Hello, friends.

[Fuup]

Hello! I do not currently own a Hayabusa, but I certainly will one day. I'm actually considering getting one right now, but I can't reasonably have more than one bike so I had a few questions for you experienced fellows to see how you weigh in on it. To give a bit of context, I'm a simple guy and have a few "dream" bikes. The Hayabusa is on the list, but I need to be practical since my bike is my ride.

I live in Ohio, and it can get pretty damn cold here at times. I need a bike that can handle cold weather riding and doesn't suck in the rain and stuff, but I don't have it in me to get a bike that doesn't have at least a little bit of bite to its bark lol. I've mainly been looking at Sport Tourers like Concours' and FJR's (and even Goldwings) but I was wondering how the ole 'Busa works out in cold, nasty weather? How are they for touring? I'm not too concerned with storage, though it's nice if it's available. I imagine they do great as far as stability and whatnot goes considering how they are heavier and have all that power. How's the wind protection on longer trips or colder days? I've never ridden anything with a full fairing so the wind exhaustion is really starting to get to me. Is the seating position bad? I don't have the best back but as long as it's not god awful or there are some easy mods for it it shouldn't bother me too much.

tl;dr I want a bike I can have a lot of fun on (since fun riding is 95% of my riding), but also can be a practical bike for all weather riding and some light touring (since it's also my ride lol)

Anyway, I'm gonna browse the forums and see what it's all about. I did a quick search so I hope I didn't miss anything too relevant, but I'm interested to hear from y'all anyway... Thanks for your time, nice to meet you and stay safe.

[HayaWakened]

Up until a month ago, the Busa was my only transportation; was commuting about 300 mi/week, all-weather (but SoCal all-weather), so I can only comment on the bike being a satisfying daily commuter in a relatively mild mix of elements (this will quickly become a tire choice discussion). I'm mid 60's, under 6ft, and have never minded the OEM riding position. Others will comment here on how to mod for comfort/touring. I do maybe a couple of long-distance tours (1,000 mi+) per year.

So, with stock ergonomics, I find the bike perfect for commuting/touring. Because the majority of my runs are also fun-rated, I shortened the OEM sprocket gear ratios by just one tooth (up front). I've also refused to mod the bike for luggage - makes for an unsightly package, as you'll see, but the bike doesn't seem to care.

I've always yelled loudly about how versatile this bike is. Very minor DIY mods allows this bike to become a canyon bike, a tourer, commuter - all of its configurations barely challenging the bike's power. I want a bike that can do triple digits in 2nd no matter how I've set it up. Why I ride a Hayabusa

Hope this helps and good luck with your purchase!

[Fuup]

Hope this helps and good luck with your purchase!

Dang, you should be a salesman! Haha, thanks so much for the reply. I'd heard quiet rumblings of the 'Busa's versatility which is what brought me here, so you've no idea how happy I am to hear that it appears to hold true and that it's even further customizable for comfort if desired.

I've never cared too much for a high top speed personally, never gone over 120mph and don't have much desire too. That 0-100 speed though, man that acceleration is addictive and it don't get much better than the Hayabusa. So to have something I can have such fun on but also have a nice reasonable ride is definitely hard to beat. That settles it, I'm gonna have to get ass in a saddle and see how it feels. I'm waiting til the colder months to actually go all in (since that's the only way to really tell lol) but the busa is going right up to the top of the list!

Also, that video is really cool. Seems like it just eats up the road wherever you point it.

[Bumblebee]

There are a few members here who turned their Hayabusas into decent sport tourers... @c10 has a well set up bike...and one to emulate as a sport tour bike.

Hayabusas can be rode slowly or fast, it likes both equally. Load it up with bags and a passenger and it will go all day happily enough-it can be demanding to ride after a while however.

If I was hunting for a true sport tourer out of the box, any of the bikes you mentioned would be good as they have better fairing protection and can get better windshields for further protection. Some of those even come with factory heated bars...

[BlueBacon]

tl;dr I want a bike I can have a lot of fun on (since fun riding is 95% of my riding), but also can be a practical bike for all weather riding and some light touring (since it's also my ride lol)

Look at users: Pashnit, c10, HayaWakened, etc. All have done distance or comfort mods to deck out the rocket. No matter which gen you get, you will want to upgrade several things right off the bat just for comfort/rideability (seat, windshield, rear seat, brakes, etc) so I would shop around first if you're buying used. Other than a ZX-14, I'm not sure of another bike you can take cross country and then rip out on a dragstrip the same day

If I was hunting for a true sport tourer out of the box, any of the bikes you mentioned would be good as they have better fairing protection and can get better windshields for further protection. Some of those even come with factory heated bars...

