Newbie - things to look for

[Mark_S]

Hi guys

As I stated in my newbie thread, I was the owner up until last week of a Blackbird which had and incident with a Volvo and one of it's employees.

Well as of Monday my Bird is gone and I am without a bike. I have been thinking long and hard and I am thinking of 3 different bikes, 2 of which are of the lines and are the Hayabusa and a ZX12R, the 3rd is something I have always wanted to own, but my head tells me it's not practical and it's a Ducati.

I have found a ZX12R down in the southern highlands, NSW and it's a 04 model with 18,000 k's for $9750. Nice looking bike, but the rear seat does not look that comfy for the wife. I have to look after my better half

I have sent a few querys off via Bikesales.com.au on 2 Hayabusas for sale in Sydney, both 05/06 builds with 30,000 on the clock.

To be honest here, I love the look of the Busa and I have always felt it is a natural upgrade from my Blackbird.


Now for my questions.

On the bird 30,000 was seen as just broken in (mine had 84,000), is this the same with the Hayabusa? My guess is it's the same.

Are there certain things I need to be looking at on the bike which is a common issue?

I do most of the spanner work myself and know my way around cars/bikes, I was just hoping for a few pointers on what is important to look at and what issues to look at.

Any help/advise would be great.

Thanks in Advance

Mark

[BUSGO]

G'day again Mark,
You are right, the busa is just loosening up at 30,000k and has a long long way to go before needing any major work.
You will find on most that the shims etc don't even need attention till well past then.

If you buy an early model, 99/00, which I doubt you will, they have an external fuel pump that causes a bit of grief to owners and the 99 model had a couple of recalls very early on.
Apart from those early issues, there have been very few problems with the busa over the years.
It is generally rock solid and apart from replacing wheel and steering bearings, brake disks and fluids, there is not much to worry about.

Even those hard items are not due till about the 5 year mark in most cases.

Check for any sign of crash damage carefully before buying.

I reckon a 30,000 k busa would be much better value than a 20,000 ZX12 BUT this is the busa club.

[Mark_S]

Thanks BUGSO,

I know the early birds had issues with head bearings, and regulators, and cam chain tensioners. Best places to find out this information are from forums in my opinion, this is why I ask the people who know the in's and outs on the bike. I want to go in well prepared when looking at a bike, with my head screwed on right and looking at buying with my head in place of something that looks slick with lots of bling.

I also assume that all models are injected?

The Busa seem to be up in price compared to the ZX12R as well.

As much as I loved my BirdXX and to be honest was a really good reliable bike, it's time to move to something different but also along the same lines. These bikes seem to suit my size (6'2, and 125Kg's), more comfortable for long trips for the Mrs and I and still sharp enough for a fang up the putty rd, etc.


Cheers
Mark

[BUSGO]

Yes Mark all the Hayabusa s are fuel injected.
The GEN II bikes, from 2008 onwards have much more refinement in a lot of areas.
Currently a brand new Gen II on road is only about $18k and a good second hand one about $14k - $15k.
Best value for money going I reckon.

[1hotbusa]

Hi there,

The Blackbird is a very nice bike, but I rode a Hayabusa after riding a Blackbird and the Hayabusa did it for me hands down. My thoughts on the Hayabusa are as follows; and this is from the point of view of somebody who owns a 00 Red/Grey with 57000km on the clock.

The early models had issues with the camchain tensioner, but this was fixed under recall. The problem was history after 2001. The rear sub frame would crack in the 99/00 and leave your ass on the road. This was never recalled, and was replaced with a steel rear subframe after 2001.

There was an ECU upgrade in 2001, which became restricted - no more 311km/hr for us, unless you buy a TRE, which is a very expensive 6.8K resistor. There was also another ECU upgrade but this was to improve processing and fuelling maps.

Otherwise the shape has remained the same from 99 to 2007. I find the Hayabusa very comfortable for long trips for both rider and pillion. It may not corner like a 600 but once the road opens out you'll be goooone!

