Hayabusa advice

Mine was an 08 and it did great. In 08 they did some upgrades such as porting the intake to give it more power mid range. In 2012 they did another bunch of changes but I haven't been on anything later than the 08. To me the 14 has a smoother throttle as the busa is kind of on/off switch type throttle and the 14 is more comfortable than the busa as well. In any case you wont go wrong with either one and you will ride either one all day long with less discomfort than a 1000..... but that said I ride my 1000 on long trips without issue and I believe it is just what you are willing to get use to. The more miles you put in the saddle the less you feel any discomfort on that bike (but you start more comfortable with the busa and 14).

If you get an 08 and it has some miles on it you will probably want to change out the timing chain tensioner with one off of a ZX12 because the 14 in 08 had a hydraulic tensioner which means the pressure has to build before it puts tension on the chain causing more wear and noise than you would like at startup. The ZX12 had a mechanical which keeps the proper pressure at all times. Cheap easy fix to a small issue.

If you go pre 08 you can help the mid level power by removing the secondary butterflies in the throttle bodies. We did that on my brothers 06 and it helped.... not that the power is bad mid level on the 06 but being power junkies forces you to look for every cheap HP and Ft lb you can get.

Also if you get either the busa or the 14 and it is older such as 06 and has very low miles on it then be sure to look it over good because these bikes are used for drag bikes a WHOLE LOT. So it could be very low miles but all VERY HARD miles. Just be sure to check it out and look for signs that it was a dedicated drag strip bike.

@demonduck Thanks for all of the advice. There is an '06 ZX14 for sale in my area, but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Generally when I am looking at used bikes I check the tires, plastic, the mirrors, bar ends, brake lever ends, crank case, chain, fork seals and foot pegs for signs that it had been dropped or abused.
Is there a telling sign that a bike was used for a drag bike?
Below is the owners description to the '06 ZX14, it has 34 kilometers on it, and he is asking $4500 (us).
"Original Owner - 2006 ZX-14 Ninja Super-Sport bike for sale. All black bodywork, factory black rims, black D&D slip-on mufflers (original pipes included), black custom Corbin seat (original seat included), K&N air filter, taller Kawasaki OEM (European style) vented "touring" windshield (original included). Like-new Michelin Pilot 2 tires front and rear. Brand new, still-in-the-box, battery. Never been dropped, crashed, scratched, raced or abused. Always parked, covered, in a heated garage.

Mothmonty said:

@demonduck Thanks for all of the advice. There is an '06 ZX14 for sale in my area, but I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Generally when I am looking at used bikes I check the tires, plastic, the mirrors, bar ends, brake lever ends, crank case, chain, fork seals and foot pegs for signs that it had been dropped or abused.
Is there a telling sign that a bike was used for a drag bike?
Below is the owners description to the '06 ZX14, it has 34 kilometers on it, and he is asking $4500 (us).
"Original Owner - 2006 ZX-14 Ninja Super-Sport bike for sale. All black bodywork, factory black rims, black D&D slip-on mufflers (original pipes included), black custom Corbin seat (original seat included), K&N air filter, taller Kawasaki OEM (European style) vented "touring" windshield (original included). Like-new Michelin Pilot 2 tires front and rear. Brand new, still-in-the-box, battery. Never been dropped, crashed, scratched, raced or abused. Always parked, covered, in a heated garage.

Click to expand...

That bike I wouldn't think was a drag bike. The custom seat and touring windshield.... higher ride height all are kinda counter drag racing so I wouldn't hesitate on going after that bike. I would always try to pay less of course but it looks solid and the description if accurate would lead me to believe that the miles came from longer trips and such. Should be a great bike for a long time! Plus its plain beautiful.

Ride it as it is or take the secondary flys out and install a Power Commander with a tune and get a little more pull from it.... either way you will be happy.

P.S. To answer your question on things to look for that scream drag bike..... brackets on the front calipers for straps to attach to (people use them to strap the front lower when drag racing allowing them to launch harder. Extended swingarm, more obviously an air shifter. Also look at the wear on the tires .... if it is all in the middle then it could be a drag bike or a lot of flat and straight roads but if you search the internet and look at tires from drag bikes you can see signs ... just hard to explain. The dragstrip is sticky as hell and the stress on the tires from hard launches with low air pressure make noticeable marks on the rear tire. If you see them it does not mean the bike is bad or that it has been abused as the person might do a drag night once in a while and that is ok IMHO but it just tells you to look a little harder. Also if you haven't done it then make your way to a drag strip one night after your comfortable with the bike and just do some passes because it is a whole lot of fun for cheap even with the bike in completely stock form (just take it slow and don't try to launch to hard till you get the hang of it).