Hyabusa Anyone?

[shake777]

Fellow Potential Road Pizza, Just thought it would be fun to discuss these two hobbies with someone already in the mix. I'm pretty close but don't own the bike yet. It's a scary proposition after I've been so vocal about what a wonderful SAFE hobby we have. Now not only do I have to worry about my wife doing bodily harm to me over the hobby, now the hobby itself might get me! Shabusa

[Quiet_Hollow]

Former GT-80, CT-175, CM-400T, FZR-600, DT-250, YZF-R1, YZ-125, KE-175, XR-250L, EX-250R owner here....Have ridden many others around the globe too.

What's got you interested in the 'Busa?

It's got great aero and rides two-up very comfortably, but it can be a little bit of a pig to maneuver around in the tight stuff around town and chews through it's rear tire faster than most people can wipe their butt.

[JL Sargent]

I'm on my 9th bike, never had a Busa though. Everytime I buy one I think that's the last one I'm gonna buy.....

As far a accidents go, Two bikers riding side by side hit a deer near here the other night and both had to be airlifted out.

[Doc Robin]

Best friends son has one; I took him for his 1st bike ride back in the '80's. I have turned down his offer to take it for a ride everytime he has offered.

2 guys at work have them; one has a blower on his; totally insane ride.

I took a Harley for a short ride a few years ago; haven't been on 2 wheels since.

Bill

GO HOGS

[shake777]

All, Wow, Its a real gas to ride one, everyone seems to agree on something of that nature! Quiet Hollow, with all your decorations I won't pretend to pull the wool over your eyes but I do have a story the meets your question. The answer to why do I want a busa is speed...roughly 180 to 200 mph of it. By the way, my wife doesn't know the name Hyabusa...just motorcycle...I'll tell her about Hyabusas, the day I sell it! Anyway, I was in a rush to make a wedding in Colorado Springs from Boulder. It would have taken me about an hour, if if remember correctly, to make and 1 1/2 ride to get there on time. So I tucked in and took off. Somtimes hitting 140 on my ninja 750. Just as I was getting off the Interstate, I saw the dreaded lights. "Get off and get down on your face" The young trooper was shaking noticably. The ride at those speeds in his new malfunctioning (I found out later) Mustang was quite unerving. The more I tried to convince him I wasn't a drug runner the angrier he got and the more he shook. It took many trips to Coldorado Springs to get my liscense back. Yes they can be unwieldly in traffic but oh the speed nearly 200mph. Seems I'll get spanked again but mabe at 58 I'll do much better. Wow, one deer took out two riders. They are treacherous. Very interesting story though. Finally, can see why you'd turn down rides from and inexperienced rider if tht was the motivation. Thank you all for reponding quickly and making me feel like one of the boys again. Its been a while so its nice to feel like one of the boys again. shake

[shake777]

JL, I see your avatar besides this being your ninth bike shows something about your're love of bikes. Congrats on staying alive. Shake

[tigerwoodKhorns]

My take, I have a BMW R1200RT. Plenty of power for legal speeds at 110 HP and 517 lbs dry, but the boxter engine does not scream "please rev me out" evey time I ride. My previous bike had clip on bars and revved to 11K and just wanted to be revved. It wasn't anything too fast (SV650) but when I was going 100+ every time I got on it I sold it. It just was not comfortable riding at less than maybe 85 or so.

The R1200RT is great to ride on weekends are around and when I travel the bags just click on and 50+ MPG. Heted grips, heated seats, power windshield, cruise. Different riding experience. I love riding but I have a lot of hobbies and want to enjoy all of them. A friend sold his Ducatti and bought a Harley cruiser for the same reason. They feel comfortable riding near the speed limit.

I have a WR450F too. That is a blast when I want to go fast on trails, but it keeps me in line because you have to be really good to go fast on trails, constant tight turns, etc.

Great hobby, just don't hurt yourself.

