What would you do to your Busa for $5K

[sixpack577]

Extremely pleased with my Hayabusa. It's amazing. I tend to overnight when I can, so legit hard bags would be nice.

Otherwise, I always thought that fancy new body work / paint on the 20 year old steed would cure me of any "new bike" madness.

I'd like to have some better gear too. A proper, brand new, set of leathers and carbon helmet. That would be sweet.

View attachment 1700535

Go with the gear over the hard bags.
And if you do buy hard bags, make sure that you look at them closely in person if possible, and decide if they will do what you need them to.
Hard bags are great, but at the same time, depending on what you plan to put in them, they can limit storage vs soft bags.
Soft bags on a rack work well(not so much without a rack), and soft bags stretch and can allow you to stuff in some things that don't fit in hard bags.
I like a hard top case and soft side bags, as I've had both on othet bikes.
As said, stuff in what you need in the soft bags, but then you also have the ridgid top case, which is a little easier to access things from.
I know you've spent Alot of time prepping and planning what you pack, and probably have that all down to a science by now...just make sure you can fit it all in hard bags.

[LC4CARL]

Go with the gear over the hard bags.
And if you do buy hard bags, make sure that you look at them closely in person if possible, and decide if they will do what you need them to.
Hard bags are great, but at the same time, depending on what you plan to put in them, they can limit storage vs soft bags.
Soft bags on a rack work well(not so much without a rack), and soft bags stretch and can allow you to stuff in some things that don't fit in hard bags.
I like a hard top case and soft side bags, as I've had both on othet bikes.
As said, stuff in what you need in the soft bags, but then you also have the ridgid top case, which is a little easier to access things from.
I know you've spent Alot of time prepping and planning what you pack, and probably have that all down to a science by now...just make sure you can fit it all in hard bags.

We 'Busa riders are very, uh, "cerebral..."

[LC4CARL]

Actually, I think you have come up with the ultimate solution: Several motos in one garage.

I feel fortunate to be able to park two cars and one moto in our three stall garage. I do miss my shed though. So many seasonal things that consume garage space nine months of the year.

I thought about one of those storage units, but the boss said no.

[sixpack577]

Actually, I think you have come up with the ultimate solution: Several motos in one garage.

I feel fortunate to be able to park two cars and one moto in our three stall garage. I do miss my shed though. So many seasonal things that consume garage space nine months of the year.

I thought about one of those storage units, but the boss said no.

Yeah, I've multi-purposed many a bike over the years, but it is nice to have 2 or 3 bikes that are really different, and each has it's own purpose that it excels over the others in.

[LC4CARL]

My LC4 "bagger."

20 years later, I have escalated my game.

Well. Maybe not...

[mabupa]

Extremely pleased with my Hayabusa. It's amazing. I tend to overnight when I can, so legit hard bags would be nice.

Otherwise, I always thought that fancy new body work / paint on the 20 year old steed would cure me of any "new bike" madness.

I'd like to have some better gear too. A proper, brand new, set of leathers and carbon helmet. That would be sweet.

View attachment 1700535

You can always get some aftermarket fairings and hang the OEM on the garage wall.

[LC4CARL]

You can always get some aftermarket fairings and hang the OEM on the garage wall.

I hope to do that someday.

[CBXRider]

Suspension components I suppose. It’s fast enough as it is but the suspension could always use some high end pieces.

[Tony Nitrous]

Today I took my imaginary $5k to a Suzuki dealer to see if there were any deals going on the old DRZ-400’s before the new DR-Z4S arrives.

He argued they will get snapped up as being noticeably cheaper than the new version.
I argued they will sit unsold due to the new version.

No imaginary $5k was handed over towards one.

[Tony Nitrous]

Actually, I think you have come up with the ultimate solution: Several motos in one garage.

I feel fortunate to be able to park two cars and one moto in our three stall garage. I do miss my shed though. So many seasonal things that consume garage space nine months of the year.

I thought about one of those storage units, but the boss said no.

It’s something I take pretty seriously.

I hate seeing stuff left outside in the sun, rain, hail, wind etc.

When we moved house last one thing that was high on my list is everything has to go undercover.

