I just posted this on another board, but looks like it would fit in right here:
A friend of mine bought a nice new red ZX12R (2002), and we switched rides (2000 busa) for about ten miles of medium twisties.
The first impression was best expressed a year or two back in a British mag which said something like 'climbing off the busa and onto the ZX12 is like climbing off a 160 horsepower salmon and climbing onto a 160 horsepower giraffe.' The seating position is upright, your chest is fully in the wind, and you've got a little more legroom. The seat seemed functional but not for all day, and the suspension may have needed a bit of fine tuning as I wasn't happy with the road feel. But there's no doubt it worked at sucking up corner bumps. Both bikes look very good from behind when a fast road gets lumpy.
We both had the same initial reaction to the other's bike which was 'my god, this thing doesn't turn!' You'd get a feel for it pretty quick, and it turned fine, but that initial impression was of a countersteer only and all the time machine. I'm thinking the technology behind head bearings has improved a lot and given us these fast new bikes with very steep head angles and very rigid frames. You learn to balance the bike and countersteer, and after a while you're used to it, but that first ride is different from old school bikes.
I've been reading up on sailboat design, and you quickly learn that changing any parameter gives and takes away any specific performance characteristic in an inverse relationship (for example, mast height changes speed and stability - more of one, less of the other). The 12 couldn't have felt more different than the busa. But it wasn't better or worse, just different. In mid corner, the shorter wheelbase was a big help and I think the 12 has a more rigid frame, and you didn't have to make adjustments the way I do on my busa in any turn under 25mph. In fairness, my busa's been down a few times and may not be as tight as a stock unit. The busa definitely feels like it has a lower CG, and in avaition terms feels like it would do a faster, easier pin roll. Edge to the busa for rapid turn transitions. Edge to the 12 in mid corner (much less yaw inertia, and shorter wheelbase [2 inches] means less lean for same speed).
The 12's engine, and I can't believe I'm saying this about 164 horses, didn't impress me. I think the old truism that no rider getting a new motorcycle goes down in displacement holds true here. I'm just used to 100 pounds of torque, and there's no replacement for displacement. I'm sure with an aftermarket pipe the 12 would breathe a little easier, and it did the job just fine, but I wasn't scared of the engine at all. I'll take the busa engine any day.
And I like being down in the busa, stretched forward just enough that my arms and chest are part of the slipstream. It works, at least for me. The 12 had the best brakes I've ever felt. I don't like steel braided lines as they don't have enough give for my taste. But instant feel is good. The 12's were perfect. Mine work fine on the busa, but now I want to replace my three year old lines or at least bleed them a bit.
My friend didn't like the way the 12 stood up in corners under braking, and blames the profile of his front Dunlop 208. I think it's just the frame geometry of the bike. Wasn't a big problem for me while riding it. He's happy with it, rips off high first gear wheelies every chance he gets, but has to stop and rest his bony ass every hour or so. I'm good all day on the busa seat. I think the 12 would make a perfectly good sport tourer, but I'll stick with my ride as I still think of it as the perfect motorcycle (well, I would make some cosmetic changes if I could, but functionally, it's perfect).
