Word of warning when buying a busa(long)

[saygbye]

everyone knows that second gear on a busa is the "weak" link in the tranny. but not everyone knows what the symptons of a failing second gear are. i have owned 2 other busas with no second gear failures so i didnt really know what to look for when buying a busa until i just bought my newest busa. yes i got burned on a bike with a failing second gear.

heres the story. had found a 2007 busa with 5500 miles, completely stock in a little town west of jackson,tn. the guy owns a little car lot and buys and sells busa also. so i went and looked at it and it was in good shape. didnt ride it that day or anything cause we couldnt agree on a price. let him sit on it for a week, got the price i wanted. well the day i went to test ride it and pick it up the temp had dropped to 35* and there was a slight drizzle. so i told him when i got there i needed to ride the bike. no problem.
get on the bike go through the gears ride about 3-5 miles no problems. cant get on it cause of the wet roads.

i thought that if second gear was bad it was bad. i didnt know about the dog ears and how if the problem is just starting it has to be under a heavy load to reveal the problem. so by me just cruising around the second gear problem never revealed itself. i came back gave him the money and went home.

weather stayed bad for about 2 more weeks. the first time i got to ride it cruised around for about 30 minutes found a long stretch of road and got on it drag race style. about 5500 rmps i felt the biggest jerk/bump/lerch and thought holy s*** second gear is out. almost feels like the bike is jumping a tooth on the sprocket or is cutting out completely. did it about 4 times same results. needless to say second is bad and its gonna cost about $1000 to get it fixed.

so my point is ride the bike like you stole when when you test ride it. take it all the way to redline in second gear while getting on it hard. if you feel anything "funny" do not buy it or be prepared to get your tranny fixed.

 

[busabeast]

thanks for the heads up... guess i got lucky!

 

[twotonevert]

While good advice, not many sellers will allow a test ride. The seller you purchased your bike from may or may not have known about the issue. I will never allow a test ride without having cash in my hands first. I did that one time a while back with a bike and the guy dropped in on a curb 100ft down the street and never came back. NO test rides ever.

 

[dadofthree]

Don't know Tn law, but he might have to take it back or fix it it under lemon laws. If you fix it, fix it right.

 

[coreywiley]

Good advice

 

[dadofthree]

Also I feel I need to add that this is primarily a Gen I problem '99 - '07 years and typically caused by abuse, I'm not talking aggressive riding that's what these bikes are all about, I'm talking drag racing and shifting from 1st to 2nd without the clutch.

I Have not heard of a Gen II problem, no doubt someone has torn one up, but I haven't heard of it.

 

[twotonevert]

Don't know Tn law, but he might have to take it back or fix it it under lemon laws. If you fix it, fix it right.

Good point Robert. We have a 3 day lemon law in Oklahoma if purchasing from a dealer, private sales are as is.

 

[saygbye]

may have to look into that lemon law, thanks

 

[Tufbusa]

Also I feel I need to add that this is primarily a Gen I problem '99 - '07 years and typically caused by abuse, I'm not talking aggressive riding that's what these bikes are all about, I'm talking drag racing and shifting from 1st to 2nd without the clutch.

I Have not heard of a Gen II problem, no doubt someone has torn one up, but I haven't heard of it.

Shifting without the clutch has no effect on the transmission. All the clutch does is unload the tranny to allow the shift. It unloads just the same with the throttle.

It's the size 16 foot on the shift lever that bends the fork. I've watched tons of guys lift their foot off the peg and stomp the lever to shift. Not surprising when I hear of bent shift forks.

 

[pashnit]

That's a terrible story. Had three bikes in a row with bad 2nd gears. Sucks. All Yamahas.

 

[Don Hardcastle]

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[danath 34]

man that sucks... Thanks for the info, though, as I would have figured cruising it around would be fine, too. I definitely would have been of the mindset that if its bad, its gonna be bad regardless of how you ride it... Will keep that in mind if I am ever in the market for a used bike...

 

[x-d-x]

That is rough. Good luck with it hope it turns out better then its started for you.

 

[AtLarge]

While good advice, not many sellers will allow a test ride. The seller you purchased your bike from may or may not have known about the issue. I will never allow a test ride without having cash in my hands first. I did that one time a while back with a bike and the guy dropped in on a curb 100ft down the street and never came back. NO test rides ever.

Been there, done that. Had a prospective buyer drop the bike right in my driveway cuz the dipwad failed to pull the clutch in.

I still cringe from that memory.

 

[rashad]

jump on psychobike.com and look for a tranny.

 

[2006busa]

Omg I just bought an 07 with 4800 miles on it tuesday and I was also in the high 30s and raining so I couldn't get on it very hard. I haven't rode it since I got.it home. Im praying now that the gear is still ok in it!!!
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[JGGUNS]

You need to call Chuck Wilburn at Tupelo Performance Cycle. That tranny fix is sort of his specialty and you are not too terrible far from him.


Tupelo Performance Cycles Services

 

[AJAY]

Gotta agree with Tuf, and disagree too. Resting your foot on the shifter is definitely bad. Stomping on it hard can bend the forks. But *poorly* executed clutchless shifts will definitely wear the pads on the shift forks and the gear engagement dogs. Yes, you can shift smooth as butter without the clutch, but for most folks of ordinary skill level, it's just better to use the clutch. This ain't no dirtbike!