Bird vs Busa - Discuss Bird vs Busa on CBRXX, the ultimate on-line community for Honda motorcyclists. Read it in Events / Rides / Ride Reports. (Organize and report on events / rides / trips.)

GhostRider · 06-03-2009, 5:12 PM

I haven't been on a Busa since 2002 and the one thing I remember is the buzz at pretty much any speed. The bike is nowhere near as smooth as the XX nor is it as comfy but you can sure slide better on the seat. The XX is roughly 20 pounds heavier, has roughly 160cc's over the XX and the BHP is off by about 15 to the Busa. Yeah, the Busa is quicker but I don't think it flicks as easily. Overall, I think the XX has a wider diversity of uses and lets face it, once Honda went to ram air and FI the improvements stopped and yet the bike will still hold its own today. With a very little help, I see no reason the XX couldn't give any stock Busa a real headache. One thing is a certain fact, at triple digit speeds the Busa is nowhere near as smooth as the XX.

Poundstretcher · 06-04-2009, 7:21 AM

I think there are only a choice of 4 in this category all are capable of taking you at speeds way beyond your every day needs. Of the other 3 I would gladly take the K1300s but for the price tag and servicing costs Kawasaki is ok but not for me and I just think the Busa is fugly, So if the Bird was not a 10 year + old design and was just being released today as a new model it would more than likely still be the pick of the bunch for me. Let's not forget it's down on cc,s by about 20-25 percent on these other bikes what if it that equated to a 10 percent power increase? Now that would be a nice bike

tregnabm · 06-05-2009, 4:02 PM

Busa's seem bloated and ragged around the edges. I like the cleaner lines on the XX, and you don't get much smoother unless you get into touring rigs. Some bikers relate these qualities we enjoy to a bike that doesn't have a personality, and I think that is why the BB is below the radar for a lot of bikers.

I've been told at a stoplight that my bike sounds like a sewing machine. Well, it's one bad-booty sewing machine then. I don't care about the remarks, I love my BB.

Banshee · 06-05-2009, 6:07 PM

Yeah, but it's one of the fastest & smoothest sewing machines on the planet!

R1000 · 06-05-2009, 7:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GhostRider

So why does this dyno run look off by about 1,000rpm or so? Could it be the horsepower and torque aren't meeting where they should at 5,252 or real close to that? I don't care what you do to the engine the horsepower and torque will always equal at 5,252 or very close to that>

It is because the European curves are in hp and metric newton meter (Nm) instead of hp and pound-force (ft-lbs)

This changes the 5.252 point to 7.142 rpm.

JUSTME · 06-05-2009, 10:31 PM

G'day, Just my 2 bobs worth. Firstly the Bird is a fantastic, value for money, no fuss machine. Considering when they were penned they are still a great looking bike. I have travelled over a large percentage of Australia on mine free of any dramas. I have been fortunate enough to cover alot of kms on an 05 Bus and about 4 or 500 kms on a friends 08 Bus. From a pure riding angle the 05 Bus is a better bike than an 04 Bird, but it is not 6 years of development better. The Bird is an easier bike to cover big kms on. However when it comes to the 08 Bus, this would have to be the most remarkable bit of mass produced, relatively affordable to many, machines that I have had the pleasure of riding. Honda will have to come up with something very special to top it. Except for the love it or hate it styling it is quite hard to fault. I have a 53 km mountain range nearby that I cover every chance I get. My 06 gsxr has 35000kms on it and most of these were clocked up on this piece of road. I can honestly say that given enough time to get fully used to an 08 Bus you could safely traverse this ride as quickly as you would on the gsxr 1000. Out of the crate it is simply superb. It is nimble, the suspension is fantastic, it revs like a sports bike and pulls like a truck and the factory brakes work fine. I have been tempted to sell my Bird and the gsxr and buy the new Bus. Logic says to keep the Bird as it does everything that I want from it from a touring and commuting point of view and it is still pretty handy in the mountains and the K6 gsxr 1000 is just way too much fun. If you ever have the chance to go for a decent run on an 08 Busa think long and hard before you do it. Otherwise you might just forget about the appearance and buy one. Come on Honda, build a Bird to better it. HAVE A BLAST! Paul.

