SHEENE #7 SUPERBUSA SOLD IN THE USA

[Bumblebee]

The comparison question ( if you read it ) is how a Gen 1 compares to a ZX14R , and both stock .. The stock Gen 1 was fast in 99 and more , but it is now 2024 , is regarded as mild rather than wild ride . A number of modern , smaller cc bikes , also stock , will mostly match it ... but that is progress .
I agree the ZX14R wouldnt be most people choice for a hills bike , but if you are over 6 ft and dont fit on the 1000 supersport bikes , then your options are more limited . I found both the Busa and the ZX14R to be great fun projects , getting them both to carve corners pretty well , but a 1000 for example will smoke them in the curves . That is why they make GSXR1000 and ZX10R .
As for the Gen 3 Busa , that would also be only an option for curves if you feel your choice was limited by size etc. , imo . My mates stock Gen 3 was nice to ride , and would be great with my own Busa at that time running gear etc . but not worth updating to from Gen 2 imo.
I actually maintain , that the Busa will suit certain riders style over the 14R , and vice versa . But for me , the 14R is the better bike .
You stated you havent ridden a 1441cc ZX14R , some I read ..., well they improved a lot of things , to tweak it to beat the Gen 2 , so if you actually rode one you might be surprised mate .

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And you are a guy that doesn't mess around with the basics...you go right for the throat when it comes to getting aftermarket goodies for your bikes....

In the day, the Hayabusa and ZX14R were in direct competition after the Super Blackbird went the way of the "Dodo" leaving Kawasaki and Suzuki with the only two "hyper bikes" left....now Kawasaki has basically ended the ZX14R in most markets and replaced it with the H2 platform which has taken the throne as the Hyper bike king.

Both bikes suited each other as competitors should....

Now if Suzuki would have teamed up with TTS and made this a production option....all bets would then be off as the Hyperbusa would have perched itself on the throne and dared anyone to try and knock it off.....

.......if only.......

 

[sixpack577]

The Busa doesn't have hp/trq numbers for their ram air, but there IS an on/off setting in ECU Editor and Woolrich called 'Ram-Air Compensation', which adds fuel up top to account for the extra air being forced in at high speeds.
So, Suzuki's hp/trq probably goes up similiar to the Kawasaki's, which they claim around up to a 10hp gain by putting ram-air on their sportbikes.

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

And you are a guy that doesn't mess around with the basics...you go right for the throat when it comes to getting aftermarket goodies for your bikes....

In the day, the Hayabusa and ZX14R were in direct competition after the Super Blackbird went the way of the "Dodo" leaving Kawasaki and Suzuki with the only two "hyper bikes" left....now Kawasaki has basically ended the ZX14R in most markets and replaced it with the H2 platform which has taken the throne as the Hyper bike king.

Both bikes suited each other as competitors should....

Now if Suzuki would have teamed up with TTS and made this a production option....all bets would then be off as the Hyperbusa would have perched itself on the throne and dared anyone to try and knock it off.....

.......if only.......

Yes , if Suzuki actually , truly , stepped up with the Gen 3 , and built that bike like we all speculated they would over the many years of waiting....
We would be having a very different conversation .
Worldwide sales most likely would be steller for such a gutsy move. The company however played it conservative , to build a good bike , but , not a world beater .
The good take on this , is that there is definately a niche for companies like TTS , to come along , and put the hard developement in , and produce something very special , which TTS certainly has .

 

[zucchero]

Yes , if Suzuki actually , truly , stepped up with the Gen 3 , and built that bike like we all speculated they would over the many years of waiting....
We would be having a very different conversation .
Worldwide sales most likely would be steller for such a gutsy move. The company however played it conservative , to build a good bike , but , not a world beater .
The good take on this , is that there is definately a niche for companies like TTS , to come along , and put the hard developement in , and produce something very special , which TTS certainly has .

