B-King ??

[Hammy]

anybody had a b-king thinking of buying one myself to keep the 1400 company in the cave
more interested in knowing what they are like after a 100+ mile ride etc and any known problems ?

[KiwiCol]

Yep, a few here have (or have had) both.  Seth, Tony Nitrous to name a couple. Think Froudy had one as well ?

[VladTepes]

Tony's B-King
http://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=1127.msg11554#msg11554

@Tony Nitrous

[seth]

I had 1 i didnt like it .
It was uncomfortable and I was looking for a petrol station every 100 miles .
Fantastic motor great handeling and brilliant brakes.
It was no use for what I wanted it to do so replaced it with a 2nd gsx1400 .

[Tony Nitrous]

Had mine nearly 11 years.  Mad thing. Shit load of fun.
My 14 is a cheap pillion / lazy / tourer, I bought my King brand new.

It's a great performance hooligan bike.
163hp and easy to find more, alloy frame, great radial brakes, USD front and mono shock rear, ECU that's popular to flash to Busa specs, heap of Busa go faster options.

The bad ?
16.5ltr tank, not the best seat, not great for luggage or pillions.

It's not tourer or lazy bike, but its a real sledgehammer naked bike.
For a solo rider having days out its in its element.

Probably not a popular opinion on here, but if I had no bikes and went shopping tomorrow, it would be a lot higher on my list than a 14. Not everyone's cup of tea but it does what I want and suits where I ride.

[Tony Nitrous]

Stock as rock, first time at the strip in a while, ran a few back to back 10.3's.



A local girl Bec ran a 9.9 on a similar stock bike.

[Tony Nitrous]

I don't use it for touring, but I've done several 750K / 460 mile days with no dramas.
The 14 would have been more comfy and had less fuel stops, but not as much fun or hope of keeping up with my idiot mates.

[Tony Nitrous]

Faults ?

2 reg/rec recalls, the part that was fitted under the 1st recall was recalled to be replaced again!!

A few early models had the clutch bolts work lose. If your paranoid, pull them out and thread lock them. There wasn't a recall but there is a dealer bulletin explaining it.

Some bikes had the throttle cables infront of the dash. The day I got mine I put a loose zip tie, LOOSE!, around it and the brake hose to pull it back. Mines been like it for 11 years.  I only mention it as I've seen the cable rub and mark clocks in the past.

Basically very little. I could write a bigger list about 14's poor alloy finish, rear shocks etc.

[owen426]

There ya go, Tony keeping it real as always 

[Tony Nitrous]

Engine is 100% Gen-2 Hayabusa. It's not detuned.  It makes a few less ponys due to no ram-air, different ECU map, smaller bore front pipes etc, although in this soft spec it's still over 160hp. All this can be bought back up to, and beyond Hayabusa specs. Ram air, remaps, exhausts etc are all common mods, along with de-cat kits, PAIR blanks and just about everything the performance junkies favourite fix, the Hayabusa gets.

Wheels are 100% Gen-2 Busa. I bought my spare wheels off a member on this site as he had just fitted chrome Busa wheels to his B-King.

Forks swap with a Gen-2 Busa although the slightly heavier B-King gets softer internals!

King get a radial front master, when the early Gen-2 Busa of the same age didn't.

Heaps of different underseat cans available, although using low Busa 4 into 1 systems is popular too. Gen-2 Busa down pipes / systems use a bigger bore internal diameter exhaust.

ECU flashes are popular. Flash in a Busa map in and there are heaps of tweaks without even remapping on a dyno which obviously will get more.

Stock rear tyre is a 200/50. 6" rim same as the Busa and 1400.  It's a popular mod amongst King owners to fit a 190/55 in a sporty compound.

Tall folk have mentioned their knees touching under the tank pods. I'm 6' and its not a drama. Buell pegs are an easy fix as they step down where they mount and lower your feet.

Some folk like the BTL (back torque limiter / slipper clutch) some don't. I'm going to get mine locked up. I don't need it and its gives nicer hard launches.

[Tony Nitrous]

Should I mention I like B-Kings ?

[lloydjames]

Would never have guessed Tony 

I personally don't get them.... Don't get me wrong, I love the looks and performance, but I don't see the point of them. I get the impression Suzuki just wanted to make a statement in the way Yamaha did with the MT-01, answering a question that no-one actually asked. 160HP on a naked bike is a waste of time as at full gas your head will feel like a medicine ball. If you want superbike performance, just buy a superbike which will do everything better. To top it off, they can't tour or carry passengers comfortably either. That leaves just looks, attitude and build quality.

Let's face it, Suzuki will never win any awards for build quality and if it's looks and attitude you're after it's not the one I'd go for. If I was after a large capacity naked hooligan machine with exquisite build quality and stunning looks, there's no way I could see past a KTM SuperDuke. Brembo all round, WP suspension front and rear and a great engine. I had one as a courtesy bike when I put my RC8 in for a factory recall and I've never grinned so much in my life. The only reason I don't have one now is I was after an old restoration project and the 14 ticked all the boxes.

Unless you want to tune it of course but that brings me to my earlier point that the stock engine is just too powerful to open up without fairing anyway.

Each to their own though.

[grog]

Wow, a big worm can. Im sure Tony will answer.

[Kiwifruit]

I ride an old restoration project....... should l be offended ??
The KTM does look the part though.

[lloydjames]

Wow, a big worm can. Im sure Tony will answer.

Not really a can of worms is it, just my honest opinion. That's why I finished it with an "Each to their own" statement.