[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by White Aviator

I would suggest the Michelin Road 5 Tyres for your bike. They provide excellent grip in both wet and dry and last quite long.

Originally Posted by Nitish.arnold

I am using Metzeler M7 on my gen 2 white wolf,
Best in the business.
or you can also consider Pirelli rosso 3 but they have a slightly more soft compound.

The OE tyres are Bridgestone Battlax BT015R and have a load rating of 73 (365kgs) and speed rating of W (270 kph).

Keeping this criteria in mind I am thinking in between Metzeler M9RR and Michelin Road 5. Also have to decide whether to change the profile to 55 which also provides better load rating.

Tyres are a expensive part and if I go with a softer compound I will be spoilt for grip for life but will be heavy on the pocket as our road conditions will ensure the wear is faster.

Originally Posted by Nitish.arnold

About replacing the lines every 4 years,
don't think mine have been replaced ever.
Will check for any issues in them & replace with steel braided ones :

Over time rubber brake lines become soft so, as they expand under pressure and you lose some of the force that’s applied to the brake pistons. So the brakes end up feeling a little spongy and slower to respond. Good quality braided lines should last indefinitely, so once you’ve changed them, you can pretty much forget about them.

Also, DOT 4 fluid absorbs moisture and the boiling point lowers which results in brake fade and you have to work the brakes hard. So, the fluid change needs to be done every six-months to a year to ensure good performance and to ensure all the internals of the brake and clutch system are in good shape and last longer.

[mugen_pinaki27]

The bike is a treat to witness. You've taken good care of it and it shows in all its glory. Keep riding hard and safe!

[FarazS]

Hi,
Did you face any clearance issue with the reservoir? I am planning to install the same setup on my bike.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by FarazS

Hi,
Did you face any clearance issue with the reservoir? I am planning to install the same setup on my bike.

As we used a custom made bracket instead of the one supplied by Brembo there was no clearance issue.

[SnS_12]

Another Sunday gone without riding the Busa as was out and driving the whole of Saturday and did not have the energy to wake up early on a Sunday. So decided to wash and polish the Busa and RX as I had ridden them quite a bit in the previous weeks. Also, i got a custom scale model made of Bluebird in 1:64 scale in resin along with a black one so clicked a few snaps...

[Turbojc]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

i got a custom scale model made of Bluebird in 1:64 scale in resin along with a black one so clicked a few snaps...

Wow ! May I know where you got them from, and how much they cost? I collect 1:64 scale models, and with the 'Busa being one of my staunch favourites, I'd love to get one .

Cheers!

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by Turbojc

Wow ! May I know where you got them from, and how much they cost? I collect 1:64 scale models, and with the 'Busa being one of my staunch favourites, I'd love to get one .

These are custom made models and the person is based in Indonesia (Insta ID Zukazukacustoms).

Cost per piece is USD 15 and shipping will be around USD 50 and you can have a maximum of 20 pcs in a single consignment.

[SnS_12]

Bluebird finally hits the 10k mark...

Thank to the pandemic the riding had reduced drastically and when we thought things are getting better a new variant popped up and just hope we don’t end up with the complete lockdown drama once again..Bluebird will complete 5 year in February 2022 and touchwood has been mechanically reliable as expected.

The annual service will be done around Feb/March and I plan to have the following jobs done for the first time along with the regular service.

a) Spark plugs check/replaced
b) Throttle body opened up for cleaning
c) Front fork oil change
d) Fuel tank filter cleaned/change
e) Tyres need replacement and might be done before the annual service

For the above work I think it would need to be at the service station for full two days and might plan out the work in that case so that I can ride the bike home and get it back the next day.

Time for some pictures and hoping the next 10k is achieved a lot sooner and with no unwanted incidents 🤞

[SnS_12]

As I had mentioned in my post above the tyres were due for a change as they were over 5 years old and had run for a little over 10k kms. Further on my last ride I noticed the rear was acting in a weird way (squared tyres) and moving around more than I would like especially when going over contoured deformations on the road surface. Hence, I decided I wanted to change the tyres immediately and started finding out what was available for a immediate replacement.

