Hayabusa Wannabe
Registered
I purchased a 2017 Blue & White with 300 miles on it for $9500.
I originally set out to get a bike with a lot of miles and good maintenance, hopefully for a song and dance. That would allow me to paint it and supercharge it. However, there are relatively few Hayabusas available in this area and they are almost never maintained, and most are molested with long swingarms, bling, and the such. On top of that the owners want a high price for them. The used floor price of this bike near me is far too high. With that in mind I decided on getting the newest bike possible. I found this one used bike with low miles and in the fantastic blue color. Otherwise I would have gotten a leftover 2018 white and red, but no one in my circle including me likes the color. I do not do my own work so a newer bike makes a lot of sense for me. However this does blow the entire short term budget. No exhaust or anything soon, but that is fine.
I cannot wait to ride it! (It is not insured yet.)
There was no maintenance done yet to this bike. I kind of get it as the owner bought it last year and did not ride it. I am obsessive and my mechanic is very detail oriented so every last detail will get addressed.
The bike started fine but my friend said it was a little bit slow for that bike. When we got home the battery was 12.8 V, to me a bit low after an hour ride. I hope the stator was not cooking to charge a battery that only had a five minute charge but was nearly dead after the winter! I put it on a Battery Tender Plus, and it's steady-state voltage after a day or two will tell me a bit about the battery health.
I have to wash it, I am thinking with Dawn. There is Armor All or something similarly oily on the black plastic and my mechanic thinks there is (or was) some on the tires before he rode it home for me. It has some swirl marks on the paint and windscreen from synthetic rags or a dry wipe. There is a little rust on the kickstand. The painted bolts are a little off-color. Stained or corrosion had begun? The rim sticker is slightly crooked, ergo user-applied. I likely will remove it.
My mechanic said the chain is loose, while I am not used to adjusting this bike yet. The bottom of the chain seems to have the right give but the top is resting on the the guard and seems to flex up a bit too much.
What is the deal with the dark view of hydraulic fluid in late model Hayabusas? The circle appears extremely dark but the outer ring has a nice healthy translucent appearance. We did see this same effect on a brand new 2018 in the dealership. A used 2013 in the dealership had perfectly clear looking windows and fluid, as I would expect. I am guessing Suzuki engineered this view intentionally, with a contrast between the edge and the middle of the circle. It is not particularly good for an evaluation of fluid color methinks.
My friend said that the OEM tires are hard as a rock and I should replace them. I see the Battleax lineup has an additional belt in it, perhaps that contributes to the feel. These seem to be a summer tire. Not a fan of a tire that needs to be warmed up for the motorcycle, particularly when I head out for an hour ride on a 50°F day. My mechanic recommended a Michelin touring tire with a hard middle compound, and that likely will be my next one. (I think many of you have highly recommended the Michelin tires for this bike.) We will see, I would prefer to use up these new tires first, if they do not give me any major headaches. .
I like to collect certain materials for posterity. I would love to have a Suzuki binder with setup instructions and any other bulletins pertaining to recent Hayabusas. Anything dated "2017" that matches my bike would be preferred. I know dealers get charged for these materials so I would be happy to pay for any leftover materials that any dealer people here may be getting rid of.
Regarding printed materials does anyone know what the Suzuki Ready Reference Placard Set is? This is listed alongside the Factory Service Manual on the purchase website.
BAH no key code tag! I sent a note to the purchase dealership to see if they have a record of it. It is not printed in the owner's manual that I received with the bike.
I originally set out to get a bike with a lot of miles and good maintenance, hopefully for a song and dance. That would allow me to paint it and supercharge it. However, there are relatively few Hayabusas available in this area and they are almost never maintained, and most are molested with long swingarms, bling, and the such. On top of that the owners want a high price for them. The used floor price of this bike near me is far too high. With that in mind I decided on getting the newest bike possible. I found this one used bike with low miles and in the fantastic blue color. Otherwise I would have gotten a leftover 2018 white and red, but no one in my circle including me likes the color. I do not do my own work so a newer bike makes a lot of sense for me. However this does blow the entire short term budget. No exhaust or anything soon, but that is fine.
I cannot wait to ride it! (It is not insured yet.)
There was no maintenance done yet to this bike. I kind of get it as the owner bought it last year and did not ride it. I am obsessive and my mechanic is very detail oriented so every last detail will get addressed.
The bike started fine but my friend said it was a little bit slow for that bike. When we got home the battery was 12.8 V, to me a bit low after an hour ride. I hope the stator was not cooking to charge a battery that only had a five minute charge but was nearly dead after the winter! I put it on a Battery Tender Plus, and it's steady-state voltage after a day or two will tell me a bit about the battery health.
I have to wash it, I am thinking with Dawn. There is Armor All or something similarly oily on the black plastic and my mechanic thinks there is (or was) some on the tires before he rode it home for me. It has some swirl marks on the paint and windscreen from synthetic rags or a dry wipe. There is a little rust on the kickstand. The painted bolts are a little off-color. Stained or corrosion had begun? The rim sticker is slightly crooked, ergo user-applied. I likely will remove it.
My mechanic said the chain is loose, while I am not used to adjusting this bike yet. The bottom of the chain seems to have the right give but the top is resting on the the guard and seems to flex up a bit too much.
What is the deal with the dark view of hydraulic fluid in late model Hayabusas? The circle appears extremely dark but the outer ring has a nice healthy translucent appearance. We did see this same effect on a brand new 2018 in the dealership. A used 2013 in the dealership had perfectly clear looking windows and fluid, as I would expect. I am guessing Suzuki engineered this view intentionally, with a contrast between the edge and the middle of the circle. It is not particularly good for an evaluation of fluid color methinks.
My friend said that the OEM tires are hard as a rock and I should replace them. I see the Battleax lineup has an additional belt in it, perhaps that contributes to the feel. These seem to be a summer tire. Not a fan of a tire that needs to be warmed up for the motorcycle, particularly when I head out for an hour ride on a 50°F day. My mechanic recommended a Michelin touring tire with a hard middle compound, and that likely will be my next one. (I think many of you have highly recommended the Michelin tires for this bike.) We will see, I would prefer to use up these new tires first, if they do not give me any major headaches. .
I like to collect certain materials for posterity. I would love to have a Suzuki binder with setup instructions and any other bulletins pertaining to recent Hayabusas. Anything dated "2017" that matches my bike would be preferred. I know dealers get charged for these materials so I would be happy to pay for any leftover materials that any dealer people here may be getting rid of.
Regarding printed materials does anyone know what the Suzuki Ready Reference Placard Set is? This is listed alongside the Factory Service Manual on the purchase website.
BAH no key code tag! I sent a note to the purchase dealership to see if they have a record of it. It is not printed in the owner's manual that I received with the bike.
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