On bikesales there is a 2004 Black/Purple in the Riff for $12,500 and it has ~3700km on the clock, with yoshis and anodised wheels. There are a few of us in Western Sydney, all of us are happy to put a Hayabusa under you.

[Astro]

I'm no spannering expert... over the next few days there will be lots of comments on mechanicals etc from people who know way more than I do. I just ride them. I've had two. Lastest a K4 Black / Purple. Neither have ever given me a problem - unless I caused it. On that note... always remember that the sump bolt thread has the tensile strength of room temperature play dough. I now use a torque wrench... every time.

Parts and bling... more than you could ever imagine. No problem finding parts if you need them. Bling? Is there another bike (besides a Harley) with sooooo many bling options? I doubt it. The only think thats hard (or expensive) to find are complete motors because they are so popular for a huge range of non-bike applications.

I can't emphasise enough that you need to ride one before you choose 'which' model/brand bike to buy. Ride a 'busa..... and everything else just seems... less. A lot less. There are lots of capable and reliable big bore bikes out there. Ride a 'busa for 5 minutes and you'll only have eyes for one. I can tell you... after years of ownership you'll still get that 'tingle' every time you throw a leg over it. Like Graham said.. it's no 600 in the twisties... but bloody hell, you never feel out of your depth and the 'busa handles and corners way way better than you'd expect. Get a bit of saddle time in... and you'll be right there with the finishers at the end of any set of curves... probably in front of there's a decent straight in there somewhere. What you lose in cornering, you more than make up for with blistering acceleration. Ahhh.... bucket loads of torque.... sooooo satisfying!

The ZX-12 is a nice bike. The Hayabusa is an iconic bike. Ten years from now, the ZX-12 will be forgotten in the sands of time. The Hayabusa... well... I think time will remember it fondly and it's legend will outlive us all. Thankfully, they are deceptively easy to pilot... but most people just assume that if you ride one, you've got testicles the size of watermelons. Instant cred... even if you don't deserve it. LOL

If I bought a second bike... a play bike... it would be a 1098. Problem is, I love riding the 'busa so much the Ducati would get pretty dusty in the shed. Seems a waste really.

Will you ever regret buying a Hayabusa? Hey... it's always a possibility... but I really doubt it. The question is... will you ever regret NOT buying one?

[spamanglenn]

There a good motor in a reasonable chassis with crap brakes,but they can be a great motor in a very good chassis with awesome brakes with the right parts.Its easier to give a bike with great engine better handling than it is to give a bike with great handling and brakes more torque.thats why i sold my vfr800 and kept developing my busa.ive youve owned a blackbird you,ll want to do the brakes on a busa and maybe revalve and spring the front forks and it will be pretty good from there.How long is a piece of string comes to mind on how far you can go with it or you can just ride the torque forever.

[Gnarbunkle99]

They also put in a starter clutch round about 02ish models onwards. A worthwhile upgrade because if she kicks back on startup, it can become a costy repair.
Busa doesn't have the linked brakes like the Blackbird does nor the build quality of Honda so don't be too picky there.

[rb3221]

If the busa is just "loosening up at 30,000k" then my 99 which only has 27,000k's on it has got a long way to go:)

As Astro said, you really need to ride one before you choose, that's the best way.

[Mark_S]

Guys,

Thank you so much for your input and replies.

I guess I am keen to get a bike as I have cash in my hands and feel like a 10 year with the cash burning a hole on my hand.

Really I know what kind of bike I am after and as I said before the only real upgrade from the Blackbird is the Hayabusa. Still I will go out on the weekend and visit a dealer and see about taking one for a test ride, just to get a quick feel for what I am riding and then will play the waiting game for a nice one to pop within my price range.


Cheers
Mark

[steventh]

Mark_S

Welcome to the forum,

You didnt mention which Ducati you were thinking of? A sport or tourer.

I have a gen 2 Busa (previoulsy a Gen 1 K7) and ducati 749 so here is my impression.

