2 Clicks Out: CBR929RR & CBR954RR Suspension Setups

www.DaveMossTuning.com
In 1998 Yamaha fired up the first liter bike heard round the world with the mighty R1, which caused American moto journalists to whine, "Who needs 137 horsepower?" Suzuki rose to the challenge, but not Cautious Honda. Yet the CBR900RR series was a stunter's dream.
www.DaveMossTuning.com

[@brando81]

I would take a 929 or 954 over any new litre bike. When I started my bike mechanic apprenticeship at my local Honda shop (I'll never forget that day) the manager was walking me back into the shop, the very first thing I saw as we walked through the door was an Erion Racing Edition CBR 929 up on a lift, and Fuel by Metallica blasting through the shop speakers. Man, what a first impression! Fell instantly in love with sport bikes. That was also the first year for the 600f4i. I quickly learned of the Firestorm and the RC 51. Then the 600rr, and the 954 came out. The 954 has such a mean looking angular front end. Still the best looking in my eyes. Some time later (don't really remember time frame) I came back to work after some time off, and sitting in the showroom was a new Firestorm (now called a superhawk) the new CB 919, and a RC 51 Nicky Haden edition with the white front end and all the racing decals. What a time to be alive and into bikes! 🍻

[@fingers8087]

Just bought a 929 Erion edition with 7k mikes on it. I’m in love to say the least.

[@mikelambert9738]

I have a 02 954rr

[@user-oo1um2jj2z]

А у меня 03. 954​@@mikelambert9738

[@Elkins82ify]

So satisfying to watch a master at his craft. Just by listening there’s so much to learn-thank you 👍🏻

[@davidjames1684]

Master? Did you watch his sprocket "gearing" video? Tons of errors in that video.

[@christopherdewell5636]

Thank you

[@ifrit35]

I always liked how these bike looks, especially the early 900s where there are no sharp edges and big colorful decals . And you can get them for relatively cheap nowadays.

[@YoungMulahBB]

I own a mint 929rr and a 954rr. Both amazing street bikes with crazy amounts of power. The 954rr feels the same weight and size as my R6 yet so much torque and power.

[@coop98]

I’ve owned many liter bikes, but imo the 954 is king! Feels amazing and super smooth. Amazing engineering

[@catalystreactionsbw]

I know many owners that feel exactly the same about that bike and that area of liter bikes.

[@brianmeuse7595]

Incredible timing, I have the 954rr build finished just today. The variety of topics on your channel is superb.

[@dr.jillalicecooper2587]

929-954 Fireblades are one of the best and most balanced sportbikes for the street and track. Wheelie monsters too and basically undestructible whatever you do with them. They don't make them like this anymore.. And beside that those bikes have a real trunk too. 929 looks so much better than newest robotic s1000rr in the background. Timeless design That BMW will look terrible and very old in 5 years from now. Just not a good looking bike

[@bradjean4486]

Was definitely a great bike my brother had one while I was on a 2000 R1 his bike was definitely smoother at Texas world track vs my tank slapping monster

[@kmassey]

This is why I have 2 954’s 😌

[@kevinchamberlain7928]

Just bought a 929 barn find 2 owners, 15000 miles but non runner. Never been down the road and 100% bog standard. I'm bringing it around!

[@paulmcadam6825]

Great video offering great information. All the best from an appreciative 918 FireBlade owner in Guyana, South America!

[@manuelavila7125]

Mister Dave adjusted my suspension on my 2000 triumph sprint rs at sonoma raceway im happy and my bike is amazing

[@veljkostankovic7970]

Dave the master! All the Best from Serbia.

[@keithkeller698]

That 929 is a solid machine but that 954 looks like it steped out of a time machine

[@clayton_1000rr]

Dave is the type of guy that I would be happy to hand my money to.

[@catalystreactionsbw]

I appreciate that.... thank you.

[@tongyang1631]

I own a 03' 954 and thanks Dave moss for the videos. I actually get so much knowledge from his videos that a bunch of people in my motorcycle group make me tune their suspension for them. Some of the suspension tunes I see come with their bike are horrendous and thanks to Dave I have saved a couple bikes from disaster crashes. They always tell me they are turned off by how hard they have to ride their bike but it's always just the suspension being too hard.

