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GSX1300R Hayabusa Review


Tankbag
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I've always wanted one of these bikes and in 2013 I was very lucky to find a mint gen1 with sub 8k miles on it, mot history showed 18 miles per year for the last 8 years ( to the mot station and back ) I was a bit intimidated by this bike at first, huge power and a bit lardy ! however now I will never sell this bike.

At the last Motorcycle live at the NEC I sat on loads of bikes including a 2015 Hayabusa & GSXR600, the sitting position on the gixxer6 felt just the same as the Busa, some weight on the wrists with a forward position but this feels completely fine when you're moving, after all the bike is designed to hit 186mph. The tank is easy to grip with the knees, you can move about on the bike but I tend not to do this and when I have it seemed to make little difference ( lardy effect ?!)


Mines a gen1 unrestricted model which is irrelevant with power commanders available but one difference is Suzuki over engineered the cranks in gen1 which are cast in stone & bullet proof, hence so many gen1's are turboed / supercharged etc and dragged, I've read there is nothing wrong with gen2 cranks though. Whilst writing about the engine back in 1999 175 bhp was truly awesome, surpassed now by quite a few but the 1299cc IL4 is a brutally effective beast with a huge 102lb peak torque means instant shove. 35mpg for sane speeds, fuel injection is linear with no flat spots or snatches. Everyday riding is easy with pull from 1500rpm the busa puts out over 75lb torque at 4000rpm so plenty of midrange grunt means easy overtakes; 3rd gear, what a gear you can hold 3rd gear pretty much the whole time on a fun run !


I've changed to a double bubble screen to help chuck some more airflow over my head being over 6 foot tall so sorry MR Koji Yoshiura but it doesn't ruin the look and helps keep even more weather off me as well. The standard seat is very comfy with a Seat height of 805mm so very manageable especially for shortbums and has strong grab rail.

Brakes were criticised on the busa it said it's 200mph bike with 140mph brakes which is tongue in cheek but the brakes will fade if you consistently shove for too long, braided lines help, that said this bike isn't a scratcher and will feel a bit laboured almost imprecise if going fast through multiple twists, however at sweepers and obviously straights this bike is razor like and will warp on undisturbed by mid sweep bumps I tested this on the Autobahn and tucked in the busa sods off like the starship enterprise.


If a mate is following you he'll notice the PAIR immissions system kicking in injecting air into the exhausts to burn unburnt fuel, the view your mate gets is an afterburner glow with the occasional flame :-)


The looks are marmite and dated for some however I have several superbike books and this bike is in there with words like iconic.

The back torque limiter helps manage downshift loss of traction to the rear tyre.


Shite horn, I've upgraded to dual Stebel Nautilus.

Good headlight but expensive if it gets bust so a headlight protector is a must.

Steering damper is hidden below the yolk and I think this makes car park manoeuvring harder but obviously helps stabilise on the road, the busa has fully adjustable suspension, get this set up professionally it's no more than 20 quid and makes a big difference.


Clutch is towards heavy side so urban cycle can be tedious but fine on the open roads. I could be tempted to a dynojet ignition module and dynojet quickshifter.

Mirrors are good with almost no vibration, clocks look dated but hey mine says 220mph ;-)

There is no centre stand so an abba type stand is a good investment.

Insurance group 15.

I wouldn't want to replace this bike, I would recommend the busa but as with all bikes its personal choice, it is nice that even most cagers recognise what's just overtaken them, last year parked up near the Nurburgring amidst the countless BMWs and other tourers my bike had the most folks saunter up and give it the once over. The busa will pootle about with a nice gurgle but wind on and it will give an intoxicating growl and has the ability to increase the rotational speed of the Earth


Good for touring except a tankbag restricts the ability to tuck in :-(

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/01-1.jpg


Funky bonnet prop tank thing

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/PLUGS1.jpg

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I've always wanted one of these bikes and in 2013 I was very lucky to find a mint gen1 with sub 8k miles on it, mot history showed 18 miles per year for the last 8 years ( to the mot station and back ) I was a bit intimidated by this bike at first, huge power and a bit lardy ! however now I will never sell this bike.

At the last Motorcycle live at the NEC I sat on loads of bikes including a 2015 Hayabusa & GSXR600, the sitting position on the gixxer6 felt just the same as the Busa, some weight on the wrists with a forward position but this feels completely fine when you're moving, after all the bike is designed to hit 186mph. The tank is easy to grip with the knees, you can move about on the bike but I tend not to do this and when I have it seemed to make little difference ( lardy effect ?!)


