which year to buy

I'm finally going to buy a newer bike! I have rode a 1990 cbr1000 for a few years now and i'm looking to upgrade. The problem is that I can't decide on a year I know I want a cbr900/929. I have heard some many different things about them I don't know which one to buy. I think they started putting a 918cc in '95 I also heard that they fixed some of the frame flex in '98 but i'm not sure. I have rode a few cbr900 but i didn't want to push it on a bike that wasn't mine. Is there any handling difference that is noticable to the average rider? I have $6000 to spend on the bike plus new gear.

thanks

Actually the 919cc motor didn't get used till 96. 95 was still the 893cc motor. I have a 95 and I love it. Eventually it will get turned into a track bike and i'll pick up a CBR1000RR in the next year or two. I personally like the looks of the 900RR's better then the 929's or 954's. Thats just my personal opinion though.

Thanks for the reply. I think that i'm analizing the bike specs too much. You read the reviews on certain years of cbrs' and they talk about how weak the frame was up until 98 as far as flex is concerened. I like the older style looks too. I am just worried that if I buy an older cbr (95-97 then hop on a newer one I will see a big handling difference. How does your 95 handle as far as some hard riding through the mountains?

Here is another thing to think about..the CBR900 uses a 16" front wheel, starting in 1996 when Honda went to the bigger motor; the speedo is driven of the transmission and then you can just do a wheel swap off a F3 to get a 17" front wheel instead of the 16" wheel that all CBR900's have. Prior years ( 1993-1995) still had the 893cc motor and the speedo driven off the front wheel.....The 929 gets you fuel injection as well as a 17" wheel.
I just sold my 93 CBR900 and I personally didn't like the feel of the 16" wheel since the sidewall is so steep that you cant use the entire tire. At trackdays the tire would still have virgin rubber on the sides and the tire was kind of vague in relation to how a 17" set up feels. I got used to it but it still never felt as planted as any bike that had a 17 up front. I have had R1's, FZ1, CBR600's abd all of them had the 17" front..and I could get a tire just about anywhere...Not to many dealers stock the 16" tires anymore

Thanks for the info. I just bought a 1998cbr900 so far I love the bike! It does seem to float a little in some of the tighter sections compared to my buddies R1. But I wanted more of an all purpose bike. Do you think switching up to a 17 in the front is worth it as far as performance or is my money better spent elseware on the bike?

Personally I would search for a 17" wheel. It just opens up a world of tire possibilites. And if you are out riding and run over something that destroys your front tire the likely hood of you getting another one at a motorcycle store is much greater if you have a 17" rim.
Besides it being more stable, you will have to adjust your suspension a little to offset the bigger wheel..maybe slide the tubes up just a bit to compensate. It is very minor but worth it.
Search Ebay and I bet you could find a F3 front wheel ( dont forget the Brake discs, I am not sure if your 98 rotors will bolt up.)

Thanks, I think I will switch up to a 17. To bad I just bought a set of 208s for my bike. I'll just have to go riding a little more often to use them up, no problem with that!

a f3 front wheel will not work on a 98-99 RR. rotors will not bolt up and f3 rotors are too small 296mm,98-99 310mm. what you need is a f4 front wheel. the rotors will bolt right up. all you need to do is machin .100 off each side of the wheel where the rotor bolts up.thenmake new spacers, .100 wider on the right and .090 wider on the left. the rear wheel will slip right in with the f4 spacers. remember, a f4 wheel not a f4I. f4I has a larger rotor bolt patern.

Thanks for the info I take it you use to have a 900.

i have a 95 9RR, 98 9RR, and a 96 F3 smoking joes.

ITry adjusting the suspension to better fit your riding style. There is nothing wrong with the 16" front. They make plenty of great tires for them and I wouldn't waste the time and money on changing up the front end.

What tires are you running now? Are they new?

my 98 still has the 16 in it, and it is alot stabler then my bros R1. the R1 feels nervous in a turn. my 95 has a 17 on the front and it does not feel much differant then my 98.

I have a set of 208s on my bike right now. They are getting a little squared off though. I'm looking for a tire that will give me more than 5000mi.

Tire wear is very rider specific as some are harder on tires that others. Keeping your tires at higher pressure also increases their life although some prefer a more aggressive lower air pressure for better handling.

Here's my past list of tires and miles on them:

Bridgestone BT55 (stock) - 8,500+
More than a few sets of D207's (they were "the" tire for the time) - 7,500+
Avon AV36/AV39's (nice sticky tires) - 5000+
Avon AV45/AV46's (my favorite) - 8,500+
Bridgestone BT14 - Maybe 4000 so far and getting close to the wear indicators.

For a good portion of their life, the Avon 45/46's were over inflated due to a problem with my gauge. I recommend occasionally checking your tires with different gauges as I had no idea my gauge was bad. I probably could have got many mores mile out of the Avons with the proper pressure.

The D207's coned and cupped badly on my 16" wheel but I usually only changed one front for every two rears. Every other set seems to have worn pretty evenly which I prefer. It's nice to have a nice new set at the same time.

Oh, and one more thing, I've never met anyone that I ride with who likes the 208's. Again rider preference but I thought I would mention it here.