This is a very valid point. If you are getting a Busa and wanting the "creature comforts" of a Goldwing, you are going to have to jerry-rig it up and it gets expensive. I've ridden mine bonestock for an 8hr daytrip 4 times (FL-TN and back)…never doing that again!

[c10]

Stay away from c10's garage . Might cost you lots of money . I have mega miles on ST1300 , FJR1300, goldwings all years from 78 gl1000 to the last gen before the front end change . Even the C14 .
Hayabusa makes the biggest smile for ME.
Followed by FJR . St beats the C14 in mybook as C14 is heavy poor fuel economy low sized fuel tank for touring and hardest to service of all named bikes here .

[c10]

I was buying parts before owning one over 5 years ago .

[Mythos]

If going fast is your thing, it will be fun and fill the bill for your practical riding as well. I never rode my busa when it was really cold but the ZX-14 is a hotter running bike and that will serve you better if you intend to go out in the cold. The busa gives off some heat too but not like a 14. I doubt any sportbike will protect you from wind in a normal riding position like a cruiser with a big fairing and windscreen.

[Bumblebee]

You can always get one of these and put winter tires on it, they have outlets for heated gear already. If you plan on riding in very cold weather, any two wheeled motorcycle will be at risk-the contact patch is small and can only do so much to keep you out of the ditch or into the side of a car.

Then pick up a cheap sport bike for the warm riding months...

[Klutch556]

SW Ohio here broski!
I personally went with the busa because of how versatile it is. You can, with minimal mods turn the busa into a phenomenal long distance touring machine and still stay sporty.
mom top of that with its low rpms it stay pretty quiet with stock pipes.
another great feature iseven when in higher gears it still has PLENTY of ass to pass or gtfo of the way of something.
i will note that many will say its “too much bike” I’ve found there’s really only two kinds of people sayin this. Those who own one and don’t want others to own one so they get more attention and those who have never owned one and think you should start on a 250.
Long story short, the busa is versatile as hell and can do anything from Moto gp, to drag, to street race, to daily commute, to long touring with pretty minimal mods.

[Fuup]

Wow! The response I've gotten from you guys is actually amazing. Thanks so much. I'm actually historically a cruiser guy (not a "Harley" guy, mind you, though I've had em) so this is a whole new world to me in general. Most fun bike I ever had was my v-rod. Not crazy fast but it could smoke some stock 600's off the line and hit 60 in just under 3 seconds once I put the stage 1 on it. Only moved on cause it'd seen better days and I could see the money hole that was comin'. It certainly "awoke" something in me though haha! Didn't realize how practical power could be before that, honestly. It got me out of a few sticky situations and made me feel much safer on the highway.

I figure rather than get me another v-rod, I could go a step farther and maybe even be a bit more practical about it. Always been interested in the Hayabusa's since I first sat on one while browsing for my first bike. I always thought they seemed like they'd make good touring bikes, being bigger with decent wind protection.

Anyway, I'm rambling lol.

Then pick up a cheap sport bike for the warm riding months...

I actually have one! Got it for my mom, but it's there for me to ride whenever I so desire and I will if it gets icy out and I'm desperate for some breeze, but it's just not the same haha. I'm not too worried about ice honestly, I have enough sense to not expose myself to outright dangerous riding. And hell, the roads are so damn bad here the constant, random gravel is probably more dangerous than the ice.

SW Ohio here broski!
I personally went with the busa because of how versatile it is. You can, with minimal mods turn the busa into a phenomenal long distance touring machine and still stay sporty.
mom top of that with its low rpms it stay pretty quiet with stock pipes.
another great feature iseven when in higher gears it still has PLENTY of ass to pass or gtfo of the way of something.
i will note that many will say its “too much bike” I’ve found there’s really only two kinds of people sayin this. Those who own one and don’t want others to own one so they get more attention and those who have never owned one and think you should start on a 250.
Long story short, the busa is versatile as hell and can do anything from Moto gp, to drag, to street race, to daily commute, to long touring with pretty minimal mods.

Same! I actually don't live too far from Cinci. I definitely agree with what you said about starting bikes. I could have started on my v-rod and been fine. I think the hardest bike to start on would be one you can't pick up haha. If power is your problem that's usually not a learning issue, I've found (or you simply need more practice, I've seen Rebel 250's teach some seriously bad habits since they're so forgiving). Granted, I wouldn't wanna start on an H2 lol. You basically listed exactly what's so appealing about this bike to me, though. It seems like such a good "only bike", since it can handle whatever you throw at it.

I'm taking everything you all are saying to heart, it's so cool y'all are out here like this.

