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954 threw rod #3. FML.

5K views 15 replies 10 participants last post by  RMarcil34 
#1 ·
My beloved, but highly temperamental 954 decided it had enough of life despite my tender loving care (see post history), up and threw rod #3 blowing a hole through the front block. Right in the middle of prime riding season. Only had her for 2 years, and never even got a full season out of her.

****. My. Life.

When she was running, she was a GREAT bike, and I really thought this was it. The bike that would make me forget about all other bikes. I even stopped looking at others, because this was the one. And she killed herself.

Well, that sucked, but life goes on and ride I must. The 954 was at the top of my short list partially because it had a reputation for being extremely well engineered, however after this experience I'm inclined to move down the list. To an 05-06 GSXR 1000, or possibly the very flash 04-06 R1. But, then I think those will probably not suit my needs as well as the 954 - which is primarily street transport / touring. With urgency & purpose. For my 6'5" frame - which the compact riding positions of most sportbikes simply can't accommodate. And I come back to the 954.

Aside from it being a track bike before coming into my possession, I know nothing else of its pedigree. I suspect the engine had been worked for racing, which may have led to what I suspect was a premature departure from this mortal coil. The bike had 33,000 miles, and the engine had been replaced once before. I was running synthetic oil, and not pushing it very hard. The bit of crankshaft behind the rod jutting out the front of the block is totally dry & shows signs of high temperature friction.

What say ye Fireblades.org? Would you consider another 954 after an experience such as this?
Has anyone heard of this sort of thing happening on this bike?
Anybody want to buy a complete 954, with a blown engine?
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Aside from it being a track bike before coming into my possession, I suspect the engine had been worked for racing, The bike had 33,000 miles, and the engine had been replaced once before.



What say ye Fireblades.org? Would you consider another 954 after an experience such as this?
No, never buy an abortion again, avoid "race" bikes entirely unless you like to rebuild engines for a hobby. 954 is a very solid bike. Track bikes as you now know, aren't. Same goes for stunt bikes, and severely neglected "only transportation" bikes and the guy is wearing sneakers for riding shoes, with broken laces. He never did a thing but use up the bike. You don't want that kind of an abortion either.
Buy ANYTHING you feel comfortable on that lived on the street, not the track, sans BRJ (bullshit racing junk) all over it. Stock is a good sign and expect double or triple the life span. Anything with a replaced engine, who knows what it had on it or where it came from? You should have ran. Red flag. Like a date that takes a lot of bathroom trips and keeps scratching her crotch. You can eat with her but don't take her home.

Make sense?
Suzuki GSXR is a mechanic's friend, easiest bike to do anything on, save labor, or the amount on invoice.

I'm 6' 3" tall, ride a FZ1 (Yamaha) so I can go twice the distance as R1 riders. If you want anything metric you can be assured if it was taken care of, you'll have success. Track bikes? It's like used toilet paper. They had no further use for it. (Thank god you're from NY, and not from CA, none of this offends you but sends the message home, right?)
 
#4 · (Edited)
No, never buy an abortion again, avoid "race" bikes entirely unless you like to rebuild engines for a hobby. 954 is a very solid bike. Track bikes as you now know, aren't. Same goes for stunt bikes, and severely neglected "only transportation" bikes and the guy is wearing sneakers for riding shoes, with broken laces. He never did a thing but use up the bike. You don't want that kind of an abortion either.
Buy ANYTHING you feel comfortable on that lived on the street, not the track, sans BRJ (bullshit racing junk) all over it. Stock is a good sign and expect double or triple the life span. Anything with a replaced engine, who knows what it had on it or where it came from? You should have ran. Red flag. Like a date that takes a lot of bathroom trips and keeps scratching her crotch. You can eat with her but don't take her home.
Sensible & responsible advice that I was fully aware of. I rolled the dice at a Pennsylvania insurance auction - it had well selected bits & pieces, but didn't know the history until I went to collect it. Hoped it just needed consumables - tires, fork seals and brake pads, but lost the hand. May be able to recover 75% of that outlay in parts breakout.

For the past week I've had to sit in traffic like a ******* peasant, and watch all the bikes slide on by in the cut. It's torture, I tells ya!

Went down to Philly on Weds for a bike that looked good, but the dude sold it out minutes before our appointment. Got some Cheesesteaks & drinks at the "Always Sunny" bar, so not a total loss.

Gonna set up appointments to see bikes this weekend. There are a couple clean 954's in Connecticut, and a gorgeous R1 outside of Boston. If you haven't heard of the man, Nick Sanders has been around the world, literally, I think 4 times on an R1. That's quite a testament.

My Life in Bikes Nick Sanders | MCN

PS: I know they're a bunch of delicate little snowflakes out there on the West coast, but would they really be offended by what you wrote? I laughed. As did my chick.
 
#5 ·
Gutted for ya mate....i am in the same boat regards to no bike and hearing them out blasting past me.I just sit in the corner of the garage sulking but i know ill be back out soon enough with a bike that should run great when i finish putting it back together. Should not be too long now...

hoping for 1 week till its back action.

You just had bad luck buying a race bike i would of ran a mile.
Get another 1 , I would.
 
#6 ·
I recommend getting any 954s cylinders replated by us chrome. Guaranteed not to scoar. Well for the first year anyway. Regardless its a strong investment for anyone whom loves the 954. The stock pistons and cylinders are notorious for scoaring and the metal flakes that result muck up nearly everything inside.
 
#10 ·
Never heard about all this, but if you say so.

The motorcycle is my primary form of transportation, and need something rock solid. After sorting out, the previous ZX-9R was such. I loved the 954, but if it is known to be of questionable durability, I should most likely be looking elsewhere.

The alternatives are $$$ pricey $$$ though. Particularly the '05-'06 GSXR-1000's.

Any opinions on running a well kept 954 as daily transport? There's a gorgeous one up in CT the owner is claiming was meticulously maintained & has 8-10K miles, due to a sprocket job.
 
#8 ·
If your 954/929 has the initial start up rattle? Most likely the cylinders are scoarn. Mine did it and would go away after it came to temp. Once replated, rattled no more. Now the biggest problem is keeping the front wheel down and I go through rear tires slightly quicker than before. I should note that I had to replace the transmission and exhaust valves due to excessive wear likely from metal dust in the oil from the cylinder scoaring. When the transmission started to knock I honestly felt bitter toward my 954, but then she wooed me with her sexy curves and I quickly fell in love again. :bed:
 
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