Is the Busa right for me?

[C420sailor]

Hi all! I'm in the market for a new bike. I've been riding for six years now, and I've had a 2005 CBR1000RR for the last three years. I love the bike---great power, braking, stability, looks, etc. My only gripe with it is that the riding position becomes painful after about 50 miles, especially on straight roads. I'm only 22 years old and I'm in shape, but I start to get knee pain, my ass hurts from the hard seat, and my legs cramp. I'm a fairly tall guy (6'1", 200lbs) with long legs. It's never been an issue because I avoided riding the bike longer than 50-60 miles, but with gas prices now, I can't afford to take the truck out constantly.

I'm going to be moving to Florida for Navy flight training soon, so I'm going to need a bike that is comfortable enough for good distances on the superslab. It needs to have a lot of power, good handling, good braking, and be comfortable. I sat on a new 08 a few months back and it felt very nice. The dealer obviously wouldn't allow test rides. I've ridden a ton of bikes including the CBR1100XX, but I've never ridden a Hayabusa. I'm sure it'll have more than enough power for me. Do you guys think this bike would meet my comfort needs?

Thanks in advance,

Ryan

 

[fsusux]

Welcome! You can make it suit your needs. There are a TON of comfort mods available for the Busa.

 

[OZZY]

seeing as though you have soome decent riding experience, i dont think you would be wrong goin with the busa! the only thing is the braking that you might not like. while i is more than adequate in stock form, a simple mod to stainless brake lines with HH pads will have you stopping like a champ! id say go for it!

 

[cobravenom39]

I'm in the same boat as you, same experience and I wanted the same things (I have bad knees, too)

I won't ride anything else, now.

 

[Professor]

I've put quite a few miles on a XX and it's little brother the Interceptor. If you liked the comfort on the XX you should like the Busa. The busa ridding posistion is not quite as comfortable, but much more so than the CBR1k you are riding now. It should be an easy transistion for you. If not there are a few simple mods to help. Changing to TLR or Buell foot pegs will gain some leg room. Cheap bar riser solution 3/4 to 1-1/4" are out there, as well as Genmar and Helibar's (cleaner looking, but more $$)

 

[Mr Bogus]

I've put quite a few miles on a XX and it's little brother the Interceptor. If you liked the comfort on the XX you should like the Busa. The busa ridding posistion is not quite as comfortable, but much more so than the CBR1k you are riding now. It should be an easy transistion for you. If not there are a few simple mods to help. Changing to TLR or Buell foot pegs will gain some leg room. Cheap bar riser solution 3/4 to 1-1/4" are out there, as well as Genmar and Helibar's (cleaner looking, but more $$)

I am not a big fan of the stock seat myself... I have Corbin goods but the Tobin is pretty popular (I do not like the loss of seat height from Tobin, but he will do one without the step if you ask) The Corbin is somewhat higher priced as well.

 

[RC Randy]

I've put quite a few miles on a XX and it's little brother the Interceptor. If you liked the comfort on the XX you should like the Busa. The busa ridding position is not quite as comfortable, but much more so than the CBR1k you are riding now. It should be an easy transition for you. If not there are a few simple mods to help. Changing to TLR or Buell foot pegs will gain some leg room. Cheap bar riser solution 3/4 to 1-1/4" are out there, as well as Genmar and Helibar's (cleaner looking, but more $$)

I'm currently riding the XX and also an 02 Busa. I have a small frame (5'9" 155Lbs)compared to you, and for me the XX is more comfortable on long rides, with just afermarkets seats on each bike, and no other mods.
The Busa puts you more out in the wind, and is a little farther of reach to the bars for me.

As far as performance,of course the Busa wins. It makes the XX feel like a 600cc bike down low, although when wicked up the XX is no slouch. Another thing the Busa has that the XX doesn't is decent suspension. The XX is a lot smoother vibration wise, and also not as abrupt with throttle control off idle, making it easier to ride smoothly

There are a lot of bar,peg,seat, and windscreen mods available, and what works for one, may not be right for you. Compared to your RR both bikes will much more comfy on longer rides.

 

[Aceshigh]

I'm going to be moving to Florida for Navy flight training soon,

Pensacola NAS ??

I was stationed at NTTC Corry Station right down the street for awhile in my
intel training skills. I think you will really enjoy Pensacola. The strip clubs
are alot of fun out there. Beaches are awesome.

As far as the bike goes, really I didn't like my '03 Yamaha R6 for long rides
so I upgraded to the Hayabusa because of the wider seat and it just plain felt
like a Cadillac next to the anorexic seat on the R6. As for long distance, I
am not a fan of being hunched over for TOO long, so I think every person is
different on how long their bodies can sustain a certain posture. There is no
golden rule of thumb here. Myself......I've never done more then a 2 hour ride
on my Busa and when I get off, my legs get REAL stiff after awhile. Back stiffens
up, etc, but it's nothing a stretch out won't cure.

So really if you're getting this for long distance cruising, ANYTHING will
be more comfortable then the skinny Liter bikes IMO.

I'm 5'11 190lbs.

 

[C420sailor]

Awesome, thanks guys. Even just sitting on one in the showroom, the pegs are much better and the seat is 100x more plush than the 1000RR. The RR's seat is awful---like a sheet of plywood. I'm going to start looking around for some good prices on an 08.

And yes, I'm going to NAS Pensacola. I report for API on August 15th!

Ryan

 

[yeti]

As someone stated above, I don't think you can go wrong with the busa. I'm 6'6" with a terrible left knee and a bad back but I can ride all day on my busa. The only thing that has ever bothered me was my knee on an all day ride but I just stretched it out a little while riding and it felt better after that.

 

[megawatt]

....so I'm going to need a bike that is comfortable enough for good distances on the superslab. It needs to have a lot of power, good handling, good braking, and be comfortable.....

Power - Well yes the Busa has a lot of power so you should be good there, until the mod bug hits and you want MORE power.

Handling - You said "good" handling not "perfect" or "razor sharp" handling so you should be good there.

Brakes - The Busa has good brakes in stock form and for about $150 for front brake braided lines and upgraded pads you can have much better brakes. So you should be good there.

Comfort - Your coming off a liter bike, you will be a hole lot better there. And you can get things like double bubble wind screen to deal with the air flow since your tall, pegs and risers to make even more room.

Sounds like you should already be on a Busa, whats your delay?? j/k

 

[Strife]

+1 Sounds like you are a candidate for a Busa. Like said there is Mods you can do to bike to increase its comfort.

 

[Strife]

Oh was half expecting to see another one of those busa for my first bike threads. Am glad to see it wasn't.

 

[TallTom]

I'm 6'6" snd a fogey. I had the same problems initially. An hour and I was looking to get off of it. I did the Toben Seats (The best money spent on comfort of all of them), GenMar Risers, and Buell Peg swap. I can go for 5-6 hours now no problem.

The bike cruises here in Fla, in sheer comfort compared to what you are used to. It's big, stable, and stays where you put it and wind does little to shift you around.

I assume Pensacola is where you are headed? I-10 is the most boring stretch of road you can possibly find in Fla.

 

[dbf82]

Once u go Busa u don't go back

If u happen to still be in Pensacola in a year, my wife is getting stationed at Eglin AFB after her tour in Korea. Maybe we can ride man