Thinking about a Hayabusa as a first bike?

[herooo]

Go back to dealer A for your second bike, and repay that kindness. It'll only cost you thousands on the trade in and a little pride swallowing......

But good advice none the less!
Cheers

[neoBusa]

FLCN72 thank you for bringing this topic up. Though I agree with DEPUTY, still the pros and cons discussed are a great help to all interested parties. I mean surely in the end its up to each and every person to decide for himself. I started out on a 50cc scooter. Never owned anything bigger, but used to borrow my friends 250 suzuki every now and then; all that was 5 years ago. I was hoping to go straight to the Busa this year but times are tough so I am hoping ‘05 it shall be. I do not consider myself an idiot nor do I see anyone on this topic post anything RIGHT or WRONG. FLCN72 said it was an opinion and I truly agree with that, and truly believe that if one is careful and does his research right and has respect for whatever machine is ridden, there will be lesser risk on amateur mistakes. I am known to be a detail person and believe in praticed makes perfect. Though motorcycles are similar, I consider that each machine needs its pratice to perfect. Better said:

DEPUTY:
“A LOT of knowing how to ride a bike of ANY kind is the maturity of the rider. Not maturity as in age, but maturity as in HOW you ride the bike. A mature person will KNOW in advance what his limitations are and take whatever steps are necessary to get those limitations corrected or improved upon. An immature person will become a statistic...no matter WHAT he is riding or driving. Thinning”


BigDawg_03Busa:
“Remember a very old saying "you must first crawl before you walk" To take it further”

Surely, but to get to walk some babies can observe, and then try without being put up straight with help. That observation is all the research that I am doing, being put up straight with help would be all the bikes I have to ride before the Busa.

But advice is good, and sometimes makes the observation and research more concrete. It’s always good to hear opinions to come up with ones own! Thanx

[neoBusa]

FLCN72 thank you for bringing this topic up. Though I agree with DEPUTY, still the pros and cons discussed are a great help to all interested parties. I mean surely in the end its up to each and every person to decide for himself. I started out on a 50cc scooter. Never owned anything bigger, but used to borrow my friends 250 suzuki every now and then; all that was 5 years ago. I was hoping to go straight to the Busa this year but times are tough so I am hoping ‘05 it shall be. I do not consider myself an idiot nor do I see anyone on this topic post anything RIGHT or WRONG. FLCN72 said it was an opinion and I truly agree with that, and truly believe that if one is careful and does his research right and has respect for whatever machine is ridden, there will be lesser risk on amateur mistakes. I am known to be a detail person and believe in praticed makes perfect. Though motorcycles are similar, I consider that each machine needs its pratice to perfect. Better said:

DEPUTY:
“A LOT of knowing how to ride a bike of ANY kind is the maturity of the rider. Not maturity as in age, but maturity as in HOW you ride the bike. A mature person will KNOW in advance what his limitations are and take whatever steps are necessary to get those limitations corrected or improved upon. An immature person will become a statistic...no matter WHAT he is riding or driving. Thinning”


BigDawg_03Busa:
“Remember a very old saying "you must first crawl before you walk" To take it further”

Surely, but to get to walk some babies can observe, and then try without being put up straight with help. That observation is all the research that I am doing, being put up straight with help would be all the bikes I have to ride before the Busa.

But advice is good, and sometimes makes the observation and research more concrete. It’s always good to hear opinions to come up with ones own! Thanx

[neoBusa]

sorry about that double post up there... computer froze the first time i tried, didn't think it went through!

[vladman]

I'm an UK rider, and although I posted to this board before, it was a long time ago…

I was bored at work, and decided to have a look on this board again, as I remember it being very active, and with lots of interesting topics…

I find this to be a really interesting topic.

