Thoughts on RF900?

[RidingHard]

what are your thoughts on the Suzuki RF900? Good for touring? Ok around town?

[kiwifruit]

Good strong bikes. Proven engine. Comfortable. Might not be the best around town but you'd get used to that (heavy). Great for touring.

[emaN]

great bike dude!
chassis & geometry allow manouverability at low speed, but she's also nice & stable at high speed.
I've only recently started having 'step-outs' and 'tank-slappers'...but she copes with most things fine!
Mine's got nearly 100k km and still going strong, trackdays & quick road rides and all...

You'd enjoy one. Don't be afraid to wind 'er up when ya get one!

[ynot slow]

Nice type for touring and they go what more needed to say,was top of my list at the time but just a little out of price range at time.Heaps of grunt.

[gav]

Well, I've got one and think they are under rated, certainly not though by the people who own them . I had a 2001 VFR800 before the RF and would say apart from the intoxicating VFR engine noise, the RF is just as good if not better. It has more power and less weight!
Here's an interesting article.
http://www.mcnews.com.au/Testing/rf900.htm
Do a bit of research though, even on site here. The carbs will wear the emulsion tubes out, resulting in a bit rough riding but mainly being heavy on fuel.
Improved replacements are available from Factory Pro, in the States. Mine took a little time to get sorted, but is a bloody rocketship now!

[madmal64]

The most under rated bike I have ever owned. Bloody strong motor and ride for ever. A very good bang for the buck bike. I rode mine for just over 60000 km's and loved it. Pity I got taken out on it though.
Riffer and a few others around here know just about all there is to know about these little beauties.

[banditrider]

Yep, loved mine. Did 3 GC's on it and a few trips down south etc so they can tour. Put a bit of weight on your hands in the slow stuff (town) if you're not used to the riding position. Good handling on rough roads, reliable etc...

[yod]

love mine - goes brilliantly for touring and two up and its not short on horses, got it at about 70000km and its now on approx 81 and has never missed a beat - pillion seat is not a separate seat to the rider so the pillion can slide forward a bit, gearbox is typically clunky but I've never had a false neutral. as stated above I hear the carbs can have issues but I haven't experienced any probs

riffer has a crapload of info on them, do a search and you'll find a few threads

there aren't many '97 900-1000cc bikes you can buy for under $4k - hard to beat them bang for buck-wise i reckon, all I've had to do was rear disc, pads all round and chain and sprockets

[riffer]

Hey y'all.

Read here. This was one of my posts on the RF. Contains a shedload of info and the links to the fiche and manual (unless they've discovered them on my old work's FTP site yet, which is bloody unlikely).

Mine's just about to hit 70,000 miles and still pulls like a schoolboy.

[RidingHard]

cheers for your opinions guys I think ya sold me seems like a great bike for everything I want it for, and at a wicked price. I love this photo in one of the other threads bloody hell its a sexy bike!

[RidingHard]

one more question: is there a big difference in physical size between the RF600 and 900?

[vifferman]

I don't have many thoughts on an RF900.

I test-rode once, before I bought the VTR1000. It was OK (yes, I'm damning it with faint praise), had a nice gearbox, but I found it buzzy and the ergos felt wrong after riding so many Hondas. It was also somewhat bland and lacking in character compared to a VFR, although on paper it's possibly a better buy.

But then you'd expect me to say all that, wooncha?

[yod]

one more question: is there a big difference in physical size between the RF600 and 900?

FYI - a 600 will probably be waaaay harder to find

are you concerned with seat height or just the bulk/weight of the bike?
the 900 is 203kg dry (if I remember rightly) and the 600 is apparently 195kg so not a lot of difference really

[yod]

I don't have many thoughts on an RF900.

I test-rode once, before I bought the VTR1000. It was OK (yes, I'm damning it with faint praise), had a nice gearbox, but I found it buzzy and the ergos felt wrong after riding so many Hondas. It was also somewhat bland and lacking in character compared to a VFR, although on paper it's possibly a better buy.

But then you'd expect me to say all that, wooncha?

yep

(dont worry...i still got the viffer in the garage)

[Boob Johnson]

The RF900R would EASILY be the best value for money sports bike on the road, nothing can touch it in that price range.


As Yod has correctly stated 203Kg dry. 135BHP (118 at the wheel). 100nm of torque @ 10,000 (redline 12,000) on a solid as a granite rock 5 speed box. 0 to 100 in 3.1 secs & can pull 165 mile an hour (gearing dependant). I geared mine down slightly to get better pick up but have lost a lil top end but can still easily hit 150 mile an hour (but started to run out of road *cough* I mean track he he)



I bought mine on the 1st of August & have done around 8,000km, loved every minute of it. I looked for a while, chased a few dif bikes then this one popped up & am really glad I got it.


They built the RF900 as an in between for the GSXR 750 & the GSXR1100. Now the GSXR1100 motor is well known as being bullet proof. For the RF900R they used the bottom end of that very motor but the displacement is only 937cc so it is under even less stress than the already bullet proof 1100. Suzuki's are well known to be extremely reliable but with the RF900 they re wrote the manual.


I ride mine all over, too work, round town, tight twisty back block roads & wide open highways & she loves them all. The only real downfall of the RF900 is the cornering I reckon, but in saying that it isn't that bad to put you off.



RF900R = The king of bang for your buck