The lead up to your Big bike ........

[Ozboc]

Greetings all - i am really looking for honesty in this reply from you. My progression to the Hayabussa has been a long time coming meaning that i started out when i was 14 on a cr80 doing motor X then progressed to 250 then 500 then so on and so on ... Its only now with 20 + years of riding experience that i am riding the king of bikes ( as far as i am concerned) Previous bike to this was a 900 fireblade

I have met guys at work and in the street that have only just riden for maybe 1 - 2 years - and they tell me there next bike will be a 1 litre bike OR a busa ( from a lams rated 250 ) i tell them -- NOTHING OVER a 600 - but they wont listen - and this scares me .......


so with that said --- what was your progression -- are you a 30 + person JUST got your full license after the short upright course and jumped on a big bike -- or have you had 10 + years before going to the larger capacity bike ......


Boc

my previous bikes -- CR80 CR250 XR 250 VF500 CR500 CRF450 Fireblade900 - present 2000 Busa

[Tony Nitrous]

37 bikes over 28 year untill the Busa and B-King.

[Rev004]

A very good point that you have raised and yes it certainly sends alarm bells ringing for myself as well. I did some motorcycle instructing here in WA and couldn't believe the number of people that were coming through just as a formality to get there big bike licence and then going out to buy the lastest ute bute fantastic and they didn't know jack and I'm only an Average Rider

Any way have had a number of bikes as I grew up in the country ranging from a 80 to CR250 for the dirt. Road -- VT250, VF 500, VFR 750, GSXR 1100WP 7 and then the Might Busa.

I believe that working your way up to a big bore is a smart way to go....

[Volvi]

My opinion based on around 40 years with bikes, is that we are seeing many newbies killing themselves on powerful machines that they are ill prepared to handle. I am a strong believer in "road experience" and not just from a car. I realise not all riders are at fault nevertheless its road experience and anticipation that helps the maturer and more experienced rider survive. The newbies just dont have this. As a rule I always advocate that one wanting to ride a busa or high powered machine should have at least 5 full years of "bike" road experience preferably attending some courses for riders. And for those 5 years a 600 or 750 should be tops. Just my opinion.

[Madmax]

+1 Volvi. 250 - 600 series or even 750 then a litre then a Bus.
Of course in the early days that the older generation of riders here were riding we didn't have access to these rockets the kids do now. If we could have would we have?
I did the Raliegh moped at 12yrs to a GT550, Kwack 1000, Kwack 1300 (Monolith) Kwack GPZ11s x 2 , FJ1100, FJ12, GSXR11 (96) and I'm on my third Busa.
Watching the young kids over at the Canberra Riders, they are having silly prangs on their little bikes and surviving. We have prangs on our Busas and people die.
One of my girl friends got off her GN250 onto the same GSXR11 that I had against a lot of advice from the then Suzuki List that we had on the net. She had a series of slow really silly prangs and was smart enough to get off it onto a 600 series Trumpet, which she still rides 10 years later and hasn't had a prang on it.
Inexperienced riders on these things have to be very very switched on to survive and smart enough to ride them with respect most of us have for them.


Max - off the soap box.

[crumpy]

39 years of riding started on BSA Bantam the big one 175 then dirt bikes for 5 years then got a taste for power 750 waterbottle lol 75 bikes later a busa (same bike twice)still enjoying it.

[1300hayabusa]

Owning and riding bikes is a life learning test and if this is done hastly and steps are jumped in this process the end result with todays power house bikes is a lethal result.Alot of 50+ guys and a few gals (super inheritors) are going out and purchasing these power plants because they are the fastest and best looking bikes with the perception that they can still ride because ten years ago they rode a 500 or similar and never got on another bike again until recently....that =injury=possibly death.Safe riding to all.

[BUSGO]

Like Volvi, I have nearly 40 years of riding.
I started on a Suzi GT250 and within two years I was ramming around on a brand new Laverda 750SF. The best possible bike that I could afford.
I did fall off the 250 3 times in the first year and learnt my lesson well.
I could not even start to estimate the number of near misses over the 40 years.
I have been extremely lucky and continue to be by being totally alert and switched on whenever I am in the saddle. Otherwise, I'd be long gone.

[Ozboc]

A very good point that you have raised and yes it certainly sends alarm bells ringing for myself as well. I did some motorcycle instructing here in WA and couldn't believe the number of people that were coming through just as a formality to get there big bike licence and then going out to buy the lastest ute bute fantastic and they didn't know jack and I'm only an Average Rider

Any way have had a number of bikes as I grew up in the country ranging from a 80 to CR250 for the dirt. Road -- VT250, VF 500, VFR 750, GSXR 1100WP 7 and then the Might Busa.

I believe that working your way up to a big bore is a smart way to go....

