umairhashmi
Registered
I found out the guy who is considered the "EXPERT AUTHORITY" on sportbike performance in south florida has a busa as well as a zx14.Most people who live in the miami and fort lauderdale area have heard of his shop called cyclerace tek.
His unbiased opinion about the busa vs the 14 is as follows.Ray if you read this i HAD to steal it and post this here.With the busa owners bashing the 14 and vice versa its good to see an expert offer his unbiased opinion.
OK ALL...HERE IS THE STRAIGHT POOP WITH NO PREJUDICE OR BIAS....
I own BOTH skoots,and my shop probably works on more Busas and 14'S than any other,so my impressions are based on many many Busas and a few 14's ,including my own.
The 14 is an all-around better skoot than the Busa for a few main reasons.
#1...Kawi has intergrated many of the newer technologies into the 14..the Busa has remained mostly unchanged form it's 1999 spec,which says alot for it's popularity and how good the original platform was to start with.The
advantages in the advances made by the manufacturors give the 14 an edge over the Busa in engine performance,handling and most noticable,in the braking department.The front brakes are truly awesome.and u would have to spend$$$$ on the Busas front binders to achieve the same level of power and feel the 14 comes with stock.
#2...The combination of changes kawi made to arrive at the 14's engine structure has allowed the 14 to tower over over a Busa in tork and H.P. On some 14's with pipe/pc/filter we have seen as much peak H.P. as a Busa with aftermarket performance cams,but with also a much broader and better tork curve..it is simply a monster of a motor that goes beyond its 54cc dispacement advantage.It is also a much smoother runnin motor with less vibration overall. The one area that the 14 loses out to the Busa is gas mileage,a problem even with the old ZX12's. But i and i bet most peeps don't ride with an emphasis on gas mioleage,and the performance advantage more than makes up for the fact the 14 can suck gas.
#3...Kawi worked on developing a better balanced chassis,and with some of the fuel tank and fuel load under the rider's seat,the bike feels like it has a much lower center of gravity,and handles that way.
My first ride on my 14 allowed me to very quickly feel and experience how the 2 skoots differ,and although the 14 is not a Busa "killer" (the BUSA is not a skoot that would have ever been toppled easily ),it does exhibit advantages that ,in my opinion,Suzuki has a target to beat.
I am sure that any re-design of the Busa will incorparate,and will have to, all of the new technologies that Kawi had available in designing the 14.
I still think my Busa will always be my favorite skoot,tho lately i have been ridin the 14 alot,and it is a phenominal skoot and grows on me every ride.
Cosmetically the Busa has been accepted for it looks,and is a natural when slammed and stretched.When the Busa came out in 99,we were all scratching our heads tryin to figure out what was up with that front end,and the same thing has happened with the 14.I did not like the 14 when i saw it in tha mags,and didn't like it when i saw the first one in person,but i have grown to like it's looks .It is true,beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
One thing is for sure,the Busa is a legend in it's own time,and that my folks will always have it at the top regardless!!
RACNRAY
His unbiased opinion about the busa vs the 14 is as follows.Ray if you read this i HAD to steal it and post this here.With the busa owners bashing the 14 and vice versa its good to see an expert offer his unbiased opinion.
OK ALL...HERE IS THE STRAIGHT POOP WITH NO PREJUDICE OR BIAS....
I own BOTH skoots,and my shop probably works on more Busas and 14'S than any other,so my impressions are based on many many Busas and a few 14's ,including my own.
The 14 is an all-around better skoot than the Busa for a few main reasons.
#1...Kawi has intergrated many of the newer technologies into the 14..the Busa has remained mostly unchanged form it's 1999 spec,which says alot for it's popularity and how good the original platform was to start with.The
advantages in the advances made by the manufacturors give the 14 an edge over the Busa in engine performance,handling and most noticable,in the braking department.The front brakes are truly awesome.and u would have to spend$$$$ on the Busas front binders to achieve the same level of power and feel the 14 comes with stock.
#2...The combination of changes kawi made to arrive at the 14's engine structure has allowed the 14 to tower over over a Busa in tork and H.P. On some 14's with pipe/pc/filter we have seen as much peak H.P. as a Busa with aftermarket performance cams,but with also a much broader and better tork curve..it is simply a monster of a motor that goes beyond its 54cc dispacement advantage.It is also a much smoother runnin motor with less vibration overall. The one area that the 14 loses out to the Busa is gas mileage,a problem even with the old ZX12's. But i and i bet most peeps don't ride with an emphasis on gas mioleage,and the performance advantage more than makes up for the fact the 14 can suck gas.
#3...Kawi worked on developing a better balanced chassis,and with some of the fuel tank and fuel load under the rider's seat,the bike feels like it has a much lower center of gravity,and handles that way.
My first ride on my 14 allowed me to very quickly feel and experience how the 2 skoots differ,and although the 14 is not a Busa "killer" (the BUSA is not a skoot that would have ever been toppled easily ),it does exhibit advantages that ,in my opinion,Suzuki has a target to beat.
I am sure that any re-design of the Busa will incorparate,and will have to, all of the new technologies that Kawi had available in designing the 14.
I still think my Busa will always be my favorite skoot,tho lately i have been ridin the 14 alot,and it is a phenominal skoot and grows on me every ride.
Cosmetically the Busa has been accepted for it looks,and is a natural when slammed and stretched.When the Busa came out in 99,we were all scratching our heads tryin to figure out what was up with that front end,and the same thing has happened with the 14.I did not like the 14 when i saw it in tha mags,and didn't like it when i saw the first one in person,but i have grown to like it's looks .It is true,beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
One thing is for sure,the Busa is a legend in it's own time,and that my folks will always have it at the top regardless!!
RACNRAY
