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Ban Hayabusa, CBR, ZX, YZF, etc. From Roads Now!
A video of a tranquil, leisurely ride on a public road by a typical Hayabusa rider
Supersports motorcycle riders have a death rate more than four times greater than riders of other types of bikes. An Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (IIHS) report released about a year ago showed that per each 2,000 registered motorcycles, supersport riders of motorcycles such as Suzuki Hayabusa, Honda CBR, Kawasaki ZX, Yamaha YZF, etc. had a death rate of 22.5. Sport and "naked" sport bikes, which are somewhat less extreme versions of supersports, had the next highest rate of carnage at 10.7. The rates at which motorcycle riders snuff themselves out for all other types of bikes were much lower. Cruisers and standard motorcycles had a combined fatality rate of 5.7, touring motorcycles were 6.5, and "other" motorcycles such as street legal enduros, etc. were the lowest at 4.3.
You would figure that in, say, a Suzuki dealership where a DR650 and a Hayabusa sit side by side, it might be helpful to young and inexperienced riders to place a sign stating: "Your chance of dying is 5 times greater on the Hayabusa than the DR650," but that is not to be. With marketing chutzpah verging on the criminal, the motorcycle manufacturers have hypnotized a vast number of foolish, impressionable, immature, and downright stupid riders into the frenzied allure of exceeding freeway speed limits by a factor of three or more.
The IIHS report states that driver error and excessive speed were significantly larger factors in causing death in supersport as well as sport/naked bikes as compared to the other classes of motorcycles. Excessive speed was the cause of 57 percent of fatalities on supersports while only 22 percent on touring motorcycles. 9% of all supersports motorcycles are involved in a collision every year, versus 2.3% for all other classes. Look at that statistic in another way: An 11 year old sportsbike is guaranteed to have been in a crash!
Combine those statistics with the fact that in five years, the percentage of riders wearing U.S. D.O.T. certified helmets fell from 71 to 51 percent, at the same time while supersports motorcycle registrations shot up by 83 percent, and you can see why this segment of motorcycling is filling up morgues all over the world.
Indeed, in the USA alone supersports motorcycles cause equivalent deaths to crashing three fully loaded 747s... each and every year!
Anne McCartt, IIHS senior vice president for research, sums it all up much better than I ever could: "Supersport motorcycles have such elevated crash death rates and insurance losses because many people ride them as if they were on a racetrack. Data show that speed is a big factor in their crashes. Motorcyclists presumably buy supersports and sport bikes because they want to go fast, and manufacturers are happy to oblige."
One of the alleged "defenses" bandied about by speed-addled lunatic throttle-jockeys include that "no one has the right to tell me what to ride" and they're right. On the track, you're more than free to plunk superchargers on your Hayabusas and run them on nitrous or rocket fuel. Go crazy. Splat yourself all you want. If you're that much of a moron, it's good riddance anyway: Motorcycling Darwinianism at its best. However, you do not have any right whatsoever to cause this level of carnage on the public roads where the law-abiding members of my community, including seniors, parents and children are innocently going about their business. I have personally witnessed countless lives snuffed out whose only fault was sharing the public road with a deranged, maniacal, witless, hysterical idiot of a rider engaging in a fit of supersport velocity delirium.
There is one very simple legislative action which must be taken now, without delay. Ban Suzuki Hayabusa, Honda CBR, Kawasaki ZX, Yamaha YZF, and similar motorcycles from ever again being granted a license plate. Get these murdercycles off the streets today!
I am a fan of bikes ride and handle well, but like you I agree that these race bikes sold for the street are not realistic. Even a salesman that was showing me the Busa questioned why I would want one, aside from fast, it was uncomfortable and expensive. The other sad issue is that at 55 my driving style is less dangerous than my driving at 20 or even 30. A bike like that at a young age would have been a deadly combination.
Sportbikes are just as realistic as any other bike out on the road today. Each bike has its advantages and disadvantages.
Personally I choose my current bike,a 2008 Hayabusa, for not just the facts of it being one of the fastest and most powerful production bikes being built today but for the reason of being most confromtable sportbike available for a 6'7" 265 LB rider like myself. Yes I'll agree with it being way more power than can possibly be used on the road. But I choose the power, handling and performance when a Harley rider would choose crome, weight, noise. I have ridden with several Harley riders and truth be known that the reason I always lead the pack is that I can not handle the Exhaust DB's plus dodging all the chrome harley parts that fall off there bike because the harley riders are always experiencing 15+ G's even while sitting at a stop sign engine at Idle.
The reality is: If I gave you a gun its your responsibility to use the gun properly and not to abusive the privilege of having a gun by harming yourself or another person. What I'm saying is just because you have the postential energy why would you need to transfer it to Kenetic Energy. Same as you have a bike that can go 200 MPH why would you ever need to take it over 80.
I personally like the fact of letting everyone know what my bike can do without ever having to go there. Same applies for all the supersport cars that are road legal.
In conclusion I disagree with your statement of the purposed banning of Large sportbikes. In all fairness Harley's/Indians and all choppers should also be banned immediatley.
I have a normal every-day American pick-up truck with top speed limited at 112 mph and it gets there real quick. In your residential street it could break the law in less than 3 seconds.
If I were a lunatic, what would be most dangerous in your street, 6,000 lbs of metal hurtling down the road at 100 mph, or 500lbs of metal at 180mph?
Almost every vehicle sold every day, has more power than what will ever be necessary to ride within traffic rules.
The moral of the story is that it is the person, not the vehicle who is responsible. In my humble opinion it is our duty as citizens to behave properly and penalties of breaking the law should be appropriate to make sure the majority behaves.
I have challenge for you Hal, debate healthy, remain on the high road, and don't flame those who have a different view to yours. We can't all be the same you know.
Then why have this web page, if you are so closed minded that only you can be right, everyone else is wrong, why preach this nonsense to the world and invite comment if you are simply going to rubbish and belittle anyone who has oposing views. This is just a complete waste of bandwidth. A sad man with an attitude of complete arrogance.
im afraid you are deluding yourself. you personally know and have asked "the vast majority of law abiding citizens" then have you? thats a lot of people! it seems you have an opinion so strong that you believe everyone 'must' be with you on it. Go do some research on road related deaths and injuries, if you open your mind for a second it will say to you that although your ambitions may be just, you are barking up the wrong tree! You also seem to be convinced that all riders of bikes on your hitlist are murderers, hmm time you started taking your pills again i think, its doing you no good.
"Check your physics: There is very little significant difference on a human body in the impact damage of 6000 lbs at 100 mph or 500 lbs at 180 mph"
Great, I love competition!!!
So lets talk physics then, a subject which should raise no flames.
In physics the kinetic energy (KE) equals 1/2 mass times velocity squared.
so KE = 1/2 x m x v x v
To make this simple, lets not bother about units, lets just compare the ratio of the two kinetic energies, my truck at 100mph and my bike at 180mph.
KE(Bike) = 1/2 x 500 x 180 x180 = 8,100,100
KE(Truck) = 1/2 x 6,000 x 100 x 100 = 30,000,000
The ratio is 30,000,000/8,100,100 = 3.7
So, physics tells us my truck can do 3.7 times as much damage as my motorcycle.
So a truck at 100mph and a bike at 180mph, will kill both you with impact damage.
No flames here Hal, I'll set the example and stay on the high road.
Well, you see it all depends, you can apply the same logic and say if a 22 bullet hits a human being and a 50 caliber bullet hits a human being the difference in kinetic energy does not apply, both will kill you.
You see, there are a lot of variables here. It depends where that Human being is located when the truck or car gets out of control. We are talking about your street here, so if you were sitting in your lounge, watching TV, my truck would probably go right through the house and you. Were it the bike, you stand a much better chance.
It's real simple Hal, try and understand. I am a responsible person and as most of us I try to obey the law and I don't go speeding at 180mph in public, there are legal places to do that.
So, I have a car, a truck, a 40 Smith & Weston, a 338 Winchester Magnum and a Hayabusa. Should I go nuts, I believe the Busa will probably create the least damage. They are all legal.
I have not seen your statistics, but how about giving us a few links?
Unfortunately there are always those who are totally left field, and they spoil it for the rest of us. Fact is, they will always find the best tool to do it with, if what you call a superbike is not available to them, they will do it with one of those high cc multi cylinder motrocycles you claim to have ridden. Were they not available, the statistics would shift to the next thing available and in the end we will all be riding mopeds, should we continue downsizing.
No one has any god given right to kill others by riding at the speeds these things will do on the road. We have the same problem in Australia. Otherwise sane people with insane vehicles. If you race on the track, good for you, look after your fingers and toes. Do you really need a 500hp ute to tow your race bike that weighs nothing to the track four times a year??
Wake up! If you use one of these mursercycles hard on the road you are a mindless potential murder of small children! I have heard it all from boy racers over many years as a shop owner. How they only do it when it's safe etc. It is never safe, others cannot be expected to respond when you just appear from nowhere like that, and a bit of rubbish or an animal crossing the road is often a death sentence.
Thank Hal, Ditto. I am glad you are here.
LOL, that was funny Hal. Yep, I did miss your linky, sorry man.
Statistics tell us a lot, such as older riders over 40 now have 49% of the accidents while the under 30 year olds now dropped to 31%. Then there is the indication of the highest percentage cause, being 27% were drunk drivers. You think that is where we should perhaps start; they call it the 80/20 principle?
No worries, my guns are just for standby should Canadians cross our borders illegally. Since you have called me a friend, you should be OK though, just wave a flag or something. (Joking here OK, just so you know)
So, Hal, tell us what is the biggest bike you have ever owned and which one was your favorite?
Lets just shine a light on the rational behind the author of this page, shall we? Hal, for the dramatic photo you have posted at the top of this page, could you please provide us the details of the incident? Day, time, police investigation result, charges laid, etc? Or did you just find an accident photo somewhere and give it your own caption? Just like you make up your own stats? I've owned a Hayabusa for three years and not one accident or police ticket. And the only close calls? They were from motorists, in safe little gas sipping cars, that turned or changed lanes without bothering to look.
You like to point the finger at the horrible sport bike rider, with a thirst for blood, patroling the streets for a fresh young family to kill, yet you completely ignore all the incompetent, drunk and clued out drivers that do far more damage on our streets on a daily basis. For every sport bike that plows into an innocent bystander there are 1000s of car drivers doing the same.
But you won't hear this argument, will you? No, you'll just stick to your shortsighted opinion and make outlandish claims that will raise the ire of the sensible and drive traffic to your pages. Nice work, now if you only you could get some respect to go with it.
