckon i'd be pretty close to ya! :)

I did the chain conversion too and dropped a tooth on front sprocket; made big difference 'round Taupo!
Gonna order a couple of rear sprockets to play around with them too. I've been told the same; one less up front, two up on rear.

Needs some chunkier forks for hard braking; get a bit 'twisty' at times. Wouldn't say no to some grunty Bandit calipers either!

MacD, you didn't!!!! When did this happen?!

Bend-it

14th August 2007, 00:12

90s

14th August 2007, 08:53

Man I would like to buy this bike - its looks great! One of my students has a red RF900 and seeing his bike really made me want one, and was one of the reasons I started looking at them and affordable alternatives and got the GSX600 (which I feel is like a sister to the RFs ... although the slower, taller and less attractive one. Still both bikes take two up easy and go like trains!)

Oh well, love my GSX and will stick with it a few more years. If only I had $5k burning a hole in my pocket ...

90s

14th August 2007, 09:25

Oh, Lou is selling a givi mount for RF900 see here:
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=55292

klyong82

14th August 2007, 10:47

Great bikes. They will last forever.

Mully

14th August 2007, 14:55

Sounds good mate... just drop me a pm when the time comes! :)

Mate, what year & model is yours? Can't get into Tard me at work.

riffer

14th August 2007, 19:33

Its a 1997 RF900RZ.

Bend-it

15th August 2007, 12:48

The fast year and model! ;) heh heh heh...

1996 RF900RV (not 97 riff)

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Sports/auction-111425463.htm

Try this...

Chocky

23rd September 2007, 20:16

It looks like I might have the highest mileage here 71k MLS! I got it off Frosty about 6months ago BT021s 98fuel and EBS pads motule(?) 5100 oil and a flush of the brake and clutch lines.....OMFG this bike goes!!!! Wish I had gone for the BT014 or 012 as I am power sliding all over scenic Drv. these are THEE most under rated bike ever!!!

motelbob

23rd September 2007, 21:20

selling mine for $4500 with 26000 mls on the clock.

riffer

24th September 2007, 06:19

Jebus Bob, you ain't doing anything for resale values mate.

$4500 with that few miles is giving it away!

Macstar

24th September 2007, 19:13

I've had my 1997 RF900R for 14 months now. Picked it up for $4200 back then with 29000 miles on the clock (knowing that the chain and tyres were shagged). I've kept a log since of every dollar spent on the bike and am averaging about 26 cents a km, (to be percise)!! That includes all maintenance, gas, insurance, rego wof etc.

Riding hard gets me around 16km to the litre and open road legal speeds I get close to 20km.

I don't like to disclose illegal behaviour on a public site, but 'someone I know' with an RF clocked in 130-140 mph at just under 8000 rpm a few days ago, and it could have kept going...

Despite the weight, my Rf will also lift the front wheel (just) when planted in 1st and 2nd gear (it's more of a hovering than a wheelie).

In a open road drag race to 100ish kph, the Rf has held its ground against the likes of a 900cc Buell and a 700cc Ninja and that's riding 2 up. Recently got dusted by an '05 Gixer 750 though...

I had to re-do my rear shock at 40000 miles and had a wiring fault that caused the bike to start on its own and fall on its side (turned out a previous owner had tampered with the wiring).

Modifcations include:

Braided lines on the front (a most awesome improvement)
Raised bars from F1 engineering (a much more comfortable seating position)
Corbin seat (can now stay on the bike for 8 hours!! raised bars also help).
Yoshi exhaust - did nothing for performance but sounds good.
Changed paint scheme to silver / purple.

I've ridden the RF with a range of other bikers over the last year and have been quite satisfied overall with performance (12000 miles later). I find that if the bike is pushed hard it can keep up with many sports bikes, though does struggle on really tight stuff. It rides exceptionally well two-up, in someways better than singally...?

Given the Rf's proven touring and sporting capabilities it's damn near impossible to find a bike that delivers such few tradeoffs at $5-6k.

When I finally graduate and get a job, I'd like to hold on to the RF for touring and taking my girlfriend around and get a second, sportier bike.

One last note, I use my RF for daily city commuting too and have become pretty used to weaving the old lug through tight traffic. I'm about 95kg so don't mind the weight of the bike - but I remember it did catch me out when I first got it (dropped it at 0km like many others) when parking once.

Anyway my two-cents. Go the RF!!! Buy one and surprise the F&*Ck out of all the mid-range sport bikers

Macstar

24th September 2007, 19:19

P.S. to the horror of some of my sport bike friends, I run mine on 91 petrol. The guy before me said 98. What do you other RF owners run your on?

vagrant

25th September 2007, 18:38

The bike that started this is still for sale, but now $6k.

Colapop

25th September 2007, 18:51

P.S. to the horror of some of my sport bike friends, I run mine on 91 petrol. The guy before me said 98. What do you other RF owners run your on?
Yeah what do ya run ya RF on? Something I've been wondering? I know that mine loved a little tickle of avgas from Sunday's racing... the tootle home got a little exciting until I regained my composure and forced my wrist back to a more sedate angle... (it didn't take much to get really going though!)

riffer

25th September 2007, 19:47

According to the Suzuki Owners Manual (which I have) it will run on anything better than 86 RON.

Mine runs okay on 91, feels a little "thin and raw" though. It's much smoother on 96 or 98 - kinda more "butterier".

Having said that, it quite likes Pak N'Save 91, but hates Caltex and Shell 91. Go figure.

portokiwi

21st February 2009, 11:04

:2thumbsup I am realy starting to enjoy my RF now.... Took a bit to get use to after the ZX9R but its so nice to be able to reach the ground and not bend over the tank so much anymore...... Plus its much much lighter.:2thumbsup.
Just brought a tob box for the spare helmet as I have to pick up the son from school. Kids love it.

SUUUUUUUUUUZUUUUUUUKIIIIIIIII:lol:

Boob Johnson

21st February 2009, 15:21