[shake777]

PS I hope I didn't leave the impression that I would be riding the bike crazy like I did twenty or twenty five years ago. Shake

[tigerwoodKhorns]

Nah, not trying to be preachy either. But, when you have that much power it is just too tempting and easy to do. You know what I mean.

[Schu]

Hyabusa is a waste unless you can pick it up for a song. I bought my first NEW road bike in 1980... I've been riding for nearly 33 years, on road and on track.

I think when people choose bikes, they don't realize that unlike most vehicle purchases... motorcycles are designed and perform based around specific purposes of usage.

if you want balance, you choose a trials bike... if you want duality, you choose a dual purpose/motard... if you want to tour, you choose touring... if you want to look pretty or portray an attitude, choose a hardly Ableson The Hyabusa serves no purpose other than to go fast... IN A STRAIGHT LINE. it's a open class motorcycle that is better suited for the dragstrip if anything... so if you like a BIG HEAVY BIKE to go from stop light to stop light breaking the speed limit, go ahead.

if you like to ride, you are better off choosing something more akin to a standard perhaps a sport touring bike if you like distance as part of your equation... if you like to go as fast as you can in the canyons, choose a narrow focused sport bike... and if you like to ride great distances, go with a touring bike.

bottom line, do not choose a motorcycle based on stats and/or claims of outright performance.

My last three bikes... sadly, I am without a scooter currently [:'(]

Daytona

RD250

Nera and RD

Nera

Me... FYI, learn to cover

[]

[tigerwoodKhorns]

If you ride with a welding helmet, check out an auto darkening one [Y]

Nice bikes.

[shake777]

tiger, I didn't know they made such a convenient item! Thanks, Shake

[Islander]

One of the guys I used to ride with had a number of fast sport bikes, including a GSX-R1100. He and I had no fear of going fast, and at that time would ride no other type of bike.

Now he's riding a KTM 990 adventure tourer and liking it a lot.

He's even done some long-distance touring on it, with friends on similar bikes.

As has been pointed out, the big sport bikes are so good at going fast that you spend most of your time going fast.

BTW, I've never seen an RD250 with a drum brake. All the Canadian RD350s came with disc front brakes, and I don't remember if the RD250 was sold here at all.

[Guest srobak]

21 year street-rider here. Sportbikes up until 3 years ago. Started with a 92 ZX6, then bought a new 93 ZX7 which I had for a number of years and then bought a 98 ZX9. Kept that until Labor Day of 09 when I bought a new Goldwing. In between I had also ridden several different bikes for extended periods includings GSXR 600's of various years, a Kantuna (a mistake I only made ONCE), a few different GSXR 750's, an 05 R1, an RC51, 1098 and ST1300. I grew up riding dirtbikes, quads and sleds in the upper midwest - so the next logical step was the street. I topped off the list when I traded bikes with a buddy to ride his Busa.

Did a top-gear roll-on from 70 and it just ROCKETED upward... I quit looking at the speedo at about 175 and it was still pulling hard. I stayed in it about 20 or 30 more seconds... rolled out of it and took our exit. Waited a good 3 minutes for him to get there, tossed him the keys and said "I will never ride it again". That is the only bike I have ever ridden that has scared me. The crazy amount of speed and the rate at which it was delivered... makes that bike the most crazy and impractical thing on the road.

That being said - I ride the Goldwing like an oversized CBR - and it is soooo much more fun and gratifying to run hard through the twisties on the road than any other bike I have taken. Of course it doesn't compare to me tracking the ZX7 or ZX9 - but on the street - being able to drive that thing through corners just leaves me smiling. I've ground the pegs down to nothing - replacements are sitting on the workbench pending the annual group ride I lead around Lake Michigan in a few weeks.

In the end - riding is my therapy - moreso than music. I was averaging 15 to 18k a year on sportbikes and am now averaging 25k a year on the Wing. I just extended my warranty on it today which at this rate should carry me through 150,000 miles on the bike

[2point1]

Bike number 23 is out in the garage. I wrenched at a dealership for a few years and have ridden every bike you can think of from 1980 till now. The best STREET bike I have ridden is Triumph's Street Triple R (675cc). KTM's 990 SM was not far behind the Triumph.

