Deviousbusa
Registered
I bought my Hayabusa in November and of course...we had one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record here in N. Virginia. To make things worse, this spring has been cool and the roads had quite a bit of cinders on them as well. I have ridden when I can over the winter however, as everyone knows, winter is not the time to really enjoy the bike in terms of carving up turns.
Now, I have loved the Hayabusa since I bought my first bike back in 2004 which was an R6 so, when my friend bought his and let me ride it well, I was instantly sold on it! What is funny is I stumbled on a deal shortly after riding his that I simply could not say NO to!
This past weekend was the first weekend I had the time to go on an all day ride and finally put this beast to the test in some turns. I've toyed around with the power and know what the bike can do in a straight line however, I am more into corners and after riding my friends the first time, I had confidence that this bike had a hidden talent for chewing up corners.
The ride...we set off early around 8:00am and headed out west to escape the busy roads and traffic. We rode about 1.5 hours on the highway and finally reached our destination which consisted of very curvy roads in the mountains. The first time up we took it easy since we did not know if there were cinders or other debris (it rained the entire previous week). However, once we knew the roads were clean, we decided to have some reasonable fun. On the second run I let my friend lead and we were both easily tearing up the corners...at any given time I could have ridden them with my knee down however, I honestly try to avoid that type of riding. What put a smile on my face was just how effortlessly the bike handled and how well it held the line I set it on. Not once did the bike come off line and the throttle was absolutely perfect in terms of response. A few times I trail braked into some turns just to see if it would push and it did not. I will say that you do feel the weight however, if manage correctly it is a non-issue.
Compared to my race bike which was a 600 I would say that the two key differences would be first the power/speed that the Hayabusa is able to achieve so quickly and the weight coming hard into corners. Now, I am saying that I what would differentiate them on a race track, on the street I never push beyond 20% of my riding ability which, to some people is thought of as "fast". Trackdays, I ride to about 80% which puts me towards the front of the advanced groups and of course, in races I'm at well over 100%. I believe in giving myself a large buffer in case I have to adjust my line or something else were to happen on the street so while I am not full out bouncing the rear tire into turns, I am not exactly riding very slow. I plan on taking my Hayabusa to the track to play around on however, I can tell that the two adjustments would be geared towards the speeds and the additional braking needed to compensate for the top speeds compared to my R6 race bike. Why? Well, I tend to brake very very late and trail into turns...as most advanced riders will tell you...we ride either on the brakes or on the gas...no coasting. So, on the Hayabusa, I think the same method could be used however, I do not think I could go as deep into turns as I normally do because of the higher speeds and additional weight. The Brembo brakes do an amazing job and I did NOT notice any fade. I think some steel braided lines would do wonders as would a softer pad however, the stock setup is one of the best I have ridden on any bike. My next upgrade will be steel braided lines and the Galfer organic street pads, they work very well and offer a consistent feel.
So...after this weekend I am in love even more with this bike. I think hands down it is my favorite bike minus my R6 on the track in terms of racing. The suspension, brakes, and absolute wonder of a motor makes this bike one of the easiest bikes I have ridden. I think the biggest caveat is tracking the speed since the Hayabusa easily hits triple digits which can get you into trouble on the street if you are not careful.
In summary...after nearly 400 miles and some very twisty roads, mountain roads with switchbacks, and some back roads with nice long sweepers, I have put this bike to the test on the streets and the Hayabusa gets an absolute A+. On the long very windy ride back the bike was very stable and only moved a few times when the winds picked up quite a bit however, it was not like some 600's where you would have to lean the bike to keep it on the same line. Of course, the secret to riding smoothly in windy weather is to keep the arms loose which is made even easier by the Hayabusa's aerodynamics. I was comfortable the whole ride. I did have to stretch out my legs a few times due to the sitting position however, we rode for around 7 hours total and I was fine when I got home. The high winds did move my helmet around so my neck was a little stiff however, that is more due to the helmet than the bike itself. One other beautiful feature is the ease of power in any gear at any time. It is funny watching the bike lunge forward in 6th gear at any speed...downshift? Ha...that is for the bikes of mere mortals...the Hayabusa is clearly on a different level.
I hope my long post is not annoying! I really think the Hayabusa is a special bike, the reputation it has for being fast is based on truth however, I think the bike also deserves some recognition for the incredible handling it has. How a heavy bike can handle like a middle weight bike is magic...I am convinced there is some sort of spell cast over these bikes which allow it to simply do everything nearly perfect! The last item I will write about is how amazingly smooth the throttle response it. Again...at any speed this bike is linear and never falters even to redline (if you dare). I do not know if any bike that has the ability to provide such a precise and smooth throttle response. This allows the Hayabusa to handle stop and go traffic with ease while making performance riding far more predictable.