[Klutch556]

If ya ever wanna ride broski hit me up, I’m bout 20 min north of cinci. I don’t care what you ride

[Fuup]

If ya ever wanna ride broski hit me up, I’m bout 20 min north of cinci. I don’t care what you ride

Damn, you around the Middletown area?

[Klutch556]

Damn, you around the Middletown area?

Yessir

[rubbersidedown]

The theme to your posts seems to be cold weather riding. The Busa is not a cold weather bike,nor is it a hot weather bike.Sorry,its just ain't. Goldwing and Harley FLHTCU or similar are. They offer the most wind protection.
The only way to beat severe cold is to dress for it. Heated clothing is the best answer. 17 layers works too,but arriving at your destination and spending half an' hour getting undressed to be comfortable is a drag.
Sometimes its just too hot or too cold to ride. That's reality. You mentioned you're not to worried about ice and that you feel gravel is more dangerous.Good luck with that.
Heated grips. Unless there is something new and remarkable on the market,those grips are too thick for my liking and the same with thick gloves.You lose feel for your controls and hand fatigue sets in sooner the larger the item your trying to grip is. Some guys get out the ski suit. Warm and dry for sure.In the event that body meets pavement...the nurses will be scrubbing melted plastic out of your skin.
I will ride in the cold,I live in Canada. I wear my thick track leathers,with 1 extra layer over the top of that for wind and cold.Heated jacket and murino wool underwear if necessary. I wear a Shoei RF1200 helmet because it has a Pinlock visor option.Those visors are available for other brands,but not all.They are anti-fog. Buy a crate of small heat packs.Use 1 for each boot,1 for each glove.(last 8 hours) Costly but warm and you can wear regular boots and gloves and not mukluks and seal skin mittens.
Good luck in your hunt for a cold weather bike...just my opinion,but the Busa is not it.
Rubb.

[Fuup]

The theme to your posts seems to be cold weather riding. The Busa is not a cold weather bike,nor is it a hot weather bike.Sorry,its just ain't. Goldwing and Harley FLHTCU or similar are. They offer the most wind protection.
The only way to beat severe cold is to dress for it. Heated clothing is the best answer. 17 layers works too,but arriving at your destination and spending half an' hour getting undressed to be comfortable is a drag.
Sometimes its just too hot or too cold to ride. That's reality. You mentioned you're not to worried about ice and that you feel gravel is more dangerous.Good luck with that.
Heated grips. Unless there is something new and remarkable on the market,those grips are too thick for my liking and the same with thick gloves.You lose feel for your controls and hand fatigue sets in sooner the larger the item your trying to grip is. Some guys get out the ski suit. Warm and dry for sure.In the event that body meets pavement...the nurses will be scrubbing melted plastic out of your skin.
I will ride in the cold,I live in Canada. I wear my thick track leathers,with 1 extra layer over the top of that for wind and cold.Heated jacket and murino wool underwear if necessary. I wear a Shoei RF1200 helmet because it has a Pinlock visor option.Those visors are available for other brands,but not all.They are anti-fog. Buy a crate of small heat packs.Use 1 for each boot,1 for each glove.(last 8 hours) Costly but warm and you can wear regular boots and gloves and not mukluks and seal skin mittens.
Good luck in your hunt for a cold weather bike...just my opinion,but the Busa is not it.
Rubb.

Well, at the end of the day I'll ride anything in the cold. I rode a Honda Shadow and a Harley Sportster all last winter and I am here to tell the tale. I'm less concerned with if the Hayabusa is good with cold weather, so much as I am concerned with how good it is. I'm looking mainly for a bike that's fun to ride but I'm also trying to consider all angles this time and with the cold months coming up it's worth talking about that. Like you said, I'd just grab a Goldwing if that was literally my only consideration (which I actually am considering, btw. I love Goldwings lol). It's why I'm also considering a Concours, FJR etc. I'm going for as much fun as I can get with my practicality haha. I usually just wear a welding suit over top of some warm clothes. It's nice because since they're coveralls you can just take em off and toss em in a saddlebag or something (or just wear them, since they don't look goofy, get hot though if you're in them for too long).

In regards to ice and gravel, all I was saying was that I know when not to ride and if I'm avoiding icy days then the crappy road conditions + gravel around here ends up being more dangerous.

Can't get answers if you don't ask questions! I'm still certainly on the fence about it all. I appreciate the input regardless. I'm definitely going to try the Busa and see how it works out. Hopefully the dealer will let me just do a bit of an extended test ride when it gets colder so I can get a good idea. If I end up feeling like the FJR or Concours might be a better option for my needs I may just go that way.