Or atleast company could have tied up with TTS and made few bikes say around 50 and put them up for sale officilay.In this way customer would have choice either to buy a supercharged one or a regular one according to their budget and need..I am sure those 50 bikes would have been picked up by lucky cutomers in no time.
Many including me thinks that company gave up on hayabusa long back..This move would have changed this perception.

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

Or atleast company could have tied up with TTS and made few bikes say around 50 and put them up for sale officilay.In this way customer would have choice either to buy a supercharged one or a regular one according to their budget and need..I am sure those 50 bikes would have been picked up by lucky cutomers in no time.
Many including me thinks that company gave up on hayabusa long back..This move would have changed this perception.

True bro , that scenario was certainly being thrown around as a possibility while we waited all those long years .
That deal that was done with Volkswagon to get big US market deal , false emission etc. cost Suzuki big time , downhill for company from then imo .

 

[Mythos]

.....and has been by many owners.....

I guess I better get back to work on that Gen2 busa of mine then, hey?

I still maintain the Gen 3 is more agile in the curves than just about any ZX-14R.

All I can speak for is the Gen1 ZX-14 v the Gen2 Hayabusa. Based on that, YES I'll say the busa outdoes the 14 by just a little bit in the corners. By the time I had done all the weightloss mods and suspension upgrades to my ZX-14, it was as good as my Hayabusa. Different feel but just as good. When I work the Hayabusa over to the same degree as I did the 14, I imagine the busa will prevail in cornering. I don't own a Gen2 ZX-14R yet though. I think we all have to admit all of these bikes are quite big for cornering. What seems like night and day difference in handling would probably be summer and winter difference if we compared either to a 600.

..but it's all a part of your maturity as a rider. You get to our age and you realize you really can't ride like you're on a track when you're on the street. If the cops don't get you, the wildlife will. For me, the fun is in massive acceleration and then cool it before my luck runs out. I'd like to take corners at twice the posted limit all the time but the only places I can do that are the places there are no cops. There's always lots of animals in those places. I learned you don't trust the judgement of an animal. LOL You're better to trust in the lenience a cop might extend.

 

[Bumblebee]

I guess I better get back to work on that Gen2 busa of mine then, hey?

Hard to keep up with all the mods.......guys like EJR and many others are pretty intense when it comes to weight loss on their bikes.

Remember the almost fanatical weight loss regime @c10 was doing with RJ? It was really interesting to watch his innovative approach to both weight loss and practicality...

Years ago I did a big upgrade and weight loss regime to one of my GSXRs and it was pretty light but sucked out on the hiway as it would get blown all over the place by even mild winds and even pick up trucks caused a lot of buffeting......the Bumblebee gets blown around a little but nothing like that GSXR did......

I like the ZX14R though as it is in direct competition for the Hayabusa...not just for performance either but also in stature.

 

[jellyrug]

.

..but it's all a part of your maturity as a rider. You get to our age and you realize you really can't ride like you're on a track when you're on the street. If the cops don't get you, the wildlife will. For me, the fun is in massive acceleration and then cool it before my luck runs out. I'd like to take corners at twice the posted limit all the time but the only places I can do that are the places there are no cops. There's always lots of animals in those places. I learned you don't trust the judgement of an animal. LOL You're better to trust in the lenience a cop might extend.

That’s pretty much me as well. On the street, with a do it all street bike, what happens after the 1/4 mile is really nothing more than bragging rights.

 

[Bumblebee]

That’s pretty much me as well. On the street, with a do it all street bike, what happens after the 1/4 mile is really nothing more than bragging rights.

I find myself having far more patience and just enjoying the ride more than the performance aspect....

There are times when my bike barely breaks 4,000rpm on a ride.....then there are others when it's go time and the poor things get wrung out (a little) but those times are becoming more and more rare.

I've had my time of riding to the edge and beyond on the track....at least I got that out of my system....

.......however.....the last Suzuki track day I went to a few years ago, I was putting down some decent lap times on the GSXR 1K they gave me.....we had to stay behind the riding marshal for the first couple of laps but when he waved us on, it was go time......I felt like a young guy again........but it sure hurt the next day.