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Thank you for using the information in our content to increase your own knowledge and in turn pay it forward into your community. Funny how looking at fork and shock travel initially can show where the issues lie. A very sincere thank you from me to you sir!

[@GoneToHelenBach]

When I bought my 954, it was completely standard with 17,700 on the clock. The forks were so hard that it was like riding on scaffolding poles, so I reduced the compression damping by a couple of clicks and rode it again...no better. Two more clicks out, still no better. Kept on going a couple of clicks at a time until they were fully wound out and still they had far too much compression damping. After having the damping valves (compression and rebound) replaced with K-tech parts, along with K-tech linear springs, the front end actually worked! I still had to make a couple of small adjustments to dial them in properly but then they were transformed. The downside to doing this was that I then became aware of how bad the standard rear shock was, something that wasn't apparent with the terrible front end and, once again, no amount of adjustment would sort it out. The fitment of a Nitron NTR2 shock fixed that problem. It's great that my bike handles well now but I was disappointed that the standard suspension was so dire on a 'Blade that was regarded by many as the best handling 'Blade of all time, and that I had to spend so much money on making it handle properly. I had spent a lot of time learning about suspension setups, how to correctly setup preload for rider weight, setting static sag, dialling in the correct amount of compression damping and adjusting rebound damping to compliment the compression etc. so I knew what I was doing, the original suspension components were just crap.

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Out of curiosity, were the forks and shock serviced prior to you purchasing it? Old cold oil can be really thick creating massive handling issues. Same would go for the rear shock. Revalve of the forks and shock using stock pistons is an option but going the way you did yields better suspension than a revalve and you (as you have) created a really nicely handling motorcycle.

[@GoneToHelenBach]

@@catalystreactionsbw As far as I know, they hadn't been serviced prior to my ownership but really shouldn't be tired at just 17,700 miles, also, the guy I bought it from had a Nitron shock on it and refitted the original before advertising the bike for sale, so that hadn't even done 17,700. I coped with it for about six to eight months before getting Brook's Suspension to do the fork work and I bought and fitted the rear shock shortly after that, so the bike had been through a full summer of riding, some days exceeding 200 miles, it just never improved. The front end would kick harshly off the slightest surface imperfections and bits of missing tarmac mid turn made the bike almost completely stand up, it was actually quite dangerous.

[@catalystreactionsbw]

@@GoneToHelenBach Great insight and awareness of what was happening.

[@PANTYEATR1]

I need to work on my 929. It has developed oil leaks, a weird intermittent "chirping" sound from the clutch basket, the forks need service, a weird cooling issue and needs a paint job. 77k miles on the clock and it still rips!

[@flow_922]

I have had more Super Sport bikes that I can remember accept the 954 is one that I do clearly remember Honda really did their homework when they created this machine long live for the Fireblade Honda cbr954rr what an amazing machine little hesitant to fall into the corner but once in the corner bike is so planted you can grow tomatoes off of it LOL and that low-end torque never felt like I was in the wrong gear matter how Twisty the road was

[@GoneToHelenBach]

Mine stopped feeling hesitant to fall into a corner when I replaced the standard 190/50 rear tyre with a 190/55. Since then it has felt more like my old 918 on turn in.

[@Tamau90]

Cheers from Slovenia! Thanks a lot for all of the videos and if informations! Do you maybe have a video setting up a yamaha fz1(gen 2)?

[@wunny81]

The Color 954 is NICE. Die sieht schon sehr geil aus.

[@mainebigfoothunter7088]

I'm supposed to be buying a 954 off a friend this Spring. I hope to find a Master to set the suspension up if I do get the bike. It was amazing to watch Dave do his thing

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Happy to help you via email and set it up with you. I help riders 1-1 all over the world dai;ly this way. Let me know when you pick it up!

