Thoughts on bike upgrade ZX9 - RF900

[AllanB]

Reckon you can do better, newer for $6 or slightly higher. Used market looks to be fucked so there are a lot of nice rides out there going for silly money.

I'd take the Kawa over the Suzi out of the two you listed.

[sugilite:Me]

ZX9R's are great, I raced a c1.
I noticed this on trademe, http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-623022690.htm
If I'm not mistaken he has fitted a muzzy 998 kit to it. When that same kit was installed in my ZX9R C1 race bike, it all of a sudden could pass 2006 model mildly worked over GSXR's with ease. The power was very manageable still, just more of it everywhere. Amazing piece of quality kit, the motor should last for a very long time. That bike has all sorts of other goodies too...

I did a fair few km's on my sisters unrestricted RF900, and it too is a great bike, just that ZX9R will do pretty much everything better.

[mossy1200]

ZX9R's are great, I raced a c1.
I noticed this on trademe, http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-623022690.htm
If I'm not mistaken he has fitted a muzzy 998 kit to it. When that same kit was installed in my ZX9R C1 race bike, it all of a sudden could pass 2006 model mildly worked over GSXR's with ease. The power was very manageable still, just more of it everywhere. Amazing piece of quality kit, the motor should last for a very long time. That bike has all sorts of other goodies too...

I did a fair few km's on my sisters unrestricted RF900, and it too is a great bike, just that ZX9R will do pretty much everything better.

Buy It.
Better ask about rear footpegs etc. Also plate mount a bit iffy but looks like a lot of bike for 5.5

[Kornholio]

ZX9R's are great, I raced a c1.

I did a fair few km's on my sisters unrestricted RF900, and it too is a great bike, just that ZX9R will do pretty much everything better.

Heh yeah you were a nut on that ZX9, my mate(Ash Collet) binned one nicely in front of us at Paeroa BOTS.. Have had dealings with an RF900 as well and I would pick ZX9 over RF any day for performance and they not that much less comfortable than the RF... what about a 98+ GSXR1100... they looked fairly comfy for 2 but a mate had one and he could really pedal it along

[F5 Dave]

I had my RF for 5 yrs. They were always very cheap.

I spent quite some time improving mine as Suzuki seemed to have not used a human being as its design platform & there were a plethora of annoying mistakes in placement of components. Pillion footpegs 3" too high for a 5'6 slight female to not get cramp. Indicators so far forward you couldn't run panniers & pillion at the same time. Handlebars 10 degrees too much angle backwards.

I'm 5'8 & road motorcycles are built for me. No really, they are. This was a queer arrangement that maybe suited, heck I dunno, an 8yr old perhaps. If they were strong enough to lift the bus off its stand. A bigger mate made some plates to move the pegs further back.


They were always very cheap. I grew to hate mine.

ZX9s never appealed to me, never ridden one just never like the look of em & what they stood for.

Given the choice I'd plum for a ZX in a heartbeat.

[Drew]

The rear indicators should be given the arse, and integrated into the enormous brake lights. I have intended to do this for a long time, it requires a couple resistors, and a couple normally closed relays.

Peg position has always been fine for me, and I dunno about the bars. Ergos seem fine to me.

If you're not gonna upgrade the suspension on one, run a 190/55 rear tyre instead of the 170. All of a sudden you have cornering clearance and a sportbike like tip in.

I am biased of course. I love my bike. I can peddle it pretty bloody quick, or on a trip to Aukland I only have to stop for gas once.

[F5 Dave]

Yeah I'm just getting cranky

[EJK]

If you want my 2 cents, I too was looking for RFs and other sport tourers before I got my current bike. I read most of Drew's threads and posts about RF900s (Thanks KB search function! *hint hint op*) and read most of the stuffs about RF400s, RF600s, Suzuki Katana GSX600s, 750s (teapots), Honda Blackbirds, Kawasaki ZZR400/600/1100 even ZX9s. I even watched probably most of the RF900 videos on youtube as well, just to see how fast they're capable of. I began to like RF900s for it's reviews and such.

I nearly bought one! But suddenly I saw a late model Plasma Candy Blue ZX10R for sale and my ego got the best of me.

I've always wanted a 2005/06 plasma candy blue ZX6R, but a 10R... what the heck?

[Ender EnZed]

This CBR900 could well be worth a look. It's even local to the OP.

[F5 Dave]

On the sensible side of the coin; lots of guys get hurt stepping up too big too quickly. Don't think a 600 is a pansy bike as they'd whip the thous we grew up thinking were death fast.

[baffa]

Are you implying that your ZX9 had more power than an R1, or that the R1 was fucked? Even a '98 R1 should have over 140 at the tread, especially on a dyno optimistic enough to rate a ZX9 at 139 at the tread.

According to wiki (its good enough) the first gen R1s had 150hp, or around 130 rear wheel hp. They didnt crack 140 rear ponies until 04 onwards.

[Boob Johnson]

I've had a fair bit of saddle time on my RF900 before I sold it. It was the first big bike I owned. Fantastic bike for the dollars but would choose the Kwaka over it. In saying that I tend to agree with a post above, at $6k you could have a 2003/4/5/6/7 SV1000, modern, fuel injected & sounds wicked with pipes! In fact you can buy my 2007 SV thou (30,000km's with 1 owner prior to me) for $6300