I got my '05 Busa not too long ago by trading my '05 Bandit in on it because the Bandit was slower than my '03 Mustang Cobra at the local drag strip. I always wanted a Busa, but, I kept convincing myself that I should resist. Anyway, I took it to the strip and I sucked so I took it for a ride today up in the Angeles Crest here in LA just to see how that felt. And my riding buddy who just got a left over 2004 Kawi ZX12R (because he can not stand to lose) was riding with me. Neither of us is a beginner and he traded his modded 900 Ninja in on the ZRex. We have both been riding forever and we are not kids.
Anyway, we came up from the desert side of the Crest and there are plenty of long empty straight desert roads where we live. Naturally we did some testing and it appears that the stock '04 Kawi and the stock '05 Busa are very closely matched. We rode the Crest out to Wrightwood because I was heading to the US distributor of Speed-O-Healers to pick one up for the Busa. The roads we rode are great curvey roads and we did some sprited riding off and on. Both bikes are heavy feeling and they take some muscle to do hair pin curves and toss around, but they seemed to handle just fine to us as they have decent tires and good suspension.
As we were riding along, we were caught by a group of noisy sports bike with fully kitted riders who rudely passed us as we cruised along. My crazy buddy immediately stood on the ZRex and started to carve up the guys who passed us. I finally had to stand on it too, and I passed the last bike in line, who had been holding me up, a late model 1000 GIXER on a short straight. And, this is sort of where all this rambling is headed to, as this is where I started to use the Busa's HP. I passed the GIXER while he was fully on the throttle and I think that he was surprised. Seems that from a 60 MPH roll the Busa has more than the litre bike. I then started to reel in the hot shoes and, I realized that the Busa can move right along even in the curves. I recognise that it is not a light weight super sports bike, but I am coming from my other bike, a MotoGuzzi Lemans SE, which I still have and which I got new in 1987. Compared to the Guzzi, the Bandit that I had, and the Busa, are amazing super bikes.
Now we both were so stoked by our encounter with the four bikes, that on the trip back home we kept punching off in various gears to test out the bikes against each other. It appears that the Busa gets the initial jump on the Kawi and then the Kawi catches back up and then the two bikes just sit there glued together until the speedos are reading 170!!!!
OK, I know that all of you are jaded and perhaps you have forgotten the first time you ever wacked open the throttle on a Busa and let it ramble toward the end of speed. I was amazed by the composure of the bike at speed. And, I was also caught off guard by how quickly the bike arrived at what must have been an honest 160. Holy warp speeds.
All this was accompanied by almost no sounds as I removed the Yosh carbon fiber bolt on exhaust from the bike last night since it was making it run poorly. With the stock cans back on, the bike ran perfectly. And the bike was still accelerating like a monster when I shut off as if it was no big thing at all.
Sorry for the long post, but, it was a real experience to go the fastest I have ever gone in my life. And the Kawasaki was right there locked with the Busa step for step. Talk about monsters. I am still all hyper. What a rush. It is a shame that I will get used to it. But I expect that I will based upon my experiences with other fast vehicles over the years. So, I have to wonder why all Busa owners are not in jail?
Finally, we did trade bikes for awhile and I sure am glad that I got the Busa. I like the ergos on the Busa better, and, the Kawasaki took a lot more effort to turn than the Busa. In fact the Busa feels nimble along side of the Kawi. But, that old Kawi engine sure does come on with a rush and the gearbox is smooth as butter. The Busa flat out has much better front brakes.
Tomorrow I will go back to the strip to see if my seat of the pants observation about the exhaust cans will prove out and if my Busa will run some better numbers than it did previously.
Damm! Now I know what some high speed feels like. I almost crave another serving, but, that would be crazy.
Anyway, we came up from the desert side of the Crest and there are plenty of long empty straight desert roads where we live. Naturally we did some testing and it appears that the stock '04 Kawi and the stock '05 Busa are very closely matched. We rode the Crest out to Wrightwood because I was heading to the US distributor of Speed-O-Healers to pick one up for the Busa. The roads we rode are great curvey roads and we did some sprited riding off and on. Both bikes are heavy feeling and they take some muscle to do hair pin curves and toss around, but they seemed to handle just fine to us as they have decent tires and good suspension.
As we were riding along, we were caught by a group of noisy sports bike with fully kitted riders who rudely passed us as we cruised along. My crazy buddy immediately stood on the ZRex and started to carve up the guys who passed us. I finally had to stand on it too, and I passed the last bike in line, who had been holding me up, a late model 1000 GIXER on a short straight. And, this is sort of where all this rambling is headed to, as this is where I started to use the Busa's HP. I passed the GIXER while he was fully on the throttle and I think that he was surprised. Seems that from a 60 MPH roll the Busa has more than the litre bike. I then started to reel in the hot shoes and, I realized that the Busa can move right along even in the curves. I recognise that it is not a light weight super sports bike, but I am coming from my other bike, a MotoGuzzi Lemans SE, which I still have and which I got new in 1987. Compared to the Guzzi, the Bandit that I had, and the Busa, are amazing super bikes.
Now we both were so stoked by our encounter with the four bikes, that on the trip back home we kept punching off in various gears to test out the bikes against each other. It appears that the Busa gets the initial jump on the Kawi and then the Kawi catches back up and then the two bikes just sit there glued together until the speedos are reading 170!!!!
OK, I know that all of you are jaded and perhaps you have forgotten the first time you ever wacked open the throttle on a Busa and let it ramble toward the end of speed. I was amazed by the composure of the bike at speed. And, I was also caught off guard by how quickly the bike arrived at what must have been an honest 160. Holy warp speeds.
All this was accompanied by almost no sounds as I removed the Yosh carbon fiber bolt on exhaust from the bike last night since it was making it run poorly. With the stock cans back on, the bike ran perfectly. And the bike was still accelerating like a monster when I shut off as if it was no big thing at all.
Sorry for the long post, but, it was a real experience to go the fastest I have ever gone in my life. And the Kawasaki was right there locked with the Busa step for step. Talk about monsters. I am still all hyper. What a rush. It is a shame that I will get used to it. But I expect that I will based upon my experiences with other fast vehicles over the years. So, I have to wonder why all Busa owners are not in jail?
Finally, we did trade bikes for awhile and I sure am glad that I got the Busa. I like the ergos on the Busa better, and, the Kawasaki took a lot more effort to turn than the Busa. In fact the Busa feels nimble along side of the Kawi. But, that old Kawi engine sure does come on with a rush and the gearbox is smooth as butter. The Busa flat out has much better front brakes.
Tomorrow I will go back to the strip to see if my seat of the pants observation about the exhaust cans will prove out and if my Busa will run some better numbers than it did previously.
Damm! Now I know what some high speed feels like. I almost crave another serving, but, that would be crazy.
