Learning curve

[nitrousjunkie]

I strongly advise you NOT to push the envelope on a busa,while getting it fast isnt the problem,its getting it slowed back down when you HAVE to is where the problem is,this is a BIG bike,someone or something gets in front of you all in a sudden,or a curve that you didnt know was there will spell certain ill will on your body.Get yourself in a MSF course and then decide what bike you want to start on.

 

[NX95240]

If your smart about it, take it slow, anyone can start off on a busa. You just have to use your head..........

if people would listen to this .they would be alot better as a rider..just take it easy and donot do anything stupid..BUT 90% of people will not listen at all. the busa was my first big bike i just you can say.. BUT i have ridden alot before over these year on friends bike. that my 02.ct worth

 

[CanadienMike]

Makes me chuckle when I read of new riders (no matter what age) saying they are were ready for a bike like the Hayabusa after spending less than a year "learning" on a mid-sized motorcycle.

I won't even comment on the ignorance of getting a big bore sport bike for a first machine.

These are the people my colleagues and I consistently remove from the roads and ditches with shovels and bodybags.

Some Provinces in Canada have done the math with accident statistics and have installed programs called the graduated motorcycle licenses where new riders have to spend certain amount of riding time in 3 separate classes of motorcycle sizes. Gradually working their way up to the big bores.

All I can say to new riders is: Lighter and smaller bikes will forgive your inexperience and mistakes, bigger, more powerful and heavier ones will not usually not give you second chances.

Mike

 

[shortcut]

i had a young man delevering a new refridgerator last week that noticed my harley and busa in my garage. how long have you been riding? 45 years. have you ever layed it down? no

 

[mike04busa]

I rode dirt for a very long time before my first street bike(busa). The only thing they have in common it the controls are the same. You do learn how to use a motorcycle but there two different worlds. You have to rember you have a rocketship under you when riding and use your head.Not only can you hurt yourself but others are on the road too.10k miles this year and I love it.If I did this when I was younger it might have been different. At 34 I think I have a little more self control.But I would not mind having my fiancee's triumph 675 to ride sometimes.Seems like it would be eaiser to learn the basics or street riding on a smaller less powerful bike.When you first hop on a busa all you want to do is feel the acceleration, you can get going too fast in no time.The busa it a monster.

 

[mistaforty]

its funny cuz i preach to guys "get the 6" your good credit wont save your life on a big bike. Guys want to get the biggest and baddest just because they can afford it and i try to tell them this is not the time to apply that logic. get the 6, learn how to ride and there will ALWAYS be someone in the position youre in now ready to buy it from you when youre ready to move up. You can make mistakes on the 6 and correct them that you will pay for in pain if you make them on the 1000 or the busa. Keepin your ego in check is almost NOT gonna happen since its usually the ego thats makes the rider or is making that purchase. But some people buy to parkin lot pimp or just as a cruiser and they never even see over 100mph. So it all depends on what youre gonna do with it i guess.

 

[motogp08]

I don't think there's anything wrong with it, as long as you've got a good head on your shoulders.

 

[SANDFLEA85]

I've read a lot on this and other sites from riders that are buying 'busas as their first bike and I have to comment...

If one buys a 'busa as their first bike, they are limiting how good a rider they can become.

How?  Because pushing the envelope is how you learn, going too far could get you hurt, and the edge is a fine one on a 'busa.  One needs to slightly scare themselves on a bike as they approach a bike's limits, and once the bike is mastered (I'd say the level you need to get to before moving up is being able to use 80+% of the potential of the machine, no mean feat on a modern mototrcycle).

Every time I moved up (RD350C to GPZ550 to KZ750E to GS1100E to ZRX1200R to '07 'busa) I took most of a season to become accustomed to each bike.  Even going from the GS1100E (lightly modded about 100 hp, good for 11 flats at 120+) straight to the 'busa without the ZRX between them would have flattened my learning curve.

If someone I knew wanted to start riding today, I would recommend at least one season on an SV650 or something comparable.

What do you think?  And people that got a 'busa as a first bike are not qualified to answer, given their lack of perspective...