Hal says "A Motorcyclist, after stating "just like you make up your own stats?" at the bottom of a Hub which shows a link to the IIHS report that is directly quoted, your comment only deserves one reply: You are a moron."
I typed a three paragraph comment in which I asked about the photo at the top of this page, and the caption you wrote for it, and you address one line and ignrore the rest. Then you call me a moron. Unbelievable.
"BTW, as for the various commenters who are digging out every insult from the Urban Dictionary to throw in my direction I say bring it on. Let's see if you get tired of typing before I get tired of hitting the DELETE COMMENT button!"
That's right folks, the "Hubber" has to make sure he gets the last insult in.
How ignorant. You don't like some bikes, you think they are un-neccessary, so you favor banning them.
How about you not buying one if you don't like them? There are many other people who think perfectly legal things you like are unneccessary - how would you feel if they were banned?
Irresponsible skiing can be dangerous, to both yourself and others on the slope - ban it!
Powerboats and jet skis have no brakes and can be dangerous when piloted irresponsibly - ban them!
Guns are easier to get than cars, yet are built to kill - ban them!
I think you're the one that needs to grow up. You trumpet one incident of car vs. bike with no details, yet you completely ignore the thousands of riders injured or killed every year by at-fault auto operators, usually those who turn left in front of bikes that have the right of way.
Where's the outrage there? Which is the greater hazard to life and limb?
You don't care about safety - you want to fan the flames, say outrageous things, up the traffic to your blog, get more hits. I understand that.
Hopefully the other readers here understand too.
The huge, ignorant chip on your shoulder assumes that I ride a sportbike. I don't, having put around 25,500 miles on my touring bike last year alone.
If you think the very real problem of at-fault cars turning left in front of motorcyclists is "an old chestnut", I suggest you re-read the Hurt report and get acquainted with the facts.
You missed the point. Again. It's not the tool, it's how it is used by the operator. Banning the tool does not change the behavior of the operator, it just means that the operator will find a different tool.
The sight of you calling me a "knee-jerk reactionary" is roll-on-the-floor funny, since you're the guy pressing to ban things you feel threatened by.
BTW, the relevance of details about your pictured photo is that it's just that, ONE photo about ONE accident. I can cherry pick single graphic fatality accidents involving particular types of bikes/cars/trucks all day long, which proves nothing whatsoever about wider, systemic operational problems.
You want to get started on real problems? How about the high percentage of motorcycle fatality accidents involving unlicensed riders? How about all those cruiser riders who die from head injuries because they refuse to wear real helmets, or any helmet at all?
Not outrageous enough for you, I guess... then again, internet trolls seldom address substantial problems.
Ya he deletes the comments that prove him wrong <---- wrote those comments, if you disagree then post my comments up and let other people judge. BTW stop telling people they are dumb at reading, no one cares about the IIHS, I just got offened by you saying ban superbikes, like that's really gonna fix anything, any car in the world can go past 100mph and people will use that for their speed fix. As for me, I am a cautious driver, own a S4r Monster so ya it's got power but I'm not the biker that uses it's full potential. Man if only I could have a face to face with you about this subject.
Again, Hal, you miss the point. You want to ban a symptom, not fix the problem. I read the IIHS report, and I actually understand it, unlike, say, you. Anyway, this entire discussion is pointless since you're hellbent on trolling to push up the hits on your blog.
I'm just curious, you owned a Suzuki GSX1100. That was as good as it gets for that time, actually even today it's only 1 second and a little bit slower than a Hayabusa in the 1/4 mile, with much worse brakes and handling.
So, does this mean you are a rehabilitated cuicycle?
Or, does it mean you just don't envy others the things you enjoyed in the past?
Help me out here.
Sheez, I don't do those speeds on the road ever, besides jail time, there is the responsibility issues. LOL, then you tell me what a terrible person I am in an earlier thread.
I may not be too far behind you, when it comes to years, but for a rush I still race my road bicycles every season, in a bunch so tightly packed, one rider, one mistake and 20 of us go down. Then there is a monster dirt bike to catch air with and see nature at the same time as getting a rush.
Hall, I think you have just admitted, you are getting old.
About the green thing, I think a little unrealistic, unfortunately business has me flying a lot, the Hayabusa is not even a drop in the ocean in comparison.
I hope my heart stays young, would hate to hate my Hayabusa.
Hey Hal did I actually say I didn't believe your stats? No? Ok... just making sure. I believe the stats, don't care to look at them because I know that stupid kid's kill themselves on super bikes. I'm just mad at you for dissing us respectful motorist that drive super bikes but don't abuse their power. You keep calling us dumb, unable to read, insane people that just wanna ride super bikes to kill people. I'm trying very hard not to swear at you because you're missing the point that you have just pissed people off cause noone agrees with your ban Idea. The only thing I like more than riding my ducati is having sex and that's its, this motorcycle is my love and joy. Hey look guys, I can make fun of Hal for not being able to read because I clearly never said I didn't believe his... I'm sorry the IIHS stats. Anyway I'm done, never coming back to this page this is just dumb, Hal I really do pray for you, I'm sorry you got picked on alot in school. If I spelt a word wrong and didn't care to fix it because I know you're gonna read this and call me dumb so i'll just leave you with that pleasure... bye guys, keep on riding those death machines, maybe one of us will hit Hal because we are just sooooooooooo insane and blood thirsty.
Ducati s4r monster forever!
So, do you think it is OK for a rehabbed alcoholic to promote banning the sale of liquor, beer and wine?
And now the drama queen rants against sport and super sport bikes, Christ you are one spiteful FUBAR'ed individual,
News flash drama queen, it's not the bikes but the riders. Squids will be squids, they always have been and always will. This was true whrn my Paternal Grandfather raced bike at Brooklands in the UK back in the late '20's and 30's.
If you want to really reduce trhe carnage on the roads, then push for manditory training, a graduated licencing scheme along with HP restrictions for new riders such as they have in the UK, which is set at 33 HP. That way new riders can get their 600RR's or higher but not access all the HP until they have mastered riding.
Oh one last poit queenie, the fastest growing demographics for rider deaths and injuries is not the 20-something RR squids, but old farts such as myself in their 40's a nd 50's who get back into rinding adfter a 20 or more year hiatus, and then majority of them perfer your "safer" cruisers.
Nice hub. Thank you for the information. Please visit my hubs when you have a chance.
don know abt you guys. but i've lost a gud friend last december just 'cause he was fast on a mere 175cc motorbike(seems funny huh?) and didn't had a helmet.
the thing is that SPEED THRILLS, BUT KILLS.
and i do agree to the fact that "Its not the ride, but it's the rider"
still, i doesn't favour hypersports/sports on public roads. i'm not blaming the ones riding it or the bikes. its 'cause all that power just at the twist of a throttle away makes you a jackdumb for a minute or even a second and that second is just enough to make a life/several lives go away.
those bike are really good on track(though not as gud as litrebikes), but they are not fuel efficient, hard to handle under city speed limits, and has too much power for a road bike. i dunno why the manufacturers crank up the horse power and engine size for a road going bike to race spec levels. its just insane.
no wonder why all those parents are worried abt their adolescent kids(i am one) riding a hypersports/sports.
i love these bikes(you know, i'm still a teenager :) ), but i think these bikes are not suited for day to day commuting.
i'd love to have a ninja 250r and a 1098.
let the 1098 rest in the garage when not in use and lets take the ninja out for commuting. and doing so will save lots and lots of gallons of gas which we are running low on.
That's great that you want to ban everything that isn't a 250cc POS, especially for your misguided attempts at either "saving the planet" or "saving us from ourselves". If you want to ride a 250, do it. Just don't expect me to.
In the environments where we have to ride and avoid soccer mom cell phone talker who can't see us through all of her Obama stickers plastered all over her SUV or Volvo, power to squirt around her is an ABSOLUTE necessity. You can putt in her blind spot all day long on your 250cc planet saver, but don't try and tell me that I need to.
I can clearly see why you were (key word) editor of "several" bike magazines. You simply don't let facts get in the way of your opinions, whether it's on bikes or the environment. Sure, we all need to do everything we can to not pollute the planet, but beating your chest in the "man made" global warming MYTH reduces your credibility, as the planet has recorded lower temperatures over a 10 year span. Like I said, don't let the facts get in your way. If you really cared about the planet, you'd spend a little more time talking about getting China or India in line (as they are #1 and 2 in the pollution output) and less trying to rid the world of legal products that people enjoy.
Should your perveted view ever take hold, it would destroy the biking industry. All that would be left would be pea brains such as yourself on your 250 maximin cc bikes. Take all the fun out and just make them utilitarian, great.
Now to wait and see if this actually posts... seems like most of the allowed posts are just sheep bleating their agreement with you. I think I'll go fire up my VMX17... no, make that my 8 liter emmisions exempt 1934 coupe. Heck, I'll even do a monster burnout to make myself feel better about kool-aid drinkers such as yourself.
You claim sport bike riders are putting the motoring public's lives at risk. How many car/bike accidents (biker deemed to be at fault) were there in any year you care to quote where there was a fatality to an occupant of the car compared to the number of car/bike accidents (car driver at fault) over the same period, where the rider was killed? Think you will find inattentive or intoxicated car drivers are a much greater hazard to sport bike riders and public safety in general than vice versa.
No I'm not in my 20's and I don't ride a sport bike. I ride a Harley, but I loved the sports bikes of my day. Remember 25 years ago, the good old 1984 Kawasaki Gpz 900R Ninja, weren't they so much safer when they could only manage 155mph and SS1/4 in 10.55s. Oh wait that's not too far behind a Hayabusa is it. What can we conclude from this? Perhaps its the rider not the bike that's dangerous!
Logic then dictates that banning the Hayabusa wouldn't correct the problem. So, by definition, your argument is baseless as both the premise on which it is based and the solution are not supported in fact.
Long live (all kinds of) bikes, freedom and the right to choose.
Hal, appreciate your prompt response. I don't dispute the Insurance Institute statistics you referred me to just their interpretation. Sport bikes have the largest percentage of fatalities and the thrill seekers you talk about are attracted to this type of bike. However they are a minority and riders such as you and me have ridden bikes not much slower for many years without harm to ourselves or others as have many other bikers. I think that banning these bikes would not correct the problem just shift it to another class of bike/vehicle and penalize the vast majority of responsible bikers in the process. I know as an American (or Canadian) and professional journalist/biker you can't think that is fair.