Mines a gen1 unrestricted model which is irrelevant with power commanders available but one difference is Suzuki over engineered the cranks in gen1 which are cast in stone & bullet proof, hence so many gen1's are turboed / supercharged etc and dragged, I've read there is nothing wrong with gen2 cranks though. Whilst writing about the engine back in 1999 175 bhp was truly awesome, surpassed now by quite a few but the 1299cc IL4 is a brutally effective beast with a huge 102lb peak torque means instant shove. 35mpg for sane speeds, fuel injection is linear with no flat spots or snatches. Everyday riding is easy with pull from 1500rpm the busa puts out over 75lb torque at 4000rpm so plenty of midrange grunt means easy overtakes; 3rd gear, what a gear you can hold 3rd gear pretty much the whole time on a fun run !


I've changed to a double bubble screen to help chuck some more airflow over my head being over 6 foot tall so sorry MR Koji Yoshiura but it doesn't ruin the look and helps keep even more weather off me as well. The standard seat is very comfy with a Seat height of 805mm so very manageable especially for shortbums and has strong grab rail.

Brakes were criticised on the busa it said it's 200mph bike with 140mph brakes which is tongue in cheek but the brakes will fade if you consistently shove for too long, braided lines help, that said this bike isn't a scratcher and will feel a bit laboured almost imprecise if going fast through multiple twists, however at sweepers and obviously straights this bike is razor like and will warp on undisturbed by mid sweep bumps I tested this on the Autobahn and tucked in the busa sods off like the starship enterprise.


If a mate is following you he'll notice the PAIR immissions system kicking in injecting air into the exhausts to burn unburnt fuel, the view your mate gets is an afterburner glow with the occasional flame :-)


The looks are marmite and dated for some however I have several superbike books and this bike is in there with words like iconic.

The back torque limiter helps manage downshift loss of traction to the rear tyre.


Shite horn, I've upgraded to dual Stebel Nautilus.

Good headlight but expensive if it gets bust so a headlight protector is a must.

Steering damper is hidden below the yolk and I think this makes car park manoeuvring harder but obviously helps stabilise on the road, the busa has fully adjustable suspension, get this set up professionally it's no more than 20 quid and makes a big difference.


Clutch is towards heavy side so urban cycle can be tedious but fine on the open roads. I could be tempted to a dynojet ignition module and dynojet quickshifter.

Mirrors are good with almost no vibration, clocks look dated but hey mine says 220mph ;-)

There is no centre stand so an abba type stand is a good investment.

Insurance group 15.

I wouldn't want to replace this bike, I would recommend the busa but as with all bikes its personal choice, it is nice that even most cagers recognise what's just overtaken them, last year parked up near the Nurburgring amidst the countless BMWs and other tourers my bike had the most folks saunter up and give it the once over. The busa will pootle about with a nice gurgle but wind on and it will give an intoxicating growl and has the ability to increase the rotational speed of the Earth


Good for touring except a tankbag restricts the ability to tuck in :-(

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/01-1.jpg


Funky bonnet prop tank thing

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa3/tankbag/PLUGS1.jpg

Good write up that Tankbag. I'll second your comment's. lm running gen 2 version the bike is getting dated and everyone expecting an update, but where do they go from here without getting it into serious trouble? past and present model is still a missiles, yes the new super sport bikes make more power are faster and will turn quicker, speed wise that's only because the Busa and ZZR 1400 were shackled to the 186mph gentlemen's agreement 200mph+ is just a flash of the ecu away. I would say if the sports bikes are fighter planes the Busa is Concord lol It will carry you all day at silly speeds in comfort also has room for a decent passenger seat and luggage. Try doing that on any of the super sports bikes!

Down sides for me is that there's no centre stand and the side stand got to be the worst stand ever fitted to a motorbike, The bike will roll off it in a heartbeat. Would l swop it? Err Nope

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Good write up that Tankbag. I'll second your comment's. lm running gen 2 version the bike is getting dated and everyone expecting an update, but where do they go from here without getting it into serious trouble? past and present model is still a missiles, yes the new super sport bikes make more power are faster and will turn quicker, speed wise that's only because the Busa and ZZR 1400 were shackled to the 186mph gentlemen's agreement 200mph+ is just a flash of the ecu away. I would say if the sports bikes are fighter planes the Busa is Concord lol It will carry you all day at silly speeds in comfort also has room for a decent passenger seat and luggage. Try doing that on any of the super sports bikes!

