[aarnav_b]

What an excellent thread! Rated it 5 stars. This colour isn't seen that much and it stands out and suits the bike very well. If it is possible, I would like to hear the sound of the bike with the stock exhausts and after changing it. Also, how much weight reduction happened after swapping the exhausts?

[hareshjethwani]

Great write-up ! An awesome bike. Love your narration about how your dad reacted. It the same with lot of dads including mine
The after market exhausts look so much sleeker and better than the stock ones. Did you test ride the bus? Sorry if I missed that part. Happy for you. Ride safe and upgrade faster

[VijayAnand1]

Sweet is the only word that comes to my mind. Congratulations on your new bird. It was brook to watch the fairing broken, for a moment I thought the cracks were a reflection of the tiled ground surface, scrolling down my heart sank to see the innards broken. I would have cried for a week, after booking an OYO room separately so that my family doesn't see me. Nonetheless, beautiful thread. Make sure you install frame sliders as a part of drop down protection, definitely comes in handy, at the wrong time.

Cheers!
VJ

[alokn87]

Wonderful review man! I also read your restoration thread of the Yamaha RD's. Right from buying the RD125 for 11k and now to the Busa for 16 lakh it shows how one can achieve his/her's dreams with hard work,grit and passion. Looking back must be a very satisfying feeling. Kudos to your wife too for encouraging you to follow your dreams.

P.S.- I think the restoration story of the RD125 is still pending ! Please upload as soon as you can, I am sure it will be an interesting read too!

[krishsreedharan]

Congratulations on this legend! It was my dream bike for a long time, but I wanted something that I could ride every day and park in slightly more confined spaces - so had to let go of the Busa dream.

As for the father and son relationship - my father was always of the opinion that 4 wheels are better than 2 and never gave me the permission to get a bike. Nevertheless
34 years of waiting paid off and I finally picked up Bumblebee (my Kawasaki Z900) last October.

Ride safe and wishing you a very long time with the legend.

Cheers!

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by GTO

[b]

A review straight from the heart, man! Congratulations. Your beast is going to our homepage in a bit .

Thank you Rush for your kind words and for considering my journey with Bluebird S12 to hit the homepage straight away..

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

It really gave me a chuckle reading about how you were keeping bike purchases from your dad. Man, I would not have the guts to do that in my family, only I know the years of prep work I had to do to get them prepared for it when I finally took the plunge.
But nonetheless, I'm sure your father would be very proud of you more than words can say, it's just that they might not show it in front of us. That too has its own special feeling for sure.

Thank you. Yes, I had to maintain a secret for all those years so that my father did not kick me out of the house.

I shared the link to this thread with my father and he read it throughout including the comments and the smile on his face was was priceless..

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

And I fully agree with you, the titanium end cans look so much better than the CF cans, something about the CF pattern on the TB exhausts that don't sit well with me. And not to mention nothing beats the colors the titanium pipes leave after enough heat cycles.

I had TB and Yoshimura R77 on my mind but the Yoshi's design angle post fitment was something I was not convinced with. Nothing can beat the growl and the pops from the TB Titanium exhaust and its not ear bleeding loud like some other brands.

Originally Posted by krishnaprasadgg

To end this post, Man am I envious of your garage.!! The amount of history just in that lineup is crazy. The feeling of riding a 2 stroke is still next to none, no matter what hyperbikes or superbikes have to offer. Even after all these years seeing those RX and RD bikes brings a very special feeling.

Each of my other three motorcycles are special to me in someway and especially my first one the RX 135. Have ridden it over 1.5 lac kms and plasters a smile on my face every time I ride it. Though for the past few years its my Father who uses it more than me and boy he gets a lot of attention and questions. Not everyday do you see a person of his age riding a two stroke which looks and sounds as if it has just rolled out of the factory..

Originally Posted by bigron

Looking real good.

This thread brings back such great memories. It takes me back a decade to when I picked up the Gen 2. Plus, a fat gixxer thread is quite rear around here.

Thank you. Yes, there was only one and I wanted to get reviews from Indian owners before taking the plunge.

