How is the Busa in the Twisties?

[sietek]

Hey all,

    I’m a pretty damn new member to this site, as you can tell this being post #1 for me,  but I have been an avid reader of many of the interesting posts for some time now.  

Anyway, Here we go…..

Should I sell my ’05 Gixxer 1K and get a Busa?  

And how does the Busa do in the twisties?

A little history……..

    I have been riding for about the last 18 years, having started out on the now legendary ’87 GSX-R750, and going from there.  In the more recent years, I have owned a ’00 R1, a ’02 R1, an ’03 TL1000R, an ’03 GSX-R1000, (I owned the ’03 TL and the “03 Gixxer at the same time).  See the pattern of small lightweight crotch-rockets.  
About a year and a half ago, my wife and I decided to build a new house, so I was forced to clear the stables, due to both monetary as well as space constraints (it is tuff to store multiple bikes, while in temp housing).  Being the loving partner that she is, my wife also begrudgingly sold her R6 (although she only sold hers on the promise of getting a new R1 after the house was finished).  Plus, I was going to be getting a new bike myself, after the house was finished anyway, so selling my old bikes wasn’t that big a deal.  

Fast forward to 2 months ago, and I currently own an ’05 GSX-R1000.  And we got my wife her new R1.  

So here is my dilemma….. Although I love the power and ride of the new Gixxer, I am thinking that I might want something a little more substantial (and comfortable and roomy) to ride.  I am about 6 fee tall and 201 pounds.  Built like a running back (I guess that makes sense, seeing as how I was a running back for a few years).  The majority of my riding is in the North GA mountains, (some of the best “unknown†back road twisties I have ever been on).  My question is this…. How does the Busa do in the twisties?  I don’t need to be the fastest guy through the course. If I did, I would just keep my Gxxr 1K.  I really prefer to be able to get through the turns quickly, and just hammer it from the apex of the turn till I run out of either nerve or road.  I know the Busa has the power to catch anything on the road in a straight line, but I don’t want a nything that is unmanageable in the turns either.  And as I get a bit older, I am beginning to put more of a premium on comfort.  I have ridden a friends ’01 Busa, but only around town.  Never in the mountains.  The bike seemed to fit me very well, and have a lot of power.

Normally, I would just get the Busa, and keep my Gixxer as well, but my wife and I now have a new strict  â€œone bike per person†rule.  So if I get a Busa, the Gixxer will have to go.

Also, should I go for an ’05 limited edition, or hold out for the New ’06?

Please let me know your thoughts/opinions.

Thanks in advance.

S.



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[qarnaj]

First off, welcome to the board!

As far as cornering goes, I can't give you a heads up comparison between the busa and the Gixxer so I'll leave that to somebody else. I know there are a few guys here who have time on both. In general though, I have no complaints about the Busa's cornering. It does take some muscle to put one over as the stability of the bike is working against you. Once it's over, it feels rock steady and inspires a lot of confidence. If it helps, I routinely take a patch of 35 mph twisties at 80+ on the busa and still have some chicken strips to show for it.

 

[gtrpimp76]

Busa holds it own very well in the twisties!! Not as nimble as my old 600 but when you do build the confidence on that beast, it'll hang with the best of them. I think you'll be very suprised at how comfy and suprisingly agile (not as agile as the K5) the busa is.

But if you still wanna be competitive for the track days or wanna stunt, the K5 is still your best choice. I'll be doing some track time at willow springs this december on my BUSA!! I cant wait.

 

[04busaVA]

Here is my .02...

The Busa is not a litre but it can handle it's own in the twisties.  I haven't had a problem and I've taken some 35mph twisties at about 75, I got the Busa for comfort, I'm 5'11" and 230 lbs and commute to work about an hour and half on her with no complaints.  

So just go get one and fall in love like the rest of us.  I would suggest getting an 05LE unless you can wait for the new ones but I'm guessing there really isn't going to be much of a change, except for the color schemes.

oh and...............


