I rode a 14 tonight

[sageronin]

Big props to the 14. GPW was kind enough to let me put a few miles on his new Ninja. Excellent front brakes! Smooth shifting transmission. Excellent readouts on the dash to include gear indicator. Deceptively fast above 5k rpms. Comfortable ride and feels very very light and easy to lean into the corners. Oh yea and did I mention excellent front brakes!!
I am looking forward to Suzuki's answer to the 14 because Kawasaki did their homework.

 

[extreemachine]

WOW Sounds nice!! I have only seen them on the showrrom floor or on the road. I haven't gotten on one yet. I have to just to see how it rides. I know alot of guys are antiKawi etc.. But I still would like to ride one and see. It does have some things that I do like about it.

 

[GPW]

I am a toss the keys kind of guy because sometimes no matter what you write or how you say it your true feelings never come across correctly. I spent some serious money and many hours on my 2006 Hayabusa. As it sits today it is one serious road machine, no if ands or buts. The thing that jumps out at me about the 14 or 13.5, once its unleashed (secondaries removed) and piped with a Tsukigi Racing 4 into 1 and fully tuned tomorrow it will be where almost 13K in cash got me with my project Busa. The suspension, brakes and smooth ride are pretty impressive in stock form. Glad you enjoyed the ride DJ see you at 2:30 for some dyno time.

Don't get me wrong the Hayabusa is a serious machine. Besides the strong looks of the 14 it is a very refined machine, if you like sportbikes for what they were intended to be, ridden.

 

[Professor]

GPW, Did you see where they are leaving the secondarys in place and using an Ivan "TRE"? That actually looks pretty promising. Link

 

[GPW]

GPW,  Did you see where they are leaving the secondarys in place and using an Ivan "TRE"? That actually looks pretty promising. Link

yep...I have the G-Pack for the 14, its brand new the first one they made is coming. It reportedly lifts the speed restriction something the TRE does not do. The flies are coming out. I have done a lot of research on the topic and have three friends that have done it both ways and the flies out wins. So tomorrow I will be fly-less.

 

[GPW]

GPW,  Did you see where they are leaving the secondarys in place and using an Ivan "TRE"? That actually looks pretty promising. Link

What you don't read, there is not a lot of talk about using the accelerator function during the tuning process. That is where we plan to make our extra adjustments and after it is properly mapped for flies out, we will add the g-pack to smooth out the off idle issues. All theory today. Will have more answers tomorrow. I do like how Brock compared the flies gains equal to a hit of NOS...

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[BigBSBusa]

Be interested to see tomorrow's update.

 

[PaNDeM1C]

14 still looks ghey. The 08 will once again make Kawasaki go back to the drawing board for another 7 years.... have fun with it.

 

[SportCommuter]

Glad you found a buddy to let you ride it. I was very interested in buying one before buying my Busa. What turned me off was the fact that dealers were so proud of the things they would hardly let anyone sit on it let alone test ride it... then they insulted me with the marked up price... Pretty quickly I was telling them to have roasting burgers on those Foreman Grills while riding wheelies with a grin on my Busa

 

[Warputer]

It's so Ugly , I wouldn't ride it even if GPW "did" toss me the keys .

 

[basscrazy]

It's a sports bike... I would ride the wheels of the thing if someone would let me.

I like seeing comparisons other that top speed. I'm not going to do 200mph but I really enjoy stopping

Question: Why are the busas brakes and suspension so much different from the ZX14

Aren't they using the same parts???

 

[JINKSTER]

It's a sports bike...  I would ride the wheels of the thing if someone would let me.  

I like seeing comparisons other that top speed.  I'm not going to do 200mph but I really enjoy stopping

 Question:  Why are the busas brakes and suspension so much different from the ZX14

 Aren't they using the same parts???

the only real true dif in the brakes dept. is the 14's front brakes are radially mounted and i believe they're using a rotary style mastercylinder...and that's all goodness but nothing that dramatic over a busa's front brakes with SS braided lines and EBC HH brake pad upgrades.

but suspension?....hands down that goes to the busa as while kaws monolyth frame is plenty stout enough the swingarm on the 14 is a spindley formed sheet metal/weldment affair that unlike the busa?...isn't even "Braced".

In top gear roll ons starting at about 60mph?...against a ZX14 my busa put 10-15 bike lengths on the 14 and did so in just the first few seconds....but roll-ons starting at 80-100mph saw my busa locked beside the 14 to the 120-140mph zone where the 14 would begin to baby crawl away from my busa...and from 140-160 on up?...the 14 would just walk awy from my busa...but here's the two rubs...

from 0-120 is where i'm normally having the majority of my fun...and the busa delivers...big time...and imho?...in that range has it all over the 14 in every way except "brakes" by a slight margin annnnd...

imho?...the 14 will go much the way of the old 12R..and in short order...like "Early Release '08 Hayabusa" kinda short order..meanwhile?...the beloved Mighty Hayabusa ruled the streets for 7 long years...amassing a strong following that places the hayabusa strongly in the "Icon Class Of Bikes" along side of legends such as Yami's V-Max and Kaws old ZX1100 Ninja..and now..."Hayabusa" is added to the list...a household name kinda bike....a legend..a feat and a status that many other.....uhem..."bikes"...will fail to accomplish.

L8R, Bill.

