A 2005 Suzuki GSXR-1000, a 2005 Yamaha R1, and a 2003 Honda CBR 954RR

hookedon2wheels · 06-08-2006, 7:32 PM

I had the chance to go riding with a couple of friends over the weekend. Logged close to 400 miles and was able to ride my friends' 05 Gixxer 1000 and the 05 R1. Loads of power,borderline too much, but what the hell right. The two were a blast to ride but much more unstable than my 954 and I don't have a dampner yet. I thought the bikes had a ton of r&d in the motor and not so much elsewhere. The Suzuki has 12k miles on it and the plastics seem to be loosely affixed to the bike(Carlos the owner keeps it well maintained & is responsible 99% of the time). The R1 was much sweeter, with nice styling. Both of my friends were impressed how well the Honda braked and said the power delivery was exceptional, just slightly slower than their respective bikes. I was very ready to get back on the Honda and lean through the twisties on the way home on a familiar ride. Fun as hell day with great weather and empty hill country roads.

LUCIDDREAM57 · 06-09-2006, 11:23 AM

Whew, have your friends GIX 1K frame checked out.

tikki50 · 06-09-2006, 2:15 PM

Yep, it will be a cold day in hell before I leave a Honda. I've ridden GSXR's, Yam's, Kawa's, and Ducati's and I've always just liked how a Honda fit me, riding style wise, power delivery, braking, etc. I think it's a lot like trying on helmets, you know when you get on and ride it if that's the bike for you. Not to mention reliability or anything but.......It's Honda! Sure my bike technically may not be the fastest, but I'm not racing so I could care less, it's still plenty fast for me, she handles great, rides good and starts every time, so I really can't complain. I think it's funny when guys start comparing 2-3 HP differences, etc.

Scout · 06-09-2006, 10:10 PM

I felt the '04-'05 ZX-10 felt eerily like my 954, to sit on that is.

I really would like some kind of written comparison with new vs. old, on many different bike types, from an objective journalist - say 954 vs. '04 1000 vs. '06 1000 - but it will never happen.

It's hard for me to believe my 954 is old news, and I should upgrade to a more recent sport bike. I can't believe I'm missing out on anything - for canyon riding anyway.

CBR929RE · 06-09-2006, 10:45 PM

I still think the 929/954 and probably a ZX9R and other similar bikes are some of the best street bikes. They handle really well, have plenty of power and don't require you to rev the piss out of it like a 600.

Custom900 · 06-11-2006, 12:54 AM

IF you think the 954 is old news then my bikes are extremely outdated. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't even imagine trying to say that the 900RR is an outdated machine. I love that bike and have ridden many, many other bikes.

jaim · 06-11-2006, 2:39 AM

I have ridden with and on some of the newer liter bikes. The only real shortcoming of the 954 is that the engine doesn't rev as fast as the new liter bikes do. And with the compression ratio being what it is on the 954 it just won't rev as fast. But I love riding my 954 the speed rush isn't the same as on new 1000RR but in the twisties it is definitely as good. The fit and finish on the 954 is definitely better than a lot of the recent liter bikes. And yes for road use the 954 is much better than the more recent crop of liter bikes. But the more recent liter bikes are designed more for the track than not.