<marquee>W E L C O M E </marquee>
TO
THE
<marquee>MAADDNESS</marquee>

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[JINKSTER]

Hey all,

    I’m a pretty damn new member to this site, as you can tell this being post #1 for me,  but I have been an avid reader of many of the interesting posts for some time now.  

Anyway, Here we go…..

Should I sell my ’05 Gixxer 1K and get a Busa?  

And how does the Busa do in the twisties?

A little history……..

    I have been riding for about the last 18 years, having started out on the now legendary ’87 GSX-R750, and going from there.  In the more recent years, I have owned a ’00 R1, a ’02 R1, an ’03 TL1000R, an ’03 GSX-R1000, (I owned the ’03 TL and the “03 Gixxer at the same time).  See the pattern of small lightweight crotch-rockets.  
About a year and a half ago, my wife and I decided to build a new house, so I was forced to clear the stables, due to both monetary as well as space constraints (it is tuff to store multiple bikes, while in temp housing).  Being the loving partner that she is, my wife also begrudgingly sold her R6 (although she only sold hers on the promise of getting a new R1 after the house was finished).  Plus, I was going to be getting a new bike myself, after the house was finished anyway, so selling my old bikes wasn’t that big a deal.  

Fast forward to 2 months ago, and I currently own an ’05 GSX-R1000.  And we got my wife her new R1.  

So here is my dilemma….. Although I love the power and ride of the new Gixxer, I am thinking that I might want something a little more substantial (and comfortable and roomy) to ride.  I am about 6 fee tall and 201 pounds.  Built like a running back (I guess that makes sense, seeing as how I was a running back for a few years).  The majority of my riding is in the North GA mountains, (some of the best “unknown†back road twisties I have ever been on).  My question is this…. How does the Busa do in the twisties?  I don’t need to be the fastest guy through the course. If I did, I would just keep my Gxxr 1K.  I really prefer to be able to get through the turns quickly, and just hammer it from the apex of the turn till I run out of either nerve or road.  I know the Busa has the power to catch anything on the road in a straight line, but I don’t want a nything that is unmanageable in the turns either.  And as I get a bit older, I am beginning to put more of a premium on comfort.  I have ridden a friends ’01 Busa, but only around town.  Never in the mountains.  The bike seemed to fit me very well, and have a lot of power.

Normally, I would just get the Busa, and keep my Gixxer as well, but my wife and I now have a new strict  â€œone bike per person†rule.  So if I get a Busa, the Gixxer will have to go.

Also, should I go for an ’05 limited edition, or hold out for the New ’06?

Please let me know your thoughts/opinions.

Thanks in advance.

S.

Well...it's no liter class RR but mine seems to manage just fine...

The Busa's weight and power takes a little gett'in used to when coming off of Liter RR's and novice level riders will find them a handful on ultra tight and technicals such as the dragon and SR180 but even the dragon can be conquered by avoiding harsh throttle inputs and staying smooth...but in short order you'll soon figure out when, where and how best to exploit the busa's massive low end punch...and then you'll ride the dragons back like disneys monorail...then break out onto the foothills parkway?...and let the big dog eat.

Basically?...the busa is just like most other bikes in such enviro's...how good you are is 20% bike 80% rider...except for the mind-shattering XXX pwer factor of the mighty busa...which on any ham-fisted occassion has the ability to make your heart skip a beat. LOL!!!

Hope that helps and L8R, Bill.

 

[busahaya]

Welcome to the Org! Wow, you and yer Wifey sure make a wonderfull duo

As far as the Busa handling in the twiesties it does a hell of a job. Course the suspension has to be set up right... Currently I'm running on stock suspension components and performed Suspension setup and what a world of a difference that made. Trust me, alot of people under estimate the Mighty Busa as it being tank in the canyons, but hey little do they know...

 

[vman1300]

Underestimate the busa, most do.......especially in the mountains....



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[greeneinc]

Welcome to the board. Going from all of those rockets to the Busa Rocket may take you only a few hours to get used to. There are several people here that take their Busa's to the track and race in the twisties. Like already mentioned, once you get used to the extra weight, you should be able to manuever it around like the other bikes you rode.