I'm just looking to buy a Busa - again. *My first Busa unfortunately got stolen last year. *It was never recovered. *I was (and even still am), as you can imagine, devastated. *I utterly loved that bike. *I progressed to it rather quickly, but never regretted it. *My first bike was an SV650S. *I had that for 3 months, and clocked 5100 miles on it in that time, 2000 of it being done on my trip from London (UK) to Prague (Czech Republic), on my own, one month after I passed my motorcycle riding test! *Talk about crazy newbies… *I enjoyed the bike, but after that trip to Prague, I felt I wanted a more powerful machine… Little did I know I was beginning my quest for power, power, power… *My second bike was an Aprilia Falco. *I liked that bike a lot. *I did 14000 miles on it in 11 months. *In the end, I traded it in becoming fed up with the incredible slowness (and high cost) of minor parts (like rear brake brake light switch, etc.) turning up after you ordered them, as they had to (don't ask me why) be shipped directly from Italy. *And of course… I still wanted more power. *So, I traded the Falco in for a Busa, after 14 months and nearly 20000 miles of riding experience.

As I said, I never regretted that move. *I absolutely loved the Busa from the start. *Finally, I wasn't craving more power! *I had several minor accidents on it, none of them anything to do with my lack of respect for the bike's power. *If anything, I might have had a little too much respect for it, never forgetting that 175bhp quoted figure. *Still, I was learning cautiously on it, and progressively becoming bolder and bolder on it. *I took it to a couple of track-days too, and had so much fun. *I crashed at Nurburgring in Germany, but that was entirely my fault, when I lowsided it in a low speed corner because my tyres were too cold. *It would have happened had I been riding any other bike, as I wasn't too hard on the throttle going out of the corner, in fact I was keeping constant throttle and the bike just went under me mid-corner… Could've been a speck of dirt on the tarmac, combined with the too extreme lean angle for the temperature of my tyres. *I wasn't injured but the bike's front wheel was ruined (after it hit the armco), and… never mind, long story, but I repaired it all, learned my lesson, and continued enjoying the bike.

Then, last September - nearly exactly 2 years after I bought the bike (and 23000 miles covered on it), one ordinary morning I got up and got ready to go to work, and when I came down, my Busa was no longer where I had left it the night before. *All that remained was a chain I used to secure it to a metal railing, with a link cleanly cut in two by bolt-cutters. *I was so shocked that I was actually very calm and accepting of the situation.

Now finally, I am again financially capable of buying another Busa. *And I hope to get one in the next couple of days or weeks! *I can't wait to be reunited (so to speak) with my old friend - and yes, of course, I will not have lost any of the respect I had for it, in fact, I will treat it with the extra dose of respect to compensate for the fact I haven't ridden one for nearly a year now.

I agree with what several people said here, no one here is wrong - these are all our opinions. *I think my case proves that even if you're relatively inexperienced and/or new to biking, if you have a level head, and understand the risks and treat the Busa with a very healthy dose of respect, you should be fine.

Thanks for reading, and ride safe guys and enjoy your bikes, whatever it is you ride - or plan to ride !

Vlad.

Oh, I'm 31 years of age...

[BulletTrain]

I thought I'd finally add my $.02 to this thread since my views on this have changed since the last time I took part in this sort of discussion... Imagine that, ya'll were right...

Ok, some of you know that the busa was/is my first sport bike. I'd done a little street ridin' several years before I got the busa but hadn't rode on the street for quite a while. When I decided to buy a sport bike I started lookin' around. I sort of had a 12R in mind but then I saw a busa in a showroom., I sat on it and fell in love with the comfort. I'm a fat ass and the busa just fit better than any other sport bike I tried at the time.

I had no idea until I went home and Googled "Suzuki Hayabusa" that it was the #1 bad ass. When the first few links popped up and had somehing along the lines of "world's fastest production bike" in 'em, I figured I'd never be able to insure one. Well, I was wrong thanks to State Farm. So, I bought the big dog for two reasons. #1, it fit me. #2, it was, and is the sexiest muhfuggin bike on the planet! It had nothing to do with speed and power.

After I started hangin' out here I saw folks speakin' out against a busa, or any other big cc sport bike as a "first (sport) bike". My immediate thoughts were, "Hmmm, a bike is a bike. Yeah, it's the world's fastest but it only goes as fast as you tell it to.". I even threw that argument into the mix in threads where newbies asked about gettin' a busa. I even convinced myself that my argument was sound. My favorite line to add to the discussion was, "It will only go as fast as you tell it to. It won't fire up, go wide open through the gears and top out all by it's self.". Yeah, that's true, but there's so much more to it than that and I now realize that.

