K8 Busa => 2nd Class Citizen?!

[Warchild]

So much for being the Suzuki's FLAGSHIP model...... that title is obviously going to the B-King!!!!

Case in point - or rather, THREE cases in point - are as follows:

1) Okay, they did change from the old-school, POS side-mounted Tokico three piston calipers to a more modern 4-piston radial calipers, and that's a good thing, but..... what about upgrading the ancient-ass conventional master-cylinder, Suzuki? You know... the SAME ONE that has been in use a couple decades now....

Because you gave the new Suzuki B-King one of these new modern radial master-cylinders!!!

Note below how the pivot lever pushes directly on the master cylinder piston.... extremely efficient transfer of power to the hydraulic circuit:

2) This next item REALLY pisses me off.... the 4-piston Tokico radial calipers are standard equipment on the Busa and the GSX1000R, and one would think that they should be pretty good brakes. Truthfully, while they are decent enough for the flyweight GSX1000R sportbike, they are not the stompin' killer brakes you want when trying to haul down a heavy bastard like the Busa from triple-digit speeds. Once you replace the spongy rubber brakes with quality SS lines, and go with better brake pads/rotors, the brake system is fairly good on the Busa - though certainly room for improvement still.

For example.... better radial calipers would be nice - like a pair of the completely awesome Nissin radial calipers, for example.

LIKE THE ONES THAT COME STANDARD ON THE B-KING!!!!!!

3) This last one is just icing on the cake..... The K8 is saddled with those iron-hard, greasy Bridgestone BT-015s that are specific to the Busa, and are just about dangerous in the wet or cold (or both!). Unless it's warm and dry outside, these BT-015s just don't communicate worth a damn. It's a vague, wooden feeling on what is happening with the front end of the bike. Not ideal, by any means.

Take another look at that above photo.... you can bet the B-King isn't getting those iron-hard 'Stones; they get the completely excellent Dunlop Qualifiers, tires that have been top-rated ever since they came out to replace the Dunlop 208's a couple years ago.

Radial master cylinders.... Nissin radial calipers.... Dunlop Qualifiers... all standard equipment on the B-King.

Yet the K8 Busa gets the ass-cheese tires, and old-school brake hardware. Shyeah, right.... which bike is the "flagship" model now?

 

[NINJA KILLER]

THE BUSA , You can always upgrade all of those things mentioned and make it even badder than it already is. Just my 2 cents .

 

[greyrocket]

***** ***** *****. just tired hearing how crappy the brakes are.

 

[runeight]

Pretty good post IMO.

You have to agree the points are valid.

r8

 

[TIMMYDUCK]

The Busa's 08 MSRP increase covered stroking out the motor.

The B-KIng's larger MSRP covers the brakes and tires ?

 

[Elganja]

The Busa's 08 MSRP increase covered stroking out the motor.

The B-KIng's larger MSRP covers the brakes and tires ?

so 800 bucks more (hayabusa 11,999, B-King 12,899) for radial master cylinder, 1 piece calipers and better tires? Tell me where to sign up!

*900...math fails me when I am drunk

 

[TIMMYDUCK]

Wouldn't that be 900 bucks ?

 

[Warchild]

C'mon, gentlemen.... half of my post was tongue-in-cheek; obviously, all three items can be taken care of simply by dropping some coin. Hell, tires need replacing after a couple thousand miles anyway.....

That's not really the point. At all.

The point is: why didn't Suzuki go the extra mile and put the premium hardware on the K8 to begin with, if it's truly the "flagship" model?

That's a rhetorical question.... I realize Suzuki has throngs of Tokico calipers and old-style master cylinders to go through in their parts bin. They are used on several of their models.

This is a cost-savings measure. Plain and simple.

Though it does make one wonder why they didn't feel the need to apply this "cost-savings" to the B-King....

 

[full]

ok for me for the calipers and the MC radial, a shame on this busa

especially for me which comes from a zx-14!!! where I had all that

is this truth that MC radial bking does not adapt on the hayabusa 2008? a friend made the test, and he said to me that there is not the place to install it

on the other hand, personally I do not have a negative point has to give about BT-15
they are neutral, not problem
on the other hand I pass by again with BT-21 from here with 1000kms, because on my zx-14 they were excellent!!! and lasted in all, front and rear 6000kms, which is very well for a machine of more than 190 HP

 

[motogp08]

THE BUSA , You can always upgrade all of those things mentioned and make it even badder than it already is. Just my 2 cents .

If they put ALL of the good stuff on it, there wouldn't be ANY Kawasucki ZX-14 sales...

 

[Mr Bogus]

Guess I am fine with the stock brakes on the 06 myself... can certainly do everything I have asked of them without much effort... why all the complaining about the brakes anyway? is it just because they are not the "latest greatest" ?

