[surjaonwheelz]

Congratulations! That's a beauty in black/yellow. I had seen Manson's CBR at a TBHP meet and riding position seemed aggressive. This is a long termer in your garage!

After the acquisition, 'making it your own' part is the the most rewarding and satisfying.

Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

[VijayAnand1]

The force was strong with this one though. Big bikes come with big OCDs and this one definitely isn't an exception. Back in the days, things were raw, real and visceral, just like watching a moving from a VHS tape that has a uniqueness to it. Yesteryear's legends are a charm altogether.

With so much electronics being pampered and nestling the riders, the very feeling to know that you and your machine are your own safety net is a feeling altogether different. No wonder, motorcycles of the bygone era were superior death machines.

Not gonna expand on the extol though, but you've justified the bike for what it thoroughly deserved. Many more smiles to you riding this Marigold!

Cheers!
VJ

[Ikran]

You had me at this line - “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” – Earl Nightingale

This so true and inspiring to keep pushing limits in all walks of life. Congratulations on your new ride. Happy and Safe riding

How much did you acquire it for and the total cost of mods?

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by surjaonwheelz

Congratulations! That's a beauty in black/yellow.
Happy riding,
surjaonwheelz

Thanks Mate!

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

With so much electronics being pampered and nestling the riders, the very feeling to know that you and your machine are your own safety net is a feeling altogether different. No wonder, motorcycles of the bygone era were superior death machines.

Not gonna expand on the extol though, but you've justified the bike for what it thoroughly deserved. Many more smiles to you riding this Marigold!

Cheers!
VJ

Thanks VJ, you are spot on with your Superior death machines observation.

Originally Posted by Ikran

You had me at this line - “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” – Earl Nightingale

This so true and inspiring to keep pushing limits in all walks of life. Congratulations on your new ride. Happy and Safe riding

How much did you acquire it for and the total cost of mods?

Thanks Ikran, well the rabbit hole is a rabbit hole you can keep throwing money in it, till you run out of will or money. I guess I should be closing to around 6 lacs with everything done, for that price I could have probably got a 3-4 year old used Z900 today maybe, but not the satisfaction.

[Hells_Fury]

Hearty congratulations Aman, you've really put in a lot of effort to restore her. Loved reading every bit of your posts. Can't wait to see her in the flesh now!

[vignesh.cv]

Hearty congrats on acquiring a timeless classic, designed by Baba san himself ! Wishing you many happy miles with this beautiful machine !

[neil.jericho]

Wow, what a thread! Where do I even start? AtheK has penned the entire journey of buying, riding and living with a modern classic motorcycle, in a gripping and detailed manner. Not only is this thread going to be a goldmine for owners of old Honda's who want to keep their motorcycle in top nick, but it is also an eye opener for enthusiasts who think they can enter the big bike world, simply by purchasing an older motorcycle for not too much money.

The passion, time, dedication and money that is involved in getting these beauties back to their original glory, is not something that many enthusiasts are willing to invest. For the few who do, its a memorable journey, from day 1. Thanks for taking us along on this journey of restoration and taking the bike to the next level.

As the old saying goes - they just dont make them like they used to!

Originally Posted by AtheK

Overall it is a very easy machine to ride if you have control on your wrists, it masks it's weight well and is easy to take in and out of parking. The suspension is a bit stiff but that is fine as it holds it's own in straight lines. I sometime think if I should make this as a track bike. Unlike the smoking hot red bike in my garage this one stays way cooler and I have hardly seen it hit temperatures above 110, while cruising it maintains a decent temperature of 75 degrees.

Honestly, I would keep this as a road bike, not just because of the heat management aspect that you touched upon. These 954s are brilliant motorcycles that can do sporty / track riding, touring and sports-touring, without breaking into a sweat. The Ducati 959 is arguably a better track bike than it is a road bike. At least that's what one owner explained to me at a track day. If I were in your shoes, the 959 would get the easy vote to become the default track bike.

Originally Posted by AtheK

The bike is a literal head turner both due to it's history and the yellow color. I have seen people right away ignoring the ducati and asking me more about the 954, it just holds it's own with the current urban counterparts. It can pretty much keep up with them as well, as when you gun it when you see an open stretch, it will leave pretty much all of them behind hitting speeds of 2XX easily.

Count me in with the rest of the contingent that will be drooling all over the 954, even if the Ducati 959 or any other modern superbike, is parked alongside it.

P.S - More pictures, please !

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Wow, what a thread! Where do I even start? AtheK has penned the entire journey of buying, riding and living with a modern classic motorcycle, in a gripping and detailed manner.

Honestly, I would keep this as a road bike, not just because of the heat management aspect that you touched upon. These 954s are brilliant motorcycles that can do sporty / track riding, touring and sports-touring, without breaking into a sweat. The Ducati 959 is arguably a better track bike than it is a road bike. At least that's what one owner explained to me at a track day. If I were in your shoes, the 959 would get the easy vote to become the default track bike.