Originally Posted by bigron

Yes, the brakes on this leaves a lot to be desired. I have the one without the abs. Suzuki did okay with going with monoblocks and abs.
If you really want to help with braking because braking feel is as important as stopping power, I suggest SS braided lines, a brembo MC and sintered performance pads from EBC or galfers. I prefer EBC. Never mind the rotors, they are more for looks than anything else.
Frankly, the stock monoblocks that Suzuki uses is pretty basic but its still a step up from the 4 point Nissin before. She will never brake like a 1000 cc but with few parts it can give you the confidence to push her further and braking will not be a need of worry. Let me know if you need to know more about how to go about it.

Yes, for the moment I have just bought a set of EBC Double Sintered pads for the front, which I am yet to try. I will surely hit you up for your guidance on which model MC to go in for. Thanks!

Originally Posted by bigron

First, never ride parallel to anything. Be a good distance behind if coasting.
Second, make overtaking quick and decisive.
Third, people who randomly cross roads will have no idea at what speed you would be approaching them. They will drag themselves across only to realize the bike is much closer than it was. Be weary of these people.
Fourth, forget that you have rear brakes. Its the front that will haul you down. As long as the front is straight you will not fall no matter where the rear goes.

That incident was just an unlucky timing for me. I was in the fast lane and was overtaking the truck and I just happened to be parallel to the truck at the very moment it directed the stone towards me..

You wont believe if I tell you the very next day a stone again came flying from a truck tire and this time hit my car and I was driving on that same stretch of road but in the opposite direction this time. Luckily (again) the stone was smaller compared to asteroid that hit my Busa and hit the rear door at the bottom and not any glass, but still left a dent behind..

Originally Posted by bigron

Before every ride, take a look at fork seals and if dusty a quick cleaning with a micro fiber. The seals have a tendency to leak if run dusty.
Get rid of the stock windshield and get hold of a double bubble. It will help tremendously on highways with wind blast.
There is so much you can do to this to make it truly yours. The parts catalog is truly endless. We can share more once the thread progresses.

You are going to have an amazing time with this. It is truly a keeper.

Let me know if you need assistance with anything on this.
I ll add a photo to give company to your bike.
Cheers.

Thanks for that I had no idea about the fork seals allergy with dust. Normally she has two garage covers and is always parked in my stilt parking away from the sunlight and rain. Also, before every ride after I take off the garage covers I clean off the little dust which manages it way in with a jopasu duster which is always kept in my Brio parked next to the motorcycles. I follow the same routine before covering up after a ride incase I don't wash her.

I have seen and read about your 2011 Busa on the forum before and if I am not mistaken you owned a Gen 1 too before this? Anyways thank you for suggestions and wish you many more happy miles with your Fat Gixxer too..

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Lovely read.

More than the even the bike - my focus was on the entire father-son relationship you have written so beautifully! Reminds me of my own experience.

Thank you. The two of us have come a long way over the years and motorcycles have now strengthened the bond between father and son even more.

He had reasons for his concerns in the past as I used to spend so much over my motorcycles maintaining,restoring and upgrading them that the digits in my area pin code would look like a fortune compared to my bank balance..

But then over the years as I grew career wise these issues were getting self resolved and post my marriage the Mrs ensured that future financial security is top priority and I worked even harder to keep everyone happy including myself.

My father says that in his childhood he would do exactly the same stuff what I am doing now but then he had too many responsibilities to pursue his own dreams. So I am thankful to him that he gave me a life where I could do what I love and guided me through it and ensured I did not end up being financially broke with my passion for motorcycles.

To know more on our bond for two wheeler you can read this thread on my fathers Chetak which was bought back to life. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...back-life.html (Restored: Dad's Bajaj Chetak comes back to life)

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Anyways - Don't upgrade if the next-gen comes, mate! Hayabusa will go down in history as a legend, unlike any other new-generation bike. In India, especially, it is unlikely that any other big bike will match the road presence of a Busa. After reading the ZX14R review last week, and your Busa review this week - I'm really waiting for an opportunity to get to ride one of these hypertourers someday.

Ride safe.

Don't worry she is keeper and not leaving the garage till the time I am alive along with the other three motorcycles of mine.

I was getting so emotional when the news was out that she will be put out of production that I wanted to buy another one and just keep it in the crate

But, surely there will be more additions to the garage in the future. It all depends on what appeals to me personally and what I will like to try out next.