[@mainebigfoothunter7088]

@@catalystreactionsbw Thank you very much. I appreciate your offer

[@marcusgeorge1825]

I could easily binge on watching Dave perform his magic and listen to both Dave’s all day! I’m a bit like Mr. Williams and with I kept at least one of the early Fireblades. Having had the first one, such awesome machines! I had a new GSXR-750 when the first blade came out. A mate purchased one and one our first ride (after his first service) we went to overtake a bus, he was in front and pulled out first. I literally had to shift down 3 gears, at full throttle to stay with him. When we stopped I simply asked how many gears did you drop for that overtake? He just smiled (as he had the same bike previously that I was on) and said none, plus he also added that he didn’t even need to open it up fully. I was sold on my next road bike. After all these years I’m still yet to ride anything with that amount of advancement on any machine. Yes it had a bigger and more powerful engine, yes bikes are faster today. However comparatively speaking. Nothing has come close to the smile factor which is always the most important part. At least in my opinion. Great work as always gents! The offer to do some more laps around Phillip Island is still their for both of you next time you’re in Melbourne. 👍😎🇦🇺

[@polski1986]

Dave is a god ..

[@gosudream4018]

“Oh yea?” OHHHHHHHHHH YEEEEEEEAAAAAA.

[@Jj12915]

A mountain of knowledge, amazing!

[@russellvonastel7111]

That was fascinating

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching!

[@billydirt89]

I had both 929 / 954 the 929 hand's down was more comfortable to ride felt like a f3 cbr 600 so light and small perfect bike for me I weigh 150 so it perfect for me I sold the 954 I hated it

[@james.d.8044]

The Suspension whisperer 👑

[@Steyreon]

beautiful bike!

[@___Eldritch]

NPC dialogue 😂 "Did you get this out of a glass case? This things immaculate." Excellent work though. I just caught that you said the exact same thing twice.

[@durianriders]

Nice CBR

[@michaelstrauss6587]

Oooow.... That black RR.....

[@TheCashman007]

That 954 was nice !

[@OJMAH]

Mr. Dave. I wish you could discuss about proper anti squad amount for each cc bike. i saw Gymkhana bikes they mostly have almost neutral squad at cornering. especially, VT250 bikes. Do we need mroe anti squad on heavier bike? more torque bike ? why Dirt bikes have such huge anti squad.? what if the track i ride is composed of short and low conrnering speed? do we need only little or the point is just make it neutral at the apex ? im doing gymkhana and corner speed around 40-50km/h on 150cc standard 2stroke sport 90's bike. the torque of the bike just 2.2kg/ at 11000rpm but i ride at 5000-7000rpm in corners. so will be even less torque. and it weights 120kg . i quite sure at that speed i ride it already gives almost neutral squad to my bike. and is it danger to get squad at higer speed conrnering ? I still feel my front tire traction is in control. but not sure if the rear squad abit will make my traction goes wider or not ? will it feel like wheelie ?

[@masonburroughs5447]

Awesome video loved it. I have a 01 929 Blk n yellow n 17k

[@breeze1ful]

Hes a Wizard !

[@stephenmcqueen4029]

And a thumping good one at that!

[@Fee.1]

Why is there a WW1 era maxim machine gun water cooled barrel attached to the tail pipe of the first bike

[@petrolmajk]

I recently gave my Honda cbr600 f4i for full service at Honda dealer, they talked me into changing both silver rods at the front for a lot of $$$ because the old ones were supposedly used up. After full front fork service my bike doesn’t even ride straight anymore.... it wiggles left to right and is really scary in long turns. I hope they will fix it for me after this weekend ._. My baby was riding like laser before on “completely used up front fork” I have no clue where to even start diagnostics myself

[@catalystreactionsbw]

For tubes are an item that needs to be replaced.

[@JohnSmith-ws1dp]

In my opinion you shouldn’t be riding machines like these without decent mechanical knowledge. But that’s just me

[@GoneToHelenBach]

Wiggles left to right sounds like a symptom of over-tightened head bearings.

[@riderzinc]

I really need to get a aftermarket shock for my 954

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Why - your rear shock is fully serviceable. Use shock oil 5w and it will work very well.

