Traded my 2000 Honda VFR800 for a 2011 Hayabusa GSX1300R

ws6transam

Registered
Hello all, I guess I am now a new Hayabusa owner! It wasn't exactly on purpose. My 2000 Honda VFR800 was set up for sport touring, and ran perfectly, and I thought it was going to be my forever-bike. So selling it and buying a hayabusa was rather unexpected. However I am not complaining.

A buddy of mine I know came over one day and wanted to know if I would help him sell his Hayabusa.
It was a midlife crisis kind of bike, and he bought it new, drove it a few summers but then less and less until it was getting only a tankful of fuel run each year, then no riding for a year or two... So I said Sure, I would clean it up for him, take some pictures, and sell it. He said it was fully insured, and I could ride it to different bike and car meets to try and sell it. It's a 6000 mile bike with a few scratches on the fairing from tipping over into gravel at the mail box when getting the mail. (I think it's why he lost interest in it, actually.).

I have a saying: You can't truly crave what you have never experienced. So I guess I shouldn't have ridden this bike - I might still have stayed happy with my VFR. But, there you go, I did it. And I craved it. So , I listed the VFR and a collector flew in and rode it home to another state. And, I put the cash towards this one. Now that it's cleaned up, it's perfect in every way except for the scratchy side panels.

...and gosh, I have never actually had a bike with an honest to goodness hyperspace lever before. Holding second gear to 10000 RPM is like being whooshed off the end of an aircraft carrier. Only once have I tried using a big twist in first gear - and even with a full tank of fuel, the front end slowly rotated up into the air by six inches and only dropped when I shifted to second. I'm not even sure it was wide-open throttle. But it was eye opening, that is for sure.

So being one who likes to know his machines inside and out, and meet like-minded owners, I came over here to introduce myself. I'll probably leave it stock for now, though some things I would like to eventually do is get some Heli bars, drop the pegs an inch or so, and find some soft side panniers for the back of the bike. That, and find out if Suzuki still sells side panels for this bike, in the original color. I can probably have these repainted, but that is about $500 a side to have it resprayed by a body shop, assuming they can even get the paint formula... Or, just live with the scratches and not worry about it, and just have fun with the bike.

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Welcome and great way to introduce yourself...we like pictures and your new bike is very photogenic.

Only you can say if you can live with the scratches but if it were me and they weren't horrible, I'd just ride it for now..

Heli bars and drop pegs will help transform your bike into more of a sport tourer so that's a good way to go.
 
Welcome @ws6transam. I have a 1999 VFR and a 2017 Hayabusa. Life is good.

The 2011 black with those vivid red decals is a favorite scheme of mine.

So you easily sold the 2000? Yellow I presume. It is good to hear that some seek these bikes out today.
 
Welcome @ws6transam. I have a 1999 VFR and a 2017 Hayabusa. Life is good.

The 2011 black with those vivid red decals is a favorite scheme of mine.

So you easily sold the 2000? Yellow I presume. It is good to hear that some seek these bikes out today.
Yes, the yellow one. With Heli bars, Corbin beetle bags, Knight lowered footpegs, fresh tires, chain, and freshly painted bodywork. It still ran like a new bike, even though it sported 56,000 miles. It sold on FB marketplace in about two weeks, priced at $3600.

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Yes, the yellow one. With Heli bars, Corbin beetle bags, Knight lowered footpegs, fresh tires, chain, and freshly painted bodywork. It still ran like a new bike, even though it sported 56,000 miles. It sold on FB marketplace in about two weeks, priced at $3600.

View attachment 1654403
Good looking bike...would have been stellar if they made that model style in a 1200 or something....

The 1200 VFR that came after was "fugly"
 
Congrats and welcome! That VFR looks like a nice bike
Thank you! Yeah, I had my VFR for about ten years and it was a daily driver. I even did a couple of winters on it in Michigan, where I rode it to work at least once a week. It would even start (albeit a bit slowly) in five degrees F. But I don't plan on doing any more winters. I discovered that non-ABS brakes on a sportbike inspired machine like the VFR stay extra grabby at low temperatures but performance tires get slippery, like rock, and lock up easily when the rider is startled by distracted drivers doing unexpected things. Hence, the repainted fairings.
 
Hello all, I guess I am now a new Hayabusa owner! It wasn't exactly on purpose. My 2000 Honda VFR800 was set up for sport touring, and ran perfectly, and I thought it was going to be my forever-bike. So selling it and buying a hayabusa was rather unexpected. However I am not complaining.

A buddy of mine I know came over one day and wanted to know if I would help him sell his Hayabusa.
It was a midlife crisis kind of bike, and he bought it new, drove it a few summers but then less and less until it was getting only a tankful of fuel run each year, then no riding for a year or two... So I said Sure, I would clean it up for him, take some pictures, and sell it. He said it was fully insured, and I could ride it to different bike and car meets to try and sell it. It's a 6000 mile bike with a few scratches on the fairing from tipping over into gravel at the mail box when getting the mail. (I think it's why he lost interest in it, actually.).

