Tires

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OB_Tom Melchild

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I'm new to this forum. I have been into endurance riding for years now, and was the only Suzuki rider to finish the Iron Butt Rally last year. I've decided to retire my 1991 1100 Katana after putting 150,000 miles on it. I have just about decided to replace it with a Hayabusa. I have a couple questions that you people here should be able to answer for me. First, I have to be able to use tires that get reasonable mileage. I have been using the Michelin X90's. They have been very good on the Katana, and I see they make them in the size for the Hayabusa. Has anyone tried these? Or maybe the Metzeler Z's? Or Dunlop 205's?
I would appreciate any feedback.

I would also like to know if anyone has any ideas as to how to plumb in a fuel cell. I use a 6 gallon cell that I think I can mount where the pilion seat is. I looked in the service manual and it appears the return line from the injectors to the tank is not pressurized. If this is the case, I should be able to T into that line and gravity feed from the cell to the main tank. If someone can comfirm this I would appreciate it.

The last question is one that I have asked everyone I could find at Suzuki, and no one could answer it. What is the alternator output on the Hayabusa? I use many electric accesories including CB, Radar detector, PIAA lights, heated grips, electric gloves, heated vest, heated socks, GPS, map lights etc. I would like to know what the power limitations are.

Any help will be appreciated!!

Thanks
 
Tom, I've put a lot of miles on Macadam 90s with other bikes,and they give great mileage with reasonable grip on most bikes. I would start with those, but I'm not sure I'd trust them much over 150mph. Have not tried Z3s or 205s on the Busa, nor the M-90s for that matter, since I'm looking more for grip than mileage.
 
Tom, as much as I love the Busa, it may not be the bike you want...it can hit 150 with so little effort is easy to do by "mistake"...even though I have not run it to top speed, 175 comes up easier than 150 did on the TL1000R...the Busa is not noted for good tire life either...personaly, I consider the Busa a very comfy ride and there is certainly notheing wrong with having more power than you use...as I know nothing of your riding style I should probably MYOB, and for what it is worth, the Busa is what I would pick for your job in spite of the tire problem...I suppose you COULD just take it easy, but I would not put that constraint on myself...
 
I'm sure alot of people are reading this and thinking I'm off my rocker for looking at a bike like the Hayabuse for doing long distance riding. I don't blame, most people think that I'm a little off my rocker anyway! :) Let me tell you what led me to this decision. First, I have been a Suzuki fanatic since I was 14 years old and bought my first 125. I have owned a yamaha, a Harley, and Kawasaki, and they were all OK, but not nearly as well designed and bullet proof as every Suzuki I have owned.

I bought my 1100 Katana before I started doing endurance riding. Most of the other riders in the endurance communtiy think I'm nuts for riding such a sport oriented bike now. The Hayabusa has ergonomics very simular to the Katana, which is a real plus for me.

I do alot of rally riding in the wide open spaces of Nevada, Utah, Montana, Arizona etc. Yes I expect that I will tap the enormous potential of that motor on a regular basis. I don't commute to work, and quite frankly don't do a lot of riding outside of rallies. It is not unusual for me to go for several weeks at a time without even looking at the bike. Even at that I manage to ride about 30,000 miles per year.

BTW, I just put down my deposit on a 2000 Hayabusa at Hayward Suzuki today. They said it should be in by the end of Feb. I am really stoked up now!

Tom
 
I just purchased the last TX-25 200/50/17 in my area. I have used this tire before on a built GSXR1216. You will be very happy with Michelin TX tires if you can find them. I have also heard good things about the Michelin Pilots.
 
As far as I've seen, Busa tires with reasonable mileage that come officially recommended is so far ONLY the MEZ4.
 
...if you liked the Katana, your gonna love the Busa...Dennis the Bikeshop Owner has a Kat now, and will soon turn it in for a Busa or ZX12...this guy could have any bike in the wourld he wants...I've got a standing bet with some of the employees that he will choose the Busa over the ZX12...your likely gonna use a lot more tires than before, but you won't care...this bike just dosn't care if the rider weighs 95lbs or 300 lbs...compared to other bikes I've ridden, you can hardly tell the difference when your two up or packing a load...in this respect, the Busa should be Ideal for your fuel cell...
 
Michelin Pilot Sports, have been used all over the US by many a Hayabusa rider.

Back here in New England we find them to offer great grip on our twisty roads and cold pavement. (Hapo and myself)

Vegas Dude has spun them at speeds in the desert that would land you in jail for an overnighter if caught and speaks very well of these Pilot Sports.

The Pilot Sport has been tested by "Sport Rider" (yeah they love 600's)in their recent tire shootout and ranked very high.

The OEM tires slip on tar patch compounds and offer resonable life.

Tire life is completely up to you, 800m - 8000m take your pick as you twist your wrist.

Worse case scenario is if you buy a tire you don't like, burn it up in smoke! :)
 
Tom, I think you will be the ideal person to test tires for mileage. Since you put more miles in one year that most of us ever will, your experiences with different tires will be greatly beneficial to most of us. Please keep us posted.
Welcome!
JC
 
Slow Hand, Don't trust them over 150? This begs the question, how often do you really find a condition that you can go over 150? I can see certain places in Nevada, but for the most part I have a hard time imagining going over that most of the time. I live in the Bay Area of California, and you don't see much opportunity for that out side the track here.

Tom Melchild
 
For all your information, I bought a new set of tires for the Katana on Friday. Hayward Honda mistakenly mounted a wrong size front tire on the wheel. They did not have the correct size in stock, but told me that they would give me a X89 instead of a X90 and they would swap them for nothing when the correct tire came in. I had the tire mounted and offered that instead of them ordering the tire for the Katana, that they could credit me a tire for the Hayabusa. Paul said no problem! So I allready have one replacement tire for a bike I don't have yet! Not bad. Anyone in the Bay Area, I think you would have to look long and hard to find a better dealer than these guys.

Also, I am the rallymaster for the Cal 24 Endurance rally this year. Anyone interested can contact me at Ryobiman@aol.com and I will send them all the information. It is on July 8th, leaving out of Dublin CA, which is about 35 miles east of San Francisco CA.

Tom Melchild
 
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