08 Busa vrs. 08 ZX-14

[99'busa]

THE NEW BUSA TAIL SECTION WILL HAVE TO GROW ON ME

 

[raydog]

welcome to the tweener tweaking wars of minutia

This is why I'm POed at zuk for not dropping the hammer and making the new busa a 1400cc+ 200 rwhp stock monster.

Hell, they had 10 years between updates and we got a tweak...yippie

Sorry, no cheers here

From a marketing standpoint, competing companies (when just inching stock performance up slightly on each new generation) probably sell many more motorcycles than a single quantum leap type thing. Also, in terms of production costs, much less as well.

For me (and Suzuki knows this) I'm glad that...

1)my Gen I isn't obsolete
2)my Gen I performs significantly better than a stock Gen II (so the thousands of dollars I've already invested in aftermarket aren't so "down the drain" on the contrary, it's fun to continue to develop my Gen I
3)I won't even skip a beat in the additional plans I have to improve my Gen I even more over the next period of time
4)I think the relative similarities between Gens I and II "fog the difference" between the two, therefore increase the size and power of our "family"

Raydog
















r

So basically what your telling me is your glad suzuki's "upgrade" was puny enough to make you want to keep your old one

Ya know, I don't have to ride the fastest bike in world...it's not about that at all. What I liked about Suzuki and the Hayabusa was 10 years ago, they killed a flea with a sledgehammer attitude and built an incredible machine... the best technology would allow (within reason). Blew away any and all commers.

Now Zuk updates 600s, 750s, and 1000s every couple of years like clockwork...10 years go by and the flagship remains unchanged, not even decent brakes.

It appears to me that the people responsible for the original concept and attitude of the first Busa has been replaced by bean counters and zuk and kawi are just going to play games with each other for a while, nickle and dimeing horsepower back and forth.

Sorry, I guess for the first update in 10 freaking years...especially being a SECOND GENERATION bike...I expected a bit more than 13 horses and an ugly tail.


HOWEVER...I'd still buy the blue one

No, I'm not telling you that, and I didn't characterize the upgrade as "puny". As the "big picture" in the motorcycling industry goes, I think Suzuki did , in fact, create a bold new edition of the Hayabusa. If even more performance is really important to you, it's pretty easy to modify either generation of Busa to that level on your own. When the original Busa was introduced, it was (and still is) a sledgehammer, I guess what is interesting to me is that you are mad at Suzuki because they only built a 1350cc/190hp bike and not a 1400cc/200hp bike? My 490 lb., tired, "old tech" Busa explodes to 180 mph faster than a $600,000 supercar. I'm way OK with it. My anger tends to be directed to a different level of problems in the world. Raydog

 

[ibified]

The thing that always makes me laugh at these types of comparisons is the fact that there are so many people out there that believe they're capable of producing the same results on their own personal machines.

I'm not saying this to antagonize anyone here, or to call anyone out, etc, but I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the people here have never ridden their bikes at the limit of the bikes performance. I for know know I've never even been close. to think that me, you, or anyone else here could hop on a busa or a ZX 13.5 and rip off a 9.23 at the strip is just ridiculous to me.

Again, not trying to call anyone out or insult anyone, but I would frankly be amazed if more than 1 or 2 people here could get within .1 of that.

 

[BusaWizard]

 

[99'busa]

 

[Speednut]

There we go again. Someone had to bust out the common sense... I agree with ibified. I love my " fastest bike in the world " claims, but i guarantee its not the fastest when im on it, or most unprofessional riders for that matter. I just still love it. And it does blow the doors off anything i've raced which keeps me happy

 

[raydog]

The thing that always makes me laugh at these types of comparisons is the fact that there are so many people out there that believe they're capable of producing the same results on their own personal machines.

I'm not saying this to antagonize anyone here, or to call anyone out, etc, but I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the people here have never ridden their bikes at the limit of the bikes performance. I for know know I've never even been close. to think that me, you, or anyone else here could hop on a busa or a ZX 13.5 and rip off a 9.23 at the strip is just ridiculous to me.