What do I think? I think opinions are like azzholes,we all have them and they all stink, and yes,My Busa was my first bike.

This topic is beat to death

 

[Blue1]

I've read a lot on this and other sites from riders that are buying 'busas as their first bike and I have to comment...

If one buys a 'busa as their first bike, they are limiting how good a rider they can become.

How?  Because pushing the envelope is how you learn, going too far could get you hurt, and the edge is a fine one on a 'busa.  One needs to slightly scare themselves on a bike as they approach a bike's limits, and once the bike is mastered (I'd say the level you need to get to before moving up is being able to use 80+% of the potential of the machine, no mean feat on a modern mototrcycle).

Every time I moved up (RD350C to GPZ550 to KZ750E to GS1100E to ZRX1200R to '07 'busa) I took most of a season to become accustomed to each bike.  Even going from the GS1100E (lightly modded about 100 hp, good for 11 flats at 120+) straight to the 'busa without the ZRX between them would have flattened my learning curve.

If someone I knew wanted to start riding today, I would recommend at least one season on an SV650 or something comparable.

What do you think?  And people that got a 'busa as a first bike are not qualified to answer, given their lack of perspective...

What do I think? I think opinions are like azzholes,we all have them and they all stink, and yes,My Busa was my first bike.

This topic is beat to death

As I said, since you have not owned another bike previously, you have no basis for your comments...you just can't know how much better you would be able to ride the 'busa if you stepped up to it with some previous streetbike experience.

I've been there, done that; you haven't.

 

[Casperle]

I think some can handle the Busa as a first bike and not kill themselves. I just think a smaller bike will make a better rider of you faster because you can push it harder because the bike is not so over your head and scary. Then you will pick up the control of a bike faster.

 

[IllusionalTA]

My busa was my first bike... and i progressed rather well i think, not laying it down,nor getting in over my head.. It got stolen so i rode my buddies 07 ZX10 for about 3 months...... Well that bike opened me up to a whole diff. world.. i built up my confidence in corner's and diff aspect's of handling that i never got to do w/ my busa as it was too big and quite frankly i didn't wanna dump it.. Now that i'm back on another busa, i feel the exp. i've learned on the smaller,lighter bike made me a better rider overall...so i will agree w/ your statement 1/2 way...

 

[ThunderJohn]

Ok does anyone have a Ninja 250 for sale I think I did it all wrong so I will sell the Busa and start ofer before I kill muyself.

 

[Blue1]

Ok does anyone have a Ninja 250 for sale I think I did it all wrong so I will sell the Busa and start ofer before I kill muyself.  

I'm glad there's a sense of humor present!

 

[Blue1]

My busa was my first bike... and i progressed rather well i think, not laying it down,nor getting in over my head.. It got stolen so i rode my buddies 07 ZX10 for about 3 months...... Well that bike opened me up to a whole diff. world.. i built up my confidence in corner's and diff aspect's of handling that i never got to do w/ my busa as it was too big and quite frankly i didn't wanna dump it.. Now that i'm back on another busa, i feel the exp. i've learned on the smaller,lighter bike made me a better rider overall...so i will agree w/ your statement 1/2 way...

Part of learning is getting in over your head, but just the smallest little bit over your head. If you think about the whole event later, you learn things.

When you go over the edge on an SV650 (the ideal first bike for anyone under 6' and 190 lbs, IMO) it is usually catchable; give a little too much throttle coming off a corner at 5000 rpm on a 'busa and it'll spin the tire up so quickly you'll be tumbling down the road before you even realize that you're down!

I'm not saying people can't survive with a 'busa as a first bike. I'm saying that treating it with the respect it deserves means that you creep up slower on the edge because the bike is so intimidating, and don't get the same "training" as you do on a less violently powerful machine.

 

[ibified]

Well said, Blue. That was kinda what I was trying to say earlier as well.

 

[Busa204]

I've had three of my buddies learn to ride on a Busa. Each of them had no problems. It's about respecting the power of the bike & to ride within your means. The maturity level of the person also plays a huge factor. Anyone that gets on any bike & doesn't have the awareness of their surroundings is going to get hurt eventually, doesn't really matter what bike they are on.