 

[pure_ego]

on mnt. roads ... other than extra effort I don't see much advantage to a liter.. unless your riding style is beyond any level of safe it won't bother you to switch.

if you riding balls out to 100% of your ability... and I'm assuming you've got a pretty good amount of ability judging by the bikes you've had... then you won't like it in the mountains.

the biggest problem I have with the busa concerning really aggressive riding (track days for example) is that your braking points have to be earlier than lighter/smaller bikes.. cornor speed is off probably 4-6 mph.. you can mostly make that back up on any decent straight patch... it's an interesting comparison on a larger track.... lose 3 seconds thru the tighter parts.. make up 2.5 seconds in the faster parts.. bleh.

It's not a good race bike.. but it sure is fun to play with.

It is fun to listen to all your track riding buddies talk all the way to the track about how they are gonna walk over ya... then find out they are lucky to get in front of ya.. let alone pull away by more than just a few seconds over a 20 minute session.

 

[skater69]

Go buy this video:
http://www.videoxsports.com/mach2carnage.html

They throw the Busa through endless twisties at insane speeds.....yes, it definitely handles well.

 

[sietek]

Thanks for all the great feedback and input.  It is good to see people who just genuinely love their bikes, and love to ride.

    As far as my riding style, I used to regularly track my K3 TL1000R and my K3 Gixxer (totally different experience from one bike to the other).  I don’t really have the time or funds to do that much anymore.  My street riding is MUCH more tame by comparison.  That’s not to say that I don’t still kick it up on the street some times, I am just not as balls-out aggressive as I am on the tack.  Plus, with the local State Patrol (motorcycle Gestapo a.k.a. Bike Nazi police) around these parts, I never really run flat out on the street anymore. That can get you a one way ticket to jail.  And with the current magistrate judge in Lumpkin County GA, targeting sport bikes, multi-thousand dollar fines and stiff jail time are far too common now as well.  They even have helicopters and roadblocks and sting operations around the roads I used to travel…….  

 

Enough of that for now.

A local dealer here has a K5 Busa LE with about 1500 miles, and is asking $9500 for it.  Is that a good deal, or should get a new one?  Any idea what the new LE’s are going for OTD?

Thanks again.

S.

BTW: djorgensen3 – thanks for the vids. Sweeet.  Was that the front end coming up a few times in the vids?  Nice!!!

 

[stkr00]

Welcome aboard

The Busa will handle the twisties just fine if the suspension is tuned (NOT stock settings), and you are comfortable using body position to help the Busa out.

I'll add more info later...getting ready to leave "work".

Here's a pic as an example:

 

[04busaVA]

Have you seen this...

 

[BigBSBusa]

A local dealer here has a K5 Busa LE with about 1500 miles, and is asking $9500 for it.  Is that a good deal, or should get a new one?  Any idea what the new LE’s are going for OTD?

Is that an OTD price? If you can get out-the-door for under $10k I would say go for it. Otherwise, you might as well wait for the '06. Welcome to the board!

 

[IG.]

Price wise, I waited till the season was over, and found a great deal in my area. In December of 03, I got '01 model with 800 miles (not a typo), PC, Micron 4-1 full system for $7500 - in immaculate condition.

 

[sietek]

Hey BigBs

Yeah, that is an out the door price. I really do like that LE color scheme. Besides that, I am a fan of the silver on silver color. I really do prefer to find one with low miles if I can. Besides the LE, Theis are my favorite color.

 

[sietek]

But this is still #1 on my list. I just wish there were some real 2006 Busa Pics out there, so that I can make a better informed choice.

 

[sietek]

Or this......

 

[djorgensen3]

Your welcome for the videos. I came from riding Harleys and I truly love this bike. Although after riding 7 hours yesterday with WWJD, my behind was killing me. I think I lost feeling about 4-5 hours into it. You will enjoy the Busa.

 

[Charlesbusa]

The busa will do just fine in the corners.

You can do the jinkster suspension adjustment or mod the suspension.
Raise the rear.
Mod the brakes.