A Hayabusa has a top speed 20+mph over a 1984 ninja 900R and a SS 1/4m 1-2/10ths/sec better (there is no stock 200mph production bike and no sub 10s. SS1/4 that I am aware of) and everything else is far superior. The frame, tires, brakes suspension, handling. If anything sports bikes now are technically far safer than the superbikes of the 80's which again points to the irresponsible/incapable rider as the problem.
Don't let the fools spoil it for everyone - put measures in place to deal with the fools.
I have ridden a Hayabusa for a few days and thoroughly enjoyed it. It took me back to my younger biking days. I didn't get anywhere close to its 186 mph top speed (or even attempt to) but I can see why people love the bike. First time I ever rode a Harley I was so full of prejudice and preconceived ideas I was determined not to like it. Its the bike I own today.
We're all bikers, whatever we choose to ride, lets not butt heads with each other because an irresponsible minority give all of us a bad rap
Hal, I have always been one for statistics to back up opinions but I feel that these ones are being stretched. I compeltely agree with you in the fact that bikes this fast really have no purpose on the road and some of the commentors suggesting that they need bikes this fast to be safe and avoid "soccer moms" is like saying I need a tank instead of a safe practical car to protect myself in my daily commute.
Back to my point. I think the statistics are not completely helpful to form a conclusion that the superbike itself is the problem but rather the type of rider it attracts. Super/sport bikes are probably easily the fastest growing segment of motorcycles. I just took my MSF and one major thing I noticed is what types of bikes each person wanted based on their age. The older the person the more relaxed bike they wanted. All the early 20's guys wanted a GSX, Ducatti, or Hayabusa as their FIRST bike. 30's and up wanted cruisers, lower end sport bikes and touring bikes. I just turned 29 and got a Vulcan 900 custom. It was probably a little bit bigger of a bike I would have liked for my first bike, but I'm 6'6" and have fewer options. The point is that as we get older we get more responsible and smarter. The major reason I did not get my license when I was younger was I knew I was not responsible enough to handle a motorcycle safely all the time and I'm extremely happy I waited.
I'm getting way off my point here as it's late and my mind is all over. The major problem is not the bikes, it's the fact that these motorcycles are very affordable and marketed to the worst segment of the population, young immature dangerous men. The other major problem is the joke known as the motorcycling license program. My MSF class had 8 people all which passed. I was by far the best rider in that class and I knew I wasn't ready for real traffic situations and to believe that these other people in the clas, who couldn't handle a 125cc safely have licenses just scares me to death.
I believe the best solution would be a graduated license plan where you have to earn your right to a more powerful bike. There has to be some kind of law to prevent an 18 year old kid, who just got his license from getting a hayabusa. I know we are the land of the free....blah blah blah but we live in a democracy where the government is in place to keep us safe from outside threats and inside threats. We have laws in place to require seatbelt usage, require young kids ride in the backseat, prevent young kids from driving at night. Why not introduce laws to block 20 something red bull fueld adrenaline junkies from getting access to a bike they are not equipped physcially or mentally to handle.
Also Hal you need to remember that there are more motorcycles on the road than ever before and more vehicles in general as well as so many more distractions for drivers that this is also pushing these stats significantly higher. Plus the internet/media makes seeing these types of accidents a regular basis so our opinion is much different than years ago where you didn't get to see/hear about all these accidents, but they were still there.
Basically, I agree with you that these bikes are dangerous, but it's not the bike but rather the system that is failing. People have failed miserable in this new age at having the ability to manage themselves whether it be the motorcycle they buy, or the way they handle their finances and family. People are irresponsible now more than ever and unfortunately everyone of us responsible riders have to suffer for the ever growing moron group. Let's not blame the bike, it's just a tool that highlights the real problems in this world.
I agree with both of you (Hal and New Rider). We definitely want to keep bikes off the legislators radar and I think that a graded licensing system would be a good idea. When I passed my test 25 years ago on a 125, the first bike I bought was a used '78 Suzuki GS550 (about 50hp). That was considered a reasonably large powerful heavy bike back then and it certainly took me some time to become totally comfortable with it. A big 4 cylinder is a totally different beast to a 125 single or twin and handles very differently it takes time to adapt from smaller bikes. Even a lot of my older, more experienced, biker friends that had larger bikes commented (quite rightly) that it was a pretty big bike for my first one after passing the test. No one back then would have considered going from a 125 to a 1000 but they can and do now and I'll bet that most of those statistics comprise of these people. A 1000 sportbike is not very forgiving in the hands of the inexperienced, at least on less powerful bikes when you make the mistakes that are inevitable as a novice you have a better chance of it not turning into a serious disaster.
Guys, Do you have nothing better to do than try to take our rights away? Anything can be dangerous in the wrong hands. If you buy a gun, It doesn't mean you are going to kill yourself or anyone else. Same goes for a Street Bike. Yea, they will go up too 200MPH, It doesn't mean everyone that has one does it. I have a Hayabusa, I Like going fast and so does most people that rides any motorcycle. I could kill myself or others just as easy on a Harley or a 600 Street bike going 100MPH. ITS NOT THE BIKE! ITS THE OPERATOR! I will ocasionally break the speedlimit but its on a deserted road with no traffic. In town or around others, I keep my speed reasonable. And Im sure that alot of bikers do the same. Some people are RETARDS! You cant Fix STUPID! If bikers want to kill themselves, let them, what do you care. If they are breaking the law, let the police handle it. don't try to ban all streetbikes because of a few accidents. I don't know all the stats but I am sure there are alot more things you should be complaining about. Over the Next Week, I want everyone to pay attention to vehicles around them, Every Vehichle if possible. How Many people do you see talking on Cell Phones? Reading a Map? reaching in the back seat or passenger seat? Eating? drinking? anything other than what they are supposed to be doing. How many wreckes are caused by all these things? How many people die? How many people cause an accident paying attention to what other people are doing rather than minding ther own bussiness. (now if you haven't caused a wreck or killed anyone.) How many Hayabusa's or other street bikes did you come across that were going 100 + in traffic? I drive an average of 2 to 4 hrs a day and I am much more worried about other drivers around me than i am a motorcycle blowing by me at 160 MPH. Anyone Else feel this way? or is it just me and the Hayabusa Owners? How many wreckes have you come across? How many involved motorcycles? Im not saying you don't have your points.. cause you do. But Don't take away my rights cause you have a foul taste in your mouth. You don't see me trying to ban cigarrettes? How many people die from ciggarettes? Probably more than die from motorcycles. I hate cigarrettes, Ive watched too many family members die or cant breath cause they smoke. However its their responciblility, their rights. Come to think of it, No family members have died from motorcycle crashes. We should be educating these people. the last thing we need is another law. Most laws are for revenue anyhow. not to keep us safe. for example: I had a Wreckless Driving Ticket when I was younger for Spinning a Tire in my truck. $400 and Insurance premiums increased. however, I also got a loud and unseamly noise ticket for having my radio too loud for a cops listening pleasure. a whopping $999. Ticket for loud Noise. (separate Ocassions). Hmmmm.. More laws anyone?
Hi Hal,
What occurs to me is the parallel argument riders of these bikes make to the arguments alcoholics and addicts make. "It's MY life and no one can tell me what to do. I'm not hurting anyone else." It's a very selfish and immature attitude.
My son and his friend, both newly licensed drivers, both got hit by a motorcycle rider who was straddling lanes. He tried to outrun my son and didn't make it.
Graduated licenses for motorcycle riders -- great idea. To me, as a car driver, there is NOTHING scarier than an unsure, novice bike rider! MM
I have just as much right to be there as you do. and on the vehicle of my choice. What don't you understand about that. because Hal seen one fatal crash, Everyone in the world should suffer. I guess we should kILL all the Deer in the world too. They just have no regard for motorist or human safety. what's wrong with them, running out in front of cars all the time. You are just a sad individual. If you are so concerned with your life, just lock yourself up in a padded room away from all the dangerous things in life. Me, I got some livin to do, you just wasted 4 hrs of my life. Thank you!
I Never said I had a right to violate the rules of the road or indanger others. I said I had a right to be their and to be on the vehicle of my choice. wich just so happens to be a v-8 Titan and a Hayabusa. Who are you to accuse every superbiker of breaking the laws and indangering others? This Hub is about you wanting to ban superbikes. and when someone argues a relative point, U change the subject and accuse of breaking laws and being wreckless. In Fact You know nothing about me or anyone else outside your lonely little mind. Now give me one good reason why Superbikes should be banned other than careless operators?
Thats what I thought! You Have no reasons. I feel better now. btw I love the Hayabusa Video. LOL
I think you need to go back and read the stats.. That information is useless. It has no information about the related deaths/crashes. It did say Speed was an issue. It didnt give any facts as to how fast they were going? Speed can be an issue at 60MPH which is perfectly legal in some areas, It said nothing about them speeding, Whos fault it was? How many Innocent bystanders died?No circumstances where given which makes that info usefull. its a simple equation deaths vs registered vehicles. U are misinformed and hearing what you want to hear. Get the facts!
Go see which car has the highest death rate and try to ban that.
Geez Hall, are you still at upsetting all my Busa buddies? It's been a long time hey?
So now you call us "Illiterate Neanderthal Idiots!" Hee hee, that is so funny!
What can we do to put a smile back on your face and be a kind person? Stop riding our Busas is out of the question, is there perhaps something else we can do?
No Im Not a debater. But you don't have the facts, Your making stuff up and trying to back it up with information that you don't have. You are talking in circles and proving nothing. In a court of law, your case would be DISMISSED which is why you will never be able to ban anything. Its a shame you cant Ban Ignorance!
what do you think of a smart car with a hayabusa motor?
Yea iM Pulling your leg, I agree with you. Sportsbikes should be banned. Everyone That rides one is a dumn criminal and all bystanders are in danger. RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!
and Im done, no more incoherent statements to publish. Good Luck to you and your cause.
I bought a Hayabusa 3 days before stumbling on this site.
Im a conservative rider and don't ride fast or hard. Im 30 years old. I went from a 125cc scooter to a 125cc cruiser style bike until I passed my test and grabbed myself a zzr600. 1 year on I have the Busa. I chose the busa so I could brag, for the build quality, for the power to tour with the wife, for the looks, for the feel and to piss off my best mate who thinks his Thundercat600 was the dogs nuts!