 

[ks-waterbug]

GPW and Sageronin, thanks for posting your honest feelings about the bike..... So often Mag's can't get it right as there hands are to deep in sponsership/ad money! Nice to hear first hand perspective from someone who owns both...

 

[05 Busa LE]

Great post, Sage, and I gotta say, GPW, you've got two of the best bikes around. Although I prefer my Busa, I really like the looks of the red ZX-14. Keep us posted!

 

[GPW]

It's a sports bike...  I would ride the wheels of the thing if someone would let me.  

I like seeing comparisons other that top speed.  I'm not going to do 200mph but I really enjoy stopping

 Question:  Why are the busas brakes and suspension so much different from the ZX14

 Aren't they using the same parts???

the only real true dif in the brakes dept. is the 14's front brakes are radially mounted and i believe they're using a rotary style mastercylinder...and that's all goodness but nothing that dramatic over a busa's front brakes with SS braided lines and EBC HH brake pad upgrades.

but suspension?....hands down that goes to the busa as while kaws monolyth frame is plenty stout enough the swingarm on the 14 is a spindley formed sheet metal/weldment affair that unlike the busa?...isn't even "Braced".

In top gear roll ons starting at about 60mph?...against a ZX14 my busa put 10-15 bike lengths on the 14 and did so in just the first few seconds....but roll-ons starting at 80-100mph saw my busa locked beside the 14 to the 120-140mph zone where the 14 would begin to baby crawl away from my busa...and from 140-160 on up?...the 14 would just walk awy from my busa...but here's the two rubs...

from 0-120 is where i'm normally having the majority of my fun...and the busa delivers...big time...and imho?...in that range has it all over the 14 in every way except "brakes" by a slight margin annnnd...

imho?...the 14 will go much the way of the old 12R..and in short order...like "Early Release '08 Hayabusa" kinda short order..meanwhile?...the beloved Mighty Hayabusa ruled the streets for 7 long years...amassing a strong following that places the hayabusa strongly in the "Icon Class Of Bikes" along side of legends such as Yami's V-Max and Kaws old ZX1100 Ninja..and now..."Hayabusa" is added to the list...a household name kinda bike....a legend..a feat and a status that many other.....uhem..."bikes"...will fail to accomplish.

L8R, Bill.

The front forks on the ZX-14 are the same used on the track inspired 2006 ZX-10. The Busa front forks are not in that same window in stock form. I assume you understand that hence you just ordered a bunch of parts for your front forks. I will not have to touch the brakes or front forks on the 14 except to dial them in. They are that good.


We will do the roll-on test with the flies out on the 14 and piped since no one rides a stock. If I remember correctly the guy you did the roll ons with Locoryder had a stock bike at the time or flies in. Under 6K its a flat bike and thats no secrete, Kawasaki said it was for safety I call it nuetured. We will reverse that process today and some.

I am not here to push the 14 just to provide an owners view. Busa's and 14's have been beaten by guys on 600's its the rider not the bike, so magazines, pictures, dreams and stats mean nothing if you can't get it done. We figured since DJ is a long time respected member here and I have done some tinkering with my Busa, a review from us would hold some water. Just let us report our thoughts then go race a 14 if you want and be happy.


I agree the 14 is not the prettiest thing, they said the same thing about the 1999 Hayabusa. If you like riding, like we do, the 14 is a serious riding machine. Things look blury at speed anyways. A surpize to me my wife likes the looks of the 14 over the very nicely modded Busa in my garage.."thor" just snickered at that. For the record, right now, today my Busa will spank my 14, 0 to 120 and in the twisties but its got a lot of weight saving mods and BST wheels. Thats today....who knows what tomorrow will bring

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[busa_bill]

GPW, you are a lucky man!

When I bought the Busa 4 months ago, I strongly considered both.
Knowing my abilities, and the intended use in my situation, it came down to aesthetics. The Busa wins hands-down, as most would agree. For most, stock trim with comfort mods is all either one of these bikes will need to satisfy.
With that said, I would love to have a 14 sitting beside the Busa in the garage. Putting my wife through nursing school means a 2 year wait. Maybe the "grill" will give way by then to something more pleasing to the eye. But alas, the new improved bird will also need consideration. Some people can never win!

 

[Rocketman]

Excellent information. This makes riding both of these beasts so much more fun... the analysis, the mods, the results. We are riding the baddest machines ever! I love it.

 

[bigoltool]

Any more word on the ZX14(GTR) sport tourer or Z1400?
http://www.raptorsandrockets.com/News/2007_Kawasaki.htm

Regardless of whether a new Busa is coming, this fall will be big for new bikes! Cant wait to see the new GSXR!

 

[heavybusa]

Glad to see we can actually talk about the 14 with out people getting all bent out of shape and trash talking.

Good info guys, I'll ride the hell out of a 14 but I will always love my bike.

And if they change the styling for the busa in 08 (or when ever

) then it may not be for me.

Stay open minded boys.

Love the work Greg!!!

 

[GPW]

Any more word on the ZX14(GTR) sport tourer or Z1400?
http://www.raptorsandrockets.com/News/2007_Kawasaki.htm

Regardless of whether a new Busa is coming, this fall will be big for new bikes! Cant wait to see the new GSXR!

I agree and if a new Busa comes out I am all over it as well.