If you were going to buy a street bike....

[Dr Psyko]

Anybody ever own a Hayabusa? I agree with Hank they seem cheap and available.

[loingrader]

lots of guys don't like the heat that comes with keeping 160+ horses between your legs.  my fjr had some heat, but it was awesome in the winter and not bad in the summer as long as you were wearing proper gear.  it was the same on left and right.  having 1 side hot and the other side cool would have bugged me.  i'm all about symmetry.

shaft drive would be nice.  the chain isn't bad, but it is still a lot bigger pain than the zero maintenance of a shaft.

i've never ridden a bike with good suspension.  my xx get's compared to my klr and my 83 gl650, so the suspension is awesome to me because i don't know any better.  they guy i bought it from was about 300lbs so he put stiffer fork springs in.  it is harsh on really rough roads, but other than that, i love it.  sure beats the 1975 buick like ride of my gl. 

busa forks do look sweet.  that and a re-valve would go a long way in the susp dept.  if you need upright seating, a connie would certainly fit the bill quite well. 

psycko, i wouldn't own a busa if it was given to me.  way too many images of squids come to mind when i hear that word. 

a busa may have some advantages, but those who know say that the blackbird is a far superior long distance super sport tourer. 

[Hank]

I've never owned a Busa but I've put quite a few miles on one.  
I prefer the XX to it, even though the Busa has a touch more power.   The XX is smoother and just a nicer bke, IMO.  Both feel fairly heavy.

To me busas are eye sore ugly, another big win for the XX.  

Never rode a busa in the twisties but I know most people prefer the XX's handling.  

The worst thing about the busa, as Bret says, is that every backwards baseball hat and sandal wearing squid has one.

Busas front forks are better

I can't say I've ever ridden a bike with really GREAT suspension either, but yeah its all relative.   My 94 VFR and my 99 Superhawk both rode much better, if memory serves, than my XX.    I know 99 and newer XX's were improved though too.

[loingrader]

but for me half the fun of having a bike is finding ways to make it better and different... so I'll likely change it

so when are you going to perfect that 6th gear for the drz400? 

i know it is impossible without fabricating a larger engine case (or something to that lines) but  if you somehow made it work you would certainly sell a few thousand kits. 

mike may even want a drz instead of a klr or a street bike if you pulled that off (trying to keep the thread relevant to the original topic!).

[Hank]

While 6th would be nice, a much easier solution would be to just make a much taller 5th gear set.    I tried to find a gearset that would work but struck out, and making your own would be really expensive at low volumes.

Really, why would it hurt to have a huge RPM drop from 4th to 5th.  I've never used 5th offroad, and if you had to wind it up a bit in 4th or lug a bit in 5th, it would be worth it to run comfortably on the highway.   You could even gear down 1-4 for better offroad.   PITA to install though.

[plumber mike]

I would think it would be easier to do a double sprocket on the rear with a cable actuated selector(much like my old 10 speed) Then some sort of tensioner would be required. Hmmmm.

Back on track. I appreciate the banter. As I said before, I've never had a true street bike, so it's up to you guys to steer me in the right direction. A pipefitter friend has a Busa and it just looks uncomfortable. My roofer came out to my place an a Honda VTX1800 today. Radio blaring, feet on big platforms. He looked comfortable. I have always liked the ugly fairing of the Road Glide but.....well.......you know

[Hank]

A Busa is really pretty comfortable, at least for reasonable length rides.   A little forward lean isn't a bad thing.  I'm trying to get my XX semi-upright, not bolt upright. If you can talk him into it, get a ride on that Busa.  You might be surprised.

A lot of forward lean is NOT comfortable, ie a GSXR, or FZR (pure sport bike).   You don't want to feel like you're doing a 6 hour pushup. I put quite a few miles on a 94ish GSXR1100, and that was way extreme...  very tough to ride more than 400 miles a day.   Busas are definitely more sport tourer than pure sports bike.

[Dr Psyko]

I had a 81 ducati 900SS that was brutal. The farthest I ever rode the thing at one sitting was 75 miles. All the weight on the wrists with clip on's, high rear sets, streched out over the tank. The worst was being in traffic with the heat radiating upward from the engine barely a foot away from your chest. But, hot damn, I don't think I've ever heard a prettier sound then that high strung desmo with basicly straight pipes on the motor!

[The Yeti]

My roofer came out to my place an a Honda VTX1800 today. Radio blaring, feet on big platforms. He looked comfortable.

Just like the extreme forward lean, I've found that the laid-back cruiser position is also uncomfortable after awhile...too much weight on the tailbone and makes my lower back hurt. I prefer a mostly upright riding position.

I test rode a VTX1800 a couple years ago and was very unimpressed with the power...I expected an 1800 to have more grunt than that.

[Dr Psyko]

I read an article once that described the perfect riding position as the ability to instantly "stand up" on the pegs in an easy balanced fashion as the best guide to long term comfort on a bike. I have to agree. Any deviance too far from the formula becomes uncomfortable over time.

[loingrader]

another 1+ for klr650's!  they certainly fit the bill on the stand up test.

[plumber mike]

I rode a freind's father in laws 91 GL1500 tonight. The old fella is the original owner and the bike has 65k on it. It had good power and a super smooth quiet engine.Very comfortable seat. The bar positioning felt wierd to me. The front fork felt worn out like a NYC taxi suspension going over large potholes and caused the menagerie of plastic to rattle. I see the appeal of the wing,but this one was just not for me. It got very heavy feeling during low speed manuevers, so my sometimes washboard gravel road would be a chore. He's asking 3500(which seemed high, but I could be wrong) I jumped back on the Xcountry and ripped off thinking that the bike I have is like a Cadillac KLR A 17T front sprocket, some panniers and some street tires would make it a decent sport tourer if I don't find anything better that's a good value(picky I know)

I came to my senses and decided to keep the one ton truck, so that will have no bearing on what the next purchase will be(the yellow half ton will most likely be traded off to my excavator to help with repairs on the washed out driveway )

Still looking.....stay tuned

[The Yeti]

It is one sexy beast...

STOP THAT!!!  

Powersports has a leftover '09 for just over $10K...very tempting. I've also found a "kit" on the C14 forum that supposedly fixes the heat issues with the pre '10s for like $59...makes the $4K - $5K extra for the new version look kinda silly. I also read that the linked brake system on the '10s really sucks!

[Bogus Jim]

C'mon, Yeti... we know you like your WRR but a man of your stature deserves to have a bike like the C14 in the garage too. Powersports is having an open house Saturday. According to the flyer they sent me, there will be free hotdogs and hamburgers, and smokin' deals. You could head over there tomorrow, get a free meal, and ride that bike home. Mrs. Yeti will be proud of you. 

[Hank]

Here ya go Mike.   Get a new bag and you're good to go.  If you don't like it you wouldn't be out much, or might even make a buck.


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