I've seen the error in my logic. I've learned a LOT about bikes and riding from a lot of people on this site (Thank you ALL! ) and I now know that this argument is about a LOT more than power and the potential misuse of the throttle. You could restrict the busa down to 75 horsepower and I now believe that it still wouldn't be a good first bike, or even a first sport bike.

Let me explain further. I've done some crazy fast ridin' on my busa and hit some insane speeds on it considerin' where I done it. I've come a long way with my riding skills and have become fairly confident at speed on the road. As scary as this will sound, the power and speed doesn't intimidate me at all. Aside from the fact that I don't have proper protective gear (leather) and I worry lately more than ever about goin' down and gettin' rashed badly, I'm comfortable with twistin' 'er up HARD. The busa is perfectly suited to that kind of riding so that is where my riding skills have developed.

Unfortunately what does intimidate the hell outta me lately is the low speed maneuvers and tight, low speed turns. In fact the reason I still only have a motorcycle permit and haven't taken the test for my full license is because I'm afraid I'll drop the busa in the low speed swerves required in Georgia's (and prolly most states') ridin' test. This is really startin' to bother me lately, too. Here's how I see it. If I don't think I can ride it well enough to pass the license test, do I really have any business on the road with it?

I'm convinced that had I started out on a smaller sport bike, learned low speed skills on it, and practiced them, it would have been easier to transfer the skills over to the busa than to learn them on the busa. The way it stands I'm always afraid I'm gonna drop 'er when I'm in low speed maneuvers. I've also been thinkin' that I probably would have built better skills all the way around by startin' on a smaller bike. I could prolly corner better, panic stop better, hell I could prolly do EVERYTHING better.

Hmmm, I wasn't gonna say anything about this just yet, but since we're on the subject... I've actually been thinkin' about sellin' the busa and buyin' a smaller, lighter, more maneuverable bike. Something that would allow me to easier learn low speed maneuvering and twisty ridin'. I have really gotten into ridin' the twisties and I want to learn a LOT more about that aspect of ridin. I am even thinkin' about doin' some track days eventually. I know the busa will lean and all that, but the weight of the busa, it's low speed manners, and the idea of droppin' my precious busa keeps me from allowin' myself to push my envelope in these categories and learn what I need to learn.

I looked at a new gixxer1k today. If not for the bit of experience I have with the busa and it's power I prolly wouldn't even go with a 1k. I'd prolly go with a 600, or more likely the SV650. Thing is, as you know I'm a big guy and I want to be able to get a little adrenalin rush out of my ride occasionally. I'm just afraid that a 600, or even the slightly larger gixxer 750 would feel pathetic and anemic tryin' to pull my big ass around until I drop my weight. I do still want to be able to get a speed rush occasionally. At this point, since I have a little experience with speed and power and have some confidence in that area I think maybe a 1k is not as bad of an option as it would be if I were actually startin' fresh like I did with the busa.

Anyway, back to the gixxer1k. Man, every time I sit on one and flick it back and forth underneath me I get goosebumps over how friggin' light and maneuverable they feel just sittin' still as compared to the busa. If you rock the busa back and forth you'd better have good footing and stout legs or you may just lay it over. The monentum of all that weight makes it feel like it's just gonna keep goin' all the way to the ground. That is what has me intimidated during low speed maneuvers. As I found out the other day, when it starts down, there's no catchin' it without hurtin' yerself. The gixxer1k feels like you could lay it down and pick it up with one arm. I know that's a little exagerated but there is a HUGE difference in the feel of the bikes. I can't help but believe that the 1k would be easier to learn to handle at low speeds than the busa for that reason.

So, instead of startin' small and workin' up, I may have ended up startin' at the top and workin' down, at least temporarily. I know I'll end up with another busa if I get rid of this one. It's just that I don't think I'm gonna learn what I need to know on a big bike. Readin' the wisdom in this thread by more experienced riders it seems that you guys would agree.

Does this make sense? Is there somethin' I'm just missin' here? I'd love to hear ideas that would get me past my rider's block, be it mental or real. It's really got me tore up lately. I hate to give up havin' a busa even for a short time, but the thing is I want to round out my riding skills and I don't see it happenin' on the busa.