[shake777]

Islander, I know this wasn't the point of your reply but the 1000 or 1100'are bikes I'd ride as well. Tremendous straight line accelleration to about 60, which is about as fast as I would want to go. Plenty of awesome power to get on and pass on the expressway. Really, that's all I want the bike for. Lots of thrills and fun back and forth to work without getting too many tickets. I hate high speed tickets. Like I said, more than once, I'm 58 and not a crazy twenty year old any more. However, a lot of what I've read on the bike forums say the Busa is a pretty good and comfortable bike. You can get a nice used one pretty cheap. Thanks, Shake

[Edgar]

For 21 years I rode a 1990 ZX11, the king before the Hayabusa came along. These bikes are amazing, but, frankly, they don't become "fun" until well into triple-digit speeds. My next bike will be something that's fun to ride at sane speeds, like a supermoto.

By the way, did you know that the original nickname for the Hayabusa was "Eye Abuser"? Yes, they're that ugly. ;-)

EDIT: Added smiley. The Kawasaki-Suzuki rivalry goes back a long way, but I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. The Busa is a fantastic bike.

[shake777]

Shu, the bulk of my riding is on open roads so the busa is going to be nothing bet fun,if I can avoid the tickets. Aside from your hatred of Busas, I must say that is one beautiful collection of bikes that looked to be maintained to the max. Good for you Man! Shake

[tigerwoodKhorns]

21 year street-rider here. Sportbikes up until 3 years ago. Started with a 92 ZX6, then bought a new 93 ZX7 which I had for a number of years and then bought a 98 ZX9. Kept that until Labor Day of 09 when I bought a new Goldwing. In between I had also ridden several different bikes for extended periods includings GSXR 600's of various years, a Kantuna (a mistake I only made ONCE), a few different GSXR 750's, an 05 R1, an RC51, 1098 and ST1300. I grew up riding dirtbikes, quads and sleds in the upper midwest - so the next logical step was the street. I topped off the list when I traded bikes with a buddy to ride his Busa.



Did a top-gear roll-on from 70 and it just ROCKETED upward... I quit looking at the speedo at about 175 and it was still pulling hard. I stayed in it about 20 or 30 more seconds... rolled out of it and took our exit. Waited a good 3 minutes for him to get there, tossed him the keys and said "I will never ride it again". That is the only bike I have ever ridden that has scared me. The crazy amount of speed and the rate at which it was delivered... makes that bike the most crazy and impractical thing on the road.



That being said - I ride the Goldwing like an oversized CBR - and it is soooo much more fun and gratifying to run hard through the twisties on the road than any other bike I have taken. Of course it doesn't compare to me tracking the ZX7 or ZX9 - but on the street - being able to drive that thing through corners just leaves me smiling. I've ground the pegs down to nothing - replacements are sitting on the workbench pending the annual group ride I lead around Lake Michigan in a few weeks.



In the end - riding is my therapy - moreso than music. I was averaging 15 to 18k a year on sportbikes and am now averaging 25k a year on the Wing. I just extended my warranty on it today which at this rate should carry me through 150,000 miles on the bike

Yea, I feel great when riding. I start going a little crazy when I do not get ut for a while.

This is why I bougt the R1200. Cruises great and handles well. The other half also loves it and the bike travels well. But take off the bags and it looks and much smaller and sporty and it is light. I usually just use a tank bag or the glove box.

I wanted a Japanese bike like the ST1300 or FJR but between reported high speed instability on some, heat on your crotch ([:|]) and and having to add optional features, it was easier to go for the BMW. They spend some serious time in the wind tunnel with the R1200 and more time refining everthing else. I wish that Goldwing made a smaller bike that was as refined as the wing because I do like Japanese products.

[Doc Robin]

The big issue with riding these days is the general public driving while talking or texting on the phone; they have no idea anyone else is around much less a motorcycle.

Bill

GO HOGS