My neighbour bought acreage next door, but has never lived in the country. His ride on mower, his tractor, all 3 cars etc etc are all just left in the paddock.

I won’t even leave a wheel barrow out uncovered !

[Dai.]

It’s something I take pretty seriously.

I hate seeing stuff left outside in the sun, rain, hail, wind etc.

When we moved house last one thing that was high on my list is everything has to go undercover.

My neighbour bought acreage next door, but has never lived in the country. His ride on mower, his tractor, all 3 cars etc etc are all just left in the paddock.

I won’t even leave a wheel barrow out uncovered !

We have some generational farmers around us that do exactly that and they ain’t cheap equipment either.

We built our 26m x 8m shed before the house even had the slab laid down, can’t stand seeing what you’ve worked hard for getting ruined by the weather.

[Bumblebee]

It’s something I take pretty seriously.

I hate seeing stuff left outside in the sun, rain, hail, wind etc.

When we moved house last one thing that was high on my list is everything has to go undercover.

My neighbour bought acreage next door, but has never lived in the country. His ride on mower, his tractor, all 3 cars etc etc are all just left in the paddock.

I won’t even leave a wheel barrow out uncovered !

We have some generational farmers around us that do exactly that and they ain’t cheap equipment either.

We built our 26m x 8m shed before the house even had the slab laid down, can’t stand seeing what you’ve worked hard for getting ruined by the weather.

Lots of motorcycles used to sit uncovered all the time in the single barracks parking areas on the base.....if they didn't get swept up by the snow plow in the winter, you'd see their mirrors sticking out of the snowbank come spring......

Then the owner would wonder why they were having problems.......

A couple guys were smart and bought enclosed trailers and stored them in there...we had a winter trailer storage area on base and they'd put their trailers there....

[sixpack577]

Today I took my imaginary $5k to a Suzuki dealer to see if there were any deals going on the old DRZ-400’s before the new DR-Z4S arrives.

He argued they will get snapped up as being noticeably cheaper than the new version.
I argued they will sit unsold due to the new version.

No imaginary $5k was handed over towards one.

Have you ridden a DRZ400?
I had one, and with every possible mod that you can think of....and it was still slow.
The real killer for me any many is the 5 speed transmission...as it really needs 6th.
A friend of mine bought a new Honda CRF300ds about a year and a half ago...and other than having non-adjustable(junk) suspension...it blows away the DRZ everywhere else.
It's a 6 speed, and cruises easily at 70mph, vs the DRZ's engine, which is screaming at that speed.
He also had a CRF450ds, and other than having high maintenance and an awful seat, is a fantastic street dirt bike.
It'll cruise at 80mph, and probably hit low to mid 90's.
Or, there's the DR650ds, bigger and heavier, but better in every other way.
The new changes to the DRZ400 don't appear to be anything special either.

[Tony Nitrous]

Have you ridden a DRZ400?
I had one, and with every possible mod that you can think of....and it was still slow.
The real killer for me any many is the 5 speed transmission...as it really needs 6th.
A friend of mine bought a new Honda CRF300ds about a year and a half ago...and other than having non-adjustable(junk) suspension...it blows away the DRZ everywhere else.
It's a 6 speed, and cruises easily at 70mph, vs the DRZ's engine, which is screaming at that speed.
He also had a CRF450ds, and other than having high maintenance and an awful seat, is a fantastic street dirt bike.
It'll cruise at 80mph, and probably hit low to mid 90's.
Or, there's the DR650ds, bigger and heavier, but better in every other way.
The new changes to the DRZ400 don't appear to be anything special either.

Yeah, ridden a couple. They suit what I’m after and what I like.

# Suzuki.
# brand new.
# doesn’t need to be high tech or class leading.
# a proven design with a long history.
# lighter than the 650, that’s not available new here.

I have endless fire trails and gravel roads here to explore at a leisurely pace, I just fancied another new Suzuki to do it on. I’ve owned stuff from old DR’s, TS, KDX and a few others before. Not fussed if I don’t buy anything, I just thought the DRZ400E would be nice to have in the shed for a change occasionally. Its comparison to the alternatives wasn’t a big deal to me. I’m very comfortable owning older design Suzuki’s.