954 front first ride report
12-22-2007 | 06:30 PM
#1
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Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 387
954 front first ride report
Night and day. I had a coerce and RT GVs and .85RT springs on my stockers.....now it's the 954USD forks etc, .85 RT springs, RT GVs. Much much more stable and all of a sudden, you don't even think about the front end anymore...inspires a lot more confidence. Not quite as compliant over bump stuff but better action. Meaning, I feel the bumps but they don't interfere with my riding.
I still have to fine tune settings, set sag etc but I am very glad I went thru the hassle and expense. Oh...and the braking? fugeddaboutit. Much more brake than I will ever use.
I still have to fine tune settings, set sag etc but I am very glad I went thru the hassle and expense. Oh...and the braking? fugeddaboutit. Much more brake than I will ever use.
12-23-2007 | 07:36 PM
#2
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 387
Another ride under the belt. This time on the freeway, over the GG bridge and into "The City" for an errand. WOW...sooooooooo stable at speed. I pushed it up the hill and leaned over amidst traffic at 95mph and it felt like 65. Little bumps just don't exist, big ones get sucked up like you would imagine they should. I still have to dial in preload and damping adjustments but all in all......WOW...very glad I went thru the hassle to do it. MUCH better than stock with RT springs, Gvalves, Coerce brace etc. Whole different machine..yummy!
12-24-2007 | 03:54 AM
#4
Member
Squid
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 66
From: Germany
I can totally confirm redman, got he same fork and same brakes. Wonderful, such a great braking! Very stable to drive. Great!
@smokinjoe73: Well, if you only ride in harsh city the USD - fork isn't that much required, isn't it. I guess the stock one is good enough for city taffic...
But if you still want to do this, ok. You can set the whole fork, in any way, there should be a setting for your harsh city... 
And if you ride it, maybe you'll find your way out of this city... Who can say...
@smokinjoe73: Well, if you only ride in harsh city the USD - fork isn't that much required, isn't it. I guess the stock one is good enough for city taffic...
But if you still want to do this, ok. You can set the whole fork, in any way, there should be a setting for your harsh city... And if you ride it, maybe you'll find your way out of this city... Who can say...
12-24-2007 | 07:05 AM
#5
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 818
From: Thornwood, NY
Hey Smoking Joe...
I have the RC51 forks on my bike.... I'd say if you 90% of your riding is the BQE or some other crappy NYC highway (actually aren't they all?).... staying on the stockers might not be a bad thing... but if your getting out of the city some, you'll be happy. Bottom line is, you could always put soft springs in the USD forks and you'd have just as nice of a ride, but with much better braking....
BTW.... where are you located... I'm in Mount Vernon just north of the Bronx, right near the Cross County and Hutch Parkway intersection...
J.
I have the RC51 forks on my bike.... I'd say if you 90% of your riding is the BQE or some other crappy NYC highway (actually aren't they all?).... staying on the stockers might not be a bad thing... but if your getting out of the city some, you'll be happy. Bottom line is, you could always put soft springs in the USD forks and you'd have just as nice of a ride, but with much better braking....
BTW.... where are you located... I'm in Mount Vernon just north of the Bronx, right near the Cross County and Hutch Parkway intersection...
J.
12-24-2007 | 09:48 AM
#6
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Superstock
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 387
Smoker.......if you could snap your fingers and your front end would magically change itself for free....then it's a no brainer. If I was using my bike for commuting and transpo and the occasional jaunt out of town, I wouldn't do it. It will cost you anywhere from $500-$1000 depending on everything. It will take some looking, bidding, buying, waiting, wrenching, photos, selling, installation, grinding of stops, new bars, possibly rebuilding of new forks, tweaking, etc etc. If you don't do your own wrenching it will cost a lot more. I like to push my bike hard in corners...all the time. I like to get to the local track every now and then $$ permitting. I did mine because I wracked up my front end at the track and had to rebuild it anyway. If I hadn't, I would've left it as it was.
I also have tweakers and tinkerers disease and can't seem to leave ANY motorcycle I own alone. So there you have it......good luck.
I also have tweakers and tinkerers disease and can't seem to leave ANY motorcycle I own alone. So there you have it......good luck.
01-07-2008 | 05:43 PM
#7
Senior Member
Back Marker
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 224
From: Fresno, Ca
Hey redman (and anybody else with a 954 top tripple clamp)... What did you do about the ignition switch mounting and whatever the hell goes on top of the bezel? I was able to shim it down so that the lock mechanism works, but there appears to be some missing component/ring that goes around the ignition switch. Does the little piece that screws on there fit with the SuperHawk switch, or did you do something different?
01-07-2008 | 06:40 PM
#8
Senior Member
SuperSport
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 818
From: Thornwood, NY
The 929 954 triple uses a "bezel" around the ignition lock to fill in that gap. You can pick one up off Ron Ayers if you need one. I guess the CR ignition doesn't have the labeling (on/off/etc) on it.... thats why they use that bezel.
J.
J.
01-07-2008 | 08:16 PM
#9
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 5,053
From: NYC
I'm in Bklyn hts, right by the east river/Bklyn & Mnhattan bridges. All my street riding is city except a trip or 2 upstate. I race the full CCS series at Loudon(expt#73). Not too far from you geographicly but a world away. Yeah, BQU sucks but its kinda my backyard. Nice view under the promenade tho.
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