The bike Is not dangerous unless It's in the wrong hands. Maybe there should be an age limit of about 30 years old before you can drive over a certain Brake Horse Power or cc engine. I could have been a twat on the zzr600 at 165mph or even the cruiser 125cc at 70mph and yes! even the scooter at 60mph but I wasnt.
We could all spout statistics! My beef is Smoking, Which, in England kills 90,000 or so people a year! In fact, half the people who smoke here will die due to smoking.
Anyway! What Im trying to say is Hal Linco is right perhaps to be concerned and maybe a bit pissed off but what about all those high powered cars driven by 17 year olds, who like a lot of people, dont see bikes or concentrate on the road.
Like the smoker, I wouldnt like to be told what I can and cant do. The roads here in England are tiny and quaint compared to America or Australia and my Busa is happy at the slow end of the specrum, and due to the build quality, hopefully it will last me ages.
If an arrogant car driver doesn't kill me first!
I do not like the word "banned" you can not forbid other people to drive a sport motorcycle. I really like driving a sport motorcycle and I'm not longer a kid but still love to hear the thrill of speed. I agree that the motorcycle(especially sports one), but all the bikes are dangerous in the hands of a foolish on normal road or highway, but this is not a valid reason to prohibit them!I think it is better to educate them and give them the opportunity to meet their desire of speed on the track. Try the track! is fantastic
You stated, "If he had run into the Fiat at a speed discrepancy of 10 or 20 mph, likely he would have just offed himself... oh, what a loss ;) The problem is that the speed discrepancy was closer to 100 mph and his engine ended up embedded in the dashboard. You cannot possibly defend that."
From this, we can safely deduce that your argument is with motorcycles that can achieve a top speed of close to 100mph or greater, as you argue the difference in speed between the two objects in question is the cause of death - since motorcycle riders constantly move past objects that could have a speed of zero mph.
Therefore, would you argue that the "supersport" motorcycles in question would be considered safe if they had a speed limiter of 100mph? If not, is it the rate of acceleration that you believe is the cause, or a combination of the two?
In addition to that question, I would also pose that on the majority of two lane, non-divided roads in the USA, the top speed is no more than 45mph. With this said, two vehicles both traveling at the speed limit share a combined rate of acceleration towards each other of 90mph. Do you believe that this type of travel is just as unsafe as the rider in your example, since a head on collision between two vehicles - each traveling 45 mph - would cause similar effects to a collision of a vehicle traveling at 90mph against an object traveling at zero mph?
I look forward to your answers.
Over here in the US, they put us behind bars when we tripple the speed limit. We don't call them "national highways" we ride on "interstates".
What happens in Canada when you get caught trippling the speed limit?
"Jellyrug: Don't lecture me on interstates, as I was hitting 160mph on them when you were still trying to figure out what the pedals did on your tricycle. What happens in Canada is the same that happens in any civilized country when you triple the speed limit. You go to jail. Now do you have anything interesting to add to the conversation or are you just blowing hot air out of your nether-regions?"
A Canadian, doing 160 mph on our American interstates. How dare he do this in our country when he implies civilization should put him behind bars???
Now that is interesting, right?
Actually, your English is not the best; it is not attention span we are talking about, but rather memory. I am good at both; however, my sense of humor is streets ahead of yours.
About the maturity part and you, another good laugh!!!
Now now Hal...
You see, we have totally different values.
Quote your writing: "B: Shut up. I'm not going to engage in your stupid argument where you're trying to justify 200 mph superbikes on public streets by comparing them to head ons." Unquote
According to my values, that is bad English, both in composition and manners.
Oh dear, I have offended you and I am so sorry that you feel your chops were busted.
Are you saying that no one who condones superbikes may come to your page, as they wil be trying to enforce opinions which do not align with yours? And further, they won't have anything of value to add?
In your book Hal, considering your own stated poor past behavior, at what age do we reach mature reasoning and responsibility? I got there while still in my twenties, how about you?
Let's get back to subject of Superbikes:
If you know motorcycles, you will know that a 600 today is not much slower at completing the 1/4 mile than a superbike. Once we are above 125 mph any error in public will likely have disastrous consequences.
In bad English, you talk about riders "splattering" themselves at the track. If you have experience on the track, you will know that it is rather safe for even the irresponsible rider. There is very little "splattering". Reasons are no cars sharing the road, no vehicles coming from other directions, no intersections, use of the full width of the road, controlled conditions, enforcement of protective riding gear and training for novices who do it the first time. No statistics available to my knowledge, but I know of no fatalities outside of professional racing and only a few inside professional racing.
Unlike you, I have been responsible most of my life, and with track experience at around 190 mph and road behavior within the legal framework, using the same machine, I believe I have been less risk to public than you were in the past and will be in the future.
Unfortunately the opinions I consider valuable will not align with yours and your reactions will be attempts to flame all hubbies who disagree, or do not support your views.
Waiting patiently for your next flame, Jellyrug.
Sorry I missed it Hal.
Vernacular = the common spoken language of a people, as distinct from formal written or literary language.
The common language you use in your hub includes the following frases.
Are you demented?
Immature hot bike jerks.
Shut up. I'm not going to engage in your stupid argument.
I'm tired of trying to get a simple fact through your thick skull.
I don't have facts? What the hell, dude?
Racetrack toy for wankers with more money than brains.
The faster the world rids itself of resource-gluttonous leeches like you, the better off we'll all be.
Hal, Hal, Hal, I am sure were your grade school English teacher aware of your command in the English language, she would turn in her grave. I hope you don't mind, but I shall refrain from using your hub vernacular.
I was expecting a big flame?
Hal, don't let me down now, keep it up, we are pusing your score to the 100 mark!!
C'mon Hal, keep it going, don't fall asleep on me now....
How about I put a side pipe on my Busa and do a burn out in front of your house? You think that will wake you up?
Other than that I'm stuck my hubber friend, nothing else works...
So now we have that out of the way, can I have your address, I will pay for the camera man. Do you have a fire hose at hand?
Most of my posts to your blog were with a lot of humor thrown in, I hope my dry sense of humor did not catch you off guard.
I really don't give a shid what you think about me on my Busa, but had a lot of fun debating on your blog.
On a more serious note this time, I have been real lucky to never experience an injury on a motorcycle. Perhaps it is the thousands of miles logged in competitive road cycling (Bicycles) that taught me to always be on the defence. Superbikes, Harleys whatever, motorists just don't see us.
Follow this linky, and personally I have lost count of how many times I experienced the same.
What the hell is a "Typical Busa Hothead"?
"displays of excessive horsepower, speed, noise and smoke. individuals who place decent, ethical, righteous, and blameless bystanders in peril every day."
is this your definition?
Had my Busa a week now!
I am very pleased with the performance, quality and the positive attention it draws.
I kind of agree with HAL and understand why hes pissed off! BUT, I think his campaign should change to raising the age limit or advanced testing rather than an all out ban.
Here in Jolly old England it occurred to me that:-
In order to take a 'Direct Access' motorbike test you must be 25 years or over. (if passed you can ride any 'cc' of engine size)
If you are not over 25 years you must do an 'A1' licence test. This means once you pass you can ride any bike for 2 years so long as it is restricted to 30bhp! Which is fair! After 2 years you can get the restriction lifted.
I have researched also regarding England and its motorcycle accidents. Extemely very few accidents involving Motorcycles over here are not caused by the motorcyclist. We do have many speed cameras breeding thrughout the country however.
I think Hal would benefit from compiling all his data on this subject of his, along with some of these posts and send them to the relevent authoroties, if he hasn't already done so.
Its also worth noting that, in England at least, Busas manufactured after 2001 are restricted and can not reach 200mph. Not sure if this applies to all countries.
Heres a few stats i ran across for you Hal. check out # 15. one in a thousand? hmmm.
what about this one.. In 2007, 49% of bikers killed in crashes were age 40 or over. guess we should ban people over 40 from riding.. what do you think?
I can give you stats all day long.
Hal writes: "Busa Hothead or not, provide a logical and sustainable argument as to why in the friggin' hell you need a bike that goes 200 mph on a public road in a day and age where the mystical allure of the motor and the elation of megaspeed is no longer acceptable or justifiable in any way shape or form."
Good to know we are on speaking terms again. :-)
I can't provide a logical argument, you are right, it makes no sense whatsoever. It also makes no sense that most North Americans prefer cars with V8 engines, able to break the law on an interstate in less than 10 seconds. It also makes no sense that most of these cars are limited to around a 110 mph, with engines running at unutilized capacity burning lots of fuel.
So, what's up with all of this?
Humans are the only mammals with a logical thought process, but through evolution we have maintained the abstract element. The PhD's refer to "left brain" (concrete) and "right brain" (abstract). So the well balanced individual, will have a "left brain" thought process that says it is totally illogical and crazy to have a Hayabusa, while his "right brain" will have a thought process that says it will be nice to sit on and ride the fastest production bike in the world. Imagine the girls looking!! So the well balanced individual, who rides motorcycles and can afford it, has a 50/50 chance of getting a Hayabusa. The "left brain" person will probably end up with a 400 twin. The "right brain" person will probably get a new Vmax and put a turbo on it.
It's all about being human and enjoying life. Live and let live, I say.
About your logical argument, this is what Einstein said: "Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure."
The reason I ride a Busa, is because they are a special kind of people, not the kind of bike gangs who hang out at bars and walk around with chromed chains.
The picture below says it better than I can in words, nice family.
About the Bengal cats, I'm really stuck at the moment with my investments, equity, foreign exchange, property.....
You have one of those Bengal cats I can talk to for some logical reasoning and advice?
I do see you have one riding your motorcycle.
"There's no doubt that there are a lot of old fogeys who have "rediscovered" motorcycling that shouldn't even be trusted with the controls to their powered wheelchair scooters (and let me pre-empt you... I aint one of them, dude)" <---- your quote
This is what we are trying to say to you...
besides, the stats you showed where bike drivers that were killed, not the innocent bistanders. I agree laws should be obayed. but I shouldn't lose my busa for that cause.
would you agree?
Hal! Hayabusas are ugly? Damit! That's the last traw! I think my wifes pretty hot, but perhaps that's in the eye o the beholder!
Here in shitty England it tends to rain all the time. If I had harley it would rust in a year (as im an all weather biker) If I had a chopper I would never get round roundabouts either! The fairing and shape of the Busa cuts thruthis shitty weather just as it was designed to do. I like the Hayabusa (Jap, meaning 'Falcon') look. And I love to scare small children!
I do have one naughty confession Hal. We have a lot of stupid 16 year olds who can ride a 50cc on a provisional training licence, (theses are our mennaces filtering everyones mirrs off and scraping up the side of cars!)
