The concept model was announced in 2001.
Back when the 21st century was brand new. Maybe people were really craving a muscular motorcycle back then?
Time went on… and in 2008, that muscular machine finally showed up. Has everyone’s memory of it already faded?
With people thinking “Oh yeah, there was something like that at the motor show,” it went on sale anyway!
Sometimes too late, sometimes too early—you could say that’s very Suzuki. But timing really is tough, isn’t it? I almost think it’s just luck.
The B-KING probably had low production numbers too… even if it became popular later… from the maker’s perspective.
Since it’s a naked version of the Hayabusa, it really does ride incredibly smoothly.
So let’s get down to the muscular work.
Let’s lubricate the levers, pedals, and side stand from the outside with Bell Hammer (red).
We clean the drive chain thoroughly, check the hub damper wear, apply two types of lubricant, and verify the chain tension all the way around.
We cleaned the rear caliper. Operation was fine. We also polished the spring components.
For the rear, RK doesn’t have the tasty option we’d like, so we went with OEM sintered metal.
We cleaned the front caliper and replaced it with Metallica SPEC03.
People who like a hard-hitting punch really love this. When you compare old and new, the difference is obvious, but numerically it’s only about 2mm.
Old and new comparison
Here’s whether we used pad shims or not. Pad shims reduce heat transfer and reduce piston extension through thickness—there’s a lot to think about, which is fun.
I just thought about this today.
Marker fades away, so isn’t it faster to just write it down? (Or carve it in?)
We measure the thickness during maintenance, so we have a system where the numbers tell us.
We drilled out the brake disc holes and degreased the surface to prepare for the new pads.
We replaced all the fluid with Golden Cruiser DOT4. We’ll swap out the rear tank next time.
Coolant should be replaced about every two years even with use. The radiator cap was still fine, so we reused it.
Just rust-proofing and lubricating the front fork inner tubes makes them last so much longer.
We also charged the battery.
It’s warm today, so we took it for a test ride and finished up~
