What's the verdict on the RF900?

I road one many times (courtesy bike) when my bikes were in for
service, commuting 100 miles round trip for a few days at a time. I
loved them. I'm over 6ft and didn't feel cramped. I thought and
still think that they were good value and they seem to like being
thrashed.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Champ

*Snort*

 

<de-lurk>
<snippeth>

Blow In Jez!!

Fnarr!

I know this person well, and WUN, Sir, you're perceptiveness via the
ether is astounding. He does indeed have multiple deformities and
deviant tastes. I'll cut out a picture of a pint of brown ale and
post it to you.

BIJ could be termed a blow in from inger-land, but i prefer to think
of him as a 'sleeper'
I am a native of paddyland.
In any case..

I bought said RF900 off BIJ and put another 18k on it i think. It was
the gaylord purple and silver paintjob, but it grew on one, and nay,
indeed, broadened ones horizons.
Concur with above re: firmness of ride, ropey B roads (which are the
predominant fare here) could indeed loosen yer eyeballs, but in
fairness the front end was fully adjustable my (our) one and had
ohlins at rear, so set up could be tweaked for conditions.
I'm 6' 3" and found it ok to tour europe on, bit cramped on ankles and
after a full day, mebee the odd stiff knee.

Yes it runs wide if you let it.

I've a blackbird now and its more comfy for sure, but way, way hotter
when sitting at lights in warm weather.
I can grow mushrooms in my leathers now, was never an issue with RF.
Oxford sports throwovers worked fine, one strap over, one under seat.
As far as 2 upping, my gurlie, an experienced pillion, declared it to
be 'horrible' as a passenger, with high pegs and a hard forward
sloping seat.

Headlight is speed limiting at night.

Mechanicals seemed bulletproof, apart from:
a rattly alternator, noticable mainly at idle, and had reached
equillibruim by 50k ish and was thus ignored.
The clutch slave cylinder seal leaked, and i recall it was the shaft
that wore, so, cylinder replacement was only option.I decided dot 4
was cheaper an easier.

Other odd characteristic was that every few thousand miles the gearbox
specket nut would loosen, allowing sprocket to slide on splines,
yielding a funny grating noise on lefthand bends. Handy to remind you
to tighten it up.

In terms of bangs per buck, highly reccomended. A hoot for the loot.
<gazes wistfully into mists>
I was quite fond of the ole beast.

Eamonn

 

Thanks to all for info and advice. Tried it today and found it more or
less as expected. Not terribly uncomfortable, hands ached a bit in
town, and it was notably less nimble than the ZR-7. The lock is very
limited in comparison and my hips felt a bit uncomfortable due to the
extra width. It had a corbin seat, which didn't seem to help matters -
it seemed determined to push my nuts onto the tank. Once in NSL mode
it was pretty comfortable, something rattled upto 5k revs and then the
screen rattled above 70. Only briefly got chance to do a ton and was
surprised that it seemed less at ease at that speed than the ZR-7.
Although the latter is revvy and does 5k at 70mph, it seems to get
into a groove at about a ton but the vibes make my hands numb after
about 50 miles. I think the RF will better suit touring Europe than
the Z so it looks like a deal. He may still be interested in mine but
I didn't really know what price to set - maybe I should page TOG.