I picked up a 2011 GSXR 750 this spring and have been riding quite a bit hoping that I'd get used to the position and harsh suspension of the bike, but am coming to the conclusion that maybe a modern super sports bike is not a good match for me. I'm thinking of selling the Gixxer and have come accross a 2008 Suzuki B-King with fairly low mileage at 5000kms. I don't know much about the bikes other than they are a Hayabusa powered naked bike that was only imported to North America for the 2008 model year. I usually like bikes that are a little different!! Any drawbacks to the B-king? I know they are getting older, is parts availability an issue? The other bike that is in my interest spotlight is the Ninja 1000, but they seem to be pretty pricey!!
The Bking is an awesome bike. Just a standard version of the Hayabusa with better brakes. A buddy of mine let me borrow his Bking for a few days while my Hayabusa was down for work. I enjoyed every minute of the ride. I wouldn't worry about parts, motor is slightly de tuned from a Hayabusa motor. Motors are solid. Lots of riders with 50K plus miles without any hiccups.
I say Bking all the way. I bought mine brand new leftover in 2011 at a great discount, most kings at that time were selling in the U.S. for 8k or less courtesy of the recession. Really class machine with that great gen2 1340cc torque master engine. Excellent fun, comfortable, fast and generally much cheaper to insure than a plastic clad race replica.
I have considered both of the bikes that you mentioned. I have no seat time on the BKing, but I have been on demo rides with the Ninja 1000 a few times. I loved the Ninja, and I feel like it's the best inline 4 motor that I have ever twisted the grip on. I nearly bought a 2015 Ninja, but then a nicely modded Ducati Diavel Carbon showed up locally for a nice price. You say that you like a "different" type of naked bike, the Diavel is most certainly different. I figured that I would be giving up some handling ability due to the big rear wheel and tire. I was incorrect. I won't say that it is as flickable as a super sport, but I am amazed at how well it handles. I feel faster on the back roads with this bike than I have on anything else. I have completely gelled with it! I have a friend who rides a Multistrada, he's a damn good rider and I figured that he would run away from me in the twisties while I piloted the Diavel. Once I got used to the Diavel, I'm having to slow down so that I can give him enough room. The motor is an absolute gem, and it's got all the power anyone could want. I am a total acceleration junkie, I often find bikes that others call "fast", underwhelming... Not so with the Diavel! It's a damn rocket! The thing about the Diavel is that it's design is pretty polarizing. I think it's beautiful, but it seems to be a love or hate kind of thing. When I park the bike it sometimes literally draws a crowd. I've owned two dozen or so bikes, but I've had nothing that checks so many boxes, so damn well! I know that it sounds like I'm being paid by Ducati, but I'm just elated with the bike. It's a new thing for me to be totally comfortable on a bike, and have it be so enormously capable! Good luck in your search, just thought I'd give you some food for thought.
Your comparing apples and oranges IMO. What type of riding do you do most of the time? That would IMO be a determining factor on the two bikes you listed. If you like taking several multi day trips through out the year and ride a lot in the elements etc then the Ninja 1k is hands down the best tool for the job. If however you like the occasional trip but really enjoy blasting back roads in the open air with most likely more torque than you've experienced on two wheels, well the BK has it in spades as well as a limitless after market (power wise). I have a bike for the multiday road trips but for an over night run in good weather the BK usually gets that duty.
Enjoy all the Bking pics. I was seriously looking at getting one 2-3yrs ago when you couldn't give one away. Now I feel bad I didn't pick one up for cheap back then. Just checked and asking price is up there in the $8-9k range. :huh I agree N1k is a different bikes. The King can be kitted up for sport touring, as can just about any naked roadster. You should really get it because you want acceleration that sink your eyeballs back in their sockets. A better comparison would be either the ZX14 or Diavel. Plenty of riders sport tour with those as well. N1k is a wonderful middleweight road sport and should be compared to FZ1, Sprint ST/GT, SV1000S, or the new GSX-S1000F. And R1200RS on the high end. For most riders, these would be a better bet, especially if it will be your only bike.
I agree the N1K would probably be the better all a round bike for me. I usually take a couple of 1 week trips a year in the summer other than that it's 5 kms commuting to work and 50-100km blasts on the weekends. I sat on a B-King in 2008 at a dealer and thought it was a really unique bike, I've been attracted to it since then. I'm going to try and get a test ride next week so I'll see if it hits the spot or not!!
B-Kings are the monster GoBots of motorcycling. It's basically a naked Hayabusa. It's a no brainer. The B King. Only issue is finding one. They're actually pretty rare now.
The dealer in Leesburg, VA has a used one on the floor. Not sure of year or price, but the BKing looks immaculate. John
I wanted to like the BKing, I really did. But it was one of the few times when a bike's fuel tank has been a deal killer. And it wasn't due to range issues, as frequent fuel stops don't really bother me. Rather it was the shape. I have long legs, and they wouldn't fit into the cutouts. They were forced along the wide (really wide) top section of the tank. I honestly have no idea why Suzuki felt the need to make the tank that wide...it felt like I was trying to hump an aircraft carrier.
I could be wrong but I think most of what looks like the fuel tank is actually the massive intake air box.
Well it can be if your the creative type, it doesn't have the great air inlets of the Busa. From Suzuki they are nothing more than aesthetics and can be replaced with smaller aftermarket ones if that is more your style. The biggest choking point of the BK is the air box. But you can open it up and make the fake air inlet functional. See below... Air box opening on the right before and left after opening. The holes are already in the frame to pass an intake runner through. I have seen people use silicone hoses as well as radiator hoses to accomplish this task but there is a member on the BK forum that at one time made the runners on mine, quality product if you can find them.
Haven't ridden the BKing, BUT I have a N1K now and absolutely LOVE it! My only sporttouring experience has been with a BMW1150RT. It was big, heavy, slow acceleration, but it did rack up highway miles comfortably. The N1K offers me everything I liked about the BMW, except it's lighter and faster. What's not to love about that? The only drawback is the N1K insurance rate... You might wanna get insurance quotes and compare the two bikes of choice if you're on a budget!
A set of Knight designs lower foot pegs for ~$100.00 may have helped with comfort issues. I'm 6 ft 32inch inseam and my legs just fit under the side pods with the factory setup. The seating position definately works well if you can handle the width, in fact one of the attractions for me was the overall bigness of the thing. Feels like a properly sized road burner.
I'm looking forward to giving it a try just hoping it doesn't sell before I can go see it....seems like a real niche bike though so it should be there still hopefully
Update!! I went for the B-king!1 Couldn't be happier this bike is such an awesome ride, tons and tons of power, superb handling and killer looks. I haven't felt this way about a bike in many years!!
Smart move, great looking machine!!!!!! You can always own and ride a conventional machine but bkings are a rare breed in the U.S. In the 4.5 years I've owned mine I have only seen one other on the road. If you haven't already check out the website SuzukiB-king.org for more info on your nice bike.