So, I'll take my crow with a little salt, thank you. You guys were, and still are right as far as I'm concerned. Startin' smaller is most definitely a wise thing to do. There, I said it. I feel better. Now to figure out what the fug to do about my situation...

[ezekiel 25:7]

I currently have the sv650s that many seem to deem as "the" starter bike. Its a wonderful bike, I have been riding since last July and my riding skills then compared to now are night and day. I never dropped my bike, although it has been down due to a older female making a right turn from the middle lane and little me being the only vechile in the right for her to pull directly in front of. I was doing about 35 before she made her move and I hit the brakes, went directly head on into the side of her car like a T-Bone. The bike sufferd a few scratches on its left side new mirror, new forks, and new fairing and was fixed by local cycle world in no time. I left the accident with my left ring finger broken. Thats it! But the reason for my reply to first time busa buyers is because I know that I have outgrown the sv that I so love. I have looked at the R1 the CBR and the Gixer but the Busa is callin baby. As soon as i sat down on this beautiful machine my ass sreamed comfort finally! It seem to fit me like a glove. My biking experience is at about 3,000 miles right now and today was the first time I took her up and down the turnpike. WOW that was fun, but I needed a little more power and stability. Im 63 190 and when i ride my sv i feel like im on top of it covering it. When i sat on the Busa I was inside it. It just felt so right. I guess my question for you all is since I have paid my dues with the sv(i think I ll give it to my girlfriend, she has her liscenses.. so I can still ride around with it... it corners so sick..) Am I now ready for 1300cc. I think i am I just want to hear anothers opinion. Last thing has anyone ridden the 04 R1 what do you think. Cause its either going to be the R1 or the Busa. Thanks

[Mojo1094]

Hey all you psychopaths. I say that in a good way, because the way you describe the hayabusa, it sounds like a deamon, with emotional problems, and wheels.
Here's my issues. I've never ridden a motorcycle (a moped when I was younger, but that's it). I'm 24 now, and I am going back to school. Whatever, right? you don't care. But, what you may be interested to know is, i want a bike. I want a hayabusa. Yes, i have been told, and i have read that man, that would be a bad decision. But, only i know my responsibility. But, i have some questions, for instance, what are the base performance statistics? 0-60? 60-0? top speed? also, i met a guy with a suzuki RF 600 RR. (i believe.) he said it was one of the few production bikes that would do what the spedometer said, and stay stable up to 160, not get all wobbly. How does the Hayabusa stack up? Is it stable? is it a handling MONSTER? also, if you can, e-mail me the responses, because man, i don't know ANYTHING about bikes, but i am a sponge waiting to soak up info. Where can I get info?
OH, i am also totally respectful of your insight. I thought very hard about a Hayabusa. Yes, it is dangerous for an unexperienced person to ride one with no experience. I will be taking the safety course first, and i know a friend that owns a nice 650r and would be very willing to let me try it out and teach me what he knows.
Finally, I'm not looking at a new bike, i can't afford a new Hayabusa, and i can't afford a new anything for that matter. But, i found a few hayabusa's used for about 2k. I know that the plastic's for a haybusa is expensive, but i have friends that are madmen with the fiberglass, so making bodypanels and whatnot is possible.

ok, that's all i got, please help me out, i know yall will, and the more i post here, i am sure that i will become friends with some of you. i'm a very respectful guy, i just need some help. i don't trust anyone in my town, so i searched for a place where it seemed that people knew their info. Where i live, people ride with just tshirts and shorts (i saw the 'squid' forum). it scares me. i fell off the moped and nearly ended in the hospital. i was being a moron, doin' wheelies (gotta learn somehow) and i also learned how to roll when falling. it put the respect in me for these machines, and also a bug. I may only be able to afford one bike my entire life, that's why i am looking at a hayabusa now.

ok, i'm done rambling.

