Finally, a No-Frost Weekend Ride!

[B-Rex]

Saturday turned out to be a decent ride day through eastern Kansas and western Missouri. More on that in a minute.

I picked up my Bee from my dealer in Kansas at about noon. The dealer's mods produced mixed results. A nice job was done installing the carbon fiber tank protector. While the protector was very pricey ($49!) it does look really good. The advantage to using the classy B-King specific protector is the cool looking B-King logo in the center of it.

The Garmin Zumo wiring and installation was done OK and looks good and professional. I have to say the Bee's instrument pod is not super easy to see without any mods. Adding the Zumo makes visibility a bit tighter.

The accessory 12 volt socket install sucked. Not only did they order me a cheesy, cheap half-plastic socket, but it's one with the wires and connectors visible and clearly exposed. I took one look at it and told them that it was terrible and that on my return for service, it's gone and a much better looking (and performing?) "Powerlet", billet socket is going to be put in, in its place. It seems that you either pay a $120 for a Powerlet or $20 for a cheesy adapter...no in-between. Be careful with this! I can't believe my dealer did that install with a straight face.

The paint swirls and scratches were buffed out nicely. Now I have to see if the Suzuki's soft paint re-swirls and re-scratches as quickly as it did the day after I bought it. I love the bike's fit and finish but the paint sucks.

It was in the low 50s when I pulled out of my dealers and onto highway 35 northbound. I made my way to hwy 435 and that's when it got interesting. I ran a gauntlet of potholes and construction lane seams that had me weaving back and forth like a drunk. While the Bee is agile for a large bike, it definitely took some effort to do the road-hazard gauntlet at 70-75 mph. I'm going to need more practice making the rapid directional changes smoothly enough to make me happy. I suspect the fat rear tire has some effect on the forces needed.

One of the advantages to the Bee's weight, centralized mass and fat rear tire is its complete lack of skittishness. Wind, trucks and bumpy pavement not only have little effect on the Bee's handling but its excellent suspension smooths out everything so far encountered. It really is a pleasure to ride even at overly brisk highway speeds.

I also did about 60 miles of ground levels streets enjoying the sunshine and exploring my newly adopted city. I encountered a dozen or so other bikes, evenly split between sport bikes and cruisers. One fellow on a late-model ZX-14 pulled up alongside me in traffic and indicated that we should go up to the highway to see how my Bee performed against his Kawi. I politely indicated that I already knew how it would perform but thanked him for his interest. Displeased, he roared off, scaring the hell out of the cagers and looking a bit silly gunning it through 35 mph traffic.

Just as an aside, I would consider a 1/4 mile drag race against the ZX-14 under proper conditions and after my TRE is installed. THAT would be a contest. But as far as a "top-end" duel goes...it's a "no contest". The Bee is about as aerodynamic as a brick. Over about 150 mph, the wind blast would be inolerable and parasitic drag would probably keep the Bee from ever going over 160-165 mph. Clearly that's 'Busa and ZX-14 territory. I'm not, and never was, interested in such "contests". The idea of trying it on the street is beyond stupid, IMHO!

Anyway, the rest of the ride was uneventful. I pulled into my warehouse tired but thoroughly pleased with the day's ride. Maybe winter is almost over, FINALLY!!!

B-Rex

[B-Rex]

Oh yeah....don't bother posting that this thread blows without photos. I WILL get some photos soon as I get my digital camera out of one of the dozen or so moving boxes still left unopened.

Patience, young Skywalker!

B-Rex

[Max Speed]

Well its done! I could not wait any longer for my first ride. Its my day off today, yep I get the middle of the week for my days off. I could see out the window and the roads were clear with no water on the road. We still have snow banks here and air temp. is sticking at 34*F here.

I decide to take the bike out for my first ride. I know that the ride will be limited by the cold air and lack of traction because of cold tires and road surface. I decided to take a ride to the bank to cash a check.

Well the winter has been long and cold here, when I pulled my helmet down from the shelf in the bedroom I could see cleaning was needed. A fine coat of dust and smashed bugs were covering my helmet. I dig my riding coat out of the closet along with the gloves. I notice that bugs also remain on front of my Joe Rocket Busa jacket. But after some cleaning I'm ready to go out to the garage and fire the King up.

When I first got my Busa in 2000 it was my first bike with fuel injection. The Busa had a lever for the choke. This lever on the Busa to my understanding was only to increase motor speed a little when cold and the computer ran the choke. When the Busa was warm you would flip off the choke lever and you would have normal engine speed.

