Hey,
Got one, had it three years. If your not fussy and can get past the
looks (I'm half indifferent/half don't mind the fins). I have a 96 model
with the rather adjustable front forks and it is a good bike to ride
with a rock solid gearbox (it inherited the gearbox when it got the
gsx1100's bottom end). I'm no racer and my riding reflects this (but I
am improving) but this bike always feels planted and I've only ever had
the rear step out on me once on gravel when I wound it on a bit too
fast.

Positives:-
1) Torque, absolute BUCKETS of it. One of the big reasons I got my rf
was I was well aware that in good condition the engine on these bikes
would just pull well from 2.5k and start going like a train from around
3.8k onwards to redline. The engine is made by combining the top end of
a gsxr750 with the bottom end of a gsx1100, thusly making an engine with
an extremely long bore-stroke ratio (for a bike that revs to 12k).
They've done some other tweaks like smaller carbs and smaller valves to
widen the sweet spot even further down the rev range than it would
otherwise be.

2) Rock solid gearbox. These baby's are fantastically designed and with
correct servicing will take near everything you can throw at it. They
have inherited the gearbox from the gsx1100, which has been used STOCK
in race & drag bikes with motors bored out to 1300cc with god knows what
in the way of turbos, superchargers and nitrous thrown in its direction.
And it STILL holds out quite well (so ive been told).

3) Very enjoyable bike to ride in general
4) Seat, closest I've ever had to a lounge cushion for a bike seat,
ever.

As to the actual negatives I see them as the following:-
1) It has a 5 speed gearbox. Although the bike is well serviced by
having 5 gears, had they adopted a 6 speed with a slightly
narrower spread of gears, things may have been a bit better. But it's
usually not a big worry as you can easily get it
into 4th and it'll take everything from 50km/h to 200 with ease in the
one gear (see point 1) above..

2) Stock gearing is a wee bit tall. I've gone up one tooth in the back
and it has made a noticeable difference in ease of slower speeed
manoeuvring and has made getting stuck in traffic a bit more bareable.
However it hasn't really sacrificed much from the higher speed/revs.

3) There's some noticeable vibration from about 5.2-6.5k as the engine
starts getting moving. This gets the plastic buzzing at times and
certainly has given me the need to get Gel grips just to make life a bit
easier for my hands and wrists.

4) Weight, if this is your first time at a 200kilogram bike then you'll
take some getting used to the noticeable difference in bulk your
shifting about. But once up to speed aside from being slightly slower to
throw around, she seems reasonably agile. It's only really noticeable
for me as I have a gsx250e as well as my RF900 and its chalk and cheese
in every department.

5) The hydraulic clutch is a p.i.t.a. It works well but as I have a
slightly smaller handspan than some of you out there it really can start
hurting my wrists and carpal tunnel if I go out on an extended ride. I
have been looking for an adjustable clutch span lever to go along with
my adjustable span brake lever. There is no way in Gods green earth I am
getting pazzo levers just for this though, there have to be other
options out there.

just remember to give it some tlc from time to time and she will work
fantastically. I had a problem recently which came down to the clutch
slave leaking and the pushrod being caked up with road gunk as it is
directly exposed to the gunge beinf flicked off the sprocket. A new
clutch slave o ring and new pushrid combined with a lot of elbow grease
fixed that problem once and for all.

I hope I answered your question, or at least, gave you a feel for how
the bike works for me. I love it, and am going to fall in love with it
all again as soon as I have those damn levers!

Mike.

On 6/07/2009 2:00:13 AM, Iplay (rf900flyer@...) wrote:
> Anyone have one? Or have an opinion?
>