 

[jellyrug]

I find myself having far more patience and just enjoying the ride more than the performance aspect....

There are times when my bike barely breaks 4,000rpm on a ride.....then there are others when it's go time and the poor things get wrung out (a little) but those times are becoming more and more rare.

I've had my time of riding to the edge and beyond on the track....at least I got that out of my system....

.......however.....the last Suzuki track day I went to a few years ago, I was putting down some decent lap times on the GSXR 1K they gave me.....we had to stay behind the riding marshal for the first couple of laps but when he waved us on, it was go time......I felt like a young guy again........but it sure hurt the next day.

Real pretty scenic rides, low traffic where I live. Narrow country roads though, densely wooded lots of blind corners, lots of deer. Really hard to wrung out a Hayabusa here, maybe for 10 seconds or so, unless one wants to be a moron.

The places where I can wrung out the Busa here, have a very probable chance of getting caught and off to jail with the bike impounded. They are also busy roads, and boring to ride.

In our entire county, I am probably the oldest guy on a high performance sports bike. Harleys everywhere though, folks my age younger and older.

I use to ride with a big group in a big city 1 3/4 hours away, very spirited riding, daring twisties, one of the group leaders is a track coach. After a couple of fatalities though, that ended those rides for me.

 

[Mythos]

I use to ride with a big group in a big city 1 3/4 hours away, very spirited riding, daring twisties, one of the group leaders is a track coach. After a couple of fatalities though, that ended those rides for me.

That will wake you up, hey? It's kinda whacked out but I sometimes wonder if I didn't die myself when I did that 225 foot slide. I woke up alive and relatively well but later, several months later things were happening in my life several times every single day that made me wonder if I hadn't lived it all before. I was remembering doing things and meeting people I never could have. The memories seemed to be from when I was less than half the age I am now. It's a forum and I guess it doesn't really matter if anyone thinks I'm crazy. My hypothesis is that maybe I died and woke up to existence in a parallel universe. I plan to stay alive here! Go ahead and call me a nut job but I'm not expecting to do things that will get me or someone else (even a deer) killed where everyone should be safe. I might do some track events but I consider that a lot less risky.

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

The ride experience has certainly changed in my state , actually much more to contend with nowadays than ever before . We got lousy road upkeep , so the speed limits are a lot lower everywhere . Double lines ( no passing ) throughout these same roads and cops that setup stand alone speed measuring devices that automatically record your plate and speed , with camo nets hiding these , and no cop in site . Then we got point to point camera setups and they can crush your vehicle if you go 40kph above posted speed limit . Then you got the many fauna that are also trying to exist , living near and crossing these now heavily trafficed carriage ways .
So , I adjust as I get older , and luckily still get to ride and enjoy my bikes , sometimes even spirited rides , but care taken to make it home .
I luckily get as much enjoyment from modifying my rides as riding them nowadays .

 

[wellcraft]

I use to ride with a big group in a big city 1 3/4 hours away, very spirited riding, daring twisties, one of the group leaders is a track coach. After a couple of fatalities though, that ended those rides for me.

I ride with a group of guys but we all ride at sane speeds and not like we're on a track but I have seen groups of riders riding like they have a death wish and those riders I steer clear of. Riding is fun but it ceases to be fun when your body hits the pavement which can happen to anyone but when you ride irresponsibly you increase your chances of hurting yourself or others.