JUSTME · 06-05-2009, 10:46 PM

How did this topic end up in ride reports?

Nutter67 · 06-06-2009, 1:21 AM

Because the original post was a ride report-come-bike comparison.

JUSTME · 06-06-2009, 2:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutter67

Because the original post was a ride report-come-bike comparison.

Fair enough. I thought I read the thread initially in the general section and somehow I cocked it up. Thanks Nutter67. HAVE A BLAST! Paul.

R1000 · 06-06-2009, 7:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JUSTME

G'day, Just my 2 bobs worth. Firstly the Bird is a fantastic, value for money, no fuss machine. Considering when they were penned they are still a great looking bike. I have travelled over a large percentage of Australia on mine free of any dramas. I have been fortunate enough to cover alot of kms on an 05 Bus and about 4 or 500 kms on a friends 08 Bus. From a pure riding angle the 05 Bus is a better bike than an 04 Bird, but it is not 6 years of development better. The Bird is an easier bike to cover big kms on. However when it comes to the 08 Bus, this would have to be the most remarkable bit of mass produced, relatively affordable to many, machines that I have had the pleasure of riding. Honda will have to come up with something very special to top it. Except for the love it or hate it styling it is quite hard to fault. I have a 53 km mountain range nearby that I cover every chance I get. My 06 gsxr has 35000kms on it and most of these were clocked up on this piece of road. I can honestly say that given enough time to get fully used to an 08 Bus you could safely traverse this ride as quickly as you would on the gsxr 1000. Out of the crate it is simply superb. It is nimble, the suspension is fantastic, it revs like a sports bike and pulls like a truck and the factory brakes work fine. I have been tempted to sell my Bird and the gsxr and buy the new Bus. Logic says to keep the Bird as it does everything that I want from it from a touring and commuting point of view and it is still pretty handy in the mountains and the K6 gsxr 1000 is just way too much fun. If you ever have the chance to go for a decent run on an 08 Busa think long and hard before you do it. Otherwise you might just forget about the appearance and buy one. Come on Honda, build a Bird to better it. HAVE A BLAST! Paul.

Well said

The Bird is however also quite good on tracks if properly modden and in the hands of a qualified rider. The pictures below are from a recent track day where a friend rides my old Bird, which he ha bought. A lot of pure sportbikes have a hard time to follow him.

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p.../8601liten.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p.../8604liten.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p.../8594liten.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/p.../6645liten.jpg

GhostRider · 06-06-2009, 8:01 AM

One of the folks I talk to from time to time has an R6 track bike and an XX daily. He tried the XX for a while but could never match the times he was pulling on the R6. He had no problems with the bikes handling but didn't care for the LBS at all.

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

06-03-2009, 5:12 PM	#31
GhostRider GhostRider Join Date: May 09 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 189	Re: Bird vs Busa I haven't been on a Busa since 2002 and the one thing I remember is the buzz at pretty much any speed. The bike is nowhere near as smooth as the XX nor is it as comfy but you can sure slide better on the seat. The XX is roughly 20 pounds heavier, has roughly 160cc's over the XX and the BHP is off by about 15 to the Busa. Yeah, the Busa is quicker but I don't think it flicks as easily. Overall, I think the XX has a wider diversity of uses and lets face it, once Honda went to ram air and FI the improvements stopped and yet the bike will still hold its own today. With a very little help, I see no reason the XX couldn't give any stock Busa a real headache. One thing is a certain fact, at triple digit speeds the Busa is nowhere near as smooth as the XX.