My first preference was to either get a Michelin Road 5 or the Metzeler M9RR. Both of these were not available with my regular contact in Mumbai and I asked forum members Athek, Neil.jericho and RohanDheman if they can ask around if anything is available with their contacts. Managed to locate a set of M9RR’s down South in the stock size for 46.5k. I asked the seller to send me a picture of the tyre with the manufacturing date details. Once the pictures were shared to me over whatsapp I found something unusual about the manufacturing date and recollected what Neil had mentioned on our whatsapp group about people being sold re stamped tyres. This is something which has become a nuisance post the import ban where sellers try to get rid of very old stock by showing them as been manufactured recently or to get the newer prices on older stock. Considering the M9RR’s are fairly newer models I guess this could have been done to be sold as newer/latest stock. I am not sure who does the stamping scam but this is something I definitely didn’t want to get into. Also, these were supposed to be the last set available which didn’t give much confidence either.

So, I went back to my Mumbai contact who had mentioned that he had the recently launched Apollo Vredestien tyres in stock. I was keen on trying these but wanted to try out some more stickier rubber to see if it helps my riding style on the street. Now, since that option was no longer available this was the second best choice or rather only choice I had as a immediate replacement. Forum members had good feedback on these tyres including some journo friends who had reviewed them on BIC recently.

So I informed Ravi who owns Kwik Fix in Mumbai that I will go with the Vredestein and fixed up a time for the following Sunday to get the tyres changed.

Some pictures..



Almost squared off and I ideally should have changed them at 9 to 9.5k kms mark.









The horn and plastic covering near the bottom of the front fork T bracket needs to be taken out to fit the front paddock.





Fresh Made In India rubber...









Using the right machine/tools to get the old rubber off the rim without damaging it.





Showing its age as the made in Japan rubber had gone quite hard.





Since I had to change the valves too I got these 90 degree valve stem adapter installed. 1100 for a set + GST and I was told they come from Bangalore. Motousher also sells something similar (design wise) online which is made by WUNDERLICH and retails for 1150 for a single piece.



Rear rim is ready to fit the new tyre. I just lifted it and even the brake rotor on it felt quite light.



The new rubber is fitted on the bike.





Moving on to the front tyre. Brake calipers, front mudguard need to be removed front their usual mounting position to take the wheel off.





Both the wheels were balanced.









10,034 kms is how long the old rubber was on the bike.



The OE Bridgestone Battlax were manufactured in Aug 2016.

[SnS_12]

With the OE tyres I had certain bit of loss of confidence in the last few years while taking high speed corners and I used to be on the cautious side generally because of the road/surface conditions we encounter and not necessarily due to how the tyres performed. With the new tyres on I went in for a 200+ km round trip ride and I had a mental block of not trusting the tyres as I had no idea what to expect and how will they perform. The initial ride back home after fitting the tyres was promising but that was in city limits and barely touching the Busa’s capabilities. Also, as these are new tyres the ride was for bedding in the rubber and try to understand how they perform. As the kms started pilling up I felt more and more comfortable with the feedback and grip levels and was pushing them slightly more harder the next time around where the road and conditions allowed me too. On my return journey I started pushing the tyres with hard second, third gear acceleration and never had a instance where the rear lost traction given the torque shock the busa generates. The icing on the cake was when I approached my favourite left hander which is a high speed corner followed by a straight line section and the exit speed I achieved plastered a smile across my face and I really felt proud that I could do this on tyres Made In India..

A set of Vredestien costed me 26.5k and with fitting, balancing and valve stems the total damages stood at 29,686. Spending 20k more for tyres make no more sense to me when these tyres suit my riding style (road grip while riding and braking) on the street and I have no lack of confidence over the previous set, which was a concern I had initially. I shall keep the thread updated on how they perform as the kms pile on and hopefully I can get out descent life (km wise ) from them 🤞

[SnS_12]

Bluebird completed 5 years in February and its time for a major service update.