Finally, Adi's thread on the 14R is what inspired me to finally pen down my experience. Perfect timing to have back to back threads of two legends of the biking world.

Originally Posted by amods

Forgive me for it, but I find this picture absolutely hilarious and almost fell off chair seeing it after reading your commentary up to now.

The fact that you made a full payment for it, speaks volume about what you've achieved in life. Great post, and let me continue reading it Thanks for sharing.

Thank you. Yes, my fathers disgusted expression made up for the silence he maintained that night.

And it was only to change his perception for my love for motorcycles that I had her delivered home. I had to save save and save some more to come to this day. Because, I knew after he hears about the cost the next and the most common question which I had miserably failed to answer in the past for every unwanted expense (in my fathers book) was how much is left in the Bank....

This time I had done my homework well and saved up enough to get the go ahead from my wife and later my fathers recognition that his son can maintain his passion and be financially sound side by side.

Originally Posted by Tassem

Congratulations!

Of all the pics you posted, the one with your dad sitting on the Bluebird s12 was the one that told me "All's well that ends well"

Wish you many many happy rides!

Thank you. That picture pretty much sums up his approval of my purchase..

Originally Posted by HYPERTOURER

Wonderful ownership review. The busa and the 14r are both phased out more, let's hote that the japanese get back the big engine in better packaging soon.

Thank you Adi.. It was your thread on your 14R which made be get up form my long slumber and finally pen down my journey on the Busa so far. I will keep adding to this thread over the course of the ownership.

Originally Posted by yesyeswe

I couldn't stop laughing looking at the look of your father, but in your defence our parents can never understand the love for a motorcycle. To them a splendour and a ninja are the same bike.

I recently bought a royal enfield continental gt 650 and till date my father believes that it is a 10 day used bike which i got for 1.25 lakhs rupees, he doesn't understand the letter M of motorcycles and i'm happy with him not knowing about it.

I can't even imagine what will be his reaction if he came to know that i paid 2 lakhs extra and around 50k for accessories and riding gear.

Thank you. Well i was in the same boat for all these years but then my wife told me that whatever you do your father should know about it and if he doesn't agree that means you failed to convince him.

Our parents will only speak and do things which are in best of our interest and we have to learn to respect that ultimately or else we will learn it the hard way when we have our own kids.

Plus, nothing can beat the feeling of my fathers approval to the decisions I have taken in life be it motorcycles or otherwise. And for this I am indebted to my wife.

Originally Posted by aarnav_b

What an excellent thread! Rated it 5 stars. This colour isn't seen that much and it stands out and suits the bike very well. If it is possible, I would like to hear the sound of the bike with the stock exhausts and after changing it. Also, how much weight reduction happened after swapping the exhausts?

Thank you. Yes, the colour was limited to only 2017 manufactured models. I have some videos of the exhaust note and will upload it once I locate them

The stock exhaust weighed 15 kgs together and the Titanium cans weigh 5kgs so that is a cool 10 kg reduction in sprung weight.

Originally Posted by hareshjethwani

Great write-up ! An awesome bike. Love your narration about how your dad reacted. It the same with lot of dads including mine
The after market exhausts look so much sleeker and better than the stock ones. Did you test ride the bus? Sorry if I missed that part. Happy for you. Ride safe and upgrade faster

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed reading it. And No, I did not test ride it and the first Busa I ever rode was mine. My only previous encounter was on a Gen 1 riding pillion and that is when the love affair with the Busa blossomed.

Originally Posted by VijayAnand1

Sweet is the only word that comes to my mind. Congratulations on your new bird.

Make sure you install frame sliders as a part of drop down protection, definitely comes in handy, at the wrong time.

Cheers!
VJ

Thank you. I am somehow not convinced with frame sliders as I personally feel they can do more bad than good. In case of a fall and the bike is dragged the slider can get hooked to the road surface which can crack your casing or twist your frame whichever it is attached too. Plus being an insurance professional I can just imagine what an Insurance surveyor would say in a crash situation saying the damage was caused by a aftermarket part which was not declared under the policy and hence it is uninsured.