Thanks Neil!

The only reason I think of making this as track focused bike is due to the upkeep cost that accompanies a track day as detailed by our friend @no_fear, where in there is no doubt that 959 is a better track bike, 954 should hold it’s own to get the journey started.

Other thing that keeps knocking at back of your mind is the cost involved in case you end up with a minor crash as well. The complete fairing kit from Ali express kit costs around 40K, and is readily available, panigale will leave a big hole in the pocket

That said I am slowly losing the thought of going to track anyway, I really want to do a level 1 and 2 to learn more and become a better rider, but then I am guessing that is where the buck will stop. The bulging beer belly and age catching up fast is only slowing down reflexes.

[Sman999]

Awesome owner for an awesome machine and an awesome thread! Among all that was done on the bike, for me IMHO/personally the yellow seats doesnt go well with the bike.

That said this classic needs a loving owner like you. Keep it up!

BTB did you manage to fix that digital LCD speedo?

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by Sman999

Awesome owner for an awesome machine and an awesome thread! Among all that was done on the bike, for me IMHO/personally the yellow seats doesnt go well with the bike.

That said this classic needs a loving owner like you. Keep it up!

BTB did you manage to fix that digital LCD speedo?

Thanks a lot mate, yes you are right an I agree Yellow seats might need re work in near future.

For the speedo it is still work in progress, we have been able to make the Indicators work with the new acquired one and we also fixed the old one. The old one though still keeps coming on and going off randomly, but when it is On, it works flawlessly.

I am thinking of just putting the new one now that Indicators are working with it, and install the digital one i received as permanent.

Here it is in action, and installed on bike currently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEJ9Qi_8emI

Once it connects to GPS, the time is automatically updated, so Ideally I am just missing a tachometer only, which I can live without.

[AtheK]

In latest update, we finally fixed the Speedometer, took the bike out for a 250 KM ride and bike behaved flawlessly. Now I can finally start thinking of getting a wrap for the bike.

Leaving you with a few photos from the ride yesterday, the foggy weather added to a serene background.

[doga]

At the risk of being chided and asked to mind my own business, I beg you not to get a wrap. The classic bikes look best in their oem colours. This is probably the best 954 livery after the white and blue. If the paint is tired just get it repainted but get one of the factory schemes. It'd be a respite to tired eyes amongst the 'look at me' over the top graphics laden bakes in a bike meet!
On another note, congratulations on the bike and great work done to bring it up to a nice level. Wishing you many happy miles. Keep an eye(rather ear) on the CCT as it often goes kaput like on the f4i. Also, the fuel pressure regulator is another weak point.
Beautiful bike!

[AtheK]

Originally Posted by doga

At the risk of being chided and asked to mind my own business, I beg you not to get a wrap. The classic bikes look best in their oem colours. This is probably the best 954 livery after the white and blue. If the paint is tired just get it repainted but get one of the factory schemes. It'd be a respite to tired eyes amongst the 'look at me' over the top graphics laden bakes in a bike meet!
On another note, congratulations on the bike and great work done to bring it up to a nice level. Wishing you many happy miles. Keep an eye(rather ear) on the CCT as it often goes kaput like on the f4i. Also, the fuel pressure regulator is another weak point.
Beautiful bike!

Thanks buddy, but my plan is actually opposite, I want to have a matt black wrap with very less yellow to make bike look less of attention grabber then what it is right now with the yellow livery. I hardly go to any bike meets, passed that age sometime back already.

[princezahed]

Love the way your 954 looks. It is so beautiful. There is a character in these old machines which sets them apart from the new generation of bikes.

[AtheK]

It's been sometime I posted on this thread so here are some updates on what is happening with the bike lately.

After the first set of fixes, I rode the bike extensively for around 1000 Kms and started making notes of all the issues that still needed fixing, and this is what I came up with.

1. Check on why battery is getting drained so quickly when headlights are turned on.
2. Fix the small puncture on left side fork
3. Fix the speedometer
4. Remove and replace the resonator with the OEM
5. Install bmc airfilter
6. Check complete wiring
7. Second Gear slips sometimes
8. Cylinder Sync
9. Valve Clearance
10.Brake Pads Replacement
11. Suspension Sag

I decided to drop the bike with Moospark as I trust them the most with my bikes, and I knew this work will take sometime, so all the below was done at Motospark, and they have done a great job.

1. Check on why battery is getting drained so quickly when lights are turned on.

One of the major issues that I had was the battery drain when Headlights were turned on, bike would work perfectly with the Headlights switched off, but the moment headlights will switch on, battery will drain out very quickly. This bike now has had many operations in past and honestly wiring is not in the shape it should be, specially with lot of patchwork done in past. So it could have easily been a short somewhere. We had also changed the battery and this issue was more prominent after that, so battery was also checked for any faults.

