Local tragedy strikes close to home for me:

[ALLshow.NOgo]

BTW I pass by your shop everyday to work and to home. I should stop by sometime

 

[Over_Easy]

I started riding when I was 12 and have ridden on and off (4 bikes/23 years - 100, 250, 600, 1300 Busa) ever since.

More and more of examples like this may institute a law like they have in England (Europe?) where you have to start small and work your way up to the bigger bikes through experience. Sometimes freedom surpasses logic.

 

[extreemachine]

Sorry to hear! You did the right thing!! You are few and far between. Most salespeople just want the almighty dollar instead of someones life. Prayers go out to the Fuentes family!

 

[umairhashmi]

I had a similar experience at a mom n pop shop before i knew how to ride and i honestly have a lot of respect for that owner now.It was december 2005 and i walked into a used bike store and i was looking at a 2002 gsxr1k.The owner ran my credit,had me approved and when he found out i didnt know how to ride he REFUSED to sell me the bike.Needless to say i was quite upset at the time.But i did manage to do get my msf,play around on a friend's 600 and then bought a brand new 06 busa.That man missed out on a sale but he earnt a lifetime of respect from me.Even though i never bought anything there i always refer people to his shop for repairs n oil changes.Hard to believe even in this day and age some people care more about morals than about the money they make

 

[MoosesBusa]

Sorry to hear this and I know it's upsetting BUT ... It's his "Friends" fault he is dead. Not yours.
My brother in law has begged me to let him take the Busa down the 1320 for a year. Promised to replace it if anything should happen. I told him that wasn't the problem ... I didn't wanna raise his kids!
You tried to do the right thing. His "Buddy" killed him and that is something HE has to live with, Not you

 

[BusaWizard]

Ted you can led a horse to water but you can't make him drink. You tried to talk sense to him, it's not your fault if he didn't listen. Prayers to his family.

 

[TIMMYDUCK]

You did what you could.
Not everyone in the world is smart enough to make it to their golden years.

 

[FastBusa]

 

[moeluv]

Prayers sent!

 

[Turbo-Torch]

Sorry to hear this and I know it's upsetting BUT ... It's his "Friends" fault he is dead. Not yours.
My brother in law has begged me to let him take the Busa down the 1320 for a year. Promised to replace it if anything should happen. I told him that wasn't the problem ... I didn't wanna raise his kids!
You tried to do the right thing. His "Buddy" killed him and that is something HE has to live with, Not you

I wouldn't put the blame on the friend either. There's a point in life when you grow up and make your own decisions and being this guy was of legal driving age, I'd say he was well past that point.
There's only one person to blame and that's the noob that bought the bike. Common sense should kick in and tell you not to buy something like that as a first bike and then you have not one but TWO salesmen NOT recommending it along with a sales flyer that states "Engineered for experienced riders only". There's also the entire internet available with all the info you can handle on any given bike plus thousands of videos of what could happen to you when you don't know how to control that kind of power.

Maybe I'm just cold and mean, but life is too short to constantly be worried about the stupid decisions other people make or trying to find blame for what THEY did.

 

[busa1300nut]

Sounds like you did your best, but sometimes it,s out of our control.

 

[tedbiele]

Well, I have had the chance to speak to three guys that he rode with that night. One of them a CMRA racer. They all said that the guy had a deathwish. They had been telling him all-night to back off and ride where his skill level was not above it. They even went as far as to tell him if he didn't back down that they would split off and he could ride by himself. Several were afraid that he was going to take them with him.
Its just a shame. When he came into pick-up his plate I reenforced the fact that he had better repsect the machines power. That the motorcycle was like nothing else he had ever driven or ridden to this point in life. Ahhhhh...

I appreciate all the support guys. I mean it. It helps tremendously.

 

[nitrousjunkie]

Well, I have had the chance to speak to three guys that he rode with that night. One of them a CMRA racer. They all said that the guy had a deathwish. They had been telling him all-night to back off and ride where his skill level was not above it. They even went as far as to tell him if he didn't back down that they would split off and he could ride by himself. Several were afraid that he was going to take them with him.
Its just a shame. When he came into pick-up his plate I reenforced the fact that he had better repsect the machines power. That the motorcycle was like nothing else he had ever driven or ridden to this point in life. Ahhhhh...

I appreciate all the support guys. I mean it. It helps tremendously.

Ted,I think you fulfilled your responsibility as a seller.

 

[Poppy]

You did what you could.
Not everyone in the world is smart enough to make it to their golden years.

Man, ain't that the truth?

 

[celticBandit]

Sounds like you did all you could Ted.

Here in Ireland you have to wait 2 years after passing your test before getting anything more that 33bhp. Makes sense. Guys have to serve their time on smaller bikes before progressing. It's just a pity the rules aren't the same for car drivers, might stop a bit of the carnage.

