Will be buying an RF900. Advice from owners sought.

[Hans]

Hullo,

So I'm saving up for an RF900. Hope to have the cash together by April. Any advice from owners past or present? What to look out for, bad years, good years, typical problems etc. Also if you're thinking of selling yours around that time, put this somewhere in the back of your head and let me know, when you're ready. Cheers.

[ynot slow]

Nice bikes,bullet proof apparently the bottom end,all the ones I've seen have been good.
Was definately on my list when I was looking back in 05-06,but at the time were overpriced imho from dealers anyway,so hold value well from that point.
A few guys have posted their personal opinions on them here.
A mate had one and swore by it as good alrounder till he sold it,had it as new from 96 off hand,still regrets trading it at times he said.

Saw a nice one in Wanaka last March,had 55000miles and owner only had regular servicing done,but had had electrical problems for previous owner,which were fixed and fine.

[Mully]

Apparantly there are issues with leaving them out in the rain (water in the electrics somewhere) but mine doesn't do that.

Sometimes the guts of the mirrors rust out so they rattle, but that's a minor and easily fixed

Don't run Pirelli Diabos on it - I think Pilot Roads are the recommended rubber.

Fit and finish isn't great but is acceptable

Standard suspension is cheap - if you can get one with the suspenders already upgraded, that's probably the go.

Comfy and a great pillion bike.

Minor mods will get silly, scary horsepower out of them.

As I recall, there is sometimes a minor issue with slide jets on the carbs wearing.

I average about 6l/100km commuting (often with pillion)

Keep it maintained and they will go forever.

Seriously good bikes. Underrated by those who haven't had one. Plenty on here about them.

[Pussy]

Hullo,

So I'm saving up for an RF900. Hope to have the cash together by April. Any advice from owners past or present? What to look out for, bad years, good years, typical problems etc. Also if you're thinking of selling yours around that time, put this somewhere in the back of your head and let me know, when you're ready. Cheers.

cs363 on KB has a VERY good RF900 for sale now, Hans. Talk to him!

[Hans]

cs363 on KB has a VERY good RF900 for sale now, Hans. Talk to him!

Cheers. I'm aware of it, but I'm far from sure he'd want to wait till April or so until I have the cash together. I'm barely halfway there at the moment and as we all know anyone's situation can change for the worse very quickly in these times.

[slack rider]

Absolutely agree, they are great bikes. I have the 95 RF900 R. It has been great for the last 3+ years.
Has some of the common problems:
- The mirrors insides have rusted & rattle but hasnt bothered me enough to do anything about yet. Only consequence seems to be a bit of rusted water washes out when you ride in the rain.
- The seat on mine had ripped but I just bought a new one for it so thats good as new.
- The kill-switch on the right has never worked but passed all the wof's so never bothered me greatly. I recently had a bit of time infront of trademe so just bought a new twist grip with all the associated electronics to fix that one up.
Other than that these bikes can sound great with aftermarket pipes like mine has. They are big bikes & can do some damage to the fairings if they try to support their own weight... :P I searched for a while to find one that has spent its life upright as bikes should be & managed to keep it that way so far.
If you are serious about buying in April I might be keen to part with mine? I will be heading to America next year around May so would love to hang on to it until as close to then as possible? Was just planning to Trademe it around then.

[madmal64]

Riffer know his stuff on these things too!
Very under rated motorcycle. I owned one up until 2005. Loved it & rode everywhere on it. Had the alternator issue at 60,000 k but it known about so not a major. Great touring bike.

[Hans]

Absolutely agree, they are great bikes. I have the 95 RF900 R. It has been great for the last 3+ years.
Has some of the common problems:
- The mirrors insides have rusted & rattle but hasnt bothered me enough to do anything about yet. Only consequence seems to be a bit of rusted water washes out when you ride in the rain.
- The seat on mine had ripped but I just bought a new one for it so thats good as new.
- The kill-switch on the right has never worked but passed all the wof's so never bothered me greatly. I recently had a bit of time infront of trademe so just bought a new twist grip with all the associated electronics to fix that one up.
Other than that these bikes can sound great with aftermarket pipes like mine has. They are big bikes & can do some damage to the fairings if they try to support their own weight... :P I searched for a while to find one that has spent its life upright as bikes should be & managed to keep it that way so far.
If you are serious about buying in April I might be keen to part with mine? I will be heading to America next year around May so would love to hang on to it until as close to then as possible? Was just planning to Trademe it around then.

