Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

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Drac
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Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by Drac »

ME AND THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE

My love affair (I think it’s correct to call it that) with the RF900 started in February 1998. At that time I owned a GSX750F ‘Teapot’, the latest in a long line of Suzukis that started in 1971 with a T250R Hustler. A new bike shop opened up half a mile away selling parallel imports and I fancied something a bit more ‘solid’. I wandered in and had a look round the stock but it was mainly Blades and I didn’t want anything too sporty. Tucked at the back were two RFs in the so-called shell-suit livery – a green and silver one and a purple and yellow. I bagged a sit on one and it felt just right. A deal was struck and for £5500 otr off I went.

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It was quickly apparent that this was the perfect bike for me. The handling was more than adequate for my non-sporty riding style and the fuel tank range worked out at about the same as my nicotine tolerance.

Working from home with a company car I didn’t need to do any commuting miles, all my riding was done at weekends usually two to three hundred miles at a time going anywhere I pleased – usually North Wales or down round the Cotswolds.

Being a parallel, it had kph clocks and a right dip headlamp but I soon managed to source the UK spec parts from a breaker down in that London. Luckily the clocks had the correct amount of miles on compared to what I’d already covered and the saving I’d made over the Suzuki list price more than covered their cost.

One thing that soon showed to be lacking to me was the seat comfort – after a couple of hours it felt like the foam had collapsed and I was sitting on the plastics. Very uncomfortable. But a cash long service award from work covered the price of a brand new Corbin seat which the bike shop kindly listed as ‘furniture’ for the benefit of our accounts department J. The seat proved to be a revelation and meant a run down to the in-laws in Cornwall – 260 miles – could be accomplished with one cigarette/petrol break and I could still walk unaided when I got there. I still believe that it’s the best money I’ve ever spent on a bike accessory.

Being an inveterate firtler I treated myself to the factory workshop manual and apart from MOT tests the bike hasn’t seen the inside of a dealer’s to this day. This has been greatly helped by the purchase of an ABBA stand, a top bit of kit if you have a bike with no centre stand. Coupled with a trolley jack there aren’t many jobs you can’t do.

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I soon reinforced the wiring harness around the steering head and where it comes through the front frame as it was showing signs of chaffing, one of the few built-in faults with the RF.

The chain and sprockets were replaced at around 25k miles and I stripped and cleaned/re-greased all the suspension linkages at the same time. Maybe re-greased is the wrong word, there wasn’t much sign of anything in there from the factory L It’s since had another c&s kit at around 40k when I went down to a 530 from the original 532 purely on the grounds of cost. I may go up a tooth on the front next time just to drop the revs a little at motorway cruising speed – 6000rpm/90mph ish.

It was around this time I discovered the famous Pink Wire. Cleaning up the sprocket area I noticed the extra connection and consulted the wiring diagram which showed it going up to the ECU. So I took the switch off for a butcher’s and discovered the extra contacts

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Reasoning that the different resistances meant it was telling the ECU what gear I was in I simply unplugged the pink connection…..

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… and took it out for a spin. I’m pretty steady round the estate but it felt a lot beefier low down and when I came back a neighbour who is interested in bikes grinned “You shot off a bit quick today” so I figured it had had some positive effect. It remains unplugged to this day with no detriment.

It was while studying the wiring diagram that I came up with the idea of the rear light mod. The standard central running light is a bit puny and being scared of getting tail-gated in the rain I converted the two outer units to stop and tail instead of just brake lights. A mate claims it’s now like following a Volvo.

Brakes are superb. I use EBC HH pads up front and got about 45k miles out of the standard front discs. These have since been replaced with EBC Pro-lites which I managed to get on a ‘Buy one, get one half price’ deal at Hein Gericke in Nottingham. I think the offer was meant to apply to clothing but I persuaded laddo behind the counter that a pair of front discs are actually two items rather than one. Rear brake is still the original disc and I use ordinary grade pads. I use the rear brake so rarely that it needs the pad pins freeing off more often than a pad change. It’s only really there for the MOT.

I did try a pair of Busa six pot callipers on the front for a while but they lacked the feel of the four pot Nissins and were certainly no better. They bolt straight on by the way but the banjo bolt threads are different.
All the hoses have been changed for HEL braided type with stainless fittings, easy to do and well worth the cost. The fluid is changed every couple of years by simply bleeding clean through.