Again, not trying to call anyone out or insult anyone, but I would frankly be amazed if more than 1 or 2 people here could get within .1 of that.

I couldn't agree more, when I ride my Busa, I feel like a privileged guest on it....one that could never take it to its limits. I guess that begs the question...Why do I keep pumping performance upgrades into it? I guess the act of "pumping performance upgrades" is part of the passion of ownership. Come to think of it, I don't even care if there's no rational explanation...BUT....

I would like to make the point, however, that some of those upgrades actually make the rider much safer at speed and in performance situations...for example, rotors, SS lines, pads, Pazzos have brought me to a whole new personal level of both safety and skill.

 

[raydog]

the fact that the newer sports bikes get constant up grades from year to year is great if you want a throw away product. The very reason I like the Hayabusa is that it has stayed relatively the same over the years. If you wan't to up grade, all you have to do is go to the aftermarket. This stability has given us a very diversified product line up.

I really agree with you.

 

[BigBSBusa]

The debate continues.

 

[ibified]

Yeah I'm a fan of safety upgrades myself. My bike had SS lines on it before i even put a mile on her.

 

[Don Hardcastle]

I bet that rider was tired after 40 trips down the track.


Don

 

[BlkDrgnZ28]

i know that many of us average riders will never pull of 9.23 or whatever but the fact is that its there that we could aspire to that point gives us something to try to touch i like knowing that my bike COULD do this but for now im just limited my my reaction time, balls and the all might $$$

 

[UncleSteve]

it boils down to which one you like best ....

 

[UncleSteve]

For me it was black and orange and black............

 

[bquinn]

So the busa "won". Good for it. The Kawi is a bad azz bike also...good for Kawi.

I am glad to see the Kawi right there in performance with the Busa. Heck, I'd like to see Honda and Yamaha come play in the game too. The more variety at the track the better it is for the sport. Plus, I hate being 'another busa' at the drag strip.

One little thing that bothers me about this test, and any drag racing test on basically stock bikes is the darn suzuki clutch. I wonder what the outcome whould have been if the stock suzuki clutch got the usual mods that 90% of drag racers would do before hitting the strip. The Kawi clutch is said to be great for launching from the factory, the Busa not so.

So I'm wondering, would the busa's ET dropped enough to make it a clear win with the very basic clutch mods?

Not that I really care, but just curious.

 

[99'busa]

And it does blow the doors off anything i've raced which keeps me happy

thats all that matters right?

 

[Mr Bogus]

Wonder if HD ever went through this

debate... You change a product from year to year in order to 1. make it worth buying or to 2. Fix deficiencies present in the old product when feasible. HD has dozens of designs that were all unique and worked or didnt work in one way or the other... guess what... they are all still here with loyal riders that fixed or tweaked them to their own ideal of what a bike should be..

I think the 99 was a significant machine then and now.
All predecessors of the same bike are still on top of their game and did not need "fixed"
the '08 was more a marketing device than a product improvement.
My hats off to Suzuki for not killing the bike with a remake..
If you think a difference of 1-5 hp is an issue on your 180hp "street" bike? something is wrong with you.

There will always be whining about "problems" but that just leaves room for "personal" touches... hate the brakes? fix em, hate the tail? make a new one.. Me? I wanted cruise control and a bigger windshield.. they missed my upgrades

Still one of my favorite bikes, still the fastest thing I have ever purchased for the street turnkey and people at stop lights giving me the thumbs up.. How about the question "how fast have you had it?"

can we start a new thread now on something that does not go around in circles? How about that new Testarossa?

 

[Speednut]

yep. all that matters to me at least.

 

[99'busa]

yep. all that matters to me at least.

 

[BLACK_KNIGHTS]

Agreed. No one actually utilize the maximum potential of the bike. It's all on paper. A few minor adjustment and you should get your dream bike. Enjoy the ride.