[hierog]

hi all, first post!! I am one of the few it seems to have purchased a Busa as my first Bike. I have been riding my dad's Kawi 1800 cruiser for a few years and decided to ride with him, but I didn't want a cruiser. I found a blue and silver 2000 Busa with 3100 miles on it for $7600 and couldn't pass it up! I've only had it for 3 days now and absolutely love it! The only thing i need to get used to is the response of the throttle, it's ready to go. I'll read through the posts and hopefully learn some things about the bike

[vladman]

Hi Mojo.

I'm sure others will reply with a more detailed (and possibly more accurate) info, but here are some quick figures regarding Hayabusa's performance for you:

0-60 - 2.8s
0-100 - just over 5 seconds
0-130 - about 8.5 seconds.

Top speed (stock - unmodified): depends on a lot of factors, like wind, surface, etc, but generally I believe somewhere between 190-198-ish mph.

It is EXTREMELY stable at all speeds (not talking about walking speeds, where its stability depends more on the rider skill).

The old (pre 2001) models were unrestricted (top speed-wise) and their speedos went up to 220mph. *However, I think it's been found that Hayabusa's speedo tended to over-read quite a lot, especially at those silly 150+ speeds, so yes, you could quite easily get the speedo to read over 200mph, even all the way and over 220mph, when in fact you'd be doing just under 200mph real speed.

The post-2001 models are restricted to 186mph, and their speedo's read "only" up to 180mph. *Therefore, I'd assume these new speedos are more accurate, but I'm only assuming this because I haven't ridden this new restricted Busa - although I'm planning to get one in the next couple of days/weeks. *Can't wait!

In the end, you will make your decision, and if you decide to go for a Busa as the first bike, good luck to you - I'm NOT saying that in a sinister sort of way - just be real careful and take it easy and take your time to get used to the bike, its throttle response and power. *You HAVE to be gentle with your right hand, otherwise, you won't last long...



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[POR15 dist]

I fully believe like most of the people on this board about working up to a busa. I have a *'01 ZRX1200 only because I have ridden many other bikes along with dirt bikes and three wheelers. If you will not let people ride your busa, why would you say it's ok for them to have their own? *It's ok for them to crash theirs but not yours? *Did you learn how to drive in your father's 427 powered corvette? Or did you learn how do drive in the family car?
Let's be realistic and not lead people into believing that they should get a busa for their first bike. Yes there are a rare few with the ability to use caution (fear) of a busa and actually live to tell of learning how to ride on one. *I won't let many people ride my ZRX because frankly, it is fast, and only has like 114 HP. *It still surprises me now and then. *I am just now thinking of getting a busa after having my 1200 since '01. If you don't trust anyone to ride you're bike, don't recommend it as their first bike.

[Big_Jon]

I have read just about ever post on this topic, its taken me about two day to do it but I like seeing everyones point.

I'm a new rider, I have been through the safty class and I ride friends bikes. Needless to say like many of you I fell in love with the busa the first time I saw it and have never looked back.

Alot of good points are made but I do have a question about size, not the size of the bike but the size of the rider. One thing that turned me toward the busa is that its a sport bike that I dont swallow lol.

I stand 6'4" and weigh in at about 320lbs. I workout and am in good shape and spend to much time at the dinner table to boot. All other sport bikes I sit on you can almost hear scream "Get off me you fat A$$" as the frame almost bottems out. But the Busa is a bike that can hold me up and I dont look like a clown on a clown bike. I've been on750's to 1000's and they just seem to work to hard to move my bulk around.

So, does this break the "First Bike" stere-type or am I still justa want-a-be?

Big_Jon

[nebraskathomas]

Hi everyone. I am looking at getting my first bike by next spring. I thought it would be a great idea to search the web for info on the Hayabusa. Reading this forum has been very helpful to myself. I am financially ready/able to purchase a Hayabusa and am still going to get this as my first bike. I know most of you do not agree but I am a very mature person. I know something like this, any bike for that matter, is dangerous if you don't know what your doing. I work very hard for my money and my things. This will not be my daily rider or anything, but just for recreation. I plan on learning/practicing on my days off work at the park/country. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone because just in reading this thread I have much more respect for this bike. I thought about getting a 600 as my first bike but I do not want to outgrow it and then have to buy another bike. I plan on paying my bike off and keeping it until it craps out, hopefully never. I am the type of person to pay the extra money to get what I want. It really works to be honest with you all. My things last longer, have better quality, and I enjoy them a heck of a lot better. Of course, I am going to do the same thing when I purchase my bike. Anyways, this is a great forum and thanks for all the useful information everyone! I respect this bike a ton and it will be my new "baby" soon enough.