Firstly you cant compare the two (even accounting for engine size). the Busa is a big powerful, hypersport that has comfort, is forgiving and good to a pillion. You can ride it hard and work the gears or sit back and let the power do the work. Its not as nimble as a 600 as already mentioned but its no sloth in the bends either.

A couple of comments have been made about some aspaects of the bike by more experienced and adventursit riders. My experience - the brakes are more than fine, they dont match the Ducati and they can be upgraded to better but i had no problems with mine. In fact I found difference in braking vbased on the brand of the pads used which may account for some thinking that the brakes arent so good. On a tour of Vic I changed the front pads and applied the brakes and almost threw myslef over the bars the difference was so much! the Gen 2 being a much better bike than the Gen1 - define much better.. The gen 2 is smoother, slightly more powerful (and I need all 160 or whatever horsepower!!) and turns in a bit quicker but if the Gen 2 scores 100 on these things the Gen 1 is 95. I did over 30,000ks in one year on my K7 and checked the shims at 37000ks and they were easily in spec. The engine and box pured away as sweetly as they did at 10,000k when I got the bike.

The Ducati (and the 1098 / 848 /999 will be the same ) need to be worked hard but the working is fun. These gikes have a pillion seat for the same reason SVUs have 4 wheel drive - the idea of going off road or taking someone along which is hardly done. the sports Ducati is a selfish bike. You ride it for you, a pillion stuffs up the ride -you cant flick into a corner or slam on the brakes in Ducati with a piollion who is bent like a pretzel getting slowly toasted by the exhaust (quickly toased in summer).

I commute to work so ride them both several times a week. In the city I can set and forget the Busa with it pulling away in 6 gear from 2000 revs, on the Ducati Im hardly above fourth. In the country its similar, on the Busa cruise in 6th all day or drop a gear (even down to 4th but rarely for me ) for the twisties, in the Ducati its working the gears all the way down to 2 and 6th only about 100k/hr (of course with a 1098 or 999 you wont need to change so much but you will want to).

This doesn't even go into the very different engine characteristics of a twin vs a 4 either or the cost of keeping a Ducati (try cam belt repalcement each two years (2 belts) or 20,000k vs Busa Cam chains whcih some members have had for more than 10,0000km or the app $2,000 major service fee for a Ducati if you dont do it yourself.

If you decide on a Busa you will be more than happy with either a gen 1 or gen 2.

Best of luck.

[big kev]

mark you have heard from afew of our seniour members about the hayabusa

now from a junior member (ME) the busa is perfect nothing wrong with it as a bike if you keep is serviced regularly then theres no porbs mate i had a suzuki katana 1100 for most of my rideing life (22 YRS) i sold it to have the busa i have never looked back its perfect flawless timeless its freaking fast a great tourer all rolled into 1 bike please dont look any further that a busa.

now you will here many people say go for the gen 1 99-07 or go the gen 2 08-09 i would say ride both bikes and go from there you will know what you want when you thow a leg over and blast up the road

you will never look back or at any other bike i promise you that much

good luck mate hope to see a pic of you and your new beast soon mate

BIG KEV

[Mark_S]

Cheers again guys and thanks for the advice. No matter what I think I will be stepping up from the Blackbird.

I will put up futher info as I go along.


Mark

[Heidi1]

I remember ten years ago, I rode the bird, the busa and the Yamaha Thunderace back to back, looking for my next bike. The busa was a clear winner, but I'll admit the Thunderace was a belter of a bike TOO! At the time I felt the bird felt a little heavy for me, and seemed a little 'refined' compared to the busa.

Do it, you'll love it. The guy at my motorcycle shop said he has never seen such brand loyalty as he sees with the busa. Either people buy one and trade it in less than 1000kms down the track (because they get scared), or they never want to ride anything else.

Welcome to the club.

Heidi

[1hotbusa]

Just remember to respect your right hand on the Hayabusa if it is your first test flight. Whilst the Blackbird will take off if you give it a handful, on the Hayabusa it will either be a very long rolling burnout or you'll be hanging on for your life.

I think everybody on this forum remembers their first Hayabusa ride.