Part 1 of my Story
Part 2 of my story
First impressions Part 1
Alright – Here are my initial impressions of how the two bikes stack up against each other….. (Now remember, I have only really ridden the Busa for about 350 miles, so I have yet to really get into the power, considering I can’t really break the 5K barrier on the tach.
BTW, when I picked her up, the odometer actually said “0†miles….. That is Z-E-R-O miles. How sweet is that?!? No test rides were done on my baby!
Let me start by saying that the Hayabusa NEEDS BETTER BRAKES!!!! That being said lets begin…
After being on an ’05 Gixxer 1K, and then getting on a Busa, the first thing that you notice is the weight and size of the Busa. To sum it up in a word, that word would be “HEFTâ€. But like 1badasbusa said, that feeling goes away pretty quick. The Gixxer feels like it is barely there, like you are on Lance Armstrong’s race bike (with a Acme rocket strapped to the back of it).
Compared to the Busa, which feels more like… well….. a Busa. The only annoying part is that I just had to keep running her through the gears, through out my ride. Up and down…..4…5…6…….6…5…4. I hate breaking in bikes.
With the Busa, the power was there though. Although I believe my Gixxer may be faster, the Busa does seem to pull harder (up to 5K anyway). Even with the extra mass, you can really feel the power on the Busa. And it is a much smoother ride too. My Gixxer is raw power incarnate, just waiting for you to unleash it, while the Busa is more refined in her power delivery. The power just seemed to keep on building and building (until about 5K, then I had to shift). The Busa is a much roomier bike, (as if that is a surprise), although the riding position of the Busa is a lot more aggressive than I thought it would be. This is a good thing.
After about 120 miles of getting to know her (and scrubbing in the tires), I started to play with her, just a bit. It does take a lot more effort to change direction on the Busa, but after a few more miles, it became pretty automatic. I was actually able to hit some of my favorite turns, almost as fast on the big girl, and when you tuck into that bubble, you really become one with the bike. On some hard accelerations, I felt zero wind resistance. A+ for aerodynamics.
And now for the breaks. For a bike this size, Suzuki really needed to invest in factory braded break lines, or larger rotors (like the extra weight was ever an issue with this bike) or something…... Anything….. for heavens sake. Now, I know that I am used to being able to push the front tire on my other bikes to the edge of traction, and just hold it there. But you just can’t do that with this bike. Any assistance with improving the breaking performance would be greatly appreciated. (New SS Break lines and pads will be ordered).
My only other real gripe (besides the breaks) is the slow speed maneuvers. I will never give my wife crap ever again, about having difficultly backing her R1 out of a parking spot. Man that almost killed me in this thing.
I will review more, once I get her past the 600 mile mark.
<!--EDIT|sietek
Reason for Edit: None given...|1128561626 -->
Part 2 of my story
First impressions Part 1
Alright – Here are my initial impressions of how the two bikes stack up against each other….. (Now remember, I have only really ridden the Busa for about 350 miles, so I have yet to really get into the power, considering I can’t really break the 5K barrier on the tach.
BTW, when I picked her up, the odometer actually said “0†miles….. That is Z-E-R-O miles. How sweet is that?!? No test rides were done on my baby!
Let me start by saying that the Hayabusa NEEDS BETTER BRAKES!!!! That being said lets begin…
After being on an ’05 Gixxer 1K, and then getting on a Busa, the first thing that you notice is the weight and size of the Busa. To sum it up in a word, that word would be “HEFTâ€. But like 1badasbusa said, that feeling goes away pretty quick. The Gixxer feels like it is barely there, like you are on Lance Armstrong’s race bike (with a Acme rocket strapped to the back of it).
Compared to the Busa, which feels more like… well….. a Busa. The only annoying part is that I just had to keep running her through the gears, through out my ride. Up and down…..4…5…6…….6…5…4. I hate breaking in bikes.
With the Busa, the power was there though. Although I believe my Gixxer may be faster, the Busa does seem to pull harder (up to 5K anyway). Even with the extra mass, you can really feel the power on the Busa. And it is a much smoother ride too. My Gixxer is raw power incarnate, just waiting for you to unleash it, while the Busa is more refined in her power delivery. The power just seemed to keep on building and building (until about 5K, then I had to shift). The Busa is a much roomier bike, (as if that is a surprise), although the riding position of the Busa is a lot more aggressive than I thought it would be. This is a good thing.
After about 120 miles of getting to know her (and scrubbing in the tires), I started to play with her, just a bit. It does take a lot more effort to change direction on the Busa, but after a few more miles, it became pretty automatic. I was actually able to hit some of my favorite turns, almost as fast on the big girl, and when you tuck into that bubble, you really become one with the bike. On some hard accelerations, I felt zero wind resistance. A+ for aerodynamics.
And now for the breaks. For a bike this size, Suzuki really needed to invest in factory braded break lines, or larger rotors (like the extra weight was ever an issue with this bike) or something…... Anything….. for heavens sake. Now, I know that I am used to being able to push the front tire on my other bikes to the edge of traction, and just hold it there. But you just can’t do that with this bike. Any assistance with improving the breaking performance would be greatly appreciated. (New SS Break lines and pads will be ordered).
My only other real gripe (besides the breaks) is the slow speed maneuvers. I will never give my wife crap ever again, about having difficultly backing her R1 out of a parking spot. Man that almost killed me in this thing.
I will review more, once I get her past the 600 mile mark.
<!--EDIT|sietek
Reason for Edit: None given...|1128561626 -->
