Honda Motorcycles - FireBlades.org banner

old vs new fireblades. worth upgrading?

7K views 70 replies 21 participants last post by  Lobsta13 
#1 ·
I own a 929RR and love every thing about the bike. I often look at newer models be it the 2004-2007 1000RR and the new 08+ blades. My question is how much better are the newer bikes than the 929 and 954 where. I know they have more power but do they feel that much different? Do the older bikes feel more raw? do the newer ones handle that much better? Is it worth replacing a 929RR with a newer bike for any tangible difference in performance other than overall power? The differences I can see is the electronic steering damper may be a plus and of course the power but my 929's 128 at the rear wheel is fairly sufficient. Wouldn't mind some more torque but the bike never has felt slow to me or in need of more power.
 
#4 ·
Yes, fair enough. I agree.

The problem with such a question is it is largely a subjective answer. I had a 954 and replaced it with a CBR1000RR (2004). Although you could tell they were related, the two were very different. Bottom end was better on the 954 but everywhere else, especially the speed at which the engine revs and the handling is superior on the newer machine. Certainly, on track the difference is staggering but you can tell on the road too. I have no idea about the newer machines but I would imagine they will rev faster again and feel lighter handling. Whether that makes it worth upgrading, only you can answer. Hope that helps.
 
#5 ·
I really think the biggest factor on new vs old is how much do you really like it? Ride one and compare. If you really like a newer model enough to drop the green on one, go for it!
I constantly think about getting a new bike to replace my 954, but when I get to the track, I find that the old blade holds up quite well against almost all the new bikes and the only thing I've done to mine is add a Bazazz, a slip on, and upgrade the brakes with steel lines, new rotors and ceramic pads. Most people can't handle a 600 to it's fullest, so the new liter bikes pushing 170-200hp is pretty unnecessary in my opinion.
That said, other than being slightly down on power, the 929/954 are really close in weight with the new bikes and even being down on power and me on it (I weigh 275lbs) I still can keep up with them on straights and depending on the rider, take them through the corners as well. If I were seriously going to race it, I would probably just upgrade the shocks, get it dialed in and call it a day.
I like the BMW S1000 an awful lot though... :smilebig:
 
#6 ·
ive ridden every blade up to 2012. i own a 03 954 and i think i would put the 954 up against any blade up to the latest model change. its a bit less power than the newer ones but less weight than the ones closer in year. i havent done any track days on the 954 but on the street i ride with lots of guys some with 04's n 05's some with 08's n some with brand new blades. i dont have any problem riding faster or keeping up with any of them.

i wouldnt drop the money on a brand new bike of any sorts just like i wouldnt buy a new car. there is just to much money to be saved on buying even a slightly used bike over new. i personally probably couldnt get a loan for a new bike or any bike for that matter so i had to save up cash for any bike ive ever bought. i have had some newer bikes the newest was a 06 gsxr600 and i like my current bike a lot better. so id say for me, no, newer doesnt mean better. id put my 954 up against any but the newest blades. a close friend of mine has an 05 1000rr and ive ridden it quite a bit and i really like the 954 better. i cant really say its faster but i like it better. i cant say anything bad about any blade tho to be honest. i spent plenty of time on older 90's blades to and again they might not be faster but they are without question some of the funnest bikes to ride. i guess it does depend on what makes you smile but being the absolute fastest in a straight line or thru the corners isnt what makes a certain bike the funnest for me. i had a 79 kz750 with a stretched rigid frame and a 80 kz1000 engine on it and it was easily one of my favorite bikes to ride. for what its worth
 
#7 ·
i guess it does depend on what makes you smile but being the absolute fastest in a straight line or thru the corners isnt what makes a certain bike the funnest for me. i had a 79 kz750 with a stretched rigid frame and a 80 kz1000 engine on it and it was easily one of my favorite bikes to ride. for what its worth
And really isn't this why we ride?
I loved my 84 GPz750 a lot. It was great fun to ride and really made you work to go fast, and really wasn't very fast at that.
Comparing the 954 to the GPz is like comparing an F-22 to a P-51.
 