I had mentioned earlier a few things I wanted to get done on the bike during the next service and a few of them were going to be done for the first time and was just a preventive maintenance so that I don’t face a problem later.

a) Spark plugs to be check/replaced
b) Throttle body to be opened up for cleaning
c) Front fork oil change along with the oil seal
d) Fuel pump filter to be cleaned
e) Coolant to be replaced
f) Cone set to be opened and greased
g) Wheel bearings and sprocket bearing to be greased
h) Stock high beam bulb to be replaced with an LED one
i) Engine oil and oil filter to be replaced

With the above list in mind I knew it would be a two day job and had already informed the service guys what I wanted to get done on the bike so that they can arrange the spares and consumables accordingly.

The work was started with stripping down all the fairing parts and then taking out the front fork legs, fork T bracket, cone set and front wheel bearings. Initially the plan was to check and see if the fork seals if they need replacement and later on we decided to change the fork seals and dust cap. The cone set was in good shape but was opened up at the right time for cleaning and greasing. Or else the grease would have dried up more and would have eaten up the seating. Same with the front wheel bearings which were cleaned and greased again.

Next the air filter and plugs were attended too. Air filter was decided to be replaced and the the plugs looked good and didn’t need to be replaced. Post that the throttle body assembly was removed for cleaning and post that the fuel pump filter and finally the rear wheel bearings were cleaned and greased. This is all the work that were completed on day one.

On day two the bike went for a wash before starting any work and without the fairing. Post the wash the coolant was replaced followed by the high beam LED bulb upgrade. Lastly after checking all is in order and radiator was functioning as desired with no leaks the engine oil and filter were replaced. With all the service work completed the fairing was put back again and the bike went for its final wash followed by a few test rides by the mechanic who worked on the bike and myself to confirm everything was in order.

The total damages for the above work was 14,325 (parts) + 9,000 (labour) totalling to 23,235. I was actually expecting a figure of 30k + but thankfully the OE parts from Suzuki are excellent quality offered at an excellent price as well.

Loads of pictures as I was present to see all the work get done and for the readers its a visual experience to see this beast being stripped down..

If it was not for our dust conditions I would have ridden it like this for a day or two looks absolutely menacing





















































500 ml oil in each fork leg.



Air filter of Gen 3 (top) Gen 2 (bottom)





Look at the price difference though even if the Gen 3 filter is slightly bigger can’t understand why its almost double the cost??

[SnS_12]

Pictures continued...



ABS unit..







EBC brake pads which went on the bike recently with the brake upgrade









































Wifey clicked it from our balcony on my last ride



Clicked on my return back home on the same ride

[Sangwan]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

If it was not for our dust conditions I would have ridden it like this for a day or two looks absolutely menacing

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Attachment 2286483

Attachment 2286484

It looks awesome and you're right nobody will ever want a fairing on their bike if they start looking like this. That's just super beautiful

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

a) Spark plugs to be check/replaced
b) Throttle body to be opened up for cleaning
c) Front fork oil change along with the oil seal
d) Fuel pump filter to be cleaned
e) Coolant to be replaced
f) Cone set to be opened and greased
g) Wheel bearings and sprocket bearing to be greased
h) Stock high beam bulb to be replaced with an LED one
i) Engine oil and oil filter to be replaced



The total damages for the above work was 14,325 (parts) + 9,000 (labour) totalling to 23,235.

That is quite a work order. For such a big, high performance, high-end, exclusive and complicated bike that amount is actually quite reasonable, cheap even.

[SnS_12]

Originally Posted by Sangwan

It looks awesome and you're right nobody will ever want a fairing on their bike if they start looking like this. That's just super beautiful

The Ghostrider's Turbo Busa is what comes to my mind. But without its fairing this thing will surely struggle out on the highway, so back to stock look .

Originally Posted by amol4184

That is quite a work order. For such a big, high performance, high-end, exclusive and complicated bike that amount is actually quite reasonable, cheap even.

Suzuki are known for making bikes which are cheaper to own and run compared to its competition. But the negative point about that is that the product life cycle is much longer to recover cost and hence, we don't see big updates for years together.

Also, I clubbed a lot of work together, which saved some cost I paid as labor.