When up at traffic lights next to me these Scooter Hotheads get excited and prceed to carbon deposit their bikes by reving constantly. So I like to pull up close to them and rev the busa and scare them! sorry!
I love this site and put it on my fave list! It cheers me up reading these!
Id disagree about the bike being ugly. There alot of uglier bikes on the road. but I have scared a 2 year old pulling up in the yard coming toward him.. but he loves it now. lol well, other than that i guess we can agree to disagree.. Ill keep my Busa, you can keep your scooter, and we can all have a good time. :)
Hal, care to buy me a membership to NESBA? Ill gladly take donations for track days.
So let me see how this all works out?
A Canadian who wants to ban all Superbikes in North America, especially Hayabusas, the latter which should be totally illegal and a Brit who rides a Busa has just become Hubber Buds.
Does this perhaps have anything to do with George Bush, ya know, he no longer lives in the White House????
Hal Im just curiest on what sportbikes you think are the best looking?
2009 Norton 961 Commando ???
Carbon fiber wheels on old Geyser bike!
That's like putting Pirelli tires on a wheelbarrow, LOL.
What were they thinking?
The Guzzi MGS-01 Corsa is a nice bike, would not mind one in my stable, not available in the US though.
The new Suzuki Gladius looks nice and should be a treat around town, makes the GS500F look old school.
I think the new VMax is just as good looking as Sandra Bullock, so Hal we definitely cannot be Buds.
Yup, I know the Norton is all new, but looking at the specifications and the pictures, it takes a few seconds to realize that the only thing this bike has going for it, is it's name.
80hp out of almost 1000 cc's c'mon. The frame looks as if it was done in my backyard. The rear shocks are 80's style, just adds weight and strain on the swing arm.
The old Honda 919 is better looking IMHO and although this is a dated bike, discontnued here in 07, it is almost 15 years ahead of the Norton in all aspects.
Let's check back a few years from now, bet ya Norton is going nowhere fast, probably be liquidated in the near future.
Hal, I Think its time to get a new prescription for your bifocals.. Those bikes don't even come close to the hayabusa. Hayabusa is Sleek and the rider forms to the bike.
The 2009 Norton 961 Commando, I agree its a nice bike, a little oldschool mixed with a little new. I can dig that.
The 2009 Ducati Sport 1000S, Come on, I cant even begin to describe, but if i had to choose one word that comes to mind. "PENIS" but your a prick so i see why you would like it.
The 2009 Moto Guzzi MGS-01 Corsa looks like half a P-nut shell sitten on top a crate motor. not to mention it looks like a toy i played with as a kid.
The 2009 Ducati GT1000 shouldn't even be considered a sport bike!
The 2009 Norton NRV 588 Race isn't bad, It looks like a track bike, but the seat looks very uncomortable.
The 2009 Honda CBR125R, again not a bad look except the golf clubs sticking up for mirrors. what were they thinking?
I wouldn't mind having a 2009 Norton 961 Commando sitten beside my Busa, but would never trade it for it.
I think the Busa was designed mostly for aerodynamics and speed (obviously) which had a big impact on the look and design of the bike. Like an Ardvark! Stupid looking animal but perfectly designed for what it does. I havnt come across anyone who hates the look of the Busa thow people tend to go for the angry face of the new R1 over here with its black eyeliner and bulgy eyes.
Hal! What do you think of the older model Honda Goldwings? I love that easy look and will get one when i get the itch for something new (10 years time maybe) but plan to tour far and wide on it.
Now now now, Hal and OMG, if you behave like Gentlemen, I will invite you to join us on our leisurely Sunday morning breakfast ride.
Jelly, LOL!!!
Hal its all fun and games.. We just burnin you cause you want to ban our bikes. You touch the stove, you gona get burnt. We cant get you to see our side the least little bit, so what the hell. we still love ya
That sound you hear is the sound of freedom!
You only live once, get back into being a Suberbiker even now you are getting older, you have to just get the circulation going again.
Second to a Hayabusa, you will find me on my Jet Ski, but the Busa still is king, even although you think it is ugly.
Here is the Jet Ski Linky: http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn2/Jellyrug/Je...
Jelly, That's freakin Awsome!!!!!!! I would be first in line to try it. lol
Best Pic Ive seen in awhile. Laughed my ass off!
France has a 100 hp restriction on motorcycles. However, motorcycles that are not registered in France can ride unrestricted on French roads.
Must be those French Canadians. :-)
You'll never see me on a 600. The day they take the busa is the day I get a 500HP + Muscle Car! And that would be just to piss people off! I will Have some fun with a badass car. GAURANTEED ! :)
Hal wrote:"Oh I'd just love to see Jelly, OMG and friends on a nice, sedate 600! :)"
I have a 600, it's a Husky TE610ie and it scares the hell out of me compared to the Busa, for various reasons.
Hal said in his younger days the roads wer different and the risks of going fast were much maller so they got away with it without too many casualties!
I wonder! in 20 or 30 or 40 years time whether we will have this debate over 70mph restricted Honda 600's or even old people on their electric scooters.
But, Thrill seeking is part of human nature as it is to compete, also part of human nature is the ability to make the right choice for others and for ourselves, sometimes even putting others first. I want to Experience how fast I can go on my Busa without shitting myself but i will do it at a track day or sometimes local disused aircraft runways lease their grounds. If you can afford a Busa you can afford a track day.
At the moment Iam happy knowig I can beat anyhing on the brittsh roads (apart from another Busa parhaps) than actualy doing it! A kid pulls up in his Subaru at the lights, he knows he wouldn't be able to beat me. I take pride in being able to ride my Busa Beast skillfully and safely.
If people can not be educated then they end up being enforced. No matter what my opinions or that of others, Beware
p.s, no im not ass kissing!
so true
I think bikes are the transport of the future! most people here in shitty England drive around with only one person each car causing traffic jams almost in all majour towns and cities. Cars are ok for family long distance travling but I think everyone should have a bike for work commute and drasticaly ut emissions. This will never happen while people make the athorities take notice.
I spoke to an instructor recently who said our government are trying to legislate motorbikes off the road. Because they can ban them, they simply change the test policies to make it harder and harder to pass a motorbike test.
Jason, you can still find roads here where you are lucky if you see two cars in a 100 miles, but doing super speeds is just not worth the consequences of getting caught. A felony record can change life in many ways over here. Could be my build, but a stock Busa fits me like a glove and the bonus is all that torque at 20 mph in 6th gear, with a little piece of heaven on the track.
Hal, posting 170 mph fly by's is a sign of freedom in a capitalist society, while imposing rules is a socialist behavior. Different folks, different strokes ya know.
30 seconds! My god, I think I should take a trip to yours Hal and pay you for some advanced lessons!
The Busas heavy, I manage to need not stop at junctions (due to forward observations) and can ride very slow with good balance, but a full stop! I cant do more than 5 without putting my feet down.
Its these types of manouveres which show riding skill on any bike.
Interesting, I remember commenting on a similar hub of yours a while ago :)
Anyway, I am with you and not with you. I do agree that those monsters are unsafe and absolutely unneccesary on public roads - yet I do not trust government to valet park my car, let alone setting and enforcing rules of the road...
So I disagree with your solution, and don't have my own one. Yet... :)
Machine gun may be? ;)
Must be really long periods then - two days did nothing to me :)
And it is still government, so they screw it up inevitably...
I don't recall saying anything that would be bad or offend anyone? What wasn't appropriate for families? Take off your helment so this can sink in.. I AM A SAFE DRIVER! I DON'T BLOW BY PEOPLE AT 140+ MPH WHICH I COULD EASILY DO ON A 600. I don't remember anyone on this hub arguing with you that we should be able to go 160 MPH.. If they did, please quote them!!!!!! OUR POV IS THAT ITS THE DRIVER YOU SHOULD BE AFTER, NOT THE BIKE!!!!! AND YES, ILL HAVE FUN WITH A 500HP CAR IF THEY TAKE AWAY MY BUSA, NOT BECAUSE I CAN BUT BECAUSE I KNOW IT MAKES LITTLE JEALOUS TODDLERS LIKE YOURSELF CRAP ALL OVER YOURSELF!
I think I said BANNING The bikes wasn't the answer in my first post.. we didn't need anymore laws! Did I not? You didnt agree with me cause I own a Busa, but Misha is a genious!
LOL Hal I am really flattered, but I'm afraid you spoil me and I get rotten faster then I get to the white house, so let's leave it, ok? :)
OMG, you personally may be a safe driver/rider, most bikers who survive first years become safe drivers, but you can't really deny that the problem exists and high performance bikes cause unproportional number of deaths AMONG NON-BIKERS. And these people have all the rights to defend their lives as they see fit :)
While I do not agree with everything you said, I do agree that it needed to be said. Well written and Very Pointed. Hopefully inexperienced riders will take note, but I am thinking not so much.
I just Joined! Hey, I might start that anti-smoking blog!
Im going to say it one final time, The bikes are not dangerous. They are machines. Machines are operated by humans. If Man uses machines carelessly, Accidents Happen! If Man Uses Machine safely, Accidents happen but less often! Machine size changes nothing. It does what it is supposed to do. This goes for ALL Machines. Can anyone argue this (Hal)? can a machine not being operated by someone be dangerous? Then Why ban the machine? Its not dangerous. regardless of size, accidents are going to happen, Some can be avoided but not all!
I agree there should be stiff penalties for operators who use machines In an Unsafe Manner. That penalty should not trickle down to everyone with that same machine who uses it safely. (BAN BAD)
Hal said Quote: "When some Hayabusarian can come up with a LOGICAL and REASONABLE and FACTUAL defense for their rides, then I'll eat crow and profusely apologize"
There are many reasons people own Hayabusa's, Im sure everyone has there own. My main reasons are:
Comfort: Im not as flexable as some, I cramp up on smaller bikes. after 15min of ridin, im ready to get off. I can ride the busa for hours at a time with no problems.
Style: I prefer the looks and feel of a street bike. sure I would like to have a custom chopper, but I cant afford a $30,000 bike. I like Harleys but its not what i want.
Power: Nothing feels better than hitting the throttle around 10-20MPH to accelerate to 60-80 MPH in less than 3 sec. ( when the situation allows ofcourse. I don't do it every time, I do like to cruise most of the time.) and I try to obey the laws. I myself have learned what tickets can cost you. example : Court fees, Insurance increases, Job opertunities, and restrictions. I learned at an early age. and am proud to say I have a clean driving record.
