Straight line speed: do you ever get tired of it?

[BentValve]

Since I got my Busa pretty much every opportunity I get I whack it open and wind out several gears and take it to 160 or so...once and awhile even faster.

When I go on a ride I usually tell everyone that when the opportunity presents itself that I will be breaking away from the pack and stretch out my Busas legs.
It works out great, I do my run and then everyone catches up and we resume our ride as usual.

But its always the same thing...I get toasted in the twisties then I catch up later. I cannot usually keep up with the best riders.
Yesterday I was riding with a Ducati 999 and an 04' R1, both of these guys were knee scrapers, when we stopped for lunch I saw the damage on their pucks and was pretty happy inside when I saw this because I was not all that far behind. Still though I wish I could have kept up and been scraping my knees with them.

At one point we came across this really long stretch and both of them instantly stepped aside and waved me by.
Right then I thought...geez I am pathetic.
I actually did not really feel like it but since that was my role I went ahead and let it go, took her to 180 indicated and that was enough.

Both of these guys have fast as hell bikes yet they may have hit a brief 120 at best thru our entire ride.

Ive seen this many times, guys with fast as hell bikes yet they dont care to hit the straights hard.
But give them a corner and they are frickin on it.
Hitting a 25mph corner @ 75 is at least as dangerous
as doing a 170mph run on a straight road with no obstacles
on the roadside so its not a fear thing.

I know there are alot of people here that love going in a straight line, I am one of them but I think its something I am growing tired of.

I had fun on my fat ass Busa yesterday but when I was in the really twisty parts I really wished I was on another bike.

 

[VaBusa]

I've seen some guys hit the twisties HARD on the Busa and had nothing but grins afterwards...

Not saying that you should stick with the Busa if you're feeling unsatisfied, but perhaps a class on cornering would help enhance your Busa ownership...the beast can lean! I've seen it...it's not the cornering pro, but it surely can corner in the right hands and with the right experience...

Or, perhaps you just need a second bike...

 

[treebeard]

The Busa is a great handling bike, even with the stock suspension. Take the time to set yours up correctly. And take a Keith Code Superbike school class (or more). That's the best performance enhancer I've ever purchased.

 

[BentValve]

Uh the guys in front of me were scraping their knees, I was behind maybe 100 yards....believe me I was leaning the Busa hard.

 

[VaBusa]

Uh the guys in front of me were scraping their knees, I was behind maybe 100 yards....believe me I was leaning the Busa hard.

Well, did you scrape your knees?! You weren't leaning enough...

 

[treebeard]

I don't scrape my knees, but I wear the tires from edge to edge.

 

[BentValve]

Lol, you go right ahead, id do it on a track with the Busa but not on the street...its too damn unforgiving in the corners.

 

[MrGxr]

I ride with a Honda 929, Yamaha R1, GSXR1000, and couple of other sports bike and have no real problem keeping up with them in the twisties. My entrance speed is a little less than they are (5-10 mph) but on the exit I am usually catching them. Took me some time to get use to having my foot and knee just off the pavement and looking so far ahead to the turns exit, but once I got it down I love the twisties. Actually, I am a little uncomfortable on the lighter bikes now they don't feel as smooth/balanced as the "My Baby" when running the twisties. Sorta feels squirly for me.

 

[mjn]

I'm not as much into pure speed as I was years ago....To me its more fun to feel the accel...yea, once in awhile I whack it open and run up to 160 or so....and I think I'd miss that if it wasn't there.
I appreciate the brute power and the comfort. I have no complaints with this machine in the twisties. I know that a lighter bike would take less effort to push hard in the curves, but I won't give up the stability and comfort for anything....
My .02

 

[05busa05busa05]

i've only had mine a few months but i love the straight line speed.....here in Oklahoma we have turn pikes/toll pikes where there are no turn ins for 15 miles and very little traffic....I can't resist.....I've taken her up to the max indicated several times without even a shake/shimmy. i'm still a little nervous in the twisties (not that we have very many here), i took a few 90* that were posted 30mph at 70mph on friday afternoon and that was about it for me. gimme that torque and a straight line and i'm as happy as can be!!!

 

[CorrodedAlien]

Long straight sections are mostly boring, even @ 150...  Twisties and long sweepers are wher the busa is the most fun.

 

[expat]

Going flat out for any length of time is exhausting. I've got some great autobahn stretches between where I live and Munich and Frankfurt, and sometimes you just want to get home quicker. Wide open for more than a couple of minutes wears you down, and takes all the fun out. Give me twisties (even if I'm not the fastest) any time.

On top of that, anyone can take the 'busa up to wide open in a straight line - just look at all the squid threads on here lately. Real skill shows itself in the curves.

 

[vincebusa]

I know exactly what you mean.I always ride with a pack
of 1 k and i live surounded by mountains.So sold my beloved
03 busa to 05 1k.

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Put a set of good tires on it and you can do the same thing,really! The busa handles better than you think, follow I think it was jinkster wo posted up a "how to set up suspension" thread.NJ.

 

[bronc3]

I get some kind of sick satisfaction as I watch a Nextel Cup race and realize I go faster than most of them on public roads on a very regular basis.

 

[BentValve]

I'll tell you why I started this thread...every time I take the bike up to 160+ I wake up the next day feeling like I would
as if I got drunk and end up sleeping with some nasty ho.

I guess I am scared...I need to stop doing high speed runs on the streets..once in a while is ok but not every time I get on the bike.

As far as the Busa goes for cornering...I should clarify that for the most part I can keep up on anything above 35mph....but give me a couple of 15s and 25s and the liter bikes are gone. I feel like having to catch them in the straights is cheating.

Its the entrance , I just cannot get her over fast enough..I am forced to do these corners @ slower speeds. I know there is alot of room for improvement on the Busa and in the right hand it could keep up with any bike. I dont really want to have to struggle.


MJN, you owe it to yourself to try an 05' Gixxer 1K out, I think youd be surprized just how comfortable and stable the bike is.
I could easily take the bike on a trip like the one we did..I think you could to.

 

[BusaWhipped]

I can't keep up with the group I ride with in the twisties either. It has nothing to do with the Busa. I ride where I am comfortable and let them do the same. It's not a race, and I'm not competing with them. I usually put myself at the back so I'm not slowing them down in the curves. Of course, they do not have to wait for me to catch up once it straightens out a little

I guess the bottom line is that I have a great time carving up the twisties at my own pace. I don't need to be faster then anyone to have fun. I was at the scene 2 years ago when someone crippled themselves trying to be faster through the twisties. That didn't look like much fun to me.

 

[BentValve]

Its not so much about speed as it is fun , id love to be able to enter a 25mph corner faster and be able to lay bike over with less effort...not to necessarily keep up but just to add a little more fun to my own ride. I dont try and keep up either if I did id probably already be dead. I go at my own pace no matter what. Sometimes I am just not feeling great so I take it even easier.