For young riders, a tiered licensing system would be an excellent idea. High levels of testosterone and mega-hp make for a toxic mix on the streets. Handing a 18 year old male a 130 + hp motorcycle for his first bike and expecting him to exercise throttle control is like asking him not to ogle the girls at the beach. Now if you're 30 or older maybe you can twist your wrist a little slower and won't need to prove your manhood every time you hop on the bike. Too many kids are crippled or dead because they said they could handle that type of power responsibly. Besides, they're invincible......it will never happen to them.....yada yada.
It was always fun watching the guys get on the track for the first time, doing all they could do, going so fast and dragging that knee. They were flying........or so they thought until an experienced racer came flying around them twice as fast through the corner and then reaching out and touching them. You could almost see the brown spot forming on their leathers.......point being......many people think they have the ability to master any high horsepower machine they hop on, but few take the time to really learn the capability of the bike they ride or have any clue about their own riding abilities and unfortunately that can mean the difference between an enjoyable day riding or very bad riding experience when the unthinkable happens in front of you.
Do me a favor. . .Don't generalize ALL teenagers as stupid, immature, and irresponsible. When I was 18 I was plenty responsable. Don't believe me. . Ask my parents and every other adult I was around. They will all tell you. How do I know this, because they have all told ME and others around me that am, and was, A LOT more responsible than most ppl my age. (I'll be 21 in a few months) I never thought I was invincible. . . While my friends were off doing something "death defying" I was the one sittin back goin, "Y'all are stupid". If you have enough of a brain to know that this thing could kill you at a moments notice before you can even figure out what's going on and that you had better respect it if you want to live, then you can be perfectly fine on one.
I'm not sure where you get the "stupid, immature, and irresponsible" inference from, but let me apologize if thats the way it read.
I salute you and anyone else that is young and can control the urge to show off or try to impress the ladies or their buds on a bike.
Just because almost anyone can learn to ride the busa as their first bike does not change my opinion that the busa is not the best choice starting out learning the necessary skills that might save their life on the street.
I "personally" would feel like an irresponsible parent giving my 17 year old daughter a busa to learn on as a first bike or my 19 year old son a 500 hp Corvette for his first car. Maybe they would do fine BUT IF something happened to them then I would feel like I had been neglegent in my parenting responsibilities.
No flames intended to anyone......just presenting my opinion and only mine.
