Motorcycles have not been my forte, but the new Tamiya Hayabusa caught my eye (Not only the real bike - but the model, too). I'm about 75% through it now - and I am impressed.
The highlights are the superb fit and casting quality. Including the printed maskings for the paint scheme is a real plus - although painting it is really tricky. The base coat should go on and be allowed to cure for a few days, and then rub out any blemishes. For cutting out the masks, just make sure you use a brand new #11 blade cutting them out - or they will tear. However, they are precisely correct when laid out on the proper place on the parts. Burnish them down really well. I airbrushed Tesors German Silver Metallic as the base coat, and then followed it with Anthracite Gray Metallic for the pattern. As it turned out, the second coat is not quite accurate (a bit on the brown side), but it looks great anyway (What the heack, it's MY bike!!). I alowed the top coat to cure for a few days, rubbed it out, and then followed with the decals and then 4 coats of Tamiya clear. I am absolutely delighted with the reults.
Tamiya molded the gas tank and front cowl in one piece each(no seams - good news!), but them molded the front fender and rear fender as TWO pieces each - with the seams right down the middle. Which meant, of course, some sanding and rubbing to get rid of the seams. I question the lack of consistency in this approach. I am also mildly diappointed that there are no mechanicals molded above the carburetors (no airbox, filters, etc.), and the engine seems a bit lacking in plumbing and wiring detail. Not a big issue, because the tank and side cowls pretty well hide everything, but, if these were to be removed for display, then some extra detail will need to be added.
Finally, the four-pipe exhausts coming off the head are all molded in one piece - wonderful idea for a good, strong positive fit, but the chrome exhaust pipes which run between the header and the mufflers are molded in two pieces each - which means that, if you leave them as chrome, there is a visible seam present. I removed the chrome, filled the seam, and then used chrome foil on them - a bit tricky because of the compound bend, but they look a lot better. Alclad would likely be a better solution for this.
Overall, though, a wonderful kit - it looks right, and the screws which hold the major components together are very effective, and don't negatively affect the overall appearance. A real winner.
This would be a wondeful choice for a 1/6 scale bike - any body listening at Tamiya??
Otherwise, I just ordered a 1:1 scale 2003 Yamaha V-Star (honest... a real one!), and I would love to see Tamiya offer a model of this one - especially since it is quite a popular bike.
Final comment - a wonderful website and forum. Very well executed. Let's all support David Voss in his efforts to keep it clean and topical.