 

[race24x]

I know I always take a beating for my opinion but I still believe that any bike is a good first bike if you are going to kill yourself you will do it on anything. For instance unless this guy crashed at over 140MPH he could have crashed just as much on a SV650 The Busa is a Sport Touring bike and not really a hell raising bike and although it does wheelie not nearly as easy as any of the litre bikes. I am 6 foot 4 and more than anything I needed a bike that would fit me for long rides. I am not sure why guys hat ride one of these big bikes are so quick to say unless you have 40,000 miles under your belt you shouldnt have one. My honest opinion is buy a good used on off road bike first beat it around if you drop it hopefully you will break less stuff you can learn all about dirt riding at the same time sell it when you get some miles on and then buy a bike you like that fits you comfortably. Bikes dont kill people people kill people its as simple as that. I am very sorry no matter what the mistake no one deserves to die to learn a lesson best thing you can do is when you ride with someone with less experience dont push them real hard. I have friends I ride with (I am not bragging honest) that I dont feel as comfortable with as others I try not to take them real fast into corners etc People will ride over there limits and you will pick your friends out of the trees respect how they want and can ride when you ride together.

 

[celticBandit]

I'm sorry race, but I have to disagree.
It takes a long time for someone to learn how to ride a bike. When you first started biking, think of all the times you stalled the bike or cracked the throttle open and nearly came off the back, and that was just a 125 or 250.
Or all the times you went into a corner too hot and saved it because the bike was smaller and was able to turn faster, and wasn't really going too fast in the first place.
Try that on a Busa and it won't forgive you. Bikes like ours are heavier, faster more powerfull. Bottom line is, they are harder to control if you don't have the skill and knowledge. Skill and knowledge that can only be built up with years of riding experience.
Sorry Race, don't want to be rude, just getting my point across. I've been on so many bike runs with eejits like this that I've stopped going to them.

 

[RidersNation]

I'm all for legislation on limiting the displacement for newbies. I have lost three good friends because they wouldnt listen. Lotta guys who are just itching to get their friends out there with them tell the newbie the same thing..."Dude if you buy that bike and learn on it you'll just save time and money without having to move up an dbuy another bigger bike later just get the 1000." B/?/S flat out.

Sad when someone dies trying to be what they truly arent ready to be.

Roy

 

[race24x]

GSXR 600 750 and 1000 all use the same frame I repo'd a 600 just the other day wheelie just as easy as my Busa with stock gearing and was uncomfortable as heck way capable of 140+ MPH, so is the bragged about SV650. Can anyone find me some statistics of newbies dieing on bikes under 750 CC's versus dieing over 750 CC's license less than say 2 years. Or for that matter cruiser and rice and touring bike info? I realize everyone has there own opinion I am very sorry for your loss but think about your friends would they have been riding just as hard on a smaller bike? I rode with newbies and older guys everyone I have put a heck of alot of miles on bikes but learn something new everyday. The point should still be buy something that fits you that you like and take a motorcycle safety course wear your gear keep your head on a swivel for cages and most important KNOW YOUR LIMITS!!!!! You will get hurt just as quick if not quicker on one of those race replicas that can wheelie by accident over a small hill in 4th gear. My Busa rides nice handles well smooth not wheelie prone or prone to handle bar shakes unlike all of the smaller race rep bikes. The only thing I can say about the Busa is if you want to go fast it will and the brakes arent as good as some of the smaller bikes. Any bike will kill you even the slowest Ninja 250 (for the record my buddies sister lent me hers to take my driving test on) will do over 100 Mph and probably do a wheelie over backwards. Everyone will have there own opinion and I dont think anyone is rude. I suggest as I said above for my friends wanting to learn to ride borrow my daughters XR100 learn how to shift lean drive and stop where no one can hit you and if you tip it you can thurt it then maybe a used biike for a while doesnt matter the kind then after a year or so of real riding look at what you want and feel good on. If you ride like me (leaving for Montreal Thur) you will wnat something you are comfortable on. I just get a bad feeling sometimes because it feels elitist to say our bikes are so fast and scary you shouldnt have one until you have 50,000 miles under your belt. To be honest I was a little disappointed when I test drove my Busa I expected 155 RWHP to wheelie out of control in at least 4 gears my 1100 would wheelie in 2 gears and was only 129 RWHP. The 1100 did the 1/8th mile in 6.6 seconds at 101 the Busa 7.5 at 101. The 1100 felt better in the twisties although I think I have improved the Busa some by lifting it 2" with different dogbones. But at 62,000 she was getting tired.

 

[celticBandit]

I don't believe anyone should start riding on anything more than a 250. Modern 600s are too powerfull for beginners.

Would you give a new rider a loan of you Busa for a test ride? I don't think so. Training and education is the way to go.