Suzuki B-King 1300

Pug · 11 Oct 2010 at 17:10

Anyone rode one of these?

My father is looking to upgrade his K2/K3 GSXR thou after riding my 08 blade and craving something "newer" and comfier.

We saw and heard about the B king and it sounds a phenominal bit of muscle bike, but wondered what peoples eperiences were?

Its the one with the Hayabusa engine in that apparently pulls like a train.

VFR_KID · 11 Oct 2010 at 17:23

Cant comment on how it ides but looks bloody awful from the back.

Can just imagine its a bike to go fast. Which with no protection will get tiring after a bit

PieEater · 11 Oct 2010 at 18:54

Coming from a sports bike the B-King is going to be a very different style of riding, especially if your father uses the full rev range of his bikes. It may be comfier but not at speed due to the lack of wind protection, it's also going to be heavier and slower to turn into corners than he's used to. A test ride would be in order but it also depends on what he wants his new bike to do as there may be better alternatives.

Pug · 11 Oct 2010 at 19:43

tbh he's looking at zx10s/gixxers/blades but this was a novel alternative

MrKeeno · 11 Oct 2010 at 20:41

I used to love the look of them until I seen one in the flesh recently. Its just overdone imo, I wanted to like it but I just know the looks would get on my nerves after a while.

ShakenNstirred · 11 Oct 2010 at 20:47

hate the look of them to be honest
i`d have a GSx1400

PieEater · 11 Oct 2010 at 21:54

Pug said:
tbh he's looking at zx10s/gixxers/blades but this was a novel alternative

Maybe get him to look at a BMW K1300S? It'll be physically less cramped so more comfortable but still have the performance and sportsbike looks. Sportsbikes have to loose weight year on year so they get smaller, so I'd suggest looking at a sports/tourer alternatives to the latest out and out 160BHP+ sports bikes which to be honest no-one can fully use to their potential on the road anyhow.

PieEater · 11 Oct 2010 at 21:58

ShakenNstirred said:
hate the look of them to be honest
i`d have a GSx1400

Have you ridden a GSX1400? It's like a velour airmchair on wheels, big, lazy and bouncy and best ridden with a pipe and slippers, deffinately not a sportsbike alternative.

/Edit - I once thought I was ready for this tye of bike and test rode a GSX1400 / ZRX1200 / CB1300 of the 3 the CB was the best in terms of handling and performance but these bikes are so far removed from sportsbike performance and handling it's untrue, I ended up with a Fazer1000 (Gen1) which is a much better compromise between sports and road.

ShakenNstirred · 11 Oct 2010 at 22:19

PieEater said:
Have you ridden a GSX1400? It's like a velour airmchair on wheels, big, lazy and bouncy and best ridden with a pipe and slippers, deffinately not a sportsbike alternative.

well from the pic`s of the b-king, its no sport alternative also

i`d have my old GS1000 over one of those anyday

Sagalout · 11 Oct 2010 at 22:42

Haven't ridden one but apparently they are far more agile than they look. They look so much better with aftermarket pipes too - there's one local to me with twin Scorpion cans.

I do t think I'd want one as they don't tick the boxes for me, but if was after a muscle bike it would definitely be on my list for the engine alone.

PieEater · 11 Oct 2010 at 22:52

ShakenNstirred said:
well from the pic`s of the b-king, its no sport alternative also

Alloy frame, USD front forks, Monoshock Rear, 180 BHP - it's a bit more sport alternative than a GSX1400.

Pug · 11 Oct 2010 at 23:07

Yah the gsx1400 would be too soft. He's ridden the Triumph Sprint ST and that didn't have enough punch, so I'm anxious that a sports tourer might not impress either. Is the BMW pokey?

St0rmer66 · 12 Oct 2010 at 00:41

Think the BMW has about 160bhp? Plenty fast! And with the bigger engine it will be easier to go fast than the GSXR he has now by quite a lot. I saw one today at Devils Bridge and they are great looking bikes.

Flukester · 12 Oct 2010 at 09:13

I love the look of this one... had my eye on it for ages but now sold

http://www.motorbiking.co.uk/sales/show.php?id=1540&category=&make=Suzuki&model=&srt=price%20DESC&p=100&submit=Search&page=1

MrKeeno · 14 Mar 2018 at 13:01

MrKeeno said:
I used to love the look of them until I seen one in the flesh recently. Its just overdone imo, I wanted to like it but I just know the looks would get on my nerves after a while.

So I kinda changed my mind a bit. Had this for a year now and have to say its the best bike i've ever owned.