06-04-2009, 7:21 AM	#32
Poundstretcher A Rainbird Warrior Join Date: Oct 15 2008 Location: Tasmania Posts: 4,147	Re: Bird vs Busa I think there are only a choice of 4 in this category all are capable of taking you at speeds way beyond your every day needs. Of the other 3 I would gladly take the K1300s but for the price tag and servicing costs Kawasaki is ok but not for me and I just think the Busa is fugly, So if the Bird was not a 10 year + old design and was just being released today as a new model it would more than likely still be the pick of the bunch for me. Let's not forget it's down on cc,s by about 20-25 percent on these other bikes what if it that equated to a 10 percent power increase? Now that would be a nice bike

06-05-2009, 4:02 PM	#33
tregnabm Join Date: Aug 28 2008 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 13	Re: Bird vs Busa Busa's seem bloated and ragged around the edges. I like the cleaner lines on the XX, and you don't get much smoother unless you get into touring rigs. Some bikers relate these qualities we enjoy to a bike that doesn't have a personality, and I think that is why the BB is below the radar for a lot of bikers. I've been told at a stoplight that my bike sounds like a sewing machine. Well, it's one bad-booty sewing machine then. I don't care about the remarks, I love my BB.

06-05-2009, 6:07 PM	#34
Banshee Join Date: Jun 21 2007 Location: Springwood, West of Hell (Sydney), Australia Age: 43 Posts: 1,082	Re: Bird vs Busa Yeah, but it's one of the fastest & smoothest sewing machines on the planet!

06-05-2009, 10:31 PM	#36
JUSTME Join Date: May 05 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 154	Re: Bird vs Busa G'day, Just my 2 bobs worth. Firstly the Bird is a fantastic, value for money, no fuss machine. Considering when they were penned they are still a great looking bike. I have travelled over a large percentage of Australia on mine free of any dramas. I have been fortunate enough to cover alot of kms on an 05 Bus and about 4 or 500 kms on a friends 08 Bus. From a pure riding angle the 05 Bus is a better bike than an 04 Bird, but it is not 6 years of development better. The Bird is an easier bike to cover big kms on. However when it comes to the 08 Bus, this would have to be the most remarkable bit of mass produced, relatively affordable to many, machines that I have had the pleasure of riding. Honda will have to come up with something very special to top it. Except for the love it or hate it styling it is quite hard to fault. I have a 53 km mountain range nearby that I cover every chance I get. My 06 gsxr has 35000kms on it and most of these were clocked up on this piece of road. I can honestly say that given enough time to get fully used to an 08 Bus you could safely traverse this ride as quickly as you would on the gsxr 1000. Out of the crate it is simply superb. It is nimble, the suspension is fantastic, it revs like a sports bike and pulls like a truck and the factory brakes work fine. I have been tempted to sell my Bird and the gsxr and buy the new Bus. Logic says to keep the Bird as it does everything that I want from it from a touring and commuting point of view and it is still pretty handy in the mountains and the K6 gsxr 1000 is just way too much fun. If you ever have the chance to go for a decent run on an 08 Busa think long and hard before you do it. Otherwise you might just forget about the appearance and buy one. Come on Honda, build a Bird to better it. HAVE A BLAST! Paul.

06-05-2009, 10:46 PM	#37
JUSTME Join Date: May 05 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 154	Re: Bird vs Busa How did this topic end up in ride reports?

06-06-2009, 1:21 AM	#38
Nutter67 Administrator Join Date: Aug 31 2007 Location: Seaford, Victoria, Australia Age: 42 Posts: 5,445	Re: Bird vs Busa Because the original post was a ride report-come-bike comparison. __________________ *Paul* *Never let a motorcycle take you somewhere your brain didn't get to three seconds earlier*

06-06-2009, 8:01 AM	#41
GhostRider GhostRider Join Date: May 09 2009 Location: Kentucky Posts: 189	Re: Bird vs Busa One of the folks I talk to from time to time has an R6 track bike and an XX daily. He tried the XX for a while but could never match the times he was pulling on the R6. He had no problems with the bikes handling but didn't care for the LBS at all. Great photos, thanks for sharing.

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