why XX and not Busa or ZX12R??

ericonblackbird · 08-01-2008, 1:05 PM

Hi!

I love Blackbirds, had them for the past 9 years. Bought another last winter, it had been thrown down the road and needed a full rebuild.
If you wonder about the front end, it is ZX12R with added Brembos!

Burkey · 08-01-2008, 1:19 PM

Ericon........Maaaaaaaaaate.........Love it! Much involved in the conversion?.....Same triples??.....Looks like the late 'Radial Brake' model.....Burkey

ericonblackbird · 08-01-2008, 1:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burkey

Ericon........Maaaaaaaaaate.........Love it! Much involved in the conversion?.....Same triples??.....Looks like the late 'Radial Brake' model.....Burkey

Not too hard a conversion. Kwak yokes with new lock stops and spacer to seat the bearings correctly in the headstock. Purpose built bars - I'm an engineer and like to make things - Kwak bars touch the inner fairings.
Used non radial brake set up, 4 pot Brembos and radial master cylinder - more than enough brakes!
8mm added to rear shock length and it all works together really well - certainly on twisty pot holed UK roads!
Usual race exhaust, air filter and powercommander and dyno time are the only engine mods ........ so far.

Strange that Honda have never got round to some of these simple updates!

sb1000rr · 08-02-2008, 6:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maholli

the new busa still was turning 1/4times in the high 9's so it still probally isn't quicker than any of the 1000's and it still can't hang in the corners either. But if you want a all around bad ass machine that you can ride and tour all day then its probally the bike of choice or the zx14.. With the right rider it will probally match the 1000's in the 1/4mile.. 170ish to the ground is impressive but its still 100lbs heavier..

all the fast bikes at the drags are busa's and zx14's, the extra weight and length actually helps the big bikes launch harder and wheelie less. im yet to c a stock 1000 run a 9, where the busa's and 14's will regularly do it....

2dealdrive · 08-06-2008, 10:27 PM

I own an 01 XX and like it a lot, but I did the same search you're going through now. Only I added the ZZR 1200 to the mix.

I had a 91 ZX-11 and sold that to get fuel injection and new suspension. ZZR 1200 out with carbs. I really wanted the zx-12r, I loved the motor, fully adjustable suspension but I couldn't fit it to do decent 2 up running with my wife. It was just a touch too single purpose of a sportbike. If that's not an issue for you I'd go with the 12r, one of the most underrated big sportbikes out there. I think the 03 got some improvements and different colors.

The busa, (pre 08 when I was looking) was everywhere, cost too much for the same thing as the blackbird. Customizers and wannabes seem to inflate the used market price, at least when I was looking. Everything else was the same as far as 2-up comfort. Power/speed edge to the busa but how much do you really need? 180 mph seems enough to me, good luck in your search.

kd4ysi tony · 11-29-2008, 3:00 PM

the busa is very fast the zxs are very fast but out of the three i still want a blackbird i ride my 97vfr 750, my buddies busa can leave me but when he has to get off the bike due to a sore butt ill pass him back

jofield1 · 12-08-2008, 7:41 AM

The Busa doesn't start catching the Blackbird until 200k plus

bjay51d · 12-08-2008, 4:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2dealdrive

I own an 01 XX and like it a lot, but I did the same search you're going through now. Only I added the ZZR 1200 to the mix.

I had a 91 ZX-11 and sold that to get fuel injection and new suspension. ZZR 1200 out with carbs. I really wanted the zx-12r, I loved the motor, fully adjustable suspension but I couldn't fit it to do decent 2 up running with my wife. It was just a touch too single purpose of a sportbike. If that's not an issue for you I'd go with the 12r, one of the most underrated big sportbikes out there. I think the 03 got some improvements and different colors.

The busa, (pre 08 when I was looking) was everywhere, cost too much for the same thing as the blackbird. Customizers and wannabes seem to inflate the used market price, at least when I was looking. Everything else was the same as far as 2-up comfort. Power/speed edge to the busa but how much do you really need? 180 mph seems enough to me, good luck in your search.

I was so close to purchasing a zx12 ...I was just coming off of a cbr9 and just started to ride the twisties so I opted for the 954 instead.That 12 wouldve been a nice second bike tho...

krash · 12-23-2008, 4:56 PM

hello,
(I preface this comment with the fact that I am 5'10/ 160lbs.......average weight and build...)
I owned two 99 hayabusas and an 02 blackbird. The first was purchased new in '99 and was left stock..I put 20k miles on it in four months.(then sold it).It was a rock solid bike....
the second one was purchased last spring from the original owner with 11k miles on it...(and I sold it 5 months later)..It had all the emissions removed/hmf stainless/carbon 4 into 2 exhaust/tre/race airbox/helibars/a higher zero gravity screen...etc...etc..It had been meticulously cared for....
.... I put @5k miles on that one...
..I was also a great bike but I missed the stock exhaust at times (particularly late at night) because it was just a bit too loud. Once again it was a rock at speed, tracking like a freight train, but I was always aware that I was riding a @550lb bike.
The torque:.. you could have it in 5th and be idling along at very low speed without a glitch....and it never overheated in hot summer bumper to bumper traffic....they were both in their respective forms (stock and modified) great bikes....

The Blackbird:
I put @ 10k miles on in 3 months..then sold it...It was more refined..a typical Honda.
...loved to start it and not have to touch a choke lever....it was automatic
...didn't care for the linked brake system....
...but it had the beauty of a centerstand...always a plus...
and was set up better for a passenger with it's roomier seat...
but I noticed that I would get more wind floating up from around the forks at highway speeds...
and though the weights between the Suzuki/Honda were similar, it always felt more docile than the Suzukis...and I was always confident in the reliability given its pedigree
.
..if I were to choose between the two:

...there was more adjustability with the hayabusa,...but the Blackbird was just a bike that I would feel more comfortable doing more miles on....and in riding the XX I was more to keep my license from being cut in half by the local traffic court magistrate.
..when I see someone on a Blackbird (which has been rare in my area) I subconsciously view the rider as one who'll do more miles at a spirited pace...and less so a squid
...think about it...how many Blackbirds do you see all modded out (with extended swingarms, etc)?

apples and oranges..you just need to decide what kind of riding you'll do more of ...and which bike is a better fit.....