Thanks for all the replies guys -- im happy its not just me that made the slow transition ,

Rev , you also had the Vf500 - I had the Candy apple Red and white one - cant remember the year - which one did you have ?? this was my first road bike and i loved it


Boc

[pan]

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works, but although I agree starting with smaller bikes IS safer, it really depends on the individual...

I'd never ridden bikes as a kid.
I'd never ridden in my 20's.

I started in my early 30's with a LAMS Honda VT500 in 2003... for 3 months, sold it, then got my Busa....

I've now had my Busa for 4 years... no prangs, no tickets. I ride almost every day to and from work, and though I've had a few near misses, I've always allowed enough of a "buffer" (RTA Stay Upright Training word) to avoid a prang.

Luck has a little to do with it as well, though I remember talking to blokes like Busgo and Franko when I first started with the Busa... I listened to their advice and have done training and taken it reasonably easy, though I also do drag racing occasionally and track days more regularly.

I also ignored the advice of some "self-appointed experts" that are often offering advice on the street and on this board. It's usually easy to pick the bad advice. It tends to be long-winded.

I'm an example of how it can work out okay... (so far ), though I'd still hope my kids don't ride large bikes until they are much older.

[RaZ]

each to their own I think...

gpx250, RGV250sp, RD250, FZ750 & then the busa.

Took a long time to be able to ride the busa fast tho, like years.

[spamanglenn]

Started riding road bikes about 5 years ago.zzr250 then vfr800 after about 6months then bought a busa about 2 years ago.Did superbike schools,stay upright schools etc very early on before i knew it all.Loved the vfr to bits but rode dads busa on a track day and was seduced by the grunt and its similar braking and handling to the honda.Done heaps of track days in the past spent a few years dragging now and still think its healthy to get the butterflys of what if, whenever i climb onboard.I suppose its a fine line between trusting in your abilities and the bikes and staying alert enough to react in an emergency.Grateful to not have had it go pear shaped yet and not being able to get out much and stay sharp allows the nerves to creep back in sometimes.I,m sweet in a straight line though.

[larra]

sarted riding at 9 y. old (a small moped),normal size moped then a100cc kawasaki, 400 honda,fj1200 yamaha x2, kawasaki zzr1100 and then the busa

[DjPete]

Started on dragsters when I was 12. My nickname used to be peterzawackidoawheelstand as I used to be able to go on one wheel for blocks and blocks. Hasn't helped me today though!
My brother had a Kawasaki 750 Triple. I used to sneak his keys and get out on that when I was about 14. His girlfriend had a Honda 125 or something so I would also get out on that.
Then he got the big Honda cb750 four. I would also sneak that out.
Then he got a BSA 650 Lightening. Unreal sound. I never got a ride on that always pillion. :-(
I had a Suzuki TS250 for L's.
Then onto my bros old 750four
then straight up to a Katana 1100.
Wrote that off due to lack of experience in my opinion although not my fault.
No bike for 2 or 3 yrs after that.
Then onto a GSX1100e (Best bike I have had...cost me $1100 and went like a dream)
Then the Busa.
Didn't even know what one was until I read up on it.
Bought it straight up, no arguments...I knew it was the chosen one...:-)
Must admit I was a bit nervous after what I had read about the Bus.
I thought it would be this uncontrollable beast but to be honest I didn't feel any huge scary difference. Its been said before that the Bus does it all very calmly, I think thats true.

Total offs in 35 years.
3 (4 if you count dropping the bus in dirt pushing it backwards at Jindy...pls don't remind me!)

What I have learned.
LEAVE SPACE FOR ERROR.
Expect the unexpected.

Too much information?
rotfl.

Don't ask Rev to answer this one...we may be here all night...he's had a few like you Nitro.

[evilRasp]

10 years of riding on the road for me, got the 'busa in my ninth and I honestly admit when I bought it I wasn't ready. But when people make the usual "that's a dangerous bike" comment, I just point out the bike is only fast if the throttle is twisted. There's only one person that can twist that throttle. Did 5 on a 250, 4 on a 650 and I still have the 650.

I've stopped riding with some groups because there simply are too much ego present (and I sometimes had the red haze come over my vision). I've got nothing to prove, I have an idea of my limits, and the race track is the place to push them. Kudos to anyone who gives respect just for being on two wheels, not how much a hoon someone is.

But one thing I've noticed with newer riders is that as a 'busa rider I'm able to speak with a little authority about what "really fast" is. And that I still own and enjoy riding my SV650S. I normally succeed in convincing newer riders that the one litre bike is just too much for most riders, and will often take my 650 just to prove one doesn't need raw power to be fast.

But I love my 'busa all the same. It forced me as a rider to make an effort to understand bike physics, and I love the way the bike feels when I'm in the groove. It's a refined lady who knows exactly how to remind me of my proper place. Bit like my last girlfriend...