 

[dcnblues]

Just got back from an 800 mile ride (2 days). Polished off, literally, my S22 rear which lasted 2,200 MI at 34 PSI cold, and never let me down or scared me or felt like it was running out of grip.
Not trying to brag or be a douche, but with complete sincerity I'm sorry for you guys that don't have access to the roads here. Northern California between the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oregon border has to be the best roads I've ever seen. Of that 800 miles, 600 were as good and mostly better than the videos I've seen of Tail of the Dragon. And Top Gear did a fiasco episode where they looked for 'the best road in the world,' researched it, and settled on some short bit in Switzerland. Took them forever to get to it through traffic, and it ended up being some narrow little euro track too busy with cars to even use in the short stretch they settled on.
I was on wide clean new pavement, 74 degrees no humidity, no traffic, no cops, just linked turns where I didn't bother changing out of second gear for 20 miles at a time and barely had to tap the brakes. Just smooth linked transitions leaned over with unlimited grip and power (and by that I mean more than I needed), altitude changes, in and out of redwood groves, up the sides of sunny mountain sides, and spectacular vistas. I even came up on a little red car just as it came to a complete stop to clear a couple of deer crossing. Perfect timing and if he hadn't been there it might have been close. Fortune smiling upon the Gen 3 as though it enjoyed the perfection of the machine and road blending together.
Even if I could fit on a liter bike, I wouldn't be doing 800 miles on it. Nor would an H2 have been as comfortable. The ZX14R would have, but I think my bias may simply be down to fairing design. Seems like it has more plastic, and wider. It just doesn't feel as agile to me. Nor would most of the taller adventure bikes like the pricey Ducati Multistrada V4 S (which would probably be a pretty great ride but for the money I could start looking at a TTS kit). I haven't sat on a GSX-S1000GT, but it's probably on the small side and wouldn't have that monstrous busa torque. I'm also in love with the looks of the Gen 3, and none of the competitors come close to it. There was a sailboat designer who said "Half the reason to own the boat is just to look at it." I'm on that page, and wouldn't trade my bike for any other in the world.

If you're spending your time on a Hayabusa forum, forget Yellowstone. Make instead a pilgrimage to these roads:

And speaking of the Tail of the Dragon, I'd bet a fair bit that any random sampling of fast guys would choose this section over it:

* those are by no means the only great roads. There are others, and of course the coast road is also renowned (but it can certainly be overcast and cold, and motorcycles are much less fun in the cold).

Zoom in to read the sign:

 

[dcnblues]

You stated you havent ridden a 1441cc ZX14R , some I read ..., well they improved a lot of things , to tweak it to beat the Gen 2 , so if you actually rode one you might be surprised mate .

It's possible. I do find it nice to look at and would probably take it over a Gen 2, but not over a gen 1, and the Gen 3 I can just gaze at for hours. I think the electronics and dash would also be functional but not as sexy as the newer gen 3 screen. There's no question the engine would put a smile on my face but I do find it to have a different character. It's actually so free revving it's disconcerting. Almost like the engineers made some triumphant breakthrough where you skip the torque part and just leap to the horsepower output. I've seen it in some newer car engines as well, that frictionless internal feel where nothing slows the revs from building to the top half of the power band. But we agree it's just down to personal preference. The Gen 3 is a little newer and it's my impression the engineers tweak the internals to the demands of Euro 5 emissions. Which means they design it to boost the torque feel at the cost of some high-end power. And I have to say I'm down with it. Addictive grunt. Horses for courses.

Just to be clear though, that is an extended swing arm? Couple of inches?

 

[Bumblebee]

I had a friend who had a Ducati 916 (amongst other bikes) and he said it was uncomfortable to ride but awesome to look at....he said he used to sit in his garage and enjoy looking at it as much as riding it....other bikes came and went but that one always stayed.

I also knew an older guy who used to say "if you park your ride and never look back at it, you bought the wrong ride, either that or you won't keep it long" He said that went for bikes, trucks or cars equally....

 

[groran1000]

A well-designed 4 in1 header with a good muffler and a PROFESSIONAL TUNE, will get you close to 200HPRW, guarantee it.

 

[dcnblues]

I'd like to take corners at twice the posted limit all the time but the only places I can do that are the places there are no cops. There's always lots of animals in those places. I learned you don't trust the judgement of an animal. LOL

Motorcycles evolve to have more horsepower. Deer evolve to have more deer power, ie back leg muscles. They're evolved response to a threat is to accelerate up to speed. Period. They don't care what direction they're pointed in, if they get startled they sprint. It's their best defense against a predator jumping on top of them, even if they're pointed at the road which is after all open space in front of them.

