So I got my Hayabusa and took it for a couple of rides over the weekend. When I told people that I was going to jump on a machine that had twice the horsepower of their car the understandable reaction was that I was going to die within a few weeks. After riding it I can only say it is really easy to ride. There are no big uncontrollable and unexpected big power surges. If you were to pull back the throttle you could probably kill yourself quite quickly, in the same way as putting a loaded gun in your mouth could be life threatening.
The riding position is a bit of an issue for me. The only way to describe it is that you’re crunched up like a ball tucked in behind the fairing. Not so easy for a man of my years but it’s a real thrill to ride in this position. I’ve always ridden in a more upright position and I’m not used to this more sporty pose. My biggest problem is getting my right leg onto the leg support. I’m going to have to practice yoga to get my naff leg doing what I want it to do. Once the old leg is in position then we’re away. I managed about 60 minutes without stopping. I suspect it will get easier after a few weeks.
For the first 1000km I have to keep it under 6ooo rpm. The guy at the bike shop suggested I ride it with the restricted ”C” mode which I’ve moreorless done most of the time 
. I still managed to do 180 kmph on the Autobahn without any problems. Tucked up in my ball position. the fairing did an excellent job and wind wasn’t really an issue.
On my car’s speedo 100 kmph is at 12 o’clock. On the busa it’s at 9 o’clock. I noticed you can be riding along thinking you’ll only doing about 60 kmph when in fact you’re doing over 100. You really don’t notice how fast you are going.
I really wish I had started riding bikes like this 10, even, 20 years ago. There are so much fun. I feel I’m a bit old for the sporty riding position now. However, I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world. It’s a dream come true for me and a real honour to be riding such a wonderful machine.
All hail the busa.
April 5, 2011 at 6:15 pm |
Took it for another spin today. The riding position a lot easier. It seems to corner better than my old bandit. Really enjoyable ride this evening.
I’ve read a lot of comments on different sites about how ugly the bike is. Personally I really like the look of the bike.
I’m a happy biker at the moment. Quite wait to open her up a bit.
April 25, 2011 at 4:49 pm |
I’m still very impressed with Hayabusa. Suspension and brakes are excellent. Rented a GSR 750 while my bike was having an oil change. I really noticed the bumps in the road and how much more time I needed to stop. Jumping back on the Busa it was lovely smooth ride and the brakes really sharp.
I took the Busa up to 240 kmph on the motorway. I was following a Mondeo and he was still going strong when I decided than at 240 it was highly dangerous and zero fun. I can say the Hayabasu is not king of the motorway. A lot of cars seemed to be zooming passed me at 20kmph plus.
I’ve also noticed it’s not much fuin riding around town on the Busa. It’s too heavy for zipping in and out of traffic. The GSR 750 was perfect for this job for nipping around town.
I love riding the Busa along quiet country roads. It’s a real joy opening her up a bit. Basically you get umlimited power. It’s great. You just keep twisting the right hand and she just keeps accelerating. You can just ride her around at normal speeds and it’s really easy to ride. You just have the added option of unleashing a monster load power in blink of the eye. An element of self-control is required.