Bullet, never will I say that luck didn't save my arse when things got too hot for me. Nor will I forget to give my gratitude to the angels that rode with me to pull my behind out. Have I had my drops? Sure have. Have I came close to eating it bad enough not to be alive to type this? Sure have! And when I meant close I mean "reach my right hand out and can touch the aluminum barrier after crossing the right shoulder line at 155 mph into a sudden left bank" close, or "zero inch close as I rode at 65 mph with my right side physically leaning up against some jerk's dark blue Ford F350 because he decided to close gap on me" close. Luck plays a big part, but as my odometer steadily moved from the 3 miles off the showroom floor to the 12k, I like to imagine the luck ratio got smaller with it and the skill part got larger with that too. But there's still plenty to learn.
You started on a busa yourself, so do you regret it? I hope not!! Being a survivor of losing your virginity to a busa yourself, I would think you would be more encouraging, not discouraging.
Some people gravitate from a "smaller" bike to a busa, some people were meant to start on a busa, and some people will never be able to ride a busa. It's up to the individual to do some serious thinking, re-examination of self determination, and decide which one of those category one falls in.
That's my point. I don't think ANYONE who starts out their riding career on a busa can say they never had luck pull them through. What's sad is the unknown number of folks who can't come here and post because they didn't survive the busa as their first bike... and the ones that are maimed or crippled because they started on the fastest bike in the world and didn't have the skills to handle it. Not everyone comes out as lucky as you and I did.
One of my most memorable "incidents" on the busa was this time on Cheaha Mountain in Alabama. I was on a clean, dry, sweetly smooth section of fairly new asphalt that I had already been through one way and was coming back through. I had scouted the road so I knew it was good for a nice high speed blast. What I didn't know was that in the few minutes it took me and my riding partner that day to get to the dead end and back to this particular straight a quick rain shower had apparently crossed the road in one spot and dampened about a 50 foot section of it. I couldn't see that from the beginning of the straight so as soon as I came off the last corner that exited onto it I blasted.
Just as I reached 100mph or so I hit the damp area and the rear tire spun up and kicked Train sideways a little bit. I knew enough not to let off so I kept it twisted up. Thanks to luck and a huge portion of Grace she slowly straightened back up with only a small tail wiggle when she hooked. This was still fairly early in my busa experience so I had no idea how to handle that, other than the fact that I'd read somewhere not to let off the gas when it's sideways. The end result was a nice long blackie on the road and a nice deep brown mark in my drawers. Do I even need to say what COULD HAVE came out of that? A highside at 100+ could have been the end of me and very likely would have been the end of at least my ability to walk, talk, feed myself, wipe my own butt, etc...
Now, had I been on a 600 I highly, HIGHLY doubt that the rear tire would have spun up. Just wouldn't have been enough torque there to overcome the traction limits I don't think. Nor would a 600 have reached 100+ by the time I hit the damp spot unless I had really carried a LOT of speed through that last corner. In another light, I doubt I'd have even been so tempted to rail that straight had I not been on a busa, but on a smaller, less powerful bike.
I learned a lesson that day and by luck and pure Grace of God it was an "easy" lesson. The line between the easy lesson and having it turn into a hard, and possibly a final lesson was thinner than a fraction of a human hair, and had nothing to do with skill. Knowledge, and trust in that knowledge played a small part, but only because panic didn't override it, which is where the luck and Grace came in. I can't sit here and claim that I didn't panic because I knew what to do. I had read what to do, but had no inherent confidence in the fact that it would work. I had no idea what was going to happen to me while the bike was screamin' and sideways. Panic was just as likely as keeping my head, I simply lucked out.
Like you, I'm at a point that I believe skill plays a larger part than luck more often than not. I'm at a point that I don't feel like a monkey strapped to a missle anymore. It would be easy for me to say, yeah, I survived the busa as my first bike so anyone can. I just can't do that though. I don't think it's fair to lay it down like that to a newbie without explaining that luck could, and likely WILL be the deciding factor in whether or not they survive it regardless of how controlled and mature they think they are. I thought from the beginning that I was mature and controlled enough to do it. Now that I've been there and done that I honestly think luck and Grace is all that pulled me out of a LOT of stupid runs.
Do I regret starting on a busa? Yes. Without a doubt. I wish I had started on a 600 at a maximum and took some track schools from the beginning instead of plopping my butt onto one of the world's fastest machines and teaching myself how to ride. I honestly think that focusing on the rider, ME, first would have made my busa experience even more enjoyable than it was. Don't get me wrong, everyone that was on this board when I had Train knows I had a blast on 'er. I don't regret owning a busa, I just regret not learning to ride and tune a bike (mainly suspension wise) before getting one. I didn't do the busa full justice and in turn she couldn't do me full justice. So yes, I regret not working my way up and concentrating on ME before going for the big bike.
In your last paragraph you say that some people will never be able to ride a busa. I couldn't agree more. That's a huge reason why I say that no newbie should start on one. I know we all like analogies so wrap your head around this one. Would you find out if flying was for you by strapping yourself to a Patriot Missile? For the ones that can't and will never be able to ride the busa, they'd have about that much control over their destiny. Can you, with clear conscience, honestly say that trying to start on a busa is a good idea knowing yourself that the guy may never be able to control it and could die, or be crippled forever as a result of trying it? I can't.
I know that we could kill ourselves on ANY bike. Even a pocket bike. However, I think we also know that the busa is a beast in the most intimate sense of the word and that it even though it's definitely less forgiving than the insane litres, it still has heavy potential to bite MUCH harder than a 600 or smaller bike. It's SOOOOOO much easier to get into trouble on the busa due to it's power and accelleration. I'm just not able to convince a newbie rider that it's a good idea. We agree that it can, and has been done. We're both living examples of it. We'll just have to agree to disagree on recommending that a newbie take that big of a gamble with his body and/or life.
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