Thomas

[thesnake]

GL nebraska (go huskers)!. I see both sides. As one who has ridden for many years and one who has met the pavement a couple of times, I totally back the argument the busa makes a lousy "first bike choice." It really has nothnig to do with maturity or respect, but more so experience. It takes time to learn how to handle a bike in adverse and/or unexpected situations. Riding around casually is fine for "getting a feel", but there is so much more to riding and lack of expereince at the wrong time will elad to you kissing the pavement (not something your gonig to enjoy). Having a heavy and ultra powerrful bike underneath you increased those odds somewhat. To avoid some accidents you need reaction time in fractions of a second-- this take some serious miles under different riding cimcumstances to aquire. Are you gonig to dump a bike, yes someday/somewhere it WILL happen, will your bike be dropped-- yes someday/somewhere. IMHO knowing that, means it is smart to learn the ropes on something a heck of a lot less costly. It's all about risk management...both for your safety and your cash. You have to deicde what your threshhold is. At the very least take the MSF course, get your license, and perhaps rent a few bikes for a day. In the end, your be a better rider and happy you did. Good luck, welcome to riding, and be safe amigo.

-snake

[TonynDory]

Let me just get this out of the way... *This is my first year riding, and our first motorcycle. *We bought the Hayabusa for several reasons;
Firstly, we love the look of the bike. *
It's got a saddle and passenger seat unmatched by any other sport bike. *
Unlike the 600s, you don't have to wind up much over 6 or 7 grand for decent acceleration. *
We can afford it.
I didn't want to buy a bike and outgrow it in a month.
I am very conservative by nature, and I respect the beast.
I understand the risks and willing to take them.

I completely agree that most new riders shouldn't look to the busa as a first bike, however, if you understand the risk, have the money, and respect the machine, then buy it, take the MSF RiderCourse (like I did) and be careful.



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[thesnake]

I hear ya bro--I hope you have many wonderful miles on the busa in front of you. Beauty of a bike, but lose the reflectors!

Now for the "father figure"
Your pretty new to riding let alone to busas. Would your advice change if lets say in a year or two from now, you were involved in a preventable wreck (i.e 1 = f(reaction time)) in which either you or your wife suffered major injuries (assuming your both alive)? Something to think cuz it's real easy to talk about understanding risk until it comes time to pay the piper. While your chewing on that, buy some armor protected pants and boots (assuming my eyes are correct).

father figure out....



Be safe and enjoy! You'll find this board is full of wonderful info for new owners!



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[Heavy Metal]

Quote[/b] (Deputy @ Feb. 08 2004,23:34)]Hmmm...guess I will go against the grain and disagree with the initial post. First off this thing had been debated about a gazillion times, and I don't think there IS a "right advice" or "right method" for first bike purchase. If you're an idiot rider and you buy a Busa, you will ALSO be an idiot if you buy a 125 Honda. Riding a 125 or any other bike for a year or two and then "moving up" to a Busa just means there's a delay before you are an idiot riding a Busa

If you have ZERO experience riding ANY motorcycle, or even a bicycle, then definitely you need some kind of training. I am also NOT going to jump on the MSF training bandwagon or the Code or other school recommendations. Many of those schools train you on how to drive a RACE bike on a RACE TRACK and have little to do with street driving. MSF is good IF you can get in for a course. Some areas are booked up straight through till November. I did my training in the local shopping plaza parking lot on Sundays. And learning on the bike you are gonna drive is a LOT different than learning on some powerless one-lunger and then hopping on a Busa.
On that Busa you KNOW it cost you close to $10,000 and you WILL be careful about what you do on it. Unless Daddy bought it for you

A LOT of knowing how to ride a bike of ANY kind is the maturity of the rider. Not maturity as in age, but maturity as in HOW you ride the bike. A mature person will KNOW in advance what his limitations are and take whatever steps are necessary to get those limitations corrected or improved upon. An immature person will become a statistic...no matter WHAT he is riding or driving. Thinning the herd, sorting out the wheat from the chaff, only the strong survive, there's lots of descriptions for it. But I don't think advice from anyone is really going to have much effect in the long run.

