A freind of mine has made an offer to swap an 03 RC-51 for my 954. My bike has only 6200 miles on it and his has 9800. I will tell you that this guy rides hard and long wheelies. What do you guys think :!: expecially you guys that have owned both :wink:

I like them both but they each have their good points. Which one do you like to ride? :roll:

I've never rode one, but it's a twin and that means torque. I'm sure it wheelies nicely :D

I've ridden my friends 03' RC51 and it is not as nimble as the 954. It did'nt feel as flickable. I missed that inline 4 high rev power. It did feel very planted though and had nice power out of turns. I'm sure with some more seat time I would get very used to it. Swap bikes for a day and see what you think.

I wouldnt do it because you never know with a bike thats been stunted.....

my brother had the 51, I loved it, the torque, wheelies, feel-ride, I really liked the sound.

As far as the appearance he has kept it immaculate but I know for sure that I was with him the time he wrode a 2 1/2 mile wheelie. He rides em all the time. I am told that this will hurt this bike. However I have a friend that is a really good mech and he told me it wouldnt. He rides hard. Out of all the people that I ride with he is the 2nd fastest that ive rode with, period. For his reason to get rid of it he has the money so thats not the problem he just wants a different bike. Its a hard dicission ill have to give it thought. Mine has less miles and i know for sure rode easier than his so that may be the deciding factor.
thanks guys :wink:

I think that you are asking for trouble like fork seals and other little things like your race and stem bearings etc... You know your machine and you know its condition... I wouldnt do it unless the blue book showed a definate profit for you to do so.....

In the back of your mind you have to be thinking, why does he want to trade? I traded a pedal bike with a friend when I was younger and I got shafted because it had a few problems.

I would have to stick with the 54. I have rode a 51 a couple of times and I just like the way the 54 feels.

Thanks guys, I think that his motives are good, he has money and ive rode with him and I dont think hes trying to pull one on me; he is just wanting something different. If I dont swap then he will trade it for a new liter bike. As of right now Im not trading but If I do then I'll keep you posted. :wink:

DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

do what you like. if you ride it and like it, then go for it. me personally, i wouldn't do it for the reason 2K said. you know your bike and the little expensive and tedious things that could be wrong with his aren't wrong with yours. besides, yours has fewer miles and i bet has more book value (just guessing of course) be cautious though, friend or not, you may getting into a money pit and HE might even know it.

good luck

I am sure your friend is not pulling a fast one but doing wheelies all the time takes its toll on the bike, simply put it was never intended to do it so shit wears out faster...... I know you guys already know this but I wanted to explain the motive behind my last post.....

Not a problem, I agree with you all. You know how it is if you think youll like the other one better then youll more than likely go for it. I doubt mine will retail higher than him cause mines on a salvaged title even though theres nothing wrong with it. The original owners dad was the insurance adjuster and need I say more. I do know that Kevins isn't a salvaged title pluss his is an 03 rather than an 02. All the dealers in this erea dont even want a 54 cause they say that they cant sell them, and when they do they have to give em away. All of them want 51's cause they sell. Im thinking the same thing. I know that mine is a real good bike but if im gonna upgrade then id be better off with that one. Anyway I know ill get more feedback off of that one too, so bring it :D

I doubt mine will retail higher than him cause mines on a salvaged title even though theres nothing wrong with it

guess i missed that in the read :roll:

anyway, i'm sure you'll do what makes you happy and that is what's important here, but i seriously doubt you will be doing what's considered "upgrading" :lol:

I agree with the majority here. I also heard somewhere the the rc51 runs hotter than the 954, dont know if it is true, just something I heard.