Does Weight Saving Pay Off?

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OB_Paul Johns

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Seems that there are several mods that save a bunch of weight. Exhaust mods can Knock 50lbs. plus off the stock Busa and carbon fiber rims can save significant unsprung weight which is supposed to be a 9X effective weight saving.
What I want to here from the membership is how much weight do you have to cut before you get a really significant handling and performance benefit on the Hayabusa? I love the way this bike runs now! Is there really a pot of gold at the end end of this weight saving thing?
 
Pay off?? Well, that is a wide open question. If you are a crazy street racer who hates to lose or a drag racer then any weight savings will help. Or if you like to road race. But if you like to road race then don't get a Busa. Get an R1 or a 600 or Ducati or whatever. Probably 90% of the money spent on performance aftermarket stuff for the Busa or any motorcycle doesn't really make any difference because it is not used in situations where it matters. I have a heavily modded Honda XR650L and it is great but stock it was almost as good. The mods were a fun project. My Busa has a Zero Gravity double bubble so I can see the turn signal indicators, a Gen Mar riser for long ride comfort,some fairing protectors, and a carbon fiber license plate frame. Seems like the Busa attracts many drag racers and at least one speed record guy. They make good use of weight savings and power. But there are tons of other people who spend thousands for cool stuff but never really race. They just want a cool bike because that's what matters to them. I don't street race but have done one track day and have more planned. For those fun days the Busa is just fine in stock form. If you drag race then do the clutch mod. I haven't and won't do that because I prefer the slipper clutch on the track. So if you go for lightweight wheels and a titanium exhaust system you will save weight and your drag race times may drop 1/100th of a second. I could do all that stuff to my bike and still get spanked by any decent rider on a 600 on the track. But I could also take my basically stock bike and spank many squids on Ducatis in the corners and smoke almost anyone on the straights. The (not so) secret is that the Busa is a solid package stock. Sorry for the long answer. I'm just trying to convince myself not to get that PC2 and pipe!
 
last weekend I rode with a guy with a micron,dymag,filter,and a pc-2.Hes got 30-40pounds on me.On the street the differance was not that obvious against my stock Busa.We plan on investigating this question further on some safer territory.Ill keep you posted.
 
...I would have to say the pot of gold does indeed await...if your a good rider who likes the curves, or just want the Busa to feel like a state of the art 750, the Wheel Mod is the way to go...I did not go anywhere near as far as KawAbuser and some others, but the Race Tech suspension and Dymag Custom Carbon wheel combo has rasulted in a bike that provides a much more fliud and less upsetting ride yet offers more feed back and less dive and squat...the only compromise is that the front wheel is more easily deflected from its path than stock...more in line with what you would expect from a fast handling sport bike...the long wheel base and
"consrevitive" geometry help keep this from being in any way dramatic...the bike just changes direction much more quicky and is more responsive to input...the feedback through the brakes is improved to the point where I at first thought they were warped or pulsing...the whole bike feels busier and more lively, yet more plush over big bumps...the bike no longer squats under power but it no longer kicks up its heels over fast choppy stuff...I can only imagine how sweet the Ohlins/RAM equipped bikes will be...
 
Weight savings could come probably alot cheaper via "a diet", but the busa had enough torque and power to carry us around reguardless.....I'd say Live happy, eat happy, and ride the same!
 
Hapo your observations interest me greatly, specifically I want to see if more riding time will modify your initial impressions.
Your now riding on some world class running gear. What tires are you using now?
 
Suzuki gave us a bike for $10,000 with big power and torque, the best thing you can do is improve the brakes (god forbid you might need them more than a pipe some day).

The Busa is a great bike only made better with less rotating mass.......NASCAR...

What good is a 200 mph rocket when you can't stop it fast enough, speed seldom kills - it's usually the last two feet of stopping/crashing that does.

The bike I assembled is a project to actually see and understand if weight reduction does make a differance, and the answer is YES - BIG TIME!