#8 ·
I have a 2008 cbr 1000 and I bought a 2013 Zx6r last year. The canyons near my house are pretty tight and the tracks are close to the same. The new bike has much better brakes, I dont miss the power much because the handeling is better. Both have Ohlins TTX shocks. The stock fork on the Ninja is much better than the Cbr. All of the factors considered depend on the individual. What are you gonna use the bike for? In my case it made sense to go smaller and newer, but I could have just rode the Cbr more miles. Looks like Im gonna sell the Cbr. Just dont ride it much anymore.
 
#12 · (Edited)
what makes the 929 special compared to other bikes? I know its special to me but I only have a 600 Katana to compare it to. I know is is very light for its power and that is is Amazing! but I don't have any referance against other bikes so IMHO its the best bike ever made. I just wonder if my mind would be blown by a newer blade or not
 
#14 ·
I went from a 600 FZR to my 954 so I was blown away as well. The only other bike I have ridden that was close in performance was a Buell 1125R, but I didn't care for it's looks. It did corner and stop great though, and the Rotax engine is a beast.
I haven't ridden any of the new liter bikes, so I don't know how they compare by feel, but they haven't been that much quicker if at all, on the track, and that has been the biggest reason I haven't gotten a new bike yet. The 954 is still a pretty good looking bike to boot!
 
#15 ·
I have to admit the 954 is prettier than the 929 with that nice headlamp. I was not really a fan of the new 08 blades front end looks. It may be because I started riding right when the 929,954,f4i where all hot bikes so that's the styling that I am most attracted to. The 929/854 are also very light bikes by liter bike standards. I've ridden a 09 600rr and did not like the seating position but the power of that bike was not bad. Just not as raw and impressive as the 929.
 
#16 ·
I wondered the same thing, long story short. ..I had a 929rr and loved it but was always looking at the 1000rr's wondering (like you). So I sold the 929rr and bought a 07 1000rr, BEAUTIFUL bike. Really liked it, it felt smaller, power was there up above 6000rpm but I think the 929 pulls harder down low, at least feel of pants. It just never felt as stable as the 929, hard to explain I guess. After about a year, I decided to sell and go back to the 929. I grew up in that era and its just always had a place in my heart. First of the fuel injection blades and just looked amazing, still does I think. Sometimes they just get it all right and I think thats why the 929rr is so special.
 
#17 ·
They still to this day (13yrs later) hold a respect amongst guys. Its got balls, good looks and is at an affordable price for most of us worker- bees. You can find a nice example for $5000 or less. Go buy a new 600rr, $10,000 and what are you getting for the extra $5k? Less power, so so looks, 10minutes after you get your new bike....you now own a used bike worth $2k less. The 929 has bottomed out on price, its not going any lower. You buy it, ride it a yr then sell it for as much as you paid or more. And I am a honda guy but the new 1000rr dont get much respect in the power department. I say keep the 929 and throw any extra money at it to make it YOUR bike :)
 
#18 ·
Yes the price seems to have bottomed out around 3500 on these. When you read reviews from 01 the 929 did not fair all too well in them. Back then is was all about the new GSX-R and R1 so the Fireblade got forgotten until the 1000 came out. Both my riding buddies from 09 bought new 600rr's and I bought the 929rr for less than half as much. 5 years later I still have my RR and both theirs are sold off. Hard to believe I have had it that long but I have been overseas so its easy to lose track of time. Hopefully storage has been kind to the bike.
 
#19 ·
If money were the main determining factor, keep the 929. Nobodt can argue that olds bikes are cheaper to buy and maintain. Its easy to keep a bike that is paid for outright. Many guys buy new motorcycles and lose the interest in them. Then when they are making that new bike payment, they say screw it and sell. The 2008 up Cbr 1000 feels small like a 600, but with much more power. If you ride mostly in a straight line a 1000 may be your ideal bike. For me canyon carving dictates needing a nimble, well suspended and great braking machine. Hence the 2013 Zx6r works wonders. What do you do with your bike? Thats the real question?
 
#20 ·
I like having the power of the bigger bike. 600s have enough power to get the job done but not the same eye popping acceleration of a bigger bike. The 929 is pretty nimble but i cant make a strong compairison because of my limited experiance on the 600rr of just a couple short rides. I commute and plan on doing track days on m y 929.
 