This explains why they can run in front of traffic. Which is otherwise incomprehensible, at least to the rider / driver having to deal with them. That's going to help me not become the guy I heard a story about: riding with some friends at speed, deer sprints out and collides with and totals his brand new Ducati. Guy gets up and is so pissed off he runs over to the injured and dying animal and starts kicking the s*** out of it while cursing up a storm... I shouldn't laugh but I do...

 

[jellyrug]

Motorcycles evolve to have more horsepower. Deer evolve to have more deer power, ie back leg muscles. They're evolved response to a threat is to accelerate up to speed. Period. They don't care what direction they're pointed in, if they get startled they sprint. It's their best defense against a predator jumping on top of them, even if they're pointed at the road which is after all open space in front of them.

This explains why they can run in front of traffic. Which is otherwise incomprehensible, at least to the rider / driver having to deal with them. That's going to help me not become the guy I heard a story about: riding with some friends at speed, deer sprints out and collides with and totals his brand new Ducati. Guy gets up and is so pissed off he runs over to the injured and dying animal and starts kicking the s*** out of it while cursing up a storm... I shouldn't laugh but I do...

When I had my Harley, I hit a deer with the wife on the back of the bike. Riding the Blue Ridge Parkway. Doing about 55mph, deer came from the left side, hit his head with the handlebars, body hit the engine case, then hit my wife's left leg. Don't know how I did it, but managed to keep the bike up. Wife thought she broke her leg, but after some help from other riders we got her to calm down and she was OK. Deer had to be neutered, back part of his back broken.

It cost me slightly North of $60 to repair the Harley, only lost the left back indicator light.

So I guess Harley's must be good for something.

 

[ROADTOAD1340]

It's possible. I do find it nice to look at and would probably take it over a Gen 2, but not over a gen 1, and the Gen 3 I can just gaze at for hours. I think the electronics and dash would also be functional but not as sexy as the newer gen 3 screen. There's no question the engine would put a smile on my face but I do find it to have a different character. It's actually so free revving it's disconcerting. Almost like the engineers made some triumphant breakthrough where you skip the torque part and just leap to the horsepower output. I've seen it in some newer car engines as well, that frictionless internal feel where nothing slows the revs from building to the top half of the power band. But we agree it's just down to personal preference. The Gen 3 is a little newer and it's my impression the engineers tweak the internals to the demands of Euro 5 emissions. Which means they design it to boost the torque feel at the cost of some high-end power. And I have to say I'm down with it. Addictive grunt. Horses for courses.

Just to be clear though, that is an extended swing arm? Couple of inches?

It's possible. I do find it nice to look at and would probably take it over a Gen 2, but not over a gen 1, and the Gen 3 I can just gaze at for hours. I think the electronics and dash would also be functional but not as sexy as the newer gen 3 screen. There's no question the engine would put a smile on my face but I do find it to have a different character. It's actually so free revving it's disconcerting. Almost like the engineers made some triumphant breakthrough where you skip the torque part and just leap to the horsepower output. I've seen it in some newer car engines as well, that frictionless internal feel where nothing slows the revs from building to the top half of the power band. But we agree it's just down to personal preference. The Gen 3 is a little newer and it's my impression the engineers tweak the internals to the demands of Euro 5 e

missions. Which means they design it to boost the torque feel at the cost of some high-end power. And I have to say I'm down with it. Addictive grunt. Horses for courses.

Just to be clear though, that is an extended swing arm? Couple of inches?

No mate , the Striker swingarm is stock length , the standard wheelbase is maintained , which stock is long like Hayabusa .
The H2 's I own are always going to be my bikes for short rides , just to enjoy quick blast etc. They handle best of the Hyper bikes I have owned from stock .

This one being a 2023 euro 5 + , it hasn't been fully mapped as yet . I remember the Gen 3 Busa was waiting awhile for woolich as well .