Dep

I agree with you, I am 43, I bought my first bike at 17, was a Yamaha DT-250 Enduro, did not know how to ride it at all made it @9 miles from Dealership to my home, took 20 min riding around the yard, learning how to shift and use the breaks and all. then went for a cruise. Had my spills and all on it and walked away, did not abuse it, I enjoyed it. then AT 18 got me a Yamaha RD-400F Daytona Special, BOY I loved that bike a few tickects and droppings nothing serious. Next Bike was going the be a Suzuki 1100, NEVER GOT IT... Went into the military at 21, came home a year early in 1985 and first night home SOB's came and stripped the Daytona Special(400-F), oh well got half the parts back... Have not owned one since. But do ride here and their... Now I have a '04 SE or LE which ever it is the RED Busa... It was a gift from my GF of 3 years and her kids as a fathers day gift, They saw me eyeing it at the local dealership(well a black and purple Busa). Did not like the RED as far as pics went till another local shop had a red one. Anyhow, they bought it for me... As you state about idiots their is one idiot you FORGOT to tell everyone here about... The Stupid IDIOT in the car who doesn't SEE US on Bikes, and boy theirs alot out their I see cut bikers off and all... So to you and everyone else it may not be best pick for first bike maybe not second but if you DO get one. BECAREFUL... Watch out. and Enjoy!!! I never owned a car till I was 25, bikes were all I used to drive...

[Heavy Metal]

PS I do plan to take a Refresher coarse and Advance Coarse, to be on the safe side... THE BUSA IS AN AWSOME BIKE. I liked the bike how it is styled and feel siting on it compaired to sv650 katana 600 - 750, and R1 and R6... Anyone gets on a Busa or any other bike and thinks its a toy and dogs it without taking it easy is insane. Bikes as well as it's rider should have a break in period, to learn about it. And gernerate skills in riding a bike of any kind...

[Heavy Metal]

Quote[/b] (Deputy @ May 03 2004,03:49)]Did an oil change last week and took my Busa out for the first time this year today. I've ridden my Harleys a couple of times while waiting to do the oil change. Only took a few minutes to get back into the hang of riding the Busa.

As to those who think you might "forget the Busa's power"...HA!!! If that is the case, then those people must have alzheimers and don't belong driving ANY vehicle!!
You can go down on ANY bike for a LOT of reasons.
Again...it's the OPERATOR...NOT THE BIKE...that is the weak link. With a little bit of training and experince, the Busa can be just as safe as any other bike. A nitwit riding a Busa is just as f-ed up as a nitwit riding a Honda 50. Both can wreck and do themselves and others damage.

Now where was that senior citizen home I was supposed to report to...DOH!...I forgot! HA!

Dep...age 55 in August and still riding a Busa

I have to agree and disagree, It is part Orperator, over the bike, BUT you have to also look at otehr drivers in cars, trucks etc.. who do not care or have the mentality I got a bigger vehicle why should I yield to a biker... Scarey BUT true.. had a friend, with 2 awsome bikes.. was killed when a BIMBO who was drunk decided to run a stop sign one night, she even got out of the car pissed at the biker laying dead on the ground and also started laughing as the cops came on the scene, YES!!! laughing at the biker when they pronounced him dead at the scene, he shoujld have bene in a car she said, he got what he desrved, sad and sickning huh... I was in the military at the time, brother called to let me know and all that happened... So Everyone reading this Watch out for the idiot in the car. their as bad if not worse than an inexperince motorcycle rider. Use caution and be aware of your surroudings and be alert at all times too.

[busabad]

Bottom line...an idiot is an idiot regardless of what they ride a scooter or a 'busa. An idiot has no respect for themselves or the situation they are in and thus are unable to adjust accordingly...whether the 'busa is the first bike or the twentieth...it requires adjustment. Those who respect themselves and the situation they are will adjust...
Ride safe...