My gut told me 14 but i could never get the dyno numbers being published at the time out of my head. Fortunately now that has changed. you can go with the best looking and have no doubt you have the most powerful bike made. Busas are still really cool bikes. I can't wait to see the Gen3 some day. i think that day is coming pretty soon.

Both bikes are smooth and big and fast.Powerwise...the 2012 and up Kawis take the lead.But if a guy's just wanting a strong fast cruiser...they both are virtually equal,IMO.I always liked the Hayabusa actually.Kawasaki stole my heart way back when I got my zzr1200.No looking back after that bike;)But the Busa is STILL a sweet ride.

I've had an '06 ZX-14 since it came out, coming up on 9 years old now. Great bike, zero issues other than front brake rotors tend to warp if you ride agressively. The Busa has love it or leave it looks, tends to polarize opinions, I fall in to the camp of liking the styling, it was shaped by the wind tunnel and flat out works at high speed. That said, I love the looks of my Gen 1 ZX-14, it's a classic also.

I was just looking at my busa. You know how the gen1 had the upswept undertail? I think since they with a downward curve under the tail on the Gen2 busa, they should have made it more promounced. You know, if they decided to do it, go all out. I can't imagine what they will do with the Gen 3 tail when it comes out.

double-whammy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW6kAXVMsR4

* Last updated by: Rook on 4/18/2015 @ 2:34 PM *

Not sure about the Busa's head bobbles starting at 2:58 in the vid and especially at 3:07 ... yikes.

Even in the straights I wouldn't call it rock solid

OH! Maybe part of the problem: It's not so easy to tell which way the Busa's supposed to go!

* Last updated by: extrapolator on 4/19/2015 @ 8:32 AM *

Not sure about the Busa's head bobbles starting at 2:58 in the vid and especially at 3:07 ... yikes.

OH! Maybe part of the problem: It's not so easy to tell which way the Busa's supposed to go!

I have a Gen 2 Busa and a 2014 14R now. And under hard acceleration the Busa doesn't get the head shake like the 14 does. But the Busa comes with a stabilizer from the factory. The 1st time I got on the 14 hard and the front end shook I was like WTF!

I will put a stabilizer on the 14 sometime this summer. Other then that, I much prefer the 14R and will be selling the Busa.

I watched that video, the way the camera is mounted I think you notice the Busa bars moving more, but it appears the Kawi bars are moving also.

I have a Gen 2 Busa and a 2014 14R now. And under hard acceleration the Busa doesn't get the head shake like the 14 does. But the Busa comes with a stabilizer from the factory. The 1st time I got on the 14 hard and the front end shook I was like WTF!

I will put a stabilizer on the 14 sometime this summer. Other then that, I much prefer the 14R and will be selling the Busa.

I watched that video, the way the camera is mounted I think you notice the Busa bars moving more, but it appears the Kawi bars are moving also.

I see the same thing. A lot of head shake issue probably has to do with suspension tune and the roads we ride on. Evora is a crazy bitch like every other 14 and if I'm running through the gears she'll often make the front end floaty and I might have to make a minor course correction now and then. I have yet to experience this head shake issue as seen in the video though, with stock M5s or my Q3s.

My 2 cents
My Hayabusa front end would lift but never shook, unless you weren't paying attention and put it down a little unstable. I think I learnt to compensate for it as I got used to it. The 14 gets light at high speed, but funny enough only sometimes. Not sure if wind direction has a part to play. Or as you say road conditions. However I can ride the same road and get a different result. Overall my 2014 ZX14 feels much more stable than my Hayabusa did, and my Gen 1 14.
Having owned/ridden gen 1 and gen 2 14s as well as Hayabusa. I prefer my 14 for looks, feel, stability, comfort and power. My mates that still have Hayabusa's prefer the comfort of the 14 over theirs. (And none of them can stay with or catch the 14 on any ride we go on) unless I let them. Lol

I feel both the busa and the 14 might do a gentle bump back and forth if the pavement is a little rough and I'm accelerating hard. The electronic damper on the busa takes care of the harder jerks and the Hyper-Pro active damper does the same for the 14. Both of these dampers only respond to more severe steering inputs. A gentle bump won't activate them. Even so, that 14r does look more smooth than the busa at high speed.

I don't know what top speed each bike actually achieved and I can't measure fractions of a second but according to my clicker finger, the busa won the race to peg the speedo. There ain't a hell of a lot of difference....unless one did a higher top speed which nobody knows without GPS. To be fair, the 14 did a small wheelie in first which might have cost it the extra second but so did the busa.

Here's the clicker finger stats for 0 mph to top speed.

14R
Launch...............00:28
top speed............00:49

0 mph to top speed...00:16 seconds.

Busa
Launch...............02:34
top speed............02:49

0 mph to top speed...00:15 seconds.

Clicker finger for ground covered/time. Both started from exactly the same point, both passed the end of the high bar on that guard rail (before he goes into the turn). According to my math, if they are doing about 186 top speed, that's a total of about 3/4 mile.

14R:
Launch...............00:28
3/4 mile.............00:50

start to 3/4 mile....22 seconds

Busa:
Launch...............02:34
3/4 mile.............02:56

start to 3/4 mile....21 seconds

We'd have to see more races but the busa won this one. Even if the 14R did a higher top speed, it was about a second slower covering 3/4 mile. Would have been an enormous gap in a side by side race.

* Last updated by: Rook on 4/19/2015 @ 10:19 AM *

I feel both the busa and the 14 might do a gentle bump back and forth if the pavement is a little rough and I'm accelerating hard. The electronic damper on the busa takes care of the harder jerks and the Hyper-Pro active damper does the same for the 14.

I had the opportunity to test the non-emergency function of the steering damper on the busa last weekend. I can definitely feel an occasional small steering jerk when accelerating hard. I don't find it objectionable. It would be the LARGE involuntary jerks in the steering that I would want to avoid. Electronic dampers aren't supposed to be tight unless there is a violent steering input.

My opinion on the subject is I love my ZX-14R.
But when I rode a Busa I was mighty impressed with that as well.
At my riding skill level, it was a bloody close comparison.
But I own the bike I prefer.
The ZX-14 from its inception has given the Bussa a massive run for its money and tarnished its previous untouchable reputation. The
ZX-14R seems to have surpassed it.
So I really hope that Suzuki stop mucking about with partial updates and bring out a full house Bussa with 1500cc and every bell and whistle available (like the ZX-14R did when it was released) and reinvent the Legend because no matter what your opinions are, thats exactly what the Busa is.
A Legend.

* Last updated by: yannih on 4/22/2015 @ 9:09 AM *

Lets hope. Things are getting REAL interesting now with the possibility of factory boost coming into play. The Hayabusa is going to have to make a quantum leap to vie with the possibility of a supercharged 14.

Suzuki is broke, expect maybe bold new graphics and stickers, that's about all I see coming.

I always liked the looks of the Gen 1 Busa better, wish they'd stroked the motor, fixed the brakes and suspenders and left the styling alone. I'm not a fan of the new rear end, looks too much like a Volkswagen beetle front end.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 4/27/2015 @ 3:41 PM *

It helps a lot to go to flushmount lenses.