[cdill35]

Ok...so I just bought a 2002 954 today!!! I am so excited. I upgraded from a 96 rf600r and this 954 is SCARY!!! Anyway, I love it thus far. I do have a few, what you all may think, are dumb questions..

1. Tank Slappers... I have read reviews and see that the 954 is kind of known to be prone to this. This scares the hell out of me!

a. I am asumming this may be the number one cause of crashes. True?

b. Does my bike have a stack steering damper?

c. If not, is this the first thing I should buy?

d. How do you control the bike when this happens or will I automatically eat asphalt?

2. How often do these bikes need engine overhauls and how much do they cost?

3. Can any auto body shop paint this bike or do I need someone special?

Anyway, I am glad I found this site and hopefully you all can help me along.

Thanks!

[jokke1747]

ok so,
1 the first thing to invest is a steering damper, the 929 and 954 should have never left the factory without one! i know it is pretty expensive but before you do anything else, buy one.
2 valve clearance should be checked every 24000km (16000mls) the rest of the maintenance is not so expensive
3 should be no problem if they know how to disassemble the cowling
i hope this helped you a little further

[rokitt51]

How to control a slapper? Well i have always pinned the throttle when i have felt the bars start to wag. But the faster that youre going, the faster things start to happen. Ive only had one bad slapper that mad me go down on a 954. But the road was all rippled to hell too, so that had alot to do with it.