Speed and Handeling: I want to play alittle. I like a rush! and I want to be able to take my bike to the track. I shouldn't need two bikes to have alittle fun. I should be allowed to operate my bike on the track and on the road. There are rules on the track also, if you don't follow them, guess what, you get kicked out. same should go for the road.
Customization: Right now i have a bone stock Busa. I plan to keep it that way for awhile, however, oneday i plan on giving it a custom paint job, and making a show bike possibly. I think the Hayabusa is a perfect bike for this(In My Opinion). Hard to do that w/ a sportster.
These are my reasons. I Believe they are logical and reasonable for what I want in a bike. Theres plenty of factual videos on the web of why the suzuki hayabusa is the #1 sportsbike. Ive seen none saying it was the most dangerous.
Another Quote from Hal : "Supersports riders are not only crazy, but they're stupid too!" This is just one of many ignorant things said against people who own busa's. Sir, Im not crazy, stupid, or a lunitic. And there are many riders out there that are in the same cat. as myself. And I also have the right to defend myself and others who are wrongfully accused of being a murderous crazed lunitic with no brains. I myself would like an apology, then i will gladly excuse myself so you can continue your busa bash.
yes! from The Next Generation upwards! What a cool vision of human unification for mankind and others. I love the new film too. I love American movies best. Im also a fan of (or was) of Stargate Atlantis, which was Canadian! I popped in the 1701 coz my name had already been used.
Anyway, soz, don't want to deviate from the blogs topic.
Hal, I don't think these are examples of speed racing
Olympia man dies in off-road motorcycle crashThe Olympian 6 hours ago
The Mason County Coroner and Mason County Sheriff are investigating the death Tuesday afternoon of an off-road motorcycle rider on a dirt bike trail behind the Washington State Patrol Academy.
This chap was on an actual dirt track and off-road.
Wichita's first motorcycle death of 2009 is 20-year-old manThe Wichita Eagle17 hours ago
A 20-year-old Wichita man is the city's first motorcycle fatality of the year. Police say Andrew J.L. Haig pulled out in front of a Chevy Silverado coming north on K-15 at about 7:18 p.m. Saturday. Haig was preparing to turn into the southbound lanes of K-15 when he was hit.
This one was due to poor judgement in making a manuvour I would say! and was hit by the car not vice verser.
Well I guess its a good thing everyone isn't as hard headed and close minded as you are Hal, We would still be grunting and living in caves. here's a solution for your problem hal.. Make Driving anything against the law.. lets automate every vehichle on the road. That way, everyone can live long boring lives with no control of how they live there lives. No more speeding! No More wrecks! No more Traffic Violations! You can write a hub about it.. titled "DRIVING MR. HAL" Its people like you that are ruining this world, Its people like you that cause us to loose our freedom! Its possible that one day they might ban Superbikes, but that also opens the door to allow them to control every motorcycle on the road, and guess what, You cant make everyone happy, someday someone will be after yours.
Or lets make it easier, Put a speed limiter on every vehicle, theres no need to go over 45 MPH any faster and the chance of surviving a crash, almost none.
I Cant justify a vehichle needing to go more than that. Ill agree with you there. but I want you to be fair. There isn't a vehichle made today, including scooters that will go no less than 65MPH at max speed.. maybee everyone should be on a scooter! If this Hub was about putting Speed Limiters on Vehicles.. You would have never heard from me.
When you are ready to trade in that hog, Here's something you should seriously consider. May need to add a safety belt for ya though..
Why Ask Why? Just Do It!
Theres no need for theses but damn there kool!
And You call us stupid, these are the guys you should be after.
nice bike.Thanks for share
look the Hayabusa ((in >MY<opinion)) is the PERFECT bike...its comfrotable,,powerful,,AMAZING FEELING,,AND safe...BUT some ppl r just careless,,so don't blame the bikes blame the drivers<(((bikers and/or car drivers)))..and what's the deal with the "NOT REALISTIC" thing:S...whoever is saying this ,Obviously didn't have any idea HOW to ride a Hayabusa...but i like the way u shared ur opinion:D great job...RESPECT
Hey! What a coincidence!
I just checked the plugs today on my Busa, lifted the tank and found a brand new TRE plugged into the electrics! I reckon it was just a 200mph re-restrictor because I didn't feel any difference when I ripped (and left) it out. Theirs no roads over here long enough to go fast anyway before you soon hit a traffic jam or come to a very british 'roundabout'.
I don't think limiters are a good Idea because they are too easy to overcome. Maybe these bikes need to physicaly made to the limited bhp specs. It would limit choice for beginners but give them something to look forward to and be safe for!
I removed it, taking my bhp from 180+ to 170ish. I couldn't feel the difference anyway so think it was just a re-restrictor. Ther
De-restrictor, sorry, not re-restrictor!
I'll get back to you!
The TRE tells the ECU that the bike is in 5th gear, when changing to 6th, thereby allowing the same RPM restriction in both 5th and 6th. The end result is allowing the bike to go beyond the 300km/h speed restriction. Today there are better ways to accomplish this, including flashing the ECU.
Hi all!
Hal, There doesn't seem to be many markings on the TRE but I found this one on Ebay which looks exactly the same. I reckon its the one.
My bike is the 03 model specs, so its the restricted one
Not sure of the gains using the tre, but didn't feel any diferent before I slung it out. I think it would void my insurance so I binned it!
2003Category:Sport touringRating:81.3 out of 100. Show full rating and compare with other bikesSafety:See our safety campaign with the high safety rated bikes in this category. Engine and transmissionDisplacement:1299.00 ccm (79.26 cubic inches)Engine type:In-line fourStroke:4Power:175.00 HP (127.7 kW)) @ 9800 RPMTorque:138.20 Nm (14.1 kgf-m or 101.9 ft.lbs) @ 7000 RPMCompression:11.0:1Bore x stroke:81.0 x 63.0 mm (3.2 x 2.5 inches)Fuel system:InjectionValves per cylinder:4Fuel control:DOHCGearbox:6-speedTransmission typefinal drive:ChainPhysical measuresDry weight:217.0 kg (478.4 pounds)Seat height:805 mm (31.7 inches) If adjustable, lowest setting.Overall length:2,140 mm (84.3 inches)Overall width:740 mm (29.1 inches)Ground clearance:120 mm (4.7 inches)Wheelbase:1,485 mm (58.5 inches)Chassis and dimensionsFront tyre dimensions:120/70-17 Rear tyre dimensions:190/50-17 Front brakes:Double discRear brakes:Single discSpeed and accelerationPower/weight ratio:0.8065 HP/kgOther specificationsFuel capacity:21.00 litres (5.55 gallons)
I phoned up the garage I bougt the bike from. He said they do not fit a device as standard which is then swapped for a different aftermarket tre. The tre I had was just a go between chip to trick the ECU into different (original) timings of the old ECUs. The old ECUs are not compatible with the newer bikes where Busas are concerned. The 2 male and female plugs which my tre was plugged into simply plugged into its self to form the ECU connection.
This brings me to the conclusion that Suzuki made it this way so people could add a tre! or simply toreplace part of that connection.
well, if I were a hothead! for £30 or $30 It would be so easy to make the Bua 200mph! While I was searching the TRE I thought I had installed, I came accross another on Ebay which would have pushed it even further!
I am a police officer and own a 2008 hayabusa I have been riding for 30 years and a cop for 16 "stupid is as stupid does " when it comes to motorcycles of any sort. We don't need more laws to ban things just less idiots wanting to ban everything. You can not legislate common sense.
Yes I am a real police officer have been for 16 years Joe Rouse dsn# 306 Montgomery City Police Department check with Missouri Police Officers Standards and Training. All cops are not bike Nazi's.
What Joe said. I ride a Hayabusa, and I'm not the idiot on public streets. As a matter of fact I dodge more cagers doing stupid stuff 'cause they have their cell phones glued to their ears, or have to paint their nails (now there's a good one), or do whatever, except for paying attention to their driving. And contrary to popular belief, the throttle on the 'busa goes both ways. I wouldn't put too much stock in statistics (the last good set of statistics, that are still relevant today was the Hurt Report), because by simple math alone, you can skew any statistical result in your favor, whatever it is you want it to prove, you can make it so. I can't speak for other riders, but I will NOT get lumped into the category of 'lunatic' or 'idiot' or 'soon to be dead' because I happen to ride a supersport, and OMG! it's a freakin' Hayabusa! She must be one of those a-holes that wheelies down the road at 160mph! Get over yourselves!!! meh.
I belive that it is a personality trait found in alot of sport bike riders that leads them to ride the way some of them do and that they would ride in that manner on anything a gold wing a dyna whatever Ihave seen as much stupid stuff done on harleys as on anything. The only two fatality motorcycle wrecks around here recently were on a victory and an old metric standard. What I am getting at is that certain riders are going to crash because of how they ride and not what they ride. I also noticed that you owned a gsx1100 which if I remember correctly was an 1100 katana which was a very fast bike in it's time, top speed 150 or did you mean a gs 1100 also fast gotcha.
Hal I am guessing we are from the same era, and doesn't that make you a hypocrite :)
Your a Freakin idiot! Hyperbikes didnt cause the accident, thats just what they were riding.. there are no stats youve showed that sayed That the Superbikes were the "CAUSE" of the accident or fatality. Every single one of em could have been caused by another person. You or I will never know. Like Ive said many times before, you are missinformed. and just like TraNceD and myself had tried to tell you, we can change stats around. theres links further up the page to prove it.
Hal you are quite the debater. I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I belive in freedom of choice and punishment if you choose unwisely to ride above your ability and become a danger to those around you. I feel that it is law enforcement's job to control inappropriate behavior and not the governments job to tell people what vehicles they can own. More people die every year from alcohol related traffic fatalities by far than by speed related ones. Should we ban alcohol or is it each persons responsibility to control their behavior. You have to at least admit that some of what I am saying makes sense.
No Im just a dumn redneck.. YEEEHAWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
If you are talking machine guns which is way off subject they are not banned in the U.S. you have to purchase a tax stamp which is a couple of hundred dollars and about a three month wait. As for machine guns killing cops it is a fraction of one percent of the officers or civilians that are shot with fully automatic weapons and I am willing to bet they are converted. I am all for making the legal age for purchasing a superbike 21 some things are only learned with maturity. I am not even going to get into the alcohol dispute your argument there is completely true, however I enjoy a German beer once in a while and smoke a pipe so I am not the poster boy for politically correct . As far as not making sense coming from a cop you wouldn't really know what makes sense to a cop unless you are or have been a police officer. I know a lot of cops who own sportbikes, Well of course it could be part of our plan to take over the world ha ha :) :)
Its like handing a gun to a group of people. Some of them will snap the barrel and point it at the ground waiting for the clay disks to start to fly, others will load the guns shoot everywhere and pretend to point it at other people untill somthing terrible happens!