Down sides for me is that there's no centre stand and the side stand got to be the worst stand ever fitted to a motorbike, The bike will roll off it in a heartbeat. Would l swop it? Err Nope

 

Cheers Chrissb6, I like the concord comparision :D

The other thing I forgot is these bikes aren't usually chosen as track weapons which ( unless you want to track one ) means other than normal wear and tear they've likely not been thrapped on a track, and they're not the normal winter hack so again a good chance the busa you're looking at in the advert wont have salt damage. TBH I think it's nigh on impossible to thrape these bikes unless you commute on the Autobahn daily :lol:

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The other thing I forgot is these bikes aren't usually chosen as track weapons which ( unless you want to track one ) means other than normal wear and tear they've likely not been thrapped on a track,

Down side of that awesome bomb proof engine is that they are so wanted by the kit car, grass trackers and drag strip bikers that bikes are being stolen to order.

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  • 4 years later...

An update, if you own a gen1 prior to 03 they had aluminium sub frames, I've just had mine replaced with a steel one. On removal it was found to have cracked ! If the other side had cracked it would probably have sank onto the rear tyre :shock:

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  • 1 month later...

Whilst stuck in traffic in Antwerp my busa overheated & after cooling off 2 miles later cut out with an F1 light. A check of the fuses showed the fuel pump fuse had blown. Long story short, mod the fan with an override switch ( £20 & popular in hot countries ) & after 18k miles overhaul the fuel pump ( the other mod is to upgrade to an 03 or later fuel pump which is less vulnerable to vapour lock.

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  • 6 months later...

Think I might need to get a test ride on one before I get anything else

 

Do it Rich and be prepared to be astonished.

I have 2 gen1`s one standard and one a bit modified (Ahem) and love the bones off them as fast comfortable mile eaters.

Cheers

Ian

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Guest Richzx6r

Think I might need to get a test ride on one before I get anything else

 

Do it Rich and be prepared to be astonished.

I have 2 gen1`s one standard and one a bit modified (Ahem) and love the bones off them as fast comfortable mile eaters.

Cheers

Ian

 

Only question I really want to know the answer to is compared to a zx6r j1/a1p how comfortable are they?

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Think I might need to get a test ride on one before I get anything else

 

Do it Rich and be prepared to be astonished.

I have 2 gen1`s one standard and one a bit modified (Ahem) and love the bones off them as fast comfortable mile eaters.

Cheers

Ian

 

Only question I really want to know the answer to is compared to a zx6r j1/a1p how comfortable are they?

 

Thats not something anyone can answer apart from yourself!


Comfort is a personal thing and what is comfortable for one is not for another

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Guest Richzx6r



Do it Rich and be prepared to be astonished.

I have 2 gen1`s one standard and one a bit modified (Ahem) and love the bones off them as fast comfortable mile eaters.

Cheers

Ian

 

Only question I really want to know the answer to is compared to a zx6r j1/a1p how comfortable are they?

 

Thats not something anyone can answer apart from yourself!


Comfort is a personal thing and what is comfortable for one is not for another

 

This is very true, I think I'll need to get myself a ride on one to make my mind up :thumb:

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Do it Rich and be prepared to be astonished.

I have 2 gen1`s one standard and one a bit modified (Ahem) and love the bones off them as fast comfortable mile eaters.

Cheers

Ian

 

Only question I really want to know the answer to is compared to a zx6r j1/a1p how comfortable are they?

 

Thats not something anyone can answer apart from yourself!


Comfort is a personal thing and what is comfortable for one is not for another

Well said !

I am 6ft and reasonably skinny but someone shorter or more generously padded might not like lol.

Cheers

Ian

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  • 4 months later...

Update, upgrade on the brake calipers to Nissin 6 pots, the difference is like night & day. I paid extra for the 6 pots but if you source the 4 pot Nissins with 90mm bolt spacing they are a straight swap out.

Another problem was the fuel pump on gen1s pre 2003 where it was mounted behind the engine & prone to vapour lock. Which did bite me in the arse on a trip & failed in Antwerp with the dreaded F1 error light. Fixed roadside with a larger fuse & now brand new pump & filter fitted.

Rear sub frame pre 2003 was alloy & prone to failure, swapped out for a steel sub frame to handle topbox & panniers.

Future upgrades will be quick shifter & switchback daytime running lights.

Due to lockdown the old girl had been stood on her ABBA stand since december, fired up 1st pull & after a settling in period still takes my breath away when unleashed.

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While my ZRX has been laid up I have been using my 2005 Gen1 to commute Bedford to London at least twice a week and whilst I agree the brakes aren't the best I have changed and meticulously cleaned the caliper seals and fluid and they are ok for road use.

I do covert a set of the Nissins but currently spending my money repairing the Rex.

Driven hard on the A roads I use I am a little disappointed that my tank range has dropped below 150 miles but that is inversely proportionate to the fun I have been having lol.

Cheers

Ian

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  • 3 years later...

Two mods worth doing, a computer fan bolted onto the rectifier, i'll post up some pics. Plus a switch into the dealer mode plug ( saves fannying around with a bit of bent wire 👍

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