I may very well take you up on that. Thanks. I'll contact you when I can afford it, or you tell me before you put it on Tardme.

[ital916]

Get a blackbird

[riffer]

Okay... here's something I've posted a few times


I paid $4750 for a 95 with 45,000 miles on the clock. four and a half years later it's now done 86,000 miles (141,000 kms).

I've found it to be pretty hard on front tyres - it tends to triangulate them, but its got a front-heavy bias so not unexpected. Avon Viper fronts don't last long but the grip is great. I recommend Avon Storm front and rear, however I've had success with Z6s as well and next week I'm putting some Conti Road Attacks on so I'll let y'all know how they work out.

The lack of a fuel gauge is a pain - especially with a reserve that lasts a good 80-90 kms. I get 300kms before it hits reserve and the tank holds 21.5 litres from empty. A real nana might get 400 kms from a tank.

Big problems with the carbs around the 100,000 kms mark. Pay attention to the needle jets and the emulsion tubes they run in - its a problem with Mikuni downdraught carbies - friction as the jet needle slides and it wears the needles and emulsion tubes. I've replaced mine with the carbs from the 135HP MantaRay model, and run a K&N air filter, ignition advance and debaffled exhaust and it flies.

There's a known problem with the alternator cush drive - in some of the earlier models (94, 95) the drive for the alternator failed and they replaced a part to stop it snapping - unfortunately this part only lasts about 20,000 kms so needs to be checked often - and its a prick to get at too. See here on this site for complete instructions on how to fix it.

Don't leave it lying around in the rain because it won't run on four cylinders afterwards. It's a problem with the water either getting into the coils or the low-tension leads just behind the headstock. My solution is to smear Vaseline into the low tension connections as they exit the wiring loom and as they enter the coils. My RF doesn't have any problems starting after sitting in the pouring rain all day. Others have had problems with the spark plug boots but not me, so I'm hesitant to say its an RF problem.

I've also noticed that as the miles get up you get a bit of problems with the electrics to the instrument panel. The wires run through the frame and a bit of chafing here can cause issues with the lights on the instrument panel not working - its an earthing problem - rewrap the wires and it should fix it.

The brakes are non-standard for a Suzuki (Nissin - normally found on Hondas) but they will take the Tokicos from the Hayabusa which apparently is a mod worth doing.

The whole bottom end (with the exception of the clutch) is straight out of the GSXR1100 so its bulletproof. Others overseas have commented on the hardening on 2nd gear going and causing problems but consensus of opinion seems to be that wheeliing the bike while preloading second ain't good for it.

The RF has a steel perimeter frame so in the unlikely event of a bent frame at least it is actually fixable, unlike an alloy frame.

Most RFs have about 125 at the crank, but you can get a lot, lot more. To meet American emission standards in the later models (S2 and later) they did the same trick as on the gixxers - look for the pink wire just under the battery on the gear lever side - more midrange power in 3rd gear if you undo it. You can drill and remount the digital pickup as they will easily take another 4 or 5 degrees of advance. Also, putting in the cams from the 92 GSXR750 will help liberate even more power. With these two mods and a rejet you could get 160HP.

Good for 265km/hr on a good day. Best kept secret in motorcycling..

Mine has just hit 141,000 and although cosmetically it could do with a bit of work, mechanically it's perfectly sound, if you ignore that seal on the front sprocket case that makes the chain a bit icky...

Here's some articles and posters elsewhere on the site.

[Hans]

Thanks for the advice, very valuable stuff. I am beginning to have a frigging phobia about mikunis and needle jets. I am personally VERY aware of that particular issue. Do not want to go there again.

[cowpatz]

I bought an RF earlier this year and love it. I found the Pirelli Diablos fine for handling but they did seem to wear out quickly. I am running Pilot Road 2's now and love them. Great comfy bike and good for 2 up riding.
Good buying for the money.

[portokiwi]

I enjoyed my RF900, It wasnt as fast as my old ZXR but was great to ride and the misses said it was the best bike I have had so fat to be on the back off.
Very easy 2up.
Just sad I had to sell it.
Still looking for another bike at the moment..... Wedding comes first though.

[riffer]

Interesting what you say about the Diablos. I've gotten just under 11,000 kms out of the Diablo front on mine.

Contrast that with 7500 for an Avon Viper.

[cowpatz]

Actually the front was not too bad (surprising given the heavy front end) but the tyre triangulated more than anything. The rear wore out very quick.