Bike of the Month - RfGirl's RF900 - October 2010
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2010 1:37 pm
I never thought I would ever own a motorcycle, I had always seen myself as the pillion kind of person, but after a while of sitting on pillion seats the size of postage stamps it was time to get my own licence and bike, after all a lot of my friends have bikes, so I saved up and did my DAS and had a licence to ride any size of motorcycle within a month, so I have framed my pass certificates as proof they were nuts enough to give me a licence.
My First bike
GPZ500, bought it as I was going through the DAS for £300 of eBay, good little bike but I had no confidence on it, it didn’t feel very solid , so sold it for a tidy profit, that’s why in the picture above I look so happy, it was taken the day I sold it.
Onto my next bike…
The fantastic Cagiva River 500, I loved this little bike, it what I needed to get my confidence built on motorways and little country roads, it could easily hit 100mph, it had Brembo brakes, upside down forks, a lovely sound as it was a single cylinder thumper - and it could run for ever on a full tank of fuel.
All this was great having the Cagiva , except I wanted something with a little more grunt, a bit bigger and had no idea what to get, so on the advice of my other half he suggested an RF900, because that was his first big bike and said it would perfect for me, so.. trolled the internet trying to find out about them, first thought was “dear gawd they are git ugly” no thanks, until one day I seen one for sale in Darwin, and ended up buying it after a day trip to Blackpool via Darwin for a look.
I love my RF. I’ve done a fair bit to bring the bike more up to date. Like flush indicators front and back, double bubble screen, carbon yoke cover, Hooterz horns, after market Beowulf exhaust, Stainless Steel Torque Arm, and the ever popular Tony Archer seat, rear hugger, all the usual stuff, I have even reshaped the under tray around the licence plate after taking off the rear indicators to give smoother lines.
I even had to once replace the fuel tank because it sprung a leak, and was so lucky to find another for sale for not a lot of money not far from where I lived. I also disconnected the elusive pink wire and have to admit it does make a difference in the gears and will even go as far to say it makes a difference in the fuel consumption as well, as in the difference being a hell of a lot better making the 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears in mid range revs much smoother. And an ever bigger joy to ride.
The only mods left to do to the bike, when funds permit, would to be get wavy brake disks, front and back, some braided hoses, maybe a colour coded under tray , probably an ignition advancer, the possibilities are endless, but one thing can be guaranteed upon, whatever I chose to do with the bike, the gang at the RFOC will be there to help me out with all my questions as they have been since the day I joined the club.
All the Best
RfGirl