Longtermer
LIFE WITH MY HAYABUSA

LATEST NEWS:
(4.11.99)
The video featuring my Hayabusa is now available through Duke Video. It features my Busa, a 996, R1, ZX-9R and Super Blackbird being thrashed round the Isle of Man in the hands of racers Steve Hislop, Neil Hodgson and Dave Jefferies, ex-racer Keith Huewen and MCN road tester Pete Wilson. It costs £12.99 and you can order it at www.dukevideo.com

28.10.99
NO doubt you will all be aware of the recall on the camchain tensioner. Please check with your dealer if you haven't already been contacted. It's quite a serious one!

(16.8.99)
I'VE been told I will have to wait five weeks for a new front left indicator lense. It was smashed in a bird strike. Anyone else facing huge delays for Busa parts. Sign in the guest book and let us all know.

There was an amazing test of Hayabusa's in the August 25 issue of Motor Cycle News. Find out why two Hayabusas are equally terrifying – one which makes 270bhp and another which makes just 33bhp. I repeat just 33bhp. It's been restricted to fit in with a UK law for novice riders. You'll find brief details on the motorcycleworld.co.uk site after it appears in the paper.

THERE was a big feature on the most wildy tuned Hayabusas in the world and the men behind them due to appear in Motor Cycle News on August 11, 1999. If you can't get a copy, check out motorcyclenews.com or motorcycleworld.co.uk for at least a taste of it, after that date.

PRICE RISE (4.8.99)
It has now been confirmed that the Hayabusa has gone up £200 in Britain. Suzuki is supposed to have done this simply because demand is so high

MY HAYABUSA FEATURED in a test in Motor Cycle News on July 21, 1999, alongside an R1, 996, Blackbird et al, ridden on closed public roads on the Isle of Man. The riders were ex-GP 500 rider and current Sky Sports commentator Keith Heuwen, ex-WSB and current MCN British superbikes rider Neil Hodgson, and TT lap record holder Steve Hislop, plus MCN's own Pete Wilson (a former Canadian superbike champion). If you couldn't get MCN in your country, check out our website at http://www.motorcycleworld.co.uk or http://www.motorcyclenews.com for highlights from the test (after July 21, 1999).

A VIDEO was shot of the test by Duke Video for release later this year. Details will follow on this site..THIS VIDEO IS NOW AVAILABLE, SEE ABOVE!!

A BIG BORE kit for the Hayabusa has been developed by TTS of Silverstone, UK (UK phone: 01327-858212). It takes capacity to 1365cc and, they say, can take power up by as much as 20 per cent. You're looking at 210bhp there boy!! The kit costs £440 (Sterling) but you also need to replate the barrels which adds another £528.

CONSTANTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!

Is it just me or is the first ride on your Hayabusa among the most frustrating things on earth?
I got mine on May 27,1999, delivered to my office in Kettering (UK) with around 200miles on the clock and the instruction that I had to keep it under 5000rpm for the next 300.
And when I finally finished work and hit the road it was great at first, just to be on it, but then I had to head for as many corners as possible because I couldn't go much above 95mph (I reckon that's around 5000rpm in top). I was finding I had to change gear going through corners cos I soon hit 5000 revs before exiting.
Its first service was on May 29, 1999 at DK, Newcastle-Under-Lyme,Staffs, UK.
I covered 600 miles before the first service.
After covering 1500-plus km I got less false neutrals moving from fifth to sixth gear. In fact, I haven't had one since the first service.
I have heard of problems of false first service. Some recommend changing the angle of the gearshift lever to suit you better, suggesting this ain't a mechanical problem but a rider input one.
Mine is a parallel import, from DK in Staffordshire, UK. Parallel imports are unofficially imported and usually at a discount price. (£7299 on the road as opposed to around £7900 at an official dealer) Some fear you get a lower spec bike but this is rarely true. You often have to change the lights and clocks to meet UK standards but even when sourced from Germany (like mine) it doesn't mean it has been built to German rules (eg 100bhp limit). It simply means it is sourced through a German firm and, certainly in the case of the black and silver Hayabusa have, there feels like there is no restriction on power. A dyno run has now shown it makes 155bhp at the rear wheel, 169bhp at the crank.
I'm planning on adding a full race system soon, as long as I can keep the pillion pegs!

