My biggest fear with a brandy new GenII Busa

[weav808]

I am 5"8 & 155lbs. I have the stock seat and height. My ICON field armor boots have helped me to damn near flat foot the BUSA

 

[aussiekeeper]

5'10", 185lbs, 30-in inseam...no problems with the seat height or weight of the bike. However, this is my 2nd Busa and have been riding big, heavy cruisers for a while now. In due time, you will get accustomed to the heft of the bike and hopefully, make you more confident.
Do the seat upgrade as suggested above. And install some frame sliders even before you put a mile on your bike.
P.S. and since you mentioned you like BLUE, here's one to whet your appetite

Does that include the second stomach?

 

[EarlyBird]

I am 5'8'' and 175lbs. Inseam of 31'' In my opinion I think u will be fine handling the busa. At low speeds she is a little slow and heavy, but proper use of body english, some muscle, and rear brake use will keep you from lowsiding it in the parking lot. I have done the kickstand mod., due to my almost dropping the bike once! Loose the stock exhaust....I really noticed the difference in weight gone! To be honest I am up 1'' in the rear and have a 190/55r17 on it too with the stock seat. If you ride a dirt bike with 37" seat height this should be fine for you. Go sit on one at a dealer and go from there. So I think you'll be fine! Ask others here who have riden with me....I can make that big bike move around like a 600! Pm me if you like or got any ?'s!

 

[crawler]

I haven't taken the time to read through this thread as my internet time is a bit limited today.

My advice is as follows.

Lower the bike enough to get your feet comfortably to the ground. Tiptoeing a heavy bike is never a good thing.

Don't cut or grind your kick stand. Go to an aftermarket stand. The aftermarkets will be shorter allowing more lean-less likely to tip. They also tend to have a longer swing-ie: the same thing you're doing with the kickstand grind mod. Besides if you lower the bike you need a shorter stand anyway.

As far as sliders go, get some fairing cut sliders. I've used T-rex products in the past, they're a good company, however take the time and cut the fairings to install direct bolt up sliders. Done correctly, they actually look better and quite often arent dramatically noticeable if you get them in a color matching the bike.

 

[jnaquin72]

5'-7" 145 lbs! (smallest to comment so far i think) and no problems here at all, but lowered rear 1 1/2" and front 3/4", shaved seat 3/4" so i am definetley flat footed!!

 

[Busa1166]

5'2" here an fat so that reduces my ability to plant my feet even more. Lowered the bike in the rear an the front, probably going to shave the seat it get lower too. I don't sit on the bike when backing it out anywhere, I feel more comfortable dismounting an pushing it in or power walking it so I can lean the bike to me for stability if people think that makes me unskilled it just makes short I can make pretty sharp U turns, but always need to be aware of whats on the ground sand dirt sucks, keep it upright make wider turns real easy on the throttle. Ride on!!

 

[Eddie]

Thanks for the input everyone! You guys rock!!

I've sat on a couple Busa in dealerships but that's about it. Haven't parked one or backed one out of a garage. After reading all the info here and getting first hand accounts from you guys I'm feeling better about manuvering on a Busa.

Thanks again!

 

[Speed King]

would definitely recommend the kickstand mod, just did mine recently. Dropped mine the 2nd day i had it brand new, started it up in the driveway to warm up a bit and it rolled right off the kickstand. Luckily i was standing right next to it when it went down so i caught it, but still had to ease it to the ground. Only a minor chip in the fairing and scuffed mirror. I did just install no-cut trex frame sliders this week, so if this ever happens again she will be a lil more protected

Kickstand Mod? I have never had any problems with my 08 kickstand.

 

[k9ill5a]

1. when you park leave it in gear.
2. when getting on before you throw your leg over reach over and grab the front brake
either one will work. get in the habit of doing both.

slow manuvering.= figure 8s and uturns. any beginer mc book will teach you how to do them correctly.... practice practice practice.

 

[Rainbow7]

I'm 5'9" and I found the Busa wanting to fall over on me.
It's not so much the height as it it the high center of gravity that's the problem.
Mine fell over on the day I got her; man, was I pissed off!
I recommend lowering the bike 1", front and rear. This not only lowers the stock height but also changes the center of gravity. My Busa is now very stable in any situation.