Originally Posted by alokn87

Wonderful review man! I also read your restoration thread of the Yamaha RD's. Right from buying the RD125 for 11k and now to the Busa for 16 lakh it shows how one can achieve his/her's dreams with hard work,grit and passion. Looking back must be a very satisfying feeling. Kudos to your wife too for encouraging you to follow your dreams.

P.S.- I think the restoration story of the RD125 is still pending ! Please upload as soon as you can, I am sure it will be an interesting read too!

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the thread on my two parallel two stroke twins as well. RD 125 restoration is on hold for a while now and hopefully will begin once the COVID-19 situation is sorted. I am eagerly waiting to ride that baby screamer. In the meantime to read another family motorcycle restoration you can read the thread on my fathers Chetak. I have posted the link above in my response to one of Crazy driver's post.

[bigron]

@ Sachin - Yes, I did have a black/red Gen 1 prior to this. The simplicity of its brutality was and still is unmatched.

Here's hoping you have a great time riding and owning the Hayabusa. Two great bikes piloting two great threads is going to make for a very interesting read.

[anupam9557]

Awesome and heart thrilling writeup brother. can understand the feeling . Wish you a million miles on her

[alphadog]

Wow!. Mate, that was one heck of an emotional review. Well written and true to heart. Congratulations on your blue Peregrine falcon.

There is nothing more sweet than accomplishing ones dream and if that dream happens to be the Busa, then game on. Good to know that you bought the bike, full cash, by saving up diligently sans loans EMI and that whole debt thing. That is the way to buy a depreciating asset. Well done.
It is always an uphill task to convince the family when we make a decision to buy a big bike; there is always that spending big money on a two wheeler angle and also their worries for your safety angle. I totally understand the struggle you went through. But hey, alls well that ends well.

The pictures of your Busa are great and you look good on it too.

It is a pity that Suzuki has withdrawn the legend. From the sounds of it, it looks like they have withdrawn all their big bikes as well, due to them not being BS6 compliant.
Enjoy your ride and wish you many thousand miles of hyperbike riding.

Cheerio!

[Aafaq]

Enjoyed reading this honest ownership review.

It has a timeless design, though phased out but still I find it is one of the most beautiful looking bike in the market.

Ride and stay safe!

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by aarnav_b

If it is possible, I would like to hear the sound of the bike with the stock exhausts and after changing it.

Here you go..

First up is the exhaust note with stock exhaust.. Pardon me for the background noise..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktofOTauQl8

Exhaust note with the TBR Titanium slip ons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebE4NkKGCRw

And a acceleration with a flyby on the TBR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXs8YbRSKjY

Originally Posted by krishsreedharan

Congratulations on this legend! It was my dream bike for a long time, but I wanted something that I could ride every day and park in slightly more confined spaces - so had to let go of the Busa dream.

34 years of waiting paid off and I finally picked up Bumblebee (my Kawasaki Z900) last October.

Ride safe and wishing you a very long time with the legend.

Cheers!

Thank you. Congratulation to you too on your Z900 (Bumblebee). I haven't ridden one till date but a friend has picked one up last year. I am sure the Z900 won't attract any less attention as that too is a looker. I generally don't park any of my bikes out of my line of sight as much as possible. Looking at my RX my father always say you should carry a chain along as he fears it might get stolen one day from the street..

P.s For a moment I confused your Bumblebee for another thread with the same name only to realize that was a Triumph Street Triple

Originally Posted by anupam9557

Awesome and heart thrilling writeup brother. can understand the feeling . Wish you a million miles on her

Thank you..

Originally Posted by alphadog

Wow!. Mate, that was one heck of an emotional review. Well written and true to heart. Congratulations on your blue Peregrine falcon.

There is nothing more sweet than accomplishing ones dream and if that dream happens to be the Busa, then game on. Good to know that you bought the bike, full cash, by saving up diligently sans loans EMI and that whole debt thing. That is the way to buy a depreciating asset. Well done.
It is always an uphill task to convince the family when we make a decision to buy a big bike; there is always that spending big money on a two wheeler angle and also their worries for your safety angle. I totally understand the struggle you went through. But hey, alls well that ends well.

The pictures of your Busa are great and you look good on it too.