Hapo will soon change his initial thoughts as being more controlable and directable, the Busa's stability is not compromised by weight loss. Only enhanced the bikes abilities to change direction and velocity.

If I wanted to loose weight cheaply, I would have bought a mountain bike........this just happens to be more fun!
 
Thanks guys! This organization is the best source of fact-based information! By the way, I'm not a drag racer and will probably never see a track. But you know how it is....you become an obsessive enthusiast and just can't resist the urge to "tweak".

I'm not interested in mods that produce more speed, I bought that stock. And as far as I'm concerned the bike handles like a dream. I was interested to know if it turned into an even bigger dream with reduced weight.

I haven't had any complaint with the brakes, but more is always better there. What's the best brake mod?
 
..hey Kaw, slow down and READ my post! Nowhere do I say the stability has been compromised, but the Busa in its new form most certainly is more easily deflected from it's intended path than before...if you ain't noticed this, well, you aint pushen it! This trait is what allows one to change lines in a curve at will, rather than battle enertia...there is no free lunch, but there is no way I would ever go back to the stock set up! The only person who I could see prefering the stock set up would be happier on a Gold Wing anyway...

BTW, the PFM Super Bike brake kit is the way to go if you have the iorn ($1800)...a cheaper option would be to get the Brake Kink Superlight Rotors,($600) and although I am using the stock calipers for now, I will upgrade to the Nissin calipers supplied on the full version of the kit...the Ti rear brake set up Kaw set up for me is just candy...works like stock, wieghts next to nothing....
 
Velociraptor, where can I can the fairing protectors? Are they like the white plastic deals on Mat Mladin'x GSXR750 superbike or different?
 
These are cylindrical hard plastic-like parts that bolt to engine mounts and stick out through the side panel of the fairing to take the brunt of a slide. One on each side. Bad news is you have to drill a 2 inch hole in the fairing. I have a black busa with black protectors so they are not real noticeable. By the way, I forgot to mention that I also added kevlar brake lines and EBC HH pads on the front. The kevlar lines helped a little bit then adding the EBC pads made a big difference in reducing the effort needed for heavy braking. The HH is a rating for brake pads and I noticed that the stock Busa pads are also HH rated-it's stamped on the pad. The EBC pads make a lot of dragging noise especially when pushing the bike around but it seems not to be a problem. The brake upgrade does not make the bike stop faster but it does reduce the effort needed to brake. When I did my track day I was using stock brakes and had no problems.
 
These are cylindrical hard plastic-like parts that bolt to engine mounts and stick out through the side panel of the fairing to take the brunt of a slide. One on each side. Bad news is you have to drill a 2 inch hole in the fairing. I have a black busa with black protectors so they are not real noticeable. By the way, I forgot to mention that I also added kevlar brake lines and EBC HH pads on the front. The kevlar lines helped a little bit then adding the EBC pads made a big difference in reducing the effort needed for heavy braking. The HH is a rating for brake pads and I noticed that the stock Busa pads are also HH rated-it's stamped on the pad. The EBC pads make a lot of dragging noise especially when pushing the bike around but it seems not to be a problem. The brake upgrade does not make the bike stop faster but it does reduce the effort needed to brake. When I did my track day I was using stock brakes and had no problems.
 
...I have yet to get the stock brakes to fade, but I have only begun to explore this bike potential...for what it is worth, in pliliminary testing the Wheel Mod made the Busa much quicker if not faster...with the aluminum sprocket and light rotors along with the Dymags, I picked up a full indicated 10 mph on a short "Back Straight" I like to use...the improved suspension no doubt helped here too...stick that in your Pipe and smoke it!
 
Weight saving does pay off.You gain 1HP for every 8 pounds.My riding partner on a Blacbird used to run away from me with ease. I put on hindle pipe and have lost 28 pounds and am now riding the **** out of him.
It most certainly does count
 
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