 

[MikesGSX1300RK9]

Welcome! I'm one who dropped my brand new Busa in the garage 5 days after purchase. 5'10" and 133 pounds... probably among the lightest here. As a runner, leg fatigue from a long run earlier in the morning I dropped the bike contributed to the incident. Lack of sleep the night before, and not paying attention, contributed too. Always pay attention to where the bike is as you back her out, and what she is doing. I made the mistake of handling her like my Ninja 250--not paying attention. Obviously a bad move.

My own philosophy: the bike is a motor vehicle, it is going to get dings and scratches, and I'll deal with it. I could wrap myself into a pretzel worrying about cosmetic issues, going broke in the process of fixing them, or simply fix the important stuff and then ride and enjoy the bike.

I've chosen the latter, and will worry about fairings/stickers later... i.e., once I'm contributing the max amount to retirement savings, have the bike paid off, etc. :-)

For what it is worth, my experience lately--in playing with handling the Busa--has been that very light application of the throttle can help avoid a low-speed drop (if one can finesse the controls when an incipient drop is first sensed). If I'd had the presence of mind to barely nudge the throttle a couple weeks ago, the bike may have stayed upright. Engine was running while I was backing out of the garage.

Maybe someone here can provide an explanation as to why proper use of throttle/clutch can help stop an incipient drop... probably has something to do with torque and directional force. :-)


Mike

 

[Shaft]

5"11 205 lbs. almost flat foot on the stock GENII.. I have no problems handling the bike. Even 2 up, backing it up, no issues. Just use both legs and be certain on your moves. Never dropped any of my busa's. Couple of close calls, but as long as you got a firm foot down, use some muscle and hold her!

Now hurry up and buy that bike!!!!

 

[MikesGSX1300RK9]

White is the best color! :-) It is fast, even standing still!

 

[Shaft]

I disagree!! The grey/silver is by far the fastest and man oh man does it ever sparkle in the sun!! The flakes of metallic they use is surreal! I love it.

 

[gabelbrucken]

I'm currently GenII Busa shopping. Looking for the best deal and trying to make my damn mind up on a color. I do a great deal of research on message boards and I have seen new Busa owners express their fears about the bike as well as what current Busa owners warn newbies about. Primarily it's the power of the bike and everything that goes along with that.

I'm a 35 year old guy and I'm a very responsible rider. I'm not the type of guy to have the throttle WFO at every available opportunity nor am I the type to show off for the entertainment of others. I bracket race a mid 8 second, 155mph, 3000+lb door car. I have a great respect for speed and for a vehicle that attains that speed very quickly.

So I have to be honest. My greatest fear with a shiny new Busa isn't the power, isn't the acceleration, etc. In my research I have found thread after thread about guys dropping their pride and joy in slow manuvering situations and 0mph falls backing it out of the garage. I'm not a big guy, I don't have a very long reach and I don't have a long inseam. Yup, my biggest fear is dropping the beast. I've read about the cut sliders, no cut sliders, kickstand mod, etc in an attempt to gain as much knowledge as I can to better prepare for something I (hopefully!lease won't do...drop my future GenII Busa.

So how do you smaller stature Busa riders deal with the 600lb monster? Does lowering the bike help with slow parking manuvers, etc? Is it a better idea to use a rear wheel stand instead of the kickstand when your baby is waiting in the garage for it's next ride? Does getting rid of the monsterously heavy stock exhaust help with slow manuvering or can you really not feel the difference? Trying to soak up as much knowledge before I pull the trigger.

it's the only solution...strenghten your body if you are smaller than your beast...

 

[gabelbrucken]

I'm 5'9" and I found the Busa wanting to fall over on me.
It's not so much the height as it it the high center of gravity that's the problem.
Mine fell over on the day I got her; man, was I pissed off!
I recommend lowering the bike 1", front and rear. This not only lowers the stock height but also changes the center of gravity. My Busa is now very stable in any situation.

uhm...mumble mumble...
any ground-clearance issues while cornering?

 

[Eddie]

it's the only solution...strenghten your body if you are smaller than your beast...

Isn't everyone here smaller than their 600lb Busa?

Do any of the aftermarket kickstands do a better job of keeping the beast upright compared to the stock stand?

 

[RedBull]

Short and to the point .

Thanks for the input !