The B-King is different there is no choke lever and its starts as easy and care free as a car. Thumb the starter and the motor comes to life and runs smooth with no fuss. The motor of the B-King is a busa motor and exhaust wise sounds much like my Busa. There is a little more mechanical nose from the B-King motor, but that i think is do to the lack of plastic covering the motor. I have been reading that the first gear from time to time is hard to get into. People have said if you stop put the bike into neutral and let the clutch out then pull in the clutch and go to first they can't get the bike into gear. This would happen at say a stop light, and the quick fix was to roll the bike a little then it would go in. I guess the gears would be a little out of alignment in the transmission. I never had this happen and attempted to cause this to happen with several stops and starts.

I found the transmission to act the same as the transmission in my Hayabusa with a false neutral every once in a great while between 5 and 6th gear. After riding a Busa as long as I have you get to know the feel of the transmission. And when going into 6th and you can tell by the feel when you have to re lift the shifter to hit 6th because of the false neutral. I have found this is not much of a problem and easy to learn to live with because it is rare.

I pulled the bike out onto the road and worked the bike up to speed. At this point I noticed that the gear indicator view is obstructed by the throttle cables. And then I remember reading the same complaint on another write up of the King. Im going to have to fuss with the cables a little if I want to be able to view the number when riding.

The brakes on this bike are great! Much better than my Busa, the stopping power is impressive. Time will tell if this is only because they are new or if the new type of calipers and brake material make the difference.

As for the handling of the bike its turns nice and is not heavy in the front end. It is different setting up straight and rolling on the power, you feel it in your arms more. A little strange after eight years riding bent over the busa. I have yet to whack on her hard I only put eight miles on her. I rolled on her once and took it up to about 75mph on a back road.

I know what your thinking... what about the break in? They say to stay under 5 grand for the first 500 miles. Well all I can say is this.. you may or may not agree. When I got my busa I did the go slow take it easy stay under 5000 and did that for like 300 miles. I stopped at my friends shop and he said "So what have you had her up to so far?" I told him I was following the book. He told me go crank on her by now she is broken in, you can't hurt her! Crank on her and treat her normal she will be fine. The long break in time in steps was meant to accumulate the rider to so much power. Well I ran the bike hard, changed the oil every 3000 and never had a problem. My 2000 Busa is an animal.

So the king is back in the garage 8 miles on, and it feels great. When it warms up and I have several more hundred miles on it we will crank on it and see how the King runs. I will then take the bike to our local 1/4 mile strip and we will see how it does there.

[tricker]

Originally Posted by B-Rex

Oh yeah....don't bother posting that this thread blows without photos. I WILL get some photos soon as I get my digital camera out of one of the dozen or so moving boxes still left unopened.

Patience, young Skywalker!

B-Rex

[KD57]

You just couldn't wait could you?

[tricker]

Originally Posted by KD57

You just couldn't wait could you?

wait... your one to talk... you got a new bike and no picture yet either....

[B-Rex]

Max,

Great write-up and first ride report. I could "read" the "I wanna ride my Bee" frustration in your writing . Trust me, I've had it off and on all winter too!

I agree about the brakes. In fact, that front brake spooks me a bit. I've never been on a bike with brakes like that. I have to admit that even with two fingers I have squeaked the front tire a few times. Of all the things on the Bee, it's the front brake that feels most alien to me. The upside is that there is NO question the brakes will shut the Bee down, when needed, like "yesterday"! I'm sure as I get more time on it I will get more comfy.

The bike's agility suprised you a bit didn't it? When I first got on mine, it felt bulky and top heavy. But the minute she was underway that false impression was instantly gone.

I love the start-up on the Bee. You described it perfectly. There is no hesitation, no cough, no cold roughness. Tap the starter button for maybe a second and that mill is purring away. I still get a kick out of the initial "power-up" with the computer kicking in, the full instrument test, the blue-lighted displays going through their routine and the accelerating whine of the fuel pump. Sounds like a really, really quiet supercharger spooling up. Ahh well, small amusements.

As far as the break-in goes, my dealer said to keep it under 7500 (and only up there for a second or two) and to ride at continuously variable speeds without lugging the engine. I have followed his recommendations so we will see. My guess is that you are right about Suzuki keeping everything very calm until the rider is used to the bike. It's probably more about lawyers than about mechanical break-in. I can see where the massive acceleration might freak someone out who has never had that kind of torque between their legs. My arms are definitely longer since I bought the bike.