I have a saying: You can't truly crave what you have never experienced. So I guess I shouldn't have ridden this bike - I might still have stayed happy with my VFR. But, there you go, I did it. And I craved it. So , I listed the VFR and a collector flew in and rode it home to another state. And, I put the cash towards this one. Now that it's cleaned up, it's perfect in every way except for the scratchy side panels.

...and gosh, I have never actually had a bike with an honest to goodness hyperspace lever before. Holding second gear to 10000 RPM is like being whooshed off the end of an aircraft carrier. Only once have I tried using a big twist in first gear - and even with a full tank of fuel, the front end slowly rotated up into the air by six inches and only dropped when I shifted to second. I'm not even sure it was wide-open throttle. But it was eye opening, that is for sure.

So being one who likes to know his machines inside and out, and meet like-minded owners, I came over here to introduce myself. I'll probably leave it stock for now, though some things I would like to eventually do is get some Heli bars, drop the pegs an inch or so, and find some soft side panniers for the back of the bike. That, and find out if Suzuki still sells side panels for this bike, in the original color. I can probably have these repainted, but that is about $500 a side to have it resprayed by a body shop, assuming they can even get the paint formula... Or, just live with the scratches and not worry about it, and just have fun with the bike.

View attachment 1654402
Welcome aboard and congrats on the new ride.! If you can’t live with the scratches, the 2 pieces that form one side panel over $500 and if you paint (colorrite website sells all the hayabusa paint) then you’ll need the decals and the last one I bought was about $80 dollars for one side decal alone. Here is a link to the parts diagram for your bike:

 
Welcome to the Fold. OEM plastics will cost far more than a paint job even with decals. Despite the knowledge of having scratched panels, new ones don’t make it go faster.:laugh: Good luck with the bike, it’s just getting broken in! :)
 
Welcome from down under. Good pickup. You’ll love it.
I had a vfr for a very short time and found it lifeless and dull.
The busa is just an awesome bike.
 
...Thanks for the great welcome everyone, and yup, it is really something how this bike can, at literally idle, just tractor up the hill of my driveway. So much torque everywhere. I think I like that even more than the top-end rush. The VFR would tend to get buzzy at times, though I do miss that V4 sound and the gear whine from the cams. The Hayabusa is also really stable when you hit the bumps of Michigan roads, even on corners. I haven't even tried to adjust the preload or damping yet. I'm still getting used to it, and yesterday was the first OMG moment when I slowly rolled into WOT in first, and powershifted into second gear, and got the double-jump of the front wheel about six or seven inches into the air both times. All the while, my head felt like it was swimming from the rush of acceleration. That must be what jumping to light speed must be like onboard the Millenium Falcon.
 
...Thanks for the great welcome everyone, and yup, it is really something how this bike can, at literally idle, just tractor up the hill of my driveway. So much torque everywhere. I think I like that even more than the top-end rush. The VFR would tend to get buzzy at times, though I do miss that V4 sound and the gear whine from the cams. The Hayabusa is also really stable when you hit the bumps of Michigan roads, even on corners. I haven't even tried to adjust the preload or damping yet. I'm still getting used to it, and yesterday was the first OMG moment when I slowly rolled into WOT in first, and powershifted into second gear, and got the double-jump of the front wheel about six or seven inches into the air both times. All the while, my head felt like it was swimming from the rush of acceleration. That must be what jumping to light speed must be like onboard the Millenium Falcon.
Pick up an aftermarket quick shifter sometime...it makes the "Millenium Falcon" experience that much more exhilarating. I have a Translogic on mine and it makes the world of difference...
 
:welcome: aboard.

Nice intro, nice way to end up with a hayabusa, you were always the potential buyer, you just didn't know. :laugh:
You are now in the right place to learn about your new bike. :thumbsup:
 
Pick up an aftermarket quick shifter sometime...it makes the "Millenium Falcon" experience that much more exhilarating. I have a Translogic on mine and it makes the world of difference...
I really, really like that idea. I just looked at the translogic youtube videos and yeah, that sounds pretty good. Though, I think I may upgrade my safety gear first - Look for some proper riding pants, some boots and maybe a different jacket. I bought my leather riding jacket in 1989. It's probably still okay. But I want to have something so I can try this bike out at the drag strip sometime.
 
I really, really like that idea. I just looked at the translogic youtube videos and yeah, that sounds pretty good. Though, I think I may upgrade my safety gear first - Look for some proper riding pants, some boots and maybe a different jacket. I bought my leather riding jacket in 1989. It's probably still okay. But I want to have something so I can try this bike out at the drag strip sometime.

Just check the armor in that 1989 jacket. The leather is probably ok but the armor might have aged too much.
 
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