[@riderzinc]

@@catalystreactionsbw1 year later and just got an ohlins shock

[@marcosgarcia11084]

Love the new "company vehicle "..lol

[@ferdiyurdakul]

And they say you can't put a price on knowledge and experience

[@jasonroth376]

Hi Dave, I just picked up an 02 954rr with 19k miles. I'm going to change the fork oil but I was curious if the oem rear shock is servicable or not. Thanks in advance.

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Yes it is! :)

[@reincarnated5594]

Hi mr Dave ..my 2010 kawasaki zx6r has little to no static in the rear ,any idea why?

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Spring setting is too tight. Have you looked at how much shock travel you are using? Ideal is 2-3mm above the bottom out bumper.

[@reincarnated5594]

@@catalystreactionsbw no i haven't..but i will do it tomorrow..im also looking into the romote tuning you offer

[@robertschiela8355]

Any videos for cbr900s? I couldn't find any in your website video list.

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Dave Williams, editor, replying here. Sorry no. Nobody has brought one to an event where we were filming. But you can remote tune with Dave if you like. email him [e-mail]

[@robertschiela8355]

Thanks for the reply DW. I'm in Pittsburgh. Will definitely consider it. Thanks to both of you for the tons of valuable info.

[@c0r3y_moto13]

I wish u could go ride vet my bike definitely needs it

[@hks071]

I wonder how much he charges for the set up.

[@catalystreactionsbw]

$60 for ergonomics and suspension dial in.

[@Sergio-bm2ch]

No original suspensión !! Yes!! Ist Gas

[@sergeantsodom6969]

Cheers Dave’s I’ve just had my (new to me) 2018 959 1200 miles setup by Kais in Atherton (UK) - and mostly street use, and as standard it was set up arse-up head down. I’m at nearly 40mm in the rear as my weight (88kg) as the stock spring is just out for my weight (apparenrly) but wirh a few stone to shed Im keeping it as-is. Thing is, it still feels really really rough and potholes are like a jackhammer to an already very bad back. Tyre pressure set to 36 F and R, question is, can lowering tyre pressure help with the jarring effect of rough roads, where suspension is at its limit (according to Kais)with things like hydraulics? John

[@KevTubeee]

Just throwing some wild guesses out there: Any chance you can see the amount of travel used on the shock ? If they gave you 40mm of sag and very low compression damping you might actually be bottoming out the shock and experiencing that as 'hard' ? Again,not an expert but just trying to think along 😄

[@catalystreactionsbw]

AS per Kev, how much fork and shock travel is being used. Text book and real world often do not meet line for line, number for number. Be prepared for 3-4 changes as you need to find your settings for your roads at your speeds. Enjoy the journey and start with the video needed on fork travel: kzbin.infosearch?query=fork%20bottom%20out

[@andrewjensen6744]

Its crazy my chicken strips on the street are smaller than his at the track

[@gregrich91]

honestly, this is like watching them chiropractor crack vids: looks like total BS, but I wanna believe it helps...

[@catalystreactionsbw]

Are you willing to change something to experience the epiphany? Ergonomics is always the first task and those are very simple quick changes. The biggest change would be to get the bike balanced via rebound damping or put a cable tie on the right fork tube. Having helped millions of riders worldwide, belief can be seen via comments from riders in all the videos on the positive outcomes. Have a go!

[@jposse187]

People actually pay $60 for this?

[@catalystreactionsbw]

They save hundred$$ in tyre wear, optimize longevity and grip and have a great riding experience. Some places charge much, much more.

[@stuartmatthews8187]

Are you kidding? Bargain!

[@jposse187]

@@stuartmatthews8187 where I live, this is free.

[@Davigu]

I thought mr. moss didnt believe in masks...

[@multishit6664]

yeah sad.. its a nanotech filled piece of shit and everyone is participating in a satanic ritual.

[@Mohapi_Tau]

@@multishit6664 so are doctors participating in satanic rituals when operating on patients?

[@calculusmetal]

Has anyone ever sold their 954 and NOT regretted it?

[@dadboddamien]

I'm considering selling mine.. Just more of a Kawi guy