FireBlade 900rr - early noughties era

[Skyman]

I fancy dipping a toe in the water with one of these, but I have limited knowledge as to what to look out for. Some nice examples out there from £3,000 up. Advice on the pros, cons and known issues from the kind souls here would be much appreciated. This will be a second or third bike, for stress free, fine weather bimbling. Thanks all.

[STe_rsv4]

early blades had the smaller 16" front wheel so tyre choice may be limited.
Check the rear shock condition.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

Early noughties 900RR means the 929 or 954, which had 17s. I have a 2002 954.

The big thing to look for on these is cracked fork bottoms. Most bits still available from the likes of Fowlers Parts, barring the right rear wheel spacers, but aftermarket ones are available from Captive Spacers. Plugs are Iridium, so absurdly expensive, but that said are good for 50k miles.

I don't quite daily mine, but it does get used regularly and it's a fantastic ride.

[STe_rsv4]

Marquezs Stabilisers said:

Early noughties 900RR means the 929 or 954, which had 17s. I have a 2002 954.

The big thing to look for on these is cracked fork bottoms. Most bits still available from the likes of Fowlers Parts, barring the right rear wheel spacers, but aftermarket ones are available from Captive Spacers. Plugs are Iridium, so absurdly expensive, but that said are good for 50k miles.

I don't quite daily mine, but it does get used regularly and it's a fantastic ride.

Apologies! my brain immediately interpreted noughties as nineties! does indeed have the 17" wheel

[Rubin215]

Marquezs Stabilisers said:

Early noughties 900RR means the 929 or 954, which had 17s. I have a 2002 954.

The big thing to look for on these is cracked fork bottoms. Most bits still available from the likes of Fowlers Parts, barring the right rear wheel spacers, but aftermarket ones are available from Captive Spacers. Plugs are Iridium, so absurdly expensive, but that said are good for 50k miles.

I don't quite daily mine, but it does get used regularly and it's a fantastic ride.

I wonder if the cracked fork bottoms would still be replaced free under the recall?

It was the Honda dealership in Edinburgh I worked for at the time who first discovered this and reported it back up the tree; to say Honda shat themselves would be a major understatement.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

Good question I hope I never have to find the answer to! With spacers, forks from the later CBR1000RR will fit and gives you access to radial calipers as well - not that the brakes on the 954 are exactly lacking. If you need more powerful brakes on the road you probably need to reconsider your riding style.

There's a couple of good Facebook groups for the 954 as well. Honda CBR 954RR Owners Club is quite good. Not too many Americans asking about extended swingarms, lowered suspension and single front brake discs. Not none, but not many.

[Skyman]

Thanks for all the useful feedback. I have spotted this example.
https://www.cobbandjaggerkawasaki.co.uk/used-bikes...

[Eatpies99]

Do it. I love my 954 Blade. Absolutely brilliant.

[Condi]

954 arguably the best of the 2, but put a PC on the 929 and they're virtually inseparable. The biggest difference between the 2 (aside from some more cc's) was the ECU. 929 was Honda's first EFI bike and it wasn't the best at low throttle, fine above 5000 rpm or so. I have been told 929 was 32 bit processor, and the 954 a 64 bit, but not sure how true that is. A PC smooths the 929 right out and turns what can be a bit snatchy into a really nice engine.

Check regulator/rectifier and stator as are prone to giving up. Replacements easily available at reasonable cost. If they're on the way out then battery wont charge.

Check when brakes and suspension were last overhauled, if no evidence then budget for that simply due to the age of them. There is nothing wrong with either of them per say and the twin disk front brake is a better than many new bikes today.

Service intervals are not unreasonable, but check when valves and spark plugs were done. Fuel filter is a bit of a bh if it needs replacing as is inside the tank. Also not very cheap from memory, about £50 or so.

Exhaust bypass valve motors can strip their gears.

Noisy cam chains are a known issue. Tensioner is not difficult to replace.



Having said that, they're pretty reliable and bombproof. Extremely comfortable for a sports bike, I describe mine as a sofa which will do 170mph if you want it to. They don't lose much value these days, are cheap to insure and with 130/140hp will hold their own against most things.

[Condi]

Skyman said:

Thanks for all the useful feedback. I have spotted this example.
https://www.cobbandjaggerkawasaki.co.uk/used-bikes...

You don't see many like that. Aftermarket exhaust and PC would make it perfect. It's top money, but you're paying for the condition. With 25,000 miles on it and a few paint chips it would be worth about £3k. Few/Non of the above issues should be present on a bike with 9000 miles, but it would probably want a suspension and brake refresh.

Edited by Condi on Wednesday 21st August 22:35

[Skyman]

Condi, that is brilliant intel - thank you so much. This could be just the winter project I need.

[Skyman]

Skyman said:

Thanks for all the useful feedback. I have spotted this example.
https://www.cobbandjaggerkawasaki.co.uk/used-bikes...

Made a cheeky offer.

[TorqueDirty]

I bought a one owner from new '99 Blade a few weeks ago. 20k miles, pretty much FSH and just under £3k

Really enjoying it. A few small things to sort but it is a lovely thing.

Only issue is that the throttle is snatchy as it comes on from no throttle, and snatchy as it goes from minimal throttle to none.

Service booked next month so hopefully this will be sorted.

Might get a new rear shock too as it is on the original.

[Condi]

You want a power commander, rather than a service. Not saying that won't help, but they're well known for poor throttle at low revs due to the ECU mapping/software. Assuming it's a 929 FI model, and not the last of the carb'd models. A 99 reg bike could be either.

Edited by Condi on Friday 23 August 11:16

[Skyman]

Skyman said:

Skyman said:

Thanks for all the useful feedback. I have spotted this example.
https://www.cobbandjaggerkawasaki.co.uk/used-bikes...

Made a cheeky offer.

Apparently service record is limited to two recorded services in the last 23 years. Seems a bit odd for a one owner bike.

[TorqueDirty]

Condi said:

You want a power commander, rather than a service. Not saying that won't help, but they're well known for poor throttle at low revs due to the ECU mapping/software. Assuming it's a 929 FI model, and not the last of the carb'd models. A 99 reg bike could be either.

Edited by Condi on Friday 23 August 11:16

Last of the carb models actually.

[Biker9090]

You have me looking at these now.....

Are the fork cracking issues related to overtightened spindles/pinch bolts or entirely separate?

[Condi]

Skyman said:

Apparently service record is limited to two recorded services in the last 23 years. Seems a bit odd for a one owner bike.

If the condition is good I wouldn't let that put you off, if it was done on milage then 2 is all it would have been due. Just budget for a full service at the start. What would worry me a little more if its hardly been used.

[Marquezs Stabilisers]

Biker9090 said:

You have me looking at these now.....

Are the fork cracking issues related to overtightened spindles/pinch bolts or entirely separate?

IIRC it was an early failure recall not related to ham fisted mechanics - which given these bikes are now over 20 years old, isn't impossible

[ujio]

Honda are usually very good and if the recall has not been done (which I doubt will be the case), they will honour it.

The 954 still looks timeless after over 20 years, it just doesn't age! Only thing to look out for is the regulator rectifier and ironing out the low speed throttle snatchiness. If you can get the 954 over the 929 but there's not much in it. I've always fancied getting another...