Thanks to Alistair at Colemans Suzuki in Auckland City I recently had the pleasure of taking the B-King for a test ride while my Hayabusa was in for its first service.
The BKing model is not new, but new to me. I originally thought the B-King was just a detuned naked version of the Hayabusa, so I thought it would feel like trying to run around with my pants around my ankles.
I was wrong. What a fun bike, certainly more of a street fighter in looks and riding appeal that just screamed DO A WHEELIE! Plently of torque around town and comfortable to say the least.
The front cowling headlight assembly provides a surprising buffer for wind. But on the motorway at spped, the wind felt much more obvious on the arms and chest, to the point I felt like the team NZ yacht in a cross wind.
One thing I did notice is that massively wide tank actually provided reasonable wind shelter for the legs... cosy with the engine heat warming the lower limbs as I rode along.
Exhausts? I thought they were chimneys? HUGE in their natural state they seems more pleasant in the aftermarket format albeit a tad loud with two singing in unison.
I loved the 200 rear tyre on the bike. AVON.... big a fat but a little slower on the turn-in compared to a 190 tyre. Smacks of the typical sort of mod you would find on an M109R. Looks fantastic though!
Style? Words like "different" come to mind. Some more recent street fighter bikes certainly follow its appeal like the CBR or the new Kwaka street bikes.
The instruments were simple and easily readable with a digital speedo to help. Plastic chrome actually looked good too. Grips were comfortable and in a great position for my height at over 6ft. Mind you I did notice my feet sat flat on the road, but not by much. Not a bike for the vertically challenged I would say.
Only quirks for me were the positioning of the gear lever and weak looking side stand. Neither great for big boots. It also felt a little wanting of a more cruiser top gear, but other than that a fun bike to ride that says "come play".
Nice day had on that bike. If anything, it seemed more like the exibishionist brother to the Hayabusa. Back on the Busa afterwards for the ride home... another sublime ride from Suzuki.
Enough said.... attention span fading.....
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Originally Posted by AllanB
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