Living in south florida, there are tons of elderly & foreign people who don't drive well. You can't just cruise & let your guard down.

 

[CanadienMike]

I've had three of my buddies learn to ride on a Busa. Each of them had no problems. It's about respecting the power of the bike & to ride within your means. The maturity level of the person also plays a huge factor. Anyone that gets on any bike & doesn't have the awareness of their surroundings is going to get hurt eventually, doesn't really matter what bike they are on.

  Living in south florida, there are tons of elderly & foreign people who don't drive well. You can't just cruise & let your guard down.

Disagree. If I was a newb and one of those old ladies in Florida proceeded in front of me from a stop, the kind of bike I was on WOULD indeed matter. Being a beginner with limited experience, I could swerve around her much easier with a smaller lighter bike than a big bore. I don't understand how some people can't comprehend these simple facts of life and physics. It's like trying to make smokers understand that they may not die of lung cancer but they are stacking the odds against themselves. They respond with something similar to this: "Three of my buddies started smoking at the same time as I and neither of us died but a guy I know who never smoked a day in his life died of brain cancer last year".
My comments and suggestions are only for those inquiring new bikers who have an open mind and are not wearing blinders. Others can disregard.
Mike B

 

[CanadienMike]

Here a quick true little story ocurred 5 or 6 years ago: A friend of mine who I knew had learned to ride for less than a year on his first bike, a 750cc asked to borrow my GL1100 for a day so he could tour with his gf. I did, knowing he is level headed and mature. He comes back about 15min later, visibly shaken and pale. I asked him wth was wrong. He readily admitted to me that he almost ditched my bike in the first sharp turn he took. He said he just couldn't get it to turn enough and even hit the gravel shoulder. He handed the keys back. This year, after a few years of learning to properly counter-steer and confidently leaning and controlling a bike's weight into various turns he knows he is ready to move up and his looking to an F4. Moral of the story: Had he survived ditching my GL I would have finished him off myself. haha
Mike B

 

[kml]

"Three of my buddies started smoking at the same time as I and neither of us died but a guy I know who never smoked a day in his life died of brain cancer last year".

Too funny and too true!

cheers
ken

 

[BLUE_STEEL]

I had a 750 for about a month 4,500 miles. I have a Busa now. If the bike had been bigger (size wise not motor) I might have rode it longer. I only traded for the Busa because I went to the shop and sat on every bike there and at 6'6" 280lbs it was the only thing that did not feel like a pocket bike. It was almost my first bike and although I am not setting any track records I am confident I can ride as safe and have as much fun as anyone.

Hell you take a squid that has low sided a few bikes screwed the others up doing wheelies in shorts and flip flops. Then he wants to step it up and he will screw that one all up too.

Original poster; What do you think? And people that got a 'busa as a first bike are not qualified to answer, given their lack of perspective...

Hmmm lack of perspective? I don't think this is NOT an easy answer type of question and the title of the post sums it up. Everyone has different "Learning Curves"

Total 7 years riding experience 4 of them with a valid license. The first 3 years were 18 years ago as a teenager doing stupid stuff on my buddies dads bike which was a HONDA Hurricane 750. That was very limited riding at best.

My biggest issues when looking for a bike was my size, at 6'4" 280lbs I had a hard time finding a "sport" bike that wouldn't make me feel like a circus bear riding a pedal bike. Since having my bike I've gained more respect for motorcycles than my buddies on their 600's and 750's have. I'm able to tear up the twisties like no ones business, no chicken strips on my rears while some of the smaller CC riders 2-3 years into riding now still have issue with how temperamental their bikes are. The HAYABUSA is a very stable platform for a big guy, however it's not the first bike for everyone. I never owned a bike until my BUSA before that the last time I rode on two wheels was at 16 on my friends dads Hurricane 750. THAT BIKE WAS HUGE!

Dunno maybe there are exceptions to the rules

To add, I have had the chance to step down and ride smaller bikes over the past 3 years and as expected these smaller bikes were problematic for me because of the size not CC.

MATURITY is the Key here.