It is a pity that Suzuki has withdrawn the legend. From the sounds of it, it looks like they have withdrawn all their big bikes as well, due to them not being BS6 compliant.
Enjoy your ride and wish you many thousand miles of hyperbike riding.

Cheerio!

Thank you. My father would never approve a purchase with borrowed money for anything. And yes, buying a depreciating asset on EMI is a perfect financial blunder. Though looking at the popularity of the Busa I doubt the prices will drop in the future and on the contrary well kept examples will actually attract a premium.

For eg, look at the RD 350. A new one back in the day sold for 22k and now after 35 years they are selling for 3 lacs and above.

And in cars look at the VRS 230, which after 3 years are selling for the same price when sold new if not more.

Finally, the 14R and the Hayabusa were a generation of motorcycles which you may never see again. And just like sports car enthusiast today crave for a manual gearbox the same way looking at the current generation of motorcycles and the electronic gizmos they carry, people a few years down the line will crave for a motorcycle with zero electronic aids which will allow their wrist to decide what the the motorcycle has to do rather than the other way around..

Originally Posted by Aafaq

Enjoyed reading this honest ownership review.

It has a timeless design, though phased out but still I find it is one of the most beautiful looking bike in the market.

Ride and stay safe!

Thank you. Not many find the Big Fat Girl attractive but it grows on you with time.

Koji Yoshiura the designer of Gen 1 said it was meant to be ugly!

“The mission was to create a total new styling that will not be out of date within few years, and a styling that will be the ‘Face’ of Suzuki.

“‘Fastest production motorcycle’ was never a concept nor a target of this bike (at the beginning of the project, the Hayabusa was not 1300cc but 900cc – 1100cc, which was the main market in those days).

"As a consequence of, pursuing the best handling, acceleration, safety, power, riding ability, original styling, etc., for the good of the customers, it became the ‘Fastest production motorcycle’.

“My aim was to create a somewhat grotesque design and create a strong initial impact.

"By doing this, once the model was out in the market and the performance of it have been proven, I thought that people will start to show interest to the weird design, and then the design would be caked in peoples mind.”

[vijayshouree]

Awesome thread Sachin. Dhoom Machale!!. I have followed your other threads and the attention to detail while restoring your Dad's Chetak was impeccable. More than the BUSA, I really enjoyed the father-son relationship. I am sure most of us have similar stories. And, thanks, yesterday was one of those long, tiring, stressful days and you really made my day. I put all the things aside and shared a heartful laugh with my wife. I and my dad share a similar relationship too. Most of the times, I will buy things first and tell him later. It happened with Sony Ericcson Walkman Phone, Dell XPS, My Yamaha FZ16, My first car Santro, those iPhones, etc, etc.. I still remember I have shown the pic of the Santro parked in my apartment parking to my dad (they live in my hometown) and told him that I will be getting this preowned. He said, "I know you that have already bought it. It is your apartment parking. Good luck and drive safe" . He got used to it now and things are super easy for me .

[Mangesh Borkar]

Wonderful Thread. Detailed and full of emotions.
You own a Legend. Drive safe , TC.

[Mr.Bentley]

Wow, a Hayabusa!

Wonderful purchase and equally wonderful financial planning!

This reminded me of something from my childhood, whenever I hear a big bike sound, I used to call it out as a Hayabusa! I didn't know anything about bikes, but I knew what that thing was! (thanks to Dhoom!).

Subscribed to this thread. Do keep posting your journey!

Have fun and Ride safe!

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by krishsreedharan

34 years of waiting paid off and I finally picked up Bumblebee (my Kawasaki Z900) last October

Z900 is a brilliant bike and quite peppy compared to typical Kawasaki nature. She’s fun to ride being Nimble over predecessor and inline-4 is super smooth. Heartiest congratulations Krishareedharan on the Bumblebee (Z900) from another Bumblebee from another mother (Street Triple).

Originally Posted by SnS_12

P.s For a moment I confused your Bumblebee for another thread with the same name only to realize that was a Triumph Street Triple

Haha! Sorry about that mate. The legendary Busa got discontinued and i was downcast when i read your review. The stone incident was “OUCH”. Keep her safe. She’s treasure now.

Do share reviews on some top rides and riding experience. Ride safe!

Happy Motoring!

Cheers
Amey