Team spent a lot of time working on the bike checking everything one by one, starting from wiring, RR Unit and Stator. Eventually the issue was found out to be with Stator. Now option was to either get a new one or fix the current one, we decided to fix the current one. Rewinding was done and heatproof sleeves were used.

Yassar has since tested it, and I usually do not ride in Night much, so I have not gotten a chance to test if it is indeed fixed, I did run it for around 50 kms in morning with headlights on and for now it seems to be working fine. Will do more testing over the course of next few months.

The One that was malfunctioning.



Serviced with new heatproof sleeves.




2. Fix the small Puncture on left side fork.

Bike had a very small puncture on the left side fork and this meant it used to leak fork oil, so we did use a heavy viscosity fork oil last time to arrest the issue, but it still leaked and I was not happy. So we decided to get this fixed as well.

Fork were rebuilt and the fork tubes were rechromed to fix the puncture once and for all. New fork Oil and seals were installed and the fork is now as good as new, one more issue solved!








3. Fix the Speedometer

This continues to be an achilles heel for us, after getting it fixed umpteen number of times, it keeps conking off. Yassar got it fixed again and after few starts it conked off again. One funny thing is that if you disconnect and connect it, it works for sometime and then stops showing display. When we use the other speedometer that I had acquired (which does not display correct speed and tachometer does not work) it comes on every single time, so wiring is not an issue.

Other thing with the faulty speedometer is that I think something is shorting inside, as if I don't start the bike for two weeks it feels like it is struggling to start, and if I leave it a bit longer the battery drains out, so there is some parasite drain. This does not happen with the other speedometer and bike starts after a month also when left idle. We have again got it fixed but I have not installed it yet. I am currently running the bike with the faulty speedometer, atleast it shows me time and complimented with the GPS chinese speedometer which shows me the speed.

I am contemplating to Order this third party speedometer and hopefully fix this issue, though not stock, but if this works, it should be fine.



Here is the Video of current Setup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVMkgrK5wU0

4. I had replaced the stock resonator with a free flow one, but it was not of very good quality and I used to hear some buzzing while revving, specially at idle. It has now been replaced again with Stock and will stay this way.

5. Installed the BMC Air Filter so that now I don't have to worry about getting a replacement filter ever.



6. Entire wiring was checked for any drains or shorts and everything now is OK, I am also contemplating if I should get a used wiring harness and replace the entire wiring for permanent peace of mind.

7. Second Gear slips on and off, specially if I am at high speeds and I downshift, it slips back to Neutral sometimes. Though not much of an issue, it just gets irritating sometimes, worse still people around you thinking that he is revving without any reason, though that kind of sound while revving is more embarassing. I have now mentally trained myself to go from 1st to 3rd gear, but still since there is no gear indicator, you sometime do end up making the mistake.

Fix is possible for which Gearbox will need to be opened up and check Gear shifter alignment with respect to the shift rod. It can also be due to weak shift drum spring or bend dog ears (shift forks) or 2nd gear teeth worn out. I will leave this work to be done sometime later.

8. Cylinders sync was check, which was fine.

9. Valve clearance was done.

10. EBC sintered front brake pads and Accossato rear brake pads were installed.

11. Suspension had a bit of sag, it was dialled in. Coneset was also serviced and tapered roller bearings added.

This Project is now over a year old and still two issues need solving, but that said once it is done we should have a perfectly running CBR 954rr. The two current issues are also not a show stopper any more, also work around is available for them.

I took the bike out for around 200 Km long ride this weekend and it is riding perfectly. The handling is sublime, I unfortunately lost the Baffle of my exhaust, so it is making some ruckus, will need to fix that as it is bit loud right now without the baffle. The bike also runs much smoother when we have the DB killer, now only headache is just importing the DB killer from Poland, have asked Yassar if he can try to get one fabricated in India itself.

I am now done with this project as I am in no rush to fix the pending two issues and for me this is a closed project from what ever needed to be fixed. It took us close to One year to get to this state, where in when I started this I thought we will be done in a month or so.

Only last thing I was thinking was to get a wrap, and get it moved to more matt black then yellow, which attracts way too much attention. A friend has done a design for me (since i am a huge Dainese fan) and I have picked one design from Ali express. Will either go with one of the two designs or just go with the 2002 CBR 954 wrap design which is more black and less yellow. Below are the three designs.

Design 1



Design 2



Design 3 (Stock 2002) (will remove some more yellow from this and make it black, mudguard for example, yellow will also be matte yellow and not glossy)




Leaving you with the only pic I took during my last ride on the bike, hope you liked reading my journey on restoring a 20 year old beautiful machine. She is still such a head turner, Honda had readlly outdone themselves with this design back in 2003.



Until Next time!