I get the "first gear lockout" once in a while. I attributed it to the stiffness of the new transmission. It has been happening less and less now. Plus the tranny definitely has been feeling smoother the last 100 miles or so.

Anyway, glad you finally got her out!

B-Rex

[B-Rex]

Originally Posted by tricker

I knew it was only a matter of time! If you wouldn't mind helping me unpack, I could get the camera out sooner!

B-Rex

[tricker]

if i could ride the bike down there i'd be tempted to...

[B-Rex]

Originally Posted by tricker

if i could ride the bike down there i'd be tempted to...

Well, the offer stands. Even if you don't wanna help unpack you'd still be welcome. There's always one more ride I'm ready to do!

B-Rex

[tricker]

just the minor fact that there's 5-7 inches of snow coming... Did i ever mention i'm getting tired of snow? wait wrong thread for that

[B-Rex]

Originally Posted by tricker

just the minor fact that there's 5-7 inches of snow coming... Did i ever mention i'm getting tired of snow? wait wrong thread for that

You're starting to sound like Max. Of course we have been suffering from a lot of 50+ degree days here. Will it never get warm?

B-Rex

[tricker]

haha i put a few miles on the bike today.. i think it was 43 when i got home

[Max Speed]

ya want pictures well this is all I have right now. Any pictures from today would have shown me with a mile wide smile and blue lips. Im sure it would not be a pretty sight.

[Max Speed]

I'm up to 50 miles of blue smiles! And ya I sound like a scratched record, its cold here yet! Still taking it easy I want to get to the oil change before I start twisting its tail.

[B-Rex]

Glad your getting time on your ride. It's about time!


B-Rex

[Max Speed]

Well Im up to around 250 miles on the king. We had a few nice days and the temps once got up into the 60s. I have started to crank on her some and the bike is smooth and has a ton of power. Right now I can say that the King gets up to speed quicker than my Busa.
My Busa is no dog, not by a long shot. But the king has lower gears and a little more HP and tork and it shows. Leaving off the line then rolling into her its easy to carry the front tire off the ground a few inches all the way to red line. Hit second gear and its back up in the air again. I know I could get more air with ease but I have a point where its my comfort zone for carrying the front tire under acceleration and I hold her there. Man I love this bike! I have had the Busa out and I love my busa but both bikes shine in there own special way.
What makes the B-King fun is acceleration... pure go power for the real world. I have found there are a bunch of people that have no idea what a B-King is or what it can do. And the fun of having a bike that people see you seated upright on and they decide because their on a sport bike they can pick on ya. The fun of seeing them nail it to pull away and you then blow by them fast enough to suck the paint off their bike! I was laughing out loud several times on a few of my rides. So what can I say the bike brings all kinds of looks, from people that think its the ugliest bike ever. To people that think its beautiful and even alien looking. If your a person that can't take nut busting and people dirting your bikes looks don't buy this one.

[Max Speed]

Well Im up to around 250 miles on the king. We had a few nice days and the temps once got up into the 60s. I have started to crank on her some and the bike is smooth and has a ton of power. Right now I can say that the King gets up to speed quicker than my Busa.

My Busa is no dog, not by a long shot. But the king has lower gears and a little more HP and tork and it shows. Leaving off the line then rolling into her its easy to carry the front tire off the ground a few inches all the way to red line. Hit second gear and its back up in the air again. I know I could get more air with ease but I have a point where its my comfort zone for carrying the front tire under acceleration and I hold her there. Man I love this bike! I have had the Busa out and I love my busa but both bikes shine in there own special way.

What makes the B-King fun is acceleration... pure go power for the real world. I have found there are a bunch of people that have no idea what a B-King is or what it can do. And the fun of having a bike that people see you seated upright on and they decide because their on a sport bike they can pick on ya. The fun of seeing them nail it to pull away and you then blow by them fast enough to suck the paint off their bike! I was laughing out loud several times on a few of my rides. So what can I say the bike brings all kinds of looks, from people that think its the ugliest bike ever. To people that think its beautiful and even alien looking. If your a person that can't take nut busting and people dirting your bikes looks don't buy this one.

Sorry red... could not get the thing to edit.

[New B]

Mine p/u on Thursday 04/23.. Question? Are the side mirrows adjustable? I hate mine. Thanks

[Max Speed]

The mirrors can be adjusted, just slide the rubber boots and the nuts are right there on the stems.