How smooth is the Busa at the top end?

High-Gain Busa

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I have only has my Busa up to 138 according to Mr Garmin and if it wasn't for the max record on the Garmin I don't think I could tell anyway. The only road I dare do this on is lightly traveled... even by law enforcement. Unfortunately it is north and south and the wind coming over the mountains can be nasty. At that speed, my helmet is shaking so bad I can barely see the needle plus my eyes are about 50 years old and that close in vision is worthless.

I can't imagine another 50mph unless I have a tire out of balance but this thing is not smooth. I am getting a double bubble to see what a difference that makes but as this stock shield just isn't doing it for me.

Do you experience the same?
Have you had your tire balance checked?

What has prompted this is the post by Boosted: "The combination of the lower seat and higher windscreen is an unbelievable difference in wind protection. My wife took a blast up the interstate 180+ she says and with just a little tuck absolutely no wind"
 
I had mine to 170mph indicat. last week and the prob wasn't the bike but the wind which began to make my glasses vibrate so much that I couldn't see where I was going
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I'm not a regular at these speeds but reckon the wind is the same for everyone and just stick to quick bursts as sutained high speed runs like this requires the road to be clear for literally miles which isn't often the case round here.

The std screen is fine for me as the double-bubble versions make the Busa look a bit to sports tourer looking for my liking and if I wanna trundle along I wheel the Beemer out for that
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The bike is very sable at speed. The rider may not. There are many things that can influence how you feel on the bike at speed. How snug is your helmet? Vents open or closed? How is your body positioned? Do you ride on he ball of your feet or the valley? Elbows tucked in ahead of your knees or overlapping them? Do you slide back in the seat or ride close to the tank? How far down to the tank/gauges do you get your head/helmet? All of this is without even talking about rider weight/height...

It's always better to sneak up on the speed. The more often you do it the more comfortable you'll become.

A short story:
On my buddies first 200+ mph run he pulled into the pits and was in a state of panic. He was so pumped up from it all but was very nervous stating that the bike didn't feel right and, and, and... My first question to him was what were your rpm's? He was shocked by the question, saying how could it even be possible to notice something like your rpm's when you're going so fast and how all he could do was hold on as best as he could. Later after a few more runs he was able to tell me his RPM's. He also said that bike seemed to settle down more. That told me that he was becomming more comfortable at speed.

The more often you do it the more you'll be able to improve yourself and feel more comfortable. Everything seems more stable once that happens.
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I have the Suzuki double bubble and I get a nagging buffeting right at my collar bone area if I slump any at all. If I keep my head up its good but relax a little and its there. When I first got the Busa I couldn't see the very tops of the gauges with the stock screen (I am 6'3") and I knew I wanted the taller screen. But since I have added Helibars and got a new helmet. So I have changed the ergos on the bike and with the new lid have wondered what I need to do to correct. I think I may try another screen that's taller than the Suzuki DB and see what that does. It gets expensive experimenting with $90.00 screens to get the fit right. Any tall guys having a buffeting issue with the K8?
 
Pretty smooth for me, but at 5' 8" and 180lbs. I can tuck a little deeper into the bike. Feels good, but would like a new windscreen anyway like a Puig DB on my 02 1k. The wind pushes my helmet into my face and the windblast hits the shoudlers on up with the stock windscreen while upright and cruising. So a DB is what I am looking for.......
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i took the bike to work last week going 170 miles an hour end up missing my exit , damn thing was so smooth i forgot where my exit was.
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i'm not sure about top end yet but i will say doing 110 on the highway felt like i was doing 60... i see trouble ahead with mr lawman
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I just replaced the stock screen with a Puig smoked this past weekend. Had the bike up to an indicated 160mph, it really made a big difference. I also got a Shoei X-11 helmet a few weeks back. It's unbelievable how well the helmet slips through the wind at speeds. No more helmet buffeting. As far as the bike goes, it's always been rock stable at high speeds.
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Solid all the way to the peg.

I'd have my bike looked at if mine did that.
 
My Story.
I did 135mph with a Shoei X-11 on and my head was getting buffeted like mad. Then I realized I was sitting forward on the seat...slid back so my head was not in the stream of wind coming off the windscreen and the bike is magically smooth as silk with no head buffets at all. I have a few runs to 180mph indicated on track days and the bike is rock solid. You do get moved by gusts but that is the rider/bike as a unit. The bike is awesomely stable and predictable at speed. I make every effort to lay on the tank at speed.

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Yep, lay on the tank, slide all the way back, a good helmet, double bubble, pull your elbows in, ride on the balls of your feet. Should be smooooooooooooth.

I've had mine at 150 and felt like 60. I could've gone faster, but the end of the bridge came up on me pretty fast. I didn't want to risk traffic or cops.
 
I hope it is OK to comment here since my Busa is an 05 but here goes. I have a camera mount on my bike that I have taken lots of video with. I was showing one to a friend one day and got to a point where I said that's what 160 looks like. He said that looks like doing about 80 in a car. I said hey dude look at how fast the white lines and telephone poles are going by. He replied that he wasn't talking about the speed that he meant how smooth it looked. Not enough o's to describe it. This guy doesn't ride a bike of any kind.
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I've gone 185mph with mine a bunch of times with an objective eye, and I've noticed at 150, the winds are starting the shake me. It gets more aggressive the faster I go. I tried the same thing with my track suit, and it sooths the problem up till 163 or so, but then same story when going faster. I haven't gotten it, but I hear the Puig windscreen will help the problem as well.
 
I had mine to an indicated 190 and was still pulling. Very smooth.

As others have said with riding position,you need to tuck eveything in and down(make yourself as small as possible).

You may have a helmet that is too big as well. I had that problem for many years. I finally got fitted from an Arai rep. It made all the difference in the world.
 
192 indicated with yes, the infamous TRE...only time I turn it on. And yes, I was comfortable enough to look...quickly! W/out the TRE on I got 185 indicated. So IMO it works for this purpose. My helmet is on the tank and you must look through the windscreen to reach these speeds. So for you guys with the dark tinted or painted wind screens you can forget it. You better be able to see where you are going at these speeds.
 
A related story that perhaps some of you may enjoy (or learn from)...
My first trip to Maxton several years ago was with a nitrous ZX12. After finishing my licence runs, I was able to open-er up. I was still nervous about the shutdown being my rookie outing, so after going through the timing lights, I sat up as straight as I could just like the GP guys do at the end of the straights, and used my body and (mostly) head as an airbrake. DON'T even THINK of doing something so stupid. I almost broke my nose as my helmet smashed into my face, and set up some kind of crazy harmonic occilation kicking my head back and forth at about 300 Hz. I had a headache for the rest of the day.
Smooth at speed is a relative thing.
 
Not a good idea to sit up at 200mph. This guy's glove caught the air at 208 and procedded to blow him off the bike.
 
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I've had all four of them pegged and always felt that the bike was under control. The only wind problem was the noise. It sounds like being in the exaulst of a jet engine.
 
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