New Guy

epilover · 02-08-2006, 4:19 PM

Hey All,

I'm a long-time lurker, first time poster. I thought I'd finally get around to giving a quick intro, so here goes:

I'm from Davis, CA (near Sacramento in Northern California) and got my first bike (an 03' Kawi EX-500) in April of 05'. I basically blew all my time riding in the canyons near Davis, reading a lot of books on good technique (I highly recommend "Total Control: High Performance Street Riding Techniques"), and riding with people that were much better than me.

After only a month and a half, I sold my Ninja and bought an 01' F4i, which started my love affair with Hondas. I had the F4i for about 5 months or so, took it to a few trackdays, and learned a lot on it, fast. I made some investments in it as well along the lines of a scotts damper, akrapovic exhaust, power commander, and a few other goodies. It was a great track bike, but the ergs were just a bit too upright for me, and I wasn't thrilled that on the street, I had to worry about being between 8 and 14,000rpm to have any power on those Sunday Rides. So, in October, I parted ways with my baby, in search of something, well, better.

A few weeks before I sold my F4i, I had the chance to swap bikes with my friend on a Sunday Ride. She has an 04' 1000rr, which I liked a lot, but had a few gripes with. While the 1000rr felt very powerful, had a great suspension, and very powerful brakes, it felt heavier than my F4i, and I didn't like that (406 dry vs. 370 dry). It was noticeable how slower the bike turned in than my F4i. Not wanting to give up the great handling of my F4i for a heavier bike, I did a little more research. I knew I wanted to stick with Honda. I had ridden a Gsxr-750 (didn't like it at all), and while I liked the R1, the powerband was too high for me (wanted more low-end umph) and it had the same handling issue as the 1000rr.

Thinking all was lost, I almost gave up, until I discovered the 954rr. After reading the specs, I realized the 954rr had the same exact dry weight as my F4i, and slightly (not drastically) more aggressive ergs. Stoked, I started my craigslist search and found one in October 05' that was sparkling clean with 8,000mi on it. She was untouched, stock as stock can be. I took it out for a test ride and was hooked. This thing handled BETTER than my F4i, and had gobs of power from 3,000rpm! Needless to say, I took her home that day.

I love my 954rr to death, and really have very few complaints with it. The only downside is the gearbox is fairly clunky, but seeing as there's power everywhere, gear shifts are a rare occurance

. As far as mods go, here's what I've got so far:

DB Smoke windscreen (the freeway ride home on the first day told me that)
Frame + Spool Sliders
GPR Damper (very, very necessary on this thing)
Pilot Powers
Akrapovic Slip-On (don't really need any more power thanks, just don't want my liter bike sounding like a lawnmower)
520 Conversion (-1/0) (What a difference!)
Speedohealer (No more 10mph errors, and a neat little top speed recall)
EBC HH Pads (Strong pads for some great brakes)
GP Shift Conversion (Ghetto VFR shift lever method)
Unbolted that shanky rear fender
Integrated Rear Tail
Watsen Design Front Signals (Fairly trick and original)
Scorpio SE-500 alarm (w/ everything)

Oh yea, and she's red

.

I hope to get her out to her first trackday at Thunderhill on the 19th, just waiting to see if it's going to rain or not.

Cheers,
Benn

ND4SPD · 02-08-2006, 4:24 PM

Yet another wordy one added to the mix.

HondaGalToo · 02-08-2006, 4:29 PM

Welcome!

Sunbert · 02-08-2006, 4:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ND4SPD

Yet another wordy one added to the mix.

Yet grammatically correct. Welcome!

phobiaphobe · 02-08-2006, 5:16 PM

The 954 is a sweet bike. Post some pics.

NuttyTart · 02-08-2006, 5:40 PM

...........and I thought I spoke alot

abtech · 02-08-2006, 6:45 PM

There's this LEO in Omaha that you may want to compare notes with . . .

Welcome to the site

ND4SPD · 02-08-2006, 6:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abtech

There's this LEO in Omaha that you may want to compare notes with . . .

Welcome to the site

He's not allowed in the motorcycle forums, remember?

phobiaphobe · 02-08-2006, 6:53 PM

I think you should sell the 954 and buy a FZ1. Then sell the FZ1 and get a Hayabusa. Then sell that and get a DRZ400SM. Then sell that, as well as all your gear and tools and renounce motorcycling and buy a Dodge truck. Then sell that...

Mojave954 · 02-08-2006, 8:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phobiaphobe

I think you should sell the 954 and buy a FZ1. Then sell the FZ1 and get a Hayabusa. Then sell that and get a DRZ400SM. Then sell that, as well as all your gear and tools and renounce motorcycling and buy a Dodge truck. Then sell that...

Don't forget to mod each one to the nine's.....

And state, "this is it, I am not buying another motorcycle EVER!" ahhhh the bigheaded wordy one.

CBRVFR · 02-08-2006, 8:09 PM

Welcome!

Red Rider · 02-08-2006, 8:59 PM

Welcome! You're in good company...

epilover · 02-09-2006, 3:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mojave954

Don't forget to mod each one to the nine's.....

And state, "this is it, I am not buying another motorcycle EVER!" ahhhh the bigheaded wordy one.

Now you know how the girlfriend feels. The Ninja was supposed to "last me at least a year", the F4i was "the last bike I'd ever need", and I just didn't even bother with the 954rr. She asks "so this is it, right", and I just shrug my shoulders at her

.