2003 CBR 954 fire blade

I am in the market of purchasing my first bike.  I was thinkg about buying a brand new 2005 Yamaha R6.  I recently saw an add in the paper for a 2003 Honda CBR 954 for $6,500 and it has 7,000 miles on it already.  I spoke to the owner over the phone and I asked him if the bike had any major problems with.  He assured me the bike was in perfect conditon and that he really didn't want to part with but his wife wants him to sell.  So my question to all of you fellow riders is that would this purchase be a wise decison? what should I look out when purchasing this bike? would it be too much bike for me to handle since im a beginer? How many miles after should i get the oil changes? your replies would be greatly appreciated.  

Glad to see you making the choice to join the sport.

As for your first bike...the R6 would be a lot to handle as your first bike.  It can be done, just be extremely cautious with your throttle, brake, and bar inputs.  An R6 is still probably leaps and bounds faster than anything you have ever driven or rode.  The 954, albeit a fair deal, is way too much for your first bike.  Again it can be done but the fundamental skills will take much longer to learn due to the bikes power and responsiveness to inputs.  If you think you can handle it then check enp83's "Lear to ride" post in the new rider section and it will humble you.  I think that bike is a 929, but not sure.  It will put a "newb" on his back in no time.  

Just use your head and stay focused when riding and you should not have any problems.  Also, check out Honda F4 or F4i, Suzuki SV650, or a Yamaha YZF600.  These bikes still have all the power a newb will need plus have more comfortable ergos for extended riding...extended rides means more time in the saddle learning your new hobbie.

Good luck with your purchase and welcome to the sport.  

I have a 954 and I'm thinking it would be a horrible bike to learn on. The rake is like 23.5 degress and it turns in very quickly, you might want more stability. The suspension is stiff, it's a race replica, so you are not going to get the "feeling" you are supposed to get when you roll the throttle on turns at street speeds.  You need to get a less aggressive bike to learn that properly. On the power side it has two personalities, one with the exhasut valve closed and the other with it open, I find it hard to keep it open on the street so you have to pay attention to that as well. It's plenty powerful so you also have all the normal worries as well. Frankly I'm thinking of turning into a track only bike. As to it's reliability, I haven't had a single issue in two seasons if that helps.

Get the SV or the old F4 or even the EX500, or a Monster or something like that.  

Another questions this is regarding maintence what are the usual maintence that i have to do on a bike like oil changes, tune ups and etc. ?  

Maintenance on any Japanese bike is few and far between.  Obviously change the oil to whatever the manual specifies.  I own a Honda Superhawk which can be hard on oil so I change it every 2K miles.  If you store your bike then spark plugs and carbs(if no EFI) should be maintained occordingly.  The olny major maintenance chore is the valve adjustments.  On most Japenese bikes the valve adjustments are around 16K miles or more, depends on bike, and if your mechanically inclined you can do yourself.  

Overall its mainly the same stuff you do for your car--brakes, air cleaner, oil, spark plugs, fresh fluids, etc.  Maintenance and upkeep is cheap and most *** bikes have rock solid reliability.  

Actually when I bring it into my local Honda dealer for service, he kind of laughs and asks me what I want done. They change the oil and maybe do the valves. With fuel injection and computer controlled ignition there's very little you have to do now-a-days. I suppose if you are looking for things to do you could change the fork oil or repack the can, or buy a European bike.  

It's not that I want things to do, I'm a new motorcycle owner so i just wanted to get some input on bike maintence.  Thank's everyone for you input and help it is greatly appreaciated.