#21 ·
I bought a new '96 900RR that I rode until 2005 when I traded it for one of the first Repsol CBR's. The Repsol was heavier, but handled better and made significantly more power. In 2011, my '05 Repsol was stolen and I replaced it with an '11 Repsol. It took some suspension work and some work with the ergonomics, I'm 6'2'' tall and weigh 200#, to get it to suit me though. I also have a 2002 RC51 that I have owned since new, that while down on power and heavier, handles just as well though. Each of the generations of the CBR I have owned was better than the previous model and I have never been sorry that I upgraded.
 
#25 ·
Good article, but the thing to notice is that while the new may outperform the older models, the differences are often in tenths or hundreths of a second, which means it all comes down to rider ability.
A lot of these guys also race or are considered pro level riders as well, so when they say they notice a difference, it may not be anything significant until you get to the limits of the machine, something most of us will not reach. :thumb:
I have noticed improvements when I upgraded the brakes and lines on mine and it is also faster since I put the Bazazz on, but I know I'm nowhere near the limits of the machine, even though I sometimes ride near my own limits, and the old 954 is still plenty fast enough.
165mph down the back straight of Mid-Ohio and hard on the brakes scrubbing off about 100mph before China Beach, makes me wonder if I'd want to go any faster... The gravel comes up pretty fast! :eek:
 
#23 ·
I have owned a '96 Blade, an '02 954, an '07 Blackbird and now a '12 Blade, loved them all for different reasons. The 954 was a brilliant bike with great handling and plenty of grunt and after a short while of getting used to it easy to ride fast, I find the new blade has much more grunt in comparison and a tad scary to push hard although I need more riding time as I am unable to ride at the moment due to a cancer eaten vertebrae.

Would I go back to a 954? No I wouldn't as I feel the newer Blade is a more refined bike that is a blast to ride fast. Would I upgrade from a 954 to a newer Blade? No I wouldn't if I hadn't totalled it as it does everything that is asked of it and it does it well and the newer Blade is not that far ahead with technology.
 
#24 ·
interesting to hear that the older bike is still the favorite of many of the testers in that article. I feel that the 929 and 954 were the beginning of the modern sport bike era and most improvements in the last 15 years have been smaller than what came before. The difference of only 25hp in 15 years and some of that is due simply to displacement. my 929 makes 128 at the wheel which would be 138 at 1000cc's makes the real difference only about 14hp. The 929 is still lighter than most modern liter bikes so they haven't gotten a lot lighter either.

Its a great world when you can pick one of these up for under 3k and a really nice one not much more. Try to find any good 600 for that money.
 
#26 ·
I'm currently riding around on my 2nd '01 929RR...my first one I had 2 years ago and absolutely loved it. It was my upgrade to a liter bike after many years of riding 600 cc bikes. Loved everything about it...the looks, ride, acceleration...but I had someone offer up a trade for a totaly different animal, a Harley Nightster. After a year on the Harley, I realized I had to find another 929. I looked for months, had my eye on one, but couldnt work the deal. Wound up buying a 2000 GSXR 750. Rode that for less than a year, and wound up working a deal on the 929 that I wanted. I sold the GSXR rather quickly, and bought the 929. Now I have both the Nightster and the 929. I have been offered a trade recently for my Nightster, a 2008 CBR 1000...even up. Pretty fair trade, but I just dont know if I am in love with the style of the 08 Honda...I prefer the old throwback design of my 01 929 much better. I have ridden the 08 Honda, but was not overly impressed...it was very nice, just not beyond what I would give my 01 up for. I know if I got rid of my 929, I will regret it...it just has a special feel and look that is my preference for style I guess. Everytime I take the 929 out, it grabs peoples attention...everyone stops to look and talk about it.
 
#27 ·
they are not a litre bike, it falls short by 46-71 cc's... heck even in the dyno shootouts that have a 1000+cc and <1000cc classes they go in with the 750's & 600's, it's like telling a girl u got a 8" meat stick and you're only sporting a 5.5"'er, she knows the difference when you hit it :rotfl:.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top