Hayabusa v Bandit

It is a beautiful morning and I went for a ride to the local dealers. They had an 08 Haybusa there. I had always wanted to ride one, as I have heard a lot of good things. It was a very tidy one, standard trim, with dark metallic green paint. My initial impression was that it sat very low when I first got on it. Controls were familiar, and the same as the Bandit, although the front brake lever was firmer. I really noticed the fact that the bars are much lower, with a lot of weight on the wrists, and pressure on my neck from looking up. It really highlighted that I have a more touring oriented helmet, which meant I was looking out through the top of the visor.

It sounded similar to a stock Bandit, albeit with more of a growl. It sounded quite tame compared to my Yoshi TRS-equipped Bandit. I rode off through traffic, and noticed how much higher the pegs were, pushing me into a fairly uncomfortable crouch. I know the ride position is not as severe as some, but it was certainly uncomfortable for me around town. I really noticed more difficulty with overall vision as I sat lower and had to crank my neck to head check.

First corner was very nice with the thing cornering like it was on rails. Great brake feel, but quite heavy. Opening it onto the motorway showed similar initial pickup to mine (mine is Stage II), but it just keeps going faster and faster into the hold on tight and pray arena. It is seriously fast, with immense roll on torque in any gear at virtually any revs. The initial roll on in 6th at 80-90 k feels similar to my Bandit, but again it just keeps going. It's very hard to stick to 100 km/hr and very hard to tell how fast you are going. It sneaks the power up on you and it would eat licences and back tyres as quick as anything. This bike had a radar detector mount and I can see why.

After about 15 minutes on the open road I was getting quite uncomfortable, with my neck, knees and wrists grumbling. The power in terms of a standing start to red line is just outrageous. Cruising it feels similar to the Bandit in terms of engine feel, but the ergos are very different.

Good points for me were most definitely the engine and brakes. My body didn't suit the ergos and I was pleased to give it back at the end of the ride. Jumping back on the Bandit felt strange. I felt like I was riding a big trailbike and it felt really light and responsive. I really enjoyed getting back to it as it reinforced what a damn good bike the Bandit is.

Would I buy one? No. Too uncomfortable and not something I'd want to commute or tour on (although I have no doubt it would do both well for people who don't mind the riding position). As a fast Saturday bike - great, or having access to a track or the Autobahn to make use of the power. Knowing you could blast most things on the road into the weeds is fine, but it had a lot more power than I could realistically use without getting into trouble. The power is addictive and it would be all too easy to ride around at warp factor 9 with a silly grin.

Lined up with the Bandit, the Hayabusa would kick its arse in a drag race, but the Bandit is more nimble, better vision, much more comfortable and similarly grunty up to and around the legal limits (plus there's the ABS advantage).

I haven't ridden anything yet that I think is a better overall package than the Bandit within a similar price range.

Now a Hayabusa motor in a Bandit would be great, but that niche has the B-King and to a lesser extent the GSX1400 in it. Both bikes I must have a ride on one day. I know I am getting old when sensibility and comfort win over power.....

Great write up and one of the reasons I didn't go for one a while back when I had the urge. I too think I am starting to fall into the sensible category of rider.

Not sure if anyone knows of this web site but it's a good starting point for those looking for another bike

Now that's a useful site. I don't know why I am trying other bikes out, as the Bandit is great and if I come home on another, Her Indoors will have me neutered

The deal here is with a test ride they send someone with you on another bike. You go where they take you ,i couldnt be bothered ,maybe thats
the hole idea .Did you get to"test" it one your own ? I was looking at one today ,first thought was "its big".

The guys here in Wellington simply get your details, copy your licence etc, you sign to say you'll pay the $1,000 excess if you bin it, then you can ride it anywhere you want (within reason). The standard at my dealers is 30 mins max, but if they trust you, they encourage a decent ride to learn about the bike. All the dealers around me allow this, but I am in my late 40s, known and on a late model bike. It may differ if I was young, slouched in off the street and was an unknown. (Or came in on a GN250 and wanted to try a sports bike, or was Jaba)



The Hayabusa is big and heavy around town, much more so than the Bandit, but open road it feels planted. I like big bikes as I am a big bloke and look out of place on small stuff.

I swap from GSX1400 to bandit and at the moment, the 1400 wins in throttle reaction. Going to drop the bandit into the shop on Tuesday, hopefully get the TB's and TPS adjusted.

I know I've mentioned this before but... the sounds the 1400 makes is (older bike, cheaper prices for pipe, put a yoshy titanium pipe on) It's a different beast even though it's still a four. Like the bandit, the 1400 has power on tap from the get go. Pegs are a bit more forward on the 1400, so I feel more comfortable dropping into corners on the Bandit. Bandits a 180/55 rear, 1400 is a 190/50 I think.

Both bikes feel stable at low speed, just this afternoon I was doing a slow right hand turn through a roundabout and letting the bike lean a bit more than usual, damn it was fun. I tend to run out of clearance a bit earlier on the 1400, haven't scraped pegs but with boots right back, I'm still getting my toes touching.

Happy to report that both bikes co exist perfectly and I intend to keep both of them for years to come.

RE the busa, I've sat on one once and that was enough. Didn't even ride it. Just getting it onto it's wheels was a battle. Sports bike ergos and me don't work. Perhaps with risers I might be able to ride one but I'll stick with the upright position.

For the size of them the bandit and ZX14 aren't too bad, but the rake on the front does make the both bikes seem heavy in slow manoeuvering.

I test rode the Mk1 Hayabusa in 07 as the new model hadn't hit the shelves. This was back to back with the Bandit and with my wife doing pillion duties. The Hayabusa is alright, but the earlier version got quite hot in stop start traffic and blasted hot air onto your legs. It also was far too easy to do warp factor, so to have one within city limits is just silly. If they weren't so ugly I may have been swayed if the price tag was a little closer to the Bandit.