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HAYABUSA PROBLEMS/DILEMMAS

"ON-OFF" THROTTLE
Smooth out the throttle response when you're coming off the brakes and onto the throttle during cornering by adjusting the idle. Suzuki obviously knew this would need fairly regular attention and that's why its so easily accessible on that odd knob on the right, just above the oil cap. It should be set to rev at 1050rpm at idle (when warmed) and that should prevent that on-off feeling. Check your handbook as this figure could vary from country to country.

FALSE NEUTRALS
Most Abusa owners seem to be experiencing some false neutrals, mostly when shifting between fifth and sixth. Most riders I've heard from find this goes away after the first service. What's your experience? Leave a message in the guestbook so we can all see. You'll find the guestbook on the Suzuki Hayabusa Owners link from this page.

SUDDEN CUT-OUTS
Simon Price, from Chesterfield, Derbys, has been experiencing a terrifying cut-out. When he's hard on it at around 9000 revs it suddenly cuts to 3000, then cuts back in...aaargh! It's an intermittent fault, and happens only when the bike is warm. His thermostat seems to be working ok. His dealer has failed to sort it so far, having failed to replicate the fault in their own tests. Anyone had anything similar, or any suggestion as to what is going on? He has an alarm fitted, which can fry chips, but, apparently, when this happens you get a FI warning light come on and this is not happening in Simon's case. He says it also takes 10 seconds of button pressing to get it started when it's hot.
Leave a message in the guestbook on the previous page and/or call Simon direct on 01246-280821.

SCORED RODS
There's lots of talk among Hayabusa owners of scored rods screwing up some Abusas. Have you had any engine problems? What have you been told are the causes – let us all know in the guestbook on the Suzuki Hayabusa Owners page.

TYRE DROUGHT
Have you tried getting a new set yet? Had any difficulty. We're hearing of shortages in some parts of the world – have you been hit?
Let us know on the guestbook (link to Suzuki Hayabusa owners page to find it) Bridgestone says a new shipment hitting land in the first week of June should sort the problem in the UK.

THINK PINK

There's a lot of talk about cutting a pink wire to give yourself a bit more power. The story goes this pink wire is only there to get the bike through European and American emissions rules. It is meant to retard power at around 5000rpm to this end.
The only reports I've seen on people who had done it say it feels like it makes no difference, but I've seen no evidence on a dyno.
The following is, apparently a statement from Suzuki on the subject...

"Disconnecting this wire to increase performance is a common misconception. If you were to disconnect the gear position (pink) wire on any Suzuki EFI motorcycle, poor performance and possible engine damage will result.
This rumor started because earlier model carburated GSX-R1100's used a pink wire to retard ignition timing in first gear to improve traction. Some tuners discovered that disconnecting the wire increased engine HP output in first gear. The motorcycle did produce more engine output with the wire disconnected, but it became more difficult to accelerate from a stop and actual acceleration and traction was reduced. But riders liked the "feel" of increased engine performance.
The Gear Position Switch wire is also colored pink on the GSX1300R Hayabusa, as it is on previous Suzuki's. Like the TL, this switch providestransmission gear information to the motorcycle's Electronic Control Module (ECM).
Some mechanics and consumers have experimented with disconnecting this wire to improve performance or drivebality (especially during the very early TL1000S driveablity problems before Suzuki released the improved, revised ECM). As the rider selects higher gears, the ECM changes the injector duration, usually longer, producing a richer mixture to compensate for the additional air provided by the SRAD ram air system. Without the additional fuel, the mixture will become lean, performance will deteriorate and engine component damage is possible. Since a disconnected gear position wire will make the ECM think the transmission is in neutral, the injector duration is longer than it might be in the first couple of gears. This is why the customer might feel a "seat of the pant" driveablity improvement".
A mechanic using a Dyno may see different, or improved HP with the wire disconnected.BUT, since the dyno is testing a static motorcycle without a pressurized air box from the ram air system, the results do not indicate real world performance. A fully operational EFI system on a dyno will indicate lower peak power as the mixture is slightly rich. Disconnecting the "pink wire" will lean the mixture to a better level for a non-moving motorcycle. Once again, leaving the wire disconnected will reduced on-the-road performance and could lead to engine damage."

Best leave it alone then...
Messing around with it will definitely mean an end to your warranty should you get an engine problem. Be warned!

ANY OTHERS
Keep your fellow riders up to date with faults and worries you are coming across and look out for solutions on the guestbook and on these pages

I've dropped the page counter because it made this page slow to load. It had reached 2500 by the end of July, 1999, after just two months up and running!

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