Ive put down 92-99 to cover all the carb models as they are more or less the same. A number of revisions were carried out between the original 92 model until the final RRX model of 99. including slight bodywork revisions between the years, twin lamps/foxeye to scowl lamp, progressively less less "drill holes" in the bodywork ,a small increase in engine capacity came in 1997 from 893cc to 918.5cc's and a bit of weight loss due to a new magnesium head.
This one was a 98 RRW
Undoubtably the best machine I've owned, 179 kilos (which is still light even by todays standards) and 128 bhp means you get erm
128 divided by 179k is erm 0.715 bhp per kilo, so your still getting 715BHP per ton. Thats a lot for a couple of thousand quid.
Build quality is superb, it doesent fur up or rust in a hurry, in fact you can pretty much neglect it and it wont get upset and start rotting. the ride is good and forgiving (although some say that fitting a 17inch front wheel makes things even better, I find the the ride position is fine for riding all day, take it steady and you will hit 175 miles before reaching for the reserve tap, cane it around the nurburgring and you'll get 90 miles
ride magazine did an article on all the models and quoted this info
0-60 3 seconds
0-100 6.9 seconds
top speed 167
fuel consumption 40mpg
Its a doddle to take to bits for servicing and there is an abundant amount of spares still available. The thing thats important to me is reliability and this is a machine that starts on the button.
Ive rode up and down to London on one for years, been round most of Germany on one, even down to Valencia in spain.
Whats gone wrong?
The original bike had a bit of judder when hitting the front brake hard. I fitted a pair of second hand discs from a breakers for £120. problem solved
On the final part of the journey back from spain i noticed a slight swishing noise from the back wheel as i peeled off the A19 on the home run. Turned out to be the sprocket carrier bearing. I knocked it out myself and fitted a new one from stockton bearings, in fact, I did all the wheel bearings for £30 happy days
Unfortunately I came off it doing some charity work for another local motorcycle group (my own fault for not paying enough attention) The bike was written off
Would I buy another one? Yes, in fact i did.. i wanted the blue white and gold colour scheme but this one came along at the right price
I wasnt over keep on the colour scheme, but its grown on me
Servicing is cheap and easy, plus its an iconic machine that everyone recognises, A single sided swing arm can be fitted from the VFR to sex it up a bit. Im really pleased with it, Provided its kept in this kind of condition, I cant see it ever being worth anything less than £1500, nonetheless, I ' m not in a hurry to sell it anyway
