Thinking about switching to Busa

[Xman99]

Currently have a '01 Zx-12 and for various reasons I'm thinking of switching from the dark side (to the dark side

)?  Overall I've lost interest in the 12 due to quality issues - small paint chips in weird places, stator wiring oil leak, cracked rearset, bad fan switch after 1 year.   Local dealer has a '02 Busa SE that I'm 75% sure I want but I had a couple of general questions for those that have owned one for awhile:

1. Maintenance. How are front fairings retained? ZX-12 uses crappy wellnuts and these evil plastic things on the inners and are a hassle to line up when re-installing.  Are the busa fasteners 1/4 turn, wellnuts, or nuts that go into metal clips? Are they all the same size/type? I do all my own work/maintenance and this is a concern.

2. Long Distance. I do an annual trip to Atlanta on the bike to visit a friend and ride around N. Georgia mountains (TWO, etc.) , anything special recommended?

3. Mileage. ZX-12 (down 1 in front) gets about 100-110 per tank doing 50/50 freeway/suburban non-stunta riding until reserve. How many miles until reserve/empty?

It may seem that from the above a 1100XX may work better for me but I took the 12 to the dragstrip a couple of times last year and would like to get into it more. Used to drag my former car and I miss the track, bike is the easiest way to still be involved at this point. TIA

 

[pure_ego]

The fairings aren't that bad.. mostly it's just little allen headed bolts. 2 diff sizes though.. kinda dumb... but thats the way it is. Uhmm.. 2 plastic clip thingies.. which was really dumb of them.. but overall.. It's no big deal.

some of the other guys will no doubt help you out more with long distance as I haven't been over 550 miles in one day ever.

I don't even think about gas until 150 miles on a tank no matter what type of riding i'm doing.. normally the reserve flicks on around 180-190ish on me.

1100XX.. bleh.. why would ya wanna do such a thing?

Plus the 'busa is beautifully designed, and doesn't look like every over sport bike in the world.

Good luck.. the dark side is a cool place to be.

 

[MET]

Well I switched before I bought, thus the name Ninja eater. The Busa is not perfect and some of the things you talked about are not real different. The different between problems and ride ability are night and day in favor of the Busa. Get one to ride first. That is what I did and drove the Ninja back.

 

[jwcfbd]

You can't go wrong by buying a Busa. Trust me, you won't regret it.
1) The fairings are held on with allen head bolts like pure_ego said but there are a couple of those plastic rivet type fasteners.
2) The longest ride I made was one weekend I rode to Deals Gap. It took me about 6 hours to get there and we rode for about another 1 1/2 hr once there. The next day we rode for another 6 hrs. (I put the bike in the trailer for the run home) The only complent was that my shoulders were a little sore. My bike is all stock except for a set of Yosh RS 3 race cans.
3) Again all stock and I get about 160 miles before I look for a gas station. I normally stop at about 1/4 tank just incase there isn't another station near by.

 

[jwcfbd]

By the way welcome to the board.
Jim

 

[Kento-Moto]

I kinda like the way the 12 looks & sounds, but the Busa wins for me. I have allmost 10k on my busa and have never had any kind of prob. ( oops, I did change the temp reading switch on the radiator as it seemed to be malfunctioning )
As for gas milage I never take note, but it seems quite a bit less when I am really working it... The power, sound, handling and the power, oh and the power are my favorite things.

 

[OB_VegasDude]

Ok, the busa is great for long distance. My average ride is 180 miles or so. I have done 1100 miles in two days and 600 miles days with no problems. I am getting 39 MPG average, even with the turbo. It sits a little lower than the 12 and in my opinion it corners better..........have had 0 problems with the bike. I have 25,000 miles on mine and it runs as perfect as ever................The fairings are a piece of cake to take off. At one time or another I have had every piece of plastic off of the bike and I am considered dangerous with a screw driver. If I can do it a 3 year old can do it..........trouble is there is never a 3 year old around when you need one. The battery is easy to get to, as well as the plugs and changing the oil and the valves go 15,000 miles between adjustments. Try that with a kawasaki.

 

[Rich]

I only have 700 mi on mine. But I did 350mi in one day and had no problems riding, not sore at all.

 

[FLCN72]

The side fairings are easy to remove. As mentioned before, they are held on by allen screws. There are also a few phillips screws inside the front wheel well, which aren't so easy to get out -- but a stubby screwdriver will do wonders there. All the panels are well made and hold their shape, so getting them back in place is easy.

The oil drain plug is in a good location that is easy to get to and drops the oil in between the exhaust pipes, not on them. The oil filter is suprizingly easy to get to and replace from the right side of the bike. Let the exhaust pipes cool down first!

I go around 180 miles between stops at the gas station. And that can include some spirited riding, so gas mileage is very respectable.

In my opinion the wind protection is good. Some guys put a double bubble windscreen on, but I find I can comfortably get out of the main wind blast in stock form. I also find the bike does very well in crosswinds. I had a VFR before, that the wind tossed around like a leaf -- the Busa is more stable and far less prone to crosswinds.

Overall the bike is comfortable for long rides. I've spent more than six hours on it this Summer and was pleasantly surprized by the comfort. (I did take breaks now and then so it wasn't six hours straight)

The seating position is good, but sporty. I'm 5'10" and the leg position and reach to the bars is excellent for me. Fits like a glove. The seat itself is comfy and big enough to wiggle around so you don't have to stay in a tuck all the time. The passenger seat is less comfy and requires more leg bending. I wouldn't want to spend all day back there.

The drive chain tightening is pretty standard. Get used to it, cause it is a fairly frequent adjustment. I adjust mine about every 600 miles or so depending on how I have riden. And a Busa can eat rear tires quickly if you like to use all that power. My rear has over 3000 miles on it and I think I can squeeze a little more life out of it.

The Busa is a comfortable riding machine, but it really comes into its own at a quicker pace. This is a big bike, but it doesn't feel like it on the road. You can really carve these things in the turns. More more agile than you'd think and smaller "feeling."

If you can get a chance to ride one I think you'll come to appreciate its qualities. Good luck and I hope we can welcome you to the Busa family one day soon.

 

[Xman99]

WOW thanks for the replies, you guys gave me the info I was looking for! Good to hear mileage per tank is better, along with everything else. Next step is to try and test ride one if possible just to be sure. Thanks again!

 

[Postal]

Xman: Think no further, run to the light my son. The force is strongest with the Busa (g-force that is).

 

[jetset]

What's that saying? JUST DO IT!! I'll have to tell you all my bikes except my first were Kawasakis. I don't regret buying a Suzuki Hayabusa one bit. I was going to buy a ZX12 but after the research I know I made the right choice. What ever other bike I'll buy in the future I'll still keep my BUSA. Sorry for making along story long.