So far it’s had one new shim only. I first checked them around 25k and managed to shuffle a few round and just had to buy one (at over £4!) so I set them up to maximum clearance. I checked them again recently (50k) and they were all in the middle of the tolerance so they’ll do for a while longer.

I had a small tumble when I came into contact with a little old lady in a Fiat signalling left but turning right which left me with a broken indicator, scuffed fairing vents and scraped silencer. In effect I managed to stop but fell over rather than off.

Rear shock has been changed for a Hagon item which must go back for a refurb one day as it’s a bit saggy.

When the riding position got a bit too much for my back and wrists – age you know – I looked at getting some Heli bars but the silly price put me off. Looking at the parts fiche though it soon became apparent that I could remove the dummy top yoke and clip ons and fit some risers and straight bars in their place. This really was a couple of hours job as all the wiring and cables are long enough with a bit of creative re-routing. The risers were bought at the NEC and had a couple of cuts to achieve the height I wanted, the bars are generic cheapies.

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The bike is now supremely comfortable again and despite only having the kiddy bar-end weights there is almost no vibration through the bars. The clutch reservoir is now at the wrong angle and only shows a level when the bars are tilted left but it works fine. A Bandit reservoir may replace it if one turns up on E Bay. Clutch plates are still the originals.

Later addition of a tinted flip-up screen lessened the wind blast caused by the more upright riding position and so increased the cruising speed, I have to keep a careful eye on the speedo now as sometimes traffic seems to be going quite slowly. An undertray is the next item on the agenda and I can’t see it needing much more after that.

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The only major problem was when the alternator drive coupling failed one Sunday at Moreton in Marsh, 100 miles from home and completely voltless as unknown to me it had been running on the battery alone for the last several miles. Fortunately being a Sunday there were plenty of bikes around and I bumped into a lass I knew who kindly rode home to Redditch and got her car and trailered the bike back to hers. I whipped the alternator off and came home on the train (in leathers and boots) and got a lift back once I’d replaced the coupling.

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And that’s about it. I give it an oil change every 3000 miles or so – ‘car’ 10/40 with no problems – and a filter on alternate changes. The gearbox is fine despite the RF’s reputation for a weak second gear and my habit of clutchless changing up and often down the box – if done correctly you’re going to struggle to break a Suzuki gearbox.

I chuck a set of plugs in around 10,000 miles and stick the vacuum gauges on the carbs.

Rear tyre gets around 5000 miles though I did get 10,000 out of a Macadam which are sadly no longer available. Fronts get changed roughly with every alternate rear. I buy tyres in pairs on special offer so often run with different makes at each end, again with no problems.

I reckon oils and tyres are the two biggest bones of contention in biking and younger riders seem to be unwilling to experiment, or they just believe everything the ads tell them.

I think that’s about it. The RF has certainly been my most successful bike purchase and having tuned it to fit me I think it will see me through to the end of my biking ‘career’. Home commitments mean I can’t get out as often as I’d like but when I do it only takes a few miles to remind me what a superb bike it is and what a wonderful pastime biking really is. It does everything I need (and would do a lot more) and now that I know just about every nut and bolt on it it would be silly to change it for no good reason. I may even arrange to have a Viking funeral with me strapped on the RF on a burning raft floating down the river Trent :D

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A happy Chap.
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jaz66
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by jaz66 »

A very old post, but i just loved the last comment from FF re the 'Viking funeral'... =)) =)) =))
uglyamerican

Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by uglyamerican »

someone stole all the pics!

time to collect thumbs!!!!
fastfitter
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by fastfitter »

Dunno where they went? And I can't open the post to put them back again - Drac?
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Drac
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by Drac »

from the looks of it, maybe the old account novo started

have sent you the links in a pm
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Drac
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by Drac »

pics received from fastfitter now replaced with the ones that disappeared
fastfitter
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by fastfitter »

'E's a pigging computer genius is that Drac :-bd ^:)^
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madsod
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by madsod »

good read that Roy , :cheers:
I have two RF 900 my green one and the orange bike that i built from bit's i now call it Wotsits , my other ride is a gsxr 1000 k3 , Suzuki make's bikes most others don't
Tony V
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by Tony V »

Nice read that Roy, thanks for sharing. :-bd
Never rub another mans rhubarb!
madman
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Re: Bike of the Month - February 2009 - FASTFITTER'S RF900

Post by madman »

Yes great read as never read that before. :-bd
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