Is the Hayabusa right for me?

[MikeSomething]

My 1st bike, no experience riding whatsoever...
I'm 6'7" and 260lbs... Love it.
It's only as fast as u twist it. And yes, I'M MAN ENOUGH.

 

[blusmbl]

Respect the power and it'll be fine. Mine is my 2nd streetbike, and 4th motorcycle total. It's still less scary to ride than my CR500.

I am also around your size (6' 4", large) and with the buell pegs + handlebar risers and helibars, it's pretty comfortable.

 

[bazooki]

I'll go against the tide here and say no, it isn't the right bike. Maybe you're super responsible and won't ever be tempted to hammer the throttle, but since I don't know you, I'm going to lump you in with the majority of guys who itch to ride a sportbike. The Hayabusa can be a very forgiving machine, but it stills blows me away every time I ride it. See, it compresses the space/time continuum man; **** happens really fast, and I'm a firm believer that solid riding experience helps you deal with aforementioned ****. Riding a 750 Shadow (while a great bike in it's own right) in no way preps you for the orgasmic (yeah, I said orgasmic) thrust the Busa can lay down.

Listen, I'm 6'4" and I understand the monkey humping a football thing. But I practiced what I preach and started 20 odd years ago on a 500 and gradually moved my way up the scale. There are lots of great bikes out there that will fit you as well or better than the Busa (Bandit, ZR-750, etc) and, more importantly, get you some seat time that will translate "mo bettah" to the Happy Bus.

+100

The Busa is not a beginner bike. You aren't that large that you wouldn't fit on a lot of different bikes and I would recommend working your way up to a bike with this kind of hp. You aren't likely going to hear from many who made the "Busa as a beginner bike mistake" as they won't be on this forum after hurting themselves. Just my .02.

 

[Fate]

my 06 is for sale

 

[AJAY]

If the Busa fits you nicely, but you are concerned about the power (and you should be, even if you've got YEARS of riding experience)... take a look at the Suzuki Katana, later year models are better.

The dimensions of the Katana are almost identical to the Hayabusa. The 600 Kat will be underpowered for someone as big as you, but the 750 Katana would not be. The plus is that the Kat is a lot cheaper and not as intimidating power wise, but will blow a Honda Shadow into the weeds power/acceleration wise. (we just sold my wife's Shadow last week.)

I moved from a 600 Kat which I had owned about 6 months (bike number 14 for me) to the Busa. What immediately struck me was that the Busa felt almost exactly like the Katana, but with actual power. The suspension bits on the Busa are significantly better than on the Kat, but the bikes feel and fit the same. That's because they have nearly identical chassis specs (wheelbase, fork rake, trail) and the Busa only weighs about 30lbs more. Seating position on the two bikes is almost identical.