I find it interesting that the first thing guys do....

[mike46]

...is to drop thousands into engine work and never ever think about suspension modifications. Suspension is what makes the bike IMO. The ability to go through corners well yet provide a nice ride is key. I certainly understand the "glamour" of having, and more importantly, braggin about a turbo, nitrous, methanol injected 600HP bike but in reality how often are using it on the street. Your suspension is what delivers the goods.I understand egos aren't fed with talk of 20mm vs. 25mm cartridges and super secret shim stacks BUT I think most of it is secondary to ignorance. 95% of riders wouldn't know what a compression valve was if they found it in their cereal...they also have absolutely no idea as to their suspensions potential. I'd recommend that guys #1 learn how suspension works and #2 invest a couple of grand in a quality rear shock and fork rebuild with aftermarket compression valves, springs, shim stacks and the little tricks like opening the dust seal up. Better yet get  new cartridges like the Traxxion AK units (a good deal for the money) and get real compression needles installed in those forks. You won't believe the difference.

[CADDYWOMPUS]

 I was just talking to a good freind about both of our hobbies .. His is golf and mine has always been bikes .
 He is a PGA pro and does alot of instructing .  He says most of his students are into spending big $$$ on clubs and other  golf equipment. thinking this will really improve their game .. ,when in reality the best thing they could do is work on their  swing and take more lessons or at least listen to what they pay him for.
 Its the same with bikes . I think Rossi could take a wore out 20 year old dirt bike and do better with it than those of us on state of the art superbikes myself included
  Better  suspension is always good but I dont think there is to many riders that can overcome the  stock susp. on modern race reps.
 Its all about skills and not throwing $$$ at your machine.
Im not trying to make myself out to be some great rider, I  have tons of room for improvement Probably not enough time in this lifetime to learn it all.
 

[Quijinn]

Well the first step is to determine what you are going to do with the bike. I have made several jumps in direction on mine. First it was staying stock and just rideing it, but it was not very fun on the back roads when pushing it. My ignorance to the aformentioned suspention setup is what caused this. So instead of learning what was wrong and fixing it like I do with most things in my life I found it easier to jump directions, drag raceing. Front suspention is fine and the rear shock is good for 4 inches over. Take the preload out of the front, strap it down, and go at it. But it starts to get a little boreing after awhile, and on the road the bike is ever worse.


Thats when I started to learn about suspention and really make adjustments. What really kills me is for abot 500 bucks you can make the bike feel tons better, upgraded springs and brake pads and SS lines and you will have a whole new level of rideing. For sure you can spend a shit load of money on a great suspention but for less then 200 on the front with new springs and it will feel like night and day.

I think thats what most ppl do, it just dont feel right so they say its because the Busa is fat and sucks at handleing. They add hp and go straight cause all they hear is the Busa sucks at handleing. The truth is the Busa just needs new fork springs and proper set up and it no longer sucks at Handling, then you can take it to the next stage in upgrades if you want.

[X E Ryder]

How fast is a 'Busa stock? About a buck 80? I cannot go through the tight corners around here that fast.

I will likely never do more to the motor than a pipe, PC to correct the A/F ratio, maybe TRE.

More than anything else, I am Riding!

This is yielding the best information for me. Drug some stuff on the ground, 1" raising links. Forks feel mushy - Kirk and folks have told me why and that is gettin' fixed next.

But I have to admit, the rest of the bike is "not broken" so I won't be fixing it anytime soon, unless I find some other limitation as I get faster on it.

Some of the other mods sound like fun, but riding it through a windy road is why I bought it, and the more time I spend doing it without buying parts, the higher my value for buying it would seem!

[RockyMtnBusa]

 

95% of riders wouldn't know what a compression valve was if they found it in their cereal...they also have absolutely no idea as to their suspensions potential.

95% of the riders out there dont use the bike for what it is made for because they want to stand aroud and show it off.  I have way too many fiends that don't want to ride period, they just putt around town waiting for someone to notice them. 
When they do come out for a ride I spend half the day waiting for them to show up at the next stop.  They don't need the suspension because they can't even use 40% of what they have now.  I am not trying to say how fast I am, but come on...

I am sure there is a thread on the board about "Super Bikes" and what a lame show it is.  Ten seconds of guys at a track day the rest about squids and bling crap.  I even heard the one of the guys say "they handle great until we put these fat tires on them." Talk about givin' us real ridders a bad name just because we ride the same type of bikes.  Flippin channels and I had to watch the Busa -vs- 14 race.  Stock swingarm on the busa and a stretched out 14 only takes 2 out of three (barely) with a busa rider that wrecks the bike doing a burn out!?!?!?!?