If they banned bikes (and cars) from the road of such a speed only those with one now would miss them. New generations would not miss what they didnt have. Bikers in England only account for somthing like 2% of traffic on the road but account for half the road traffic deaths in accidents. (this is mainly due to the Zombie British car drivers who dont seem to care about bikers!)
If an age limit was introduced for obtaining a licence for a Hyperbike such as my Busa it would certainly help matters over in Hals country, but it wouldnt stop the odd prick getting hold of them and riding them illegaly (thow very rare this happens over here. Maybe more traffic calming measures on the roads every few hundred yards which being un-noticeable to casual riders and drivers would damage or hinder the bikes of speeders!
Everyone should have the opportunity to experience the ride quality of a bike such as the Hayabusa without it being ruined by the few. (hey! the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few!) lol!
Maybe a special seperate vetting licence is needed to ride these bikes like those needed to keep exotic pets here to show you are responsible trader. Or it could be based on insurance! rase the premium of hyperbike insurance more and lower it for 600's. Base the sale of these bikes on a maximum of no insurance claim year bonuses! 3 years of riding a 600 no-claims free insurance and you can progress to a 1000 for 3 years then a 1000+ if all goes well! You will still get there but earn the respect along the way!
Instead of bickering about rights and privilages we have to put our brains together and come up with a solution rather than an argument. Let people now keep their Busas but impliment somthing for tomorow!
Assault weapons are semi auto which has nothing to do with machine guns which are fully automatic. Did I mention Iam also a gunsmith and firearms instructor. What most people consider an ak-47 is a Mac 90 or WASR which are semi automatic variants of the ak and have nothing to do with acquiring a machine gun. I have been shot at twice and still don't believe that banning firearms is the answer, however I could go for banning violent criminals.You guessed it I like guns to as do most cops.
Hal, I appreciate the sentiment, maybe your not so bad except for the busa hater thing ha ha
Never said anyone should ride at excessive speeds on public roads. However baning superbikes from public roads would kill the breed. Motorcycle companies race to showcase motorcycles for retail sales.You know the old adage Race on Sunday sell on Monday. We don't need fewer superbikes on the road just less idiots riding them.
Where i grew up motorbikes were quite popular and so where cars. Of my class of 35 , 15 of them were dead by the time they hit 19. All of them dead in car accidents, they were using little cars of about 1L to 1.5L just driven in a reckless manor.
In fact just last week i learned that one of my friends from school, who was a few years older than me has just died, killed by a car full of 18-19 year olds, doing 100MPH+ in a little 1.4L city car, he was driving his car legally and they came round a bend on the wrong side of the road.
Its not just motorcycles that kill, and its not just powerful cars that kill either, any car or motorcycle in the wrong hands can kill.
Its not what type of motorcycle or car that person drives its their mentality that matters, i know a guy that has a ducati 1098S, he wears loads of armour, has taken alot of advanced training, and he is really competent, he will never do 190MPH on a road, he is not like that, he loves his bike and would never do anything like that in the wrong place.
hal dont make sweeping statments , they are never right and you come across like an arogant tosser
I feel that more people will be saved from not banning fast motorcycles or cars, but by better training, when i passed my car driving test, i wasnt given the knowledge of car control, about what a car can do , and about how a car can get out of control quickly , so i sought out this training and expertise.
But I feel that the training should be there before you take your test, in finland the learner drivers are taught about car control, this needs to be taught in other countries.
My experience of learning how to ride a motorbike was alot better, and more in depth about how a motorcycle works and the forces behind it, and how to control it, it might just have been my motorbike school , but it gave me more knowledge (in the first few 1000Miles, where it is needed) than when i passed my car driving test.
More teaching is needed, NOT just banning the problem, as quick fixes never work!
I ride an R6. I'm not going to stop riding either. I have been down before on the freeway because some jack ass ran me off the road. How about you post some pictures of car crashes. The photo of the bike that is
My first comment was cut off
Hal Do you ride a motorbike, that can double the speed limit? Whats the difference? You ride one that can double, We ride one that can triple the speed limit.. Woopty Dooo! You ride on the same roads as everyone else with your death machine.
Btw, If they banned superbikes, chances are the motorcycle companys would go broke and be out of business. wich means your choices of any bike will be slim.
If you dont mind my cutting I just noticed this hub, and I gotta hand it too you Hal it is a very informative hub. I have been one all my life to enjoy the faster side of life. I used to have a 2006 limited edition busa and it was the neatest thing I have ever drove/riden, it had two turbo's on it. I have drove cars and rode bikes to speeds well over the 200mph mark and it is very fun, but just like you and many have said there are legal places to do that. I am one that loves going fast. But I have never and nor will I ever do those excessive speeds on any american road. My busa was capable of going over 235mph, I never took it over that even on the tracks. And on the same lines I have never taken that bike over 75 on any road, even on those roads where 75 is the speed limit. Well I did once I took it up to about 90 to avoid being rear ended by some idiot in a ford escort.
Just one little thing by riding on two wheels as opposed to four, I do not believe that you are increasing your chances of getting smacked. I have personally avoided more accidents on my bike, any bike for that matter. Where as I know that if I were in a car in those exact same situations I would have been toast cause I would not have been able to avoid them so easily.
To answer your question, if you are on two wheels you do need the extra power to get yourself out of sticky situations such as some of the ones that I have been in.They saved my life on mulitple occasions.
It isnt the bike or the car that matters, it is the person operating it....I agree, I hate idiots.
You are right that 235 mark is a little overkill, but I also raced the bike on the track about once a month, and trust me, if I would have been able to, I definatly would have found a way to limit or at least disable some or most of the power and top speed. Or at least bought another bike just for the road, but I never managed to get the necessary funds to have an extra one. I had one car and one bike. Know what I mean? But I do believe firmly that any vehicle can only be as dangerous as the person operating it. Which I think it is a shame that motorcycles like the busa have a bad rep because of idiots that ignore the possiblilites and the consequences of wrecking. If it werent for those idiots, then they would be no different than a 250 cc dirt bike.
So is it safe to say you agree with me on the fact that hyperbikes get a bad rep cause of immature riders? I think that is the reason there are more deaths caused on those kind bikes.
A thumbs up to DEECE!
I havnt had the opportunity to go more than 80mph.(that is 80mph to overtake someone going 65 on a 70mph limit road) and I dont feel I even shoud! I may do a track day when I have had much more miles and experience on my Hayabusa. Besides, someone told me once, "Dont race what you cant afford to crash!"
Indeed, I have found that the massive throttle responce of the busa gets me well away from a bad situation, but as torque doesnt need to be related to top speed, this is still possible with a 250+cc bike! The power to weight ratio will always be an advantage with most bikes.
Hal! Have you done your solution hub yet?
Cant wait for it Hal, I may not be with you on banning hyperbikes but I definatly like reading talking to you so far, good luck on that hub
I own a suzuki savage. and i see no reason to ban superbikes just because morons can buy them. maybe make them a bit harder to get. like a back ground check. Also a moron on hayabusa going 180 can kill one family and himself/herself. the moron behind the wheel of any car can kill one family at a time and still be on the road. so completely banning is alittle harsh. maybe just make getting a hayabusa more like getting a assult rifle a pain in the ass an lots of questions and if your ever caught doing something wrong with it your F%#$ed.how about Motorcycle license being regulated like a CDL. or like bmw limits there cars to 155mph even though they can go much faster. PS also you need to reference more sets of stats to make your arguements. Simply a ban is not the answer.
"I have personally witnessed countless lives snuffed out whose only fault was sharing the public road with a deranged, maniacal, witless, hysterical idiot of a rider engaging in a fit of supersport velocity delirium."
Yeah that pretty much summed it up for me. Your full of it and are one of those folks that will twist stats and reports regardless of facts. Not saying superbikes can't be dangerous they all can. I think my grandfather said it best when I was shopping for my first bike and my mom jumped in saying 500cc was too big. "You can kill your self just as easily on a fast bike as my Sunday cruiser. All you have to do is get stupid" (+lol @500cc being too much)
"There were three separate motorcycle fatalities in the area where I live last week"
heh I think his point was that you said "I've personaly witnessed..." now you say "in the area where I live" basicly yeah I'm gonna have to go ahead and say that you have not seen personaly seen countless victims killed from speeding motorcycleists. On a side note most of the time when I've read or personaly seen (1) a motorcycle realated death it was just the rider maybe a pasanger (although more rare) that died. Its 22.5 in 2,000 not 10,000, the 10k was the total sample btw of all types of bikes.Yes I know those numbers are more damning.
I guess what it gets down to is what folks intend to do with the bike. If you take away the SS bikes you are still gonna have the same folks that want to go fast out there buying bikes. They are still gonna speed and do stupid stuff. They are gonna take risks and go for the adrenalin rush because thats what they do. The difference is that they would be trying to push bikes not ment to go that fast to the edge of insanity. Having witnessed too many home brew go fast jobs on cars that makes me nervous.
Btw everyone should just play nice here. We all love (maybe) bikes. Lets love one another. Ok that was cheese.
Here is an exerpt from an artical focusing on helmets and the link. Just pointing out how unlikely these types of crash's are. The info here was backed up/from 3 different countries (testing in Thailand as well is noted just before this) worth of testing.
"Even though many motorcycles were capable of running the quarter-mile in 11 seconds (or less) and topping 140 mph back in '81, not one of the 900-odd accidents investigated in the Hurt study involved a speed over 100 mph. The "one in a thousand" speed seen in the Hurt Report was 86 mph, meaning only one of the accidents seen in the 900-crash study occurred at or above that speed. And the COST 327 study, done recently in the land of the autobahn, contained very few crashes over 120 kph, or 75 mph. The big lesson here is this: It's a mistake to assume that going really fast causes a significant number of accidents just because a motorcycle can go really fast."
"In the heat of battle you often find yourself aiming for the most visable target, but sometimes its the wrong one."
