bye bye 'Busa.

 I'd love to hear some memories. 

I wonder if picking one up at the end especially here as we'll get the last ones and preserving it would be a decent investment.  Probably not. 

I didn't realize they were still making them, but I did hear a murmur the other day of a Hayabusa replacement...

Not that my opinion matters in particular, but given how impossibly quick any old liter sportbike is, the appeal pretty much passes me by. The lighter weight and better handling of a "smaller" bike seems like a no-brainer when you've already got thermonuclear levels of thrust.

I test rode one of the first year bikes. I weighed ~230lbs, made the mistake of whacking the throttle open in third and it stood up for me. That's when I realized this may be too much bike for me. 

A new Hayabusa will be out for 2020, at least that is the rumor. Suzuki isn't saying much about it, probably wants to clear the existing stock of Busas. 

Ransom said:

I didn't realize they were still making them, but I did hear a murmur the other day of a Hayabusa replacement...

Not that my opinion matters in particular, but given how impossibly quick any old liter sportbike is, the appeal pretty much passes me by. The lighter weight and better handling of a "smaller" bike seems like a no-brainer when you've already got thermonuclear levels of thrust.

I think one area where a Busa wins over a standard liter sport bike is due directly to it's size and weight. Weekend touring can be downright exhausting on a super lightweight, extremely agile and essentially a track bike with plates. It's just a super frantic experience. Some people are into that and I'm not judging. But a Busa is just that little bit less frantic making big miles just that little bit easier. That is if your weekend getaway bike needs to be able to rip your face off on acceleration. 

In reply to Nick Comstock :

Fair point! Rawer than a sport-tourer, steadier than a race replica...

I've always been a fan of the big bird.  Never actually ridden one mind you.  I have sat on a few though.  I realize that ergonomics are highly individual, but I can see myself racking up lots of miles on a Busa.  Internet noodling shows that lots of owners use them for hyper sport touring.  The appeal to me is the 100 lb/ft at very low rpm.  Nothing frantic about them, just a big flexible lump that can peel your face off if that is your desire.  I have seriously been considering one for my next bike.

Oddly, the ZX12R is faster, and many say a better bike all around, but to me it just doesn't have the appeal and the mystique that the big Zuk has.  I'm sad they're ending production, but there are many many many on the used market and a deep enough aftermarket to keep me happy for a long time.

They will be for USA only.  Not Euro of Japan home markets anymore.

In reply to 44Dwarf :

and India apparently. 

The Busa re-wrote many conventions when it came out. Like or hate it, it changed things.

81cpcamaro said:

A new Hayabusa will be out for 2020, at least that is the rumor. Suzuki isn't saying much about it, probably wants to clear the existing stock of Busas. 

SO are they going to try and take on the H2 or not. That is the real question. 

Will Suzuki even be around in 2020?

Of course. Squids don't buy Hondas.

Appleseed said:

Of course. Squids don't buy Hondas.

Half the squids running around in my town are on older F4's, the other are on R6's. Its like the only bikes they buy for some reason. 

In reply to wearymicrobe :

That must be a Cali thing. Everywhere I've been it's the GSXR that draws them in.

White and blue with flip-flops. 

Appleseed said:

White and blue with flip-flops. 

That may be true just a bit.

I cannot believe I am saying this but the military here locally requires the guys who have bikes to take the MSF. They get reflective vests for free and free helmets. We used to have 15-20 deaths a year a decade ago. Now it almost never happens. Once they get out it happens.

The least fun I ever had on a motorcycle was three hours on a brand new Hayabusa.  You can exceed every posted speed limit in second gear, then you just have to sit there shifting and not going any faster because you are the world's biggest ticket magnet. 

'Busas are fantastic all-around sporty bikes.

They definitely changed the landscape when they debuted in '99, and will always be one of the icons of sporting motorcycles.

I actually started out on the competition, with a '00 ZX-12.  I was getting serious about drag racing bikes, and was coming off a ZX-9R (another excellent bike), so I was a Kawi guy.  I also thought 'Busas were ugly... LOL

I moved on from drag racing, got into road racing, and eventually moved on from that, on bikes at least.  I finally bought a 'Busa in ~2010, a 2006.  I discovered they were a really good bike!  I added higher bars, lower pegs, hard bags, and some other touring farkles.

The best thing about the 'Busa was the torque.  A big bonus was an unflappable chassis to go with it.  I went from a Ducati ST4S to the 'Busa.  The Duc was like a wet noodle by comparison, and even with a properly sprung Ohlins shock, and reworked forks it wasn't even close to the 'Busas​​​'s stock suspension.  It was really surprising to me at the time.  The nice thing about the 'Busa was the split personality... lug it around on the torque and you could just churn out the miles, regardless of the road.  Get it up into the horsepower, and it was time for hyperspace!  It really is a great Sport-touring mount.

Comparing it to the ZX-12, it was just way easier to ride.  The Kawi's stock fueling was crap by comparison, and you really had to have it up on the cams to move out.  It was way harder to launch on the strip.  My  ZX-12 had a pipe, PCIII and some other mods, and was faster than the stock 'Busa I eventually owned, but the 'Busa was definitely the better bike.  I did eventually take it to the strip, just for fun.

I've always wanted to ride a ZX-14 to see how it compares.  From what I've heard, it's much better than the '12, and more like a 'Busa.  Though it's a shame they're being discontinued, at this point, I'll likely not own another, having gone back to more upright, lighter bikes (FJ-09).

Then again, there's always the H2SX... 

On the plus side, Suzuki is bringing out a new Katana.  It's not as cool as the original but it's not bad.

I have been involved with Hayabusas since 99. I had a 99 that I made into a big fat UJM and flipped quite a few. There is a bunch of power they left on the table that was cheap and easy to find. Biggest handling improvement was raising the rear a couple inches to get a better fork angle.

Almost 200 mph.  Kaw H2 240 mph.  That’s all cute.  Every year they top themselves.  And every year on that snake of a road below the university there’s an ancient old dude in an open faced helmet on an airhead that makes the squids with the new toys wonder what they’re doing wrong.  All with a lit pipe in his mouth.  

MulletTruck said:

I have been involved with Hayabusas since 99. I had a 99 that I made into a big fat UJM and flipped quite a few. There is a bunch of power they left on the table that was cheap and easy to find. Biggest handling improvement was raising the rear a couple inches to get a better fork angle.

 

I always wondered what they looked like nekkid.  I always thought they’d make fantastic touring bikes if you could get past the looks.  Those things are hideous.

In reply to A 401 CJ :

I rode mine everywhere. 

I sat on one at a motorcycle show once and I thought "yep, that's too much bike for me".  I know my limitations, and that was beyond them. Amazing bike though.