 

[CAT3]

War, where/when did Suzuki call the Hayabusa its flagship? I know your speaking "cheek in tongue" again on that one, but still... Suzuki brought out a brand new bike, B King, of course they didn't want to put the old MC, and cast 2 pc Radial Mount Calipers on it. Just as you mentioned, they have a bunch of benchstock to get rid of, so naturally it will go to the bike that is NOT totally new, and to the bike that WILL get more upgrades. Of the 800,000 99-07 Busa's rolling around now, how many are stock? How many have upgraded their brakes? I'm sure you see where I'm going with this so I'll leave it. BTW, the stock 1Gen had 6 piston, not three piston. Also, I just found out the prices on the Brembo radial mount calipers for the Busa... very nice pieces that I'll be looking at if I get into the 08'.

 

[Warchild]

Guess I am fine with the stock brakes on the 06 myself... can certainly do everything I have asked of them without much effort... why all the complaining about the brakes anyway?

I bolded the germane point.... they may not "do everything" that others may ask of them.

If one takes into consideration different riding styles, different riding environments... what's fine and dandy for one rider may not be fine and dandy for another. Similar to the way one reads how some rave about one brand of tire, then read how others think the same tire is crap.

Different experiences, different techniques, different expectations... it all comes into play.

 

[Warchild]

War, where/when did Suzuki call the Hayabusa its flagship? I know your speaking "cheek in tongue" again on that one,

No, I am not.

This is a direct quote from none other than the Hayabusa chief engineer/designer himself, Koji Yoshihura, at the K8 introduction debut to motojournalists at the Salzburgring race circuit in Germany: "It's the flagship for Suzuki". This was quoted in Performance Bikes, Sport Rider, and several other moto-mags.

<div class="iF-Passage"><div class="QUOTEHEAD">Quote:[/Quote]<div class="QUOTE clearfix"><span class="quoteBegin"> </span>
Of the 800,000 99-07 Busa's rolling around now, how many are stock? How many have upgraded their brakes? [/quote]

Exactly so; you have just made my point! The brakes just ain't cutting the mustard for many who use the bike in a more aggressive, assertive role than those who polish and admire. Others who may not have this posture think the brakes are just fine and wonder why other say less than stellar comments about them.

800,000? Pretty sure you have an extra zero in that figure. If they sold 10,000 units in the US every year from '99-'07 (and I know they did for many of those years), that's still only 80,000. But among all those numbers, I think you're right; a hefty percentage have upgraded the brakes in some form or fashion, if just SS lines, rotors/pads.

 

[Mr Bogus]

well quit bellyaching and go buy your B-King or maybe even a Duc 1098 for $40,000 I hear they have just about every imaginable upgrade you would want already installed..

The bike is a "Sport Touring" ride not a racer, I think if you need a bike to push to the limit when you ride, there are far better choices available.. RC51, Gixxers, R1


Just gets old hearing about "How bad" the brakes are on these bikes when it is simply nit picking for something to complain about..

 

[mach1970]

I sort of agree with both of sides of this argument. If the Busa is the flagship model then it should showcase the best of the available parts from Suzuki. However, I also agree that the bike isn't a track race bike. That is the GSXR1000's role. Therefore that bike needs better brakes and tires than the Busa. However, the Busa is also a better bike for the money than most any other bike. The Italian bikes have the better equipment and cost 10x as much but still don't outperform the Busa. I am probably in the minority but my Busa will remain stock. I have to many other bikes that I have built into high performance machines and don't need another. I bought the Busa to have a stock bike that I didn't have to mess with. Although I will probably replace the exhaust strictly for sound.

 

[05 Busa LE]

The Duc 1098 lists for $15K, not $40K. And the S model is only $20K.

I think WC brings up some valid points, especially when the '08 is a second-generation bike. I'd understand if the B-King didn't have the upgraded technology, or if the Hayabusa wasn't in its second generation. But they did miss some opportunities--especially with the brakes; it's the only thing I really noticed moving from my Duc to the Busa. Not a big deal to me, since I don't ride at triple-digits, but it was noticeable.

 

[NINJA KILLER]

 

[runeight]

It's like the Muscle Car era of the sixties. Let's just put a big azz motor in the thing. We'll worry about the brakes some other time. They ran drum brakes on all four corners for many years and did little on the suspension.

I have put a lot of monies in brake upgrades. It was "more money than brains" at first. New lines then ABM rotors and Carbon Lorriane pads then lighter wheels. Every upgrade produced a different bike. No brainer here right?

Then, not to be out done by my friend Brendanp we did the Radial Master upgrade. Heck, I even posted on another forum that it was a lot of coin and more work but after riding this beast and making a few "let's see how these work" stops I quickly realized how great this all came together. The "sum" of all parts. Calipers remained stock. If I find a deal on some Brembos they will get changed also.

No flames please but "yes", the least Suzuki could of done was Radial Master cylinders on the K8. Anyone who has done this upgrade knows just what I'm talking about.

r8

 

[Revolution]

maybe in '09 they'll change 'em...