Ben’s Honda CBR929 Morphs into a 954 - August 2006
At
194,046 km I swapped my 2001 CBR929 with a mate’s 2002 954 with only 47,850 km
on it. Obviously, there was some financial compensation mixed in with the
deal. It was a reluctant sale on his
part – a good sign. He needed a small cash injection to his business and had a
beautiful asset rapidly depreciating, not being ridden enough to justify
keeping. Hence, a plan was born.
I
last wrote about the 929 back in April when it only had 180,000 km on the odometer.
In the intervening 14,000 km the bike scored an additional oil filter, a couple
of changes of oil, and a set of rear pads. The shocker was serviced (oil and
gas), new steering head bearings fitted top and bottom, and the fork oil was
changed. I replaced one of the fork legs when the chrome hardening wore through
up near the fork seal.
The bike I bought was the CBR954 I advertised to Club members via email. Julie and a few other people like Dave Ward reckoned I should buy it, given I already had a wrecked 954 in the garage, motor only 6,000 km old. I knew the advertised 954’s history and had ridden a few times with the owner, Paul Hunter, including a trip around Tassy and another up the east coast of NSW. He loved the bike.
The swap occurred half way between our
homes, part way down
It seemed like a fair trade as mine had 194,000 km on the motor (speedo was about to stop at 99,999 again, posing another problem), and for a roadworthy needed front and rear pads and a rear disk. It had a leaky left hand side fork seal and a leaky right hand side damper rod bolt, slowly weeping past the washer and onto the axle. It only had 4 months rego and a bald front tyre. In the swap, I gave Paul a spare front tyre, slung around my waist. The 929 was due for shims at 200,000 km. It was basically unsaleable at any price, but still quite serviceable.
The 954 was totally roadworthy, had near new pads, good Pilot Powers (front 40% worn), rear disk scored but legal. And it had 10 months rego. It had fallen over a couple of times, once on each side at traffic lights, suffering minor cosmetic scratches to the fairing. It was amazingly free of stone chips, evidence of solo riding. We each had "contacts" who could facilitate the roadworthy process. I think it cost him $1034 (new fork seals, new rear disk, pads all round, new front tyre) and me $55.
I rode the 954 next day on Breht Emmerson's Cockatoo ride. I had to retire half way through as the bike was shaking the kidneys out of me, suspension set way too hard (front compression and rear rebound). (Smooth roads down Paul’s way, I figured.) And the drive chain was decidedly at end of life. I backed off the suspension settings in the next few days with continuous improvement. Later in the week I checked with Breht on what his settings were and determined I was now in the ball park.
Monday lunchtime saw a roadworthy garnered from Redwing without fuss. Next stop Carlton RTA for rego change and transfer fee. A phone call saw the insurance swapped to the new bike resulting in a refund of $96! Must be less 954s crash or are stolen. That evening I fitted a new chain and front sprocket.
Tuesday evening I fitted a second hand
Wednesday night off. Thursday night fitted Ohlins rear shock, providing a plusher ride. As with doing anything the first time it took longer than expected. This was my second attempt, the first being the day I bought the bike. But I had never needed to raise the tank before on the 929 to remove the shock as was required this time to get access to the ride height adjuster, so put it all back together until checking with a friendly mechanic. With the front suspension now working as it should, the bike feels 10 times better.
Paul H. rang me a few days later to say he was wrapped with the handling of the 929 - and it did handle well, having never been dropped and with the suspension all pre-sorted for him. And this was before the roadworthy aspects were fixed.
Two weeks later I replaced the saggy, dual rate front fork springs with stiffer, linear ones. Springs ($184), fork oil ($15), and labour ($60) to make 1 inch spacers in a hurry one Saturday afternoon at C&C Engineering. The 954 forks are harder to work on when trying to remove the springs as a spring compressor is needed. They are too strong for mere mortals.
Once removed it was clear the aftermarket springs were an inch shorter than the originals and hence the necessity of making spacers. But fork oil replacement in the future will be relatively easy: unscrew top cap, tip/pump out oil, replace oil, replace cap. Thanks to Peter Weyermayr for providing the air gap (for setting fork oil level) at short notice. And thanks to Ern for printing out a complete workshop manual (c/o the internet) and sending to me via internal mail. Sensational.
Three days later I replaced the engine oil, and the front and rear brake fluid (it was spongy, now perfect) and lubricated the levers. The bike was now in about as good a condition as I could make it.
It was so good that I loaned it to Ern Reeders, all cashed up and threatening to buy an FZ1 without riding a modern day Japanese bike first, a crime in my eyes. He promptly borrowed it for a day ride with his son to check out long ride comfort (Bars too low? Pegs too high? Seat too hard?) He was so impressed with comfort, motor and handling that he went out and put a deposit on a good second-hand one at Redwing with only 18,000 km on the clock.
What’s different? The 954 definitely feels lighter than the 929 (168kg vs 177kg dry), and skinnier around the knees. I read a review that said it has a lot more sophisticated engine management system than the 929 - just another 2 years of development/progress. The engine has more stomp everywhere, particularly in the midrange. It drives out of corners much harder. Fuel economy seems worse, not unexpectedly with much bigger injectors blowing hard. The instruments show the instantaneous fuel consumption in km/litre which is new and fascinating. The mirrors work at any speed, a big plus. Otherwise it sounds and behaves the same way, though it does feel tauter and shorter in the wheelbase, reflected in the pillion sitting closer to the rider. I don’t feel the urge to drop the forks through the triple clamps like on the 929 as it steers pretty quickly already. Cold start ups are inducing a cam chain rattle for a second or two, and it seems to tick at idle. Nothing money can’t fix.
Overall I’m pretty happy with the 954 and relieved to have 929 gone with no downtime, no selling problems, no hassles. And its probably to a good home as there is still some sentimental attachment to it. One small regret is not seeing out the 200,000 km mark which was only 2 months away. But it is not often you can swap your bike for one that has 150,000 km less!
Ben
Warden