I finally got the Brembo calipers and Kevlar lines installed on the Busa. Picked it up at Redline today and went for a fast (high speed) ride. I had the throttle bodies sync up, new sprocket & chain, valves adjusted and the brakes done. I cannot tell you how great the bike felt. Engine was smooth as glass and revs like a bat out of hell. Truly amazing, I didn't even realize how bad she was running. Also replaced the plugs.
Since I paid the bike off I have been making $250 payments to my fun fund and in the last few months I have been emptying the fund! But it looks like I am going to get the heavy Bus done with all of the items I planned for her. SHe now has Ohlins front and rear, Brembo's front, Brembo MC up front, & Yoshi full R77 CF with Dyno tune. All that's left is the wheels, which I will be able to afford in about a year (unless the wife lets me borrow the money and then pay our savings back
).
SO, the brembos are very good. I went with the 108mm monoblocks, as the HPs are $3,000 and too far out there cost/performance wise for this Busa. Now the entire front break system is Brembo. The feel is amazing. The breaks are strong but so far all of the high end stuff I added to the bike are different than expected. I sort of thought the Ohlins would be a magic carpet ride but they aren't. The bike just has amazing control even at really high speed. Nothing unsettles the suspension, even rocks or bumps going into the turn. But otherwise, they feel pretty much normal. The Brembos have a little more character that you notice right away. There is a lot of "feel" area in the lever before the calipers grab the disks and squeeze the crap out of them! I was using 2 fingers on the stock calipers with EBC pads, sometimes 3 fingers in a panic. I had to dial back to one finger on the Brembos! I actually lifted the back wheel with one finger, that's crazy. But the Brembos aren't grabby at all. In fact they are lighter than the stock brakes in the first travel of the lever. But this isn't just lever adjustment, for things like trail braking you can scrub off speed without the bike pitching forward or the front end diving. It's funny, but the more top shelf stuff I get on the bike the more it acts just like the books say it's supposed to.
By the time I got to the twisty parts of my ride today I was flying, but I felt safer and more in control than ever. I will be the first to say that high end stuff will NOT make you Valentino Rossi, but it is amazing how brutal the Busa is in stock form. It's not a bad bike stock, espically for the price, but there are some low end parts in the brakes and suspension.
I also got the Kevlar brake lines. My favorite lines are Speiglers, and I have used Galfers. But the Ohlins extend about 2 1/2" further than the stock forks so stock lines are stretched tight if I order stock lengths (I'm also running heli bars). It typically takes 2-3 orders of break lines to get custom and then they simply won't ship 2-1/2" over. So I let Redline make these custom. Since I changed so much in the braking system I can't tell what is doing what but I can say that the brakes feel different from my experience with Stainless steel. The are very smooth and you can "feel" feedback from the calipers through the lever. With the old system, I just felt the bike slow down but the feeling on the lever was really just a constant pressure that got a little heavier as the lever was pulled back to the grip.
I also replaced my Puig DB with a Zero Gravity DB. You may recall that the Puig cracked when I used nuts with bolts to hold it in. I thought maybe the frame that supports the nose and mirrors was bent from one of my spills the Puig fit so poorly. The ZeroGravity slipped right in and fit perfectly even with no bolts in it. The ZG also seems to work a little better as far as wind control too. But the Puig is so cool looking, still love it.
Email is F'd up at work so I can't get the photos off my iPhone but I'll post some pictures tomorrow.
Since I paid the bike off I have been making $250 payments to my fun fund and in the last few months I have been emptying the fund! But it looks like I am going to get the heavy Bus done with all of the items I planned for her. SHe now has Ohlins front and rear, Brembo's front, Brembo MC up front, & Yoshi full R77 CF with Dyno tune. All that's left is the wheels, which I will be able to afford in about a year (unless the wife lets me borrow the money and then pay our savings back
).SO, the brembos are very good. I went with the 108mm monoblocks, as the HPs are $3,000 and too far out there cost/performance wise for this Busa. Now the entire front break system is Brembo. The feel is amazing. The breaks are strong but so far all of the high end stuff I added to the bike are different than expected. I sort of thought the Ohlins would be a magic carpet ride but they aren't. The bike just has amazing control even at really high speed. Nothing unsettles the suspension, even rocks or bumps going into the turn. But otherwise, they feel pretty much normal. The Brembos have a little more character that you notice right away. There is a lot of "feel" area in the lever before the calipers grab the disks and squeeze the crap out of them! I was using 2 fingers on the stock calipers with EBC pads, sometimes 3 fingers in a panic. I had to dial back to one finger on the Brembos! I actually lifted the back wheel with one finger, that's crazy. But the Brembos aren't grabby at all. In fact they are lighter than the stock brakes in the first travel of the lever. But this isn't just lever adjustment, for things like trail braking you can scrub off speed without the bike pitching forward or the front end diving. It's funny, but the more top shelf stuff I get on the bike the more it acts just like the books say it's supposed to.
By the time I got to the twisty parts of my ride today I was flying, but I felt safer and more in control than ever. I will be the first to say that high end stuff will NOT make you Valentino Rossi, but it is amazing how brutal the Busa is in stock form. It's not a bad bike stock, espically for the price, but there are some low end parts in the brakes and suspension.
I also got the Kevlar brake lines. My favorite lines are Speiglers, and I have used Galfers. But the Ohlins extend about 2 1/2" further than the stock forks so stock lines are stretched tight if I order stock lengths (I'm also running heli bars). It typically takes 2-3 orders of break lines to get custom and then they simply won't ship 2-1/2" over. So I let Redline make these custom. Since I changed so much in the braking system I can't tell what is doing what but I can say that the brakes feel different from my experience with Stainless steel. The are very smooth and you can "feel" feedback from the calipers through the lever. With the old system, I just felt the bike slow down but the feeling on the lever was really just a constant pressure that got a little heavier as the lever was pulled back to the grip.
I also replaced my Puig DB with a Zero Gravity DB. You may recall that the Puig cracked when I used nuts with bolts to hold it in. I thought maybe the frame that supports the nose and mirrors was bent from one of my spills the Puig fit so poorly. The ZeroGravity slipped right in and fit perfectly even with no bolts in it. The ZG also seems to work a little better as far as wind control too. But the Puig is so cool looking, still love it.
Email is F'd up at work so I can't get the photos off my iPhone but I'll post some pictures tomorrow.