Hats off Suzuki...you have created something very special which I know everyone here realizes!
Now, I have loved the Hayabusa since I bought my first bike back in 2004 which was an R6 so, when my friend bought his and let me ride it well, I was instantly sold on it! What is funny is I stumbled on a deal shortly after riding his that I simply could not say NO to!
This past weekend was the first weekend I had the time to go on an all day ride and finally put this beast to the test in some turns. I've toyed around with the power and know what the bike can do in a straight line however, I am more into corners and after riding my friends the first time, I had confidence that this bike had a hidden talent for chewing up corners.
The ride...we set off early around 8:00am and headed out west to escape the busy roads and traffic. We rode about 1.5 hours on the highway and finally reached our destination which consisted of very curvy roads in the mountains. The first time up we took it easy since we did not know if there were cinders or other debris (it rained the entire previous week). However, once we knew the roads were clean, we decided to have some reasonable fun. On the second run I let my friend lead and we were both easily tearing up the corners...at any given time I could have ridden them with my knee down however, I honestly try to avoid that type of riding. What put a smile on my face was just how effortlessly the bike handled and how well it held the line I set it on. Not once did the bike come off line and the throttle was absolutely perfect in terms of response. A few times I trail braked into some turns just to see if it would push and it did not. I will say that you do feel the weight however, if manage correctly it is a non-issue.
Compared to my race bike which was a 600 I would say that the two key differences would be first the power/speed that the Hayabusa is able to achieve so quickly and the weight coming hard into corners. Now, I am saying that I what would differentiate them on a race track, on the street I never push beyond 20% of my riding ability which, to some people is thought of as "fast". Trackdays, I ride to about 80% which puts me towards the front of the advanced groups and of course, in races I'm at well over 100%. I believe in giving myself a large buffer in case I have to adjust my line or something else were to happen on the street so while I am not full out bouncing the rear tire into turns, I am not exactly riding very slow. I plan on taking my Hayabusa to the track to play around on however, I can tell that the two adjustments would be geared towards the speeds and the additional braking needed to compensate for the top speeds compared to my R6 race bike. Why? Well, I tend to brake very very late and trail into turns...as most advanced riders will tell you...we ride either on the brakes or on the gas...no coasting. So, on the Hayabusa, I think the same method could be used however, I do not think I could go as deep into turns as I normally do because of the higher speeds and additional weight. The Brembo brakes do an amazing job and I did NOT notice any fade. I think some steel braided lines would do wonders as would a softer pad however, the stock setup is one of the best I have ridden on any bike. My next upgrade will be steel braided lines and the Galfer organic street pads, they work very well and offer a consistent feel.
So...after this weekend I am in love even more with this bike. I think hands down it is my favorite bike minus my R6 on the track in terms of racing. The suspension, brakes, and absolute wonder of a motor makes this bike one of the easiest bikes I have ridden. I think the biggest caveat is tracking the speed since the Hayabusa easily hits triple digits which can get you into trouble on the street if you are not careful.
In summary...after nearly 400 miles and some very twisty roads, mountain roads with switchbacks, and some back roads with nice long sweepers, I have put this bike to the test on the streets and the Hayabusa gets an absolute A+. On the long very windy ride back the bike was very stable and only moved a few times when the winds picked up quite a bit however, it was not like some 600's where you would have to lean the bike to keep it on the same line. Of course, the secret to riding smoothly in windy weather is to keep the arms loose which is made even easier by the Hayabusa's aerodynamics. I was comfortable the whole ride. I did have to stretch out my legs a few times due to the sitting position however, we rode for around 7 hours total and I was fine when I got home. The high winds did move my helmet around so my neck was a little stiff however, that is more due to the helmet than the bike itself. One other beautiful feature is the ease of power in any gear at any time. It is funny watching the bike lunge forward in 6th gear at any speed...downshift? Ha...that is for the bikes of mere mortals...the Hayabusa is clearly on a different level.
I hope my long post is not annoying! I really think the Hayabusa is a special bike, the reputation it has for being fast is based on truth however, I think the bike also deserves some recognition for the incredible handling it has. How a heavy bike can handle like a middle weight bike is magic...I am convinced there is some sort of spell cast over these bikes which allow it to simply do everything nearly perfect! The last item I will write about is how amazingly smooth the throttle response it. Again...at any speed this bike is linear and never falters even to redline (if you dare). I do not know if any bike that has the ability to provide such a precise and smooth throttle response. This allows the Hayabusa to handle stop and go traffic with ease while making performance riding far more predictable.
Hats off Suzuki...you have created something very special which I know everyone here realizes!