Hi I am Mike from the uk, I Own a hayabusa and Have done for a few years now ive read the comments so fare and at the end off the day its down to not banning any type of bike. It all about riding to your ability and riding as fast as you can handle in the right places and at the right times. All bikes are only as fast as you want it to go. Ive had my bike up to 196mph on the clock but in the right place and not in a place that would effect any other member of society. I have as much pawer as i need and if im in a situation where i need to use that pawer to get out of a situation it is on tap. Its all down to common sence and experiance. THINK & LOOK AHEAD!!!!
I Welcome your comments but you assumed too much, i did say it was in the right place and at the right time and not in a place that would effect any other member of society nor would it kill someone else. U also assumed it was on public roads in the wilds of Yorkshire WRONG!!!!!!. You assumed i was endangering people to get my lolz WRONG!!!!!! . You assumed it wasn`t a track WRONG!!!!!. I didn`t say where it was nor did i say what track it was ? Never mind ive put my point across that you can enjoy the power your bike has in the right places at the right time with experience and common sense and know your limits. On public roads you have a duty to show due care. So there is no reason to ban these bikes. Its down to rider not the bike ?. Ive had my say so i`ll leave you on your big Bike ban soup Box. Don`t forget to get all the big cars and trucks Baned as well who haven`t looked out for the bikes and killed the bikers as well ?. People who ride horses are 20 x more likley to be killed than a biker look that one up !!!.......lol
I think you should run for president. Or work for FOX NEWS. Im sure the hole world would love to hear your spin on everyones comments. maybee you would get more respect from bikers also.
Stupid man!!! scotty and a few other are correct its the (RIDER NOT THE BIKE....) Its the car driver not the car, its the person with the finger on the trigger not the gun. As for the track it was a track off public roads the right place at hte right time The Same type of people let you do similar speeds on a track silly silly man. Your are a educated idiot. ready to insult anyone who disagree`s with you !! EDUCATION and Better TRAINING and RESTICTIONS are the future not a ban..For probation periods. funny how you say all bike should be no more than 500cc because the pic of the Honda in the pic above inside the Nissan micra in Holland is a 400cc in castrol Honda colours or as you say color`s it was not the poor bikes Fault or the poorcars Fault, it was the rider on its back. DO YOU GET IT THE RIDER NOT THE BIKE....Police in the uk and fire services meet at places where there are regular bike meeting and EDUCATE riders showing large blown up pic`s like yours showing above working with other road safety partnerships in the UK Figures show that its working even though all accidents on Britain's roads only 2% to 3% involve motorcycle.This will be my last post on this subject Ive got a better life with loads of fun to have and no im not a 20 something, I'm over 45 something, still enjoying life i have been a bike rider on and off road since i was 13 years of age i get your point but you are toooooooo radical. It looks to me there is no middle ground except for what you want to ride,so get back up on your soap box Stupid man........I'm off now to get locked up. lmao lol
DUUUUDE! Life is dangerous. You can get killed on ANY bike or in ANY car even if you are careful. Of course there are always gonna be idiots that want to speed up the process. I once had a GPZ 750 back in the 1980s. I bought it new . Never had a problem. I was 20 years old. Then one night I saw a guy broadside a car at probably way over 100 nmph, almost cut the car in half. After seeing that, I took my bike back. I didnt ride again until about 2 years ago, when I got the itch again. I now ride an SV 650. This is the bike you want for the street. When I bought it, I was looking at the Hayabusa, just looking. The salesman bent over backwards trying to get me a great deal on one, but no way was I going there (memories).My point is, you have to know your limits, and obey them. A Hayabusa is beyond the limits of 90% of riders. Samne with an R1.KNOW YOUR LIMITS
A busa is not beyond the limits of 90% of riders, even if you want to push it to its limits. Its beyond the limits of someone who wants to be irresponsible and immature. Standard roads are not designed for great speeds like a track is. It is far more unpredictable. Hey, I dont need to tell anyone here this, you already kow that.
Mick UK,
Chill my fellow Englishman! I think Hal is relating specificaly to his own local state roads in Canada. I dont think Speed Racers on hyperbikes is much of a problem in england purley due to police presence and speed cameras everywhere. Theirs no need to be threatened.
Ps. To newcomers to this Hub. Check out Hals solution Hub before you take this one to heart. Its a real solution for countries where it matters. I am a Busa rider, and back Hal on his solution Hub, but not the whole 'ban' thing. I promote safe riding even if its a turbo charged 280bhp Busa. But remember, If people cant be educated then they are enforced!
I got my first Hayabusa in 2002. I know it's very easy to endanger your life with this bike just like a fast car, gun, small aircraft,speed boat and so on. It just simply is the best handling and performing motorcycle available. Therefore there is no going back. I rode my first Harley davidson in 2004, then I understood why Harley riders rode so slow. These bikes feel out of control at quite low speeds giving you the feeling that your going fast. If I never had ridden a well designed motorcycle, I would be happy putting along on a Harley.... Banning sport bikes is not realistic. Helmet and riding gear laws are realist. Uncomfortable in hot weather but very useful in a crash.
I went to Sturgis SD this summer. I was shocks when I seen all the retards with no helmets nor any other protective gear riding on the highways. If you are serious about saving lives,laws need to be placed just like seat belts. To protect the people that are too stupid to protect themselves. Armored leathers and full face helmets should be minimum requirements.
I watched your video. The bike is only in 5th gear.
Dude. This world is hideously over populated anyway. We are greedy as a species and want to live for as long as possible.
Over here in the UK 90% of motorbikers wear the correct gear. The other 10% are those who ride mopeds or cruisers.
Respect is common amongst all road users over here, although it is greater in mainland europe. Everyone wants to help each other. Cars will signal when the road ahead is clear to overtake, and those on lower capacity bikes will do the same for folling cars. Anyway, you catch my drift.
The problem does not lie with the vehicle. It lies with the person incharge of the vehicle. these come in all shapes and sizes. Taxi drivers, car drivers, motorcyclists, lorry drivers, bus drivers etc. The fact is that banning a type of vehicle is simple against human rights. I could start a thread banning lorry drivers because i saw one of them fall asleep on the motorway a few weeks back, killing something like 12 people.
Moderation is the key. If i come across a car doing the speed limit on a twisty road, i will overtake if its safe. alternatively i will ride at less than the speed limit if i feel it is unsafe!
The fact is that myself and everyone i have ever ridden with knows what they and their bike is capable of. If people start throwing bikes into cars and killing people then it is that individuals fault, not the machines.
The throttle is there and should be used when safe - end of!
people will always die on public roads, its an inevitable fact of life. people die from old age too.
If i ever die on a motorbike, i know i can RIP knowing that i will have taken no-one with me because i wouldnt ever put myself in that situation anyway. The only likely way i will die on a bike is if someone takes ME out; which is much, much more likely to happen!
Dale has a good point. His brain works fine.
Super bikes are the king of the road just plain and simple.Guys riding cruisers can't stand being so badly out gunned. If you are riding a high output machine, does not make you a danger to society! Not taking care of yourself, such as no helmet and proper gear, over driving your ability, road condition, trusting motorists too much ect.... are the things that kill motorcycle riders.
Hi, whilst i respect your opinion it wont fix anything, you can kill people no matter what you drive or ride, banning super sports bikes is not the answer, the machine only does what you tell it to do, why not ban super cars then, they exceed the speed limit and why are you so hell bent on banning things, seems to be most peoples answer for everything these days, if they don't like it ban it.
white vans should be banned, they nearly killed my brother and knocked him off his bike ( cbr 600 ) and left the scene,so you see its not the bikes, cars etc its the owners are to blame.
Even a 600 sportbike is too much power for a first-time rider. But that won't stop the dealer from selling that Busa to some young guy with enough folding green freedom in his pockets.
The single report that you wave around in every post just tells me that the rider was not disciplined enough for his bike and the power it possessed.
If you look at motorcycle statistics, you would see the U.K. has a lower fatality rate percentage. (based off the number of riders, not the population which is obviously smaller than the U.S)
The reason for this is that the U.K. licensing program requires riders to "work up" to higher cc levels.
Would a program like this be more acceptable to you than out right banning these bikes? Seems like a good compromise to me, especially as a Busa rider I would NOT recommend it as a first bike or for anyone with less than 3-4 years of experience. (I'ts my third bike, I have beeen riding for 8 years, and have multiple MSF safety courses, and riding school courses under my belt)
Lets see, deadly seniors in Caddilacs, drunk soccer moms in SUVs, whackos in Pick Up Trucks, dumbos on Cel Phones, Teens in HiPo Cars, inexperienced and young riders on Motorcycles, Police driving at hi speeds. Do we ban the vehichles or drivers. Some of the idiots I know drive the same reguardless of what they're driving. Most accidents could be prevented with a tiered license program for MCs and tougher testing for licenses and renewel, repeat offenders license revocation.
I own an ride a Hayabusa, and I love it. Never hit triple digit speeds. But I can say that on that bike, it doesn't take much. As much as I like the bike, it is too powerful to be reasonable for most folks. If you open the throttle, you're redlining at 80mph in first gear in around four seconds.
I do feel that we could implement a better system of limiting access to what can easily be murder-suicide rockets. For one, usually it's kids who seem to be buying sportsbikes for street use, with next to no driving experience, let alone riding. And they're often the ones taking risks. I've always supported the idea of a limit to power-to-weight, in any vehicle, bike, car, whatever, according to age. I'd be interested to see how the above stats look when broken into age groups.
But I don't support outright banning them, they're great bikes. And it's more than just sheer top speed and acceleration you lose when you move to a smaller, or different style bike. I don't care for either of those thrills, but a Hayabusa is still the best bike I've ever ridden. It just does everything superbly. Unfortunately, that includes letting people ride like jackasses.
While I agree with the above comments that the operator is the problem, not the bike, I believe that perhaps not everyone should have access to the choice. Again, I'm mostly talking about limiting by experience. Not allowing vehicles of powerful capacity to be sold or operated by younger age groups, or to people with enough traffic violations.
So I'd say more of a selective ban than an outright one.
Hi Hal. I came upon this site as I was trying to find the new 2010 Busa colours lol. I've been riding for 30 consecutive years, mostly tourers and standards. I have three bikes. A '75 Suzuki GT750 which I only ride every second w/e with the Atlantic Vintage Club. A DRZ-SM 400 I use for commuting and an '04 Busa which I ride the rest of the time. I don't care for high speeds, but I like to feel the bike's quick accelaration where it is safe to do so, like merging onto 100 series or passing slow traffic for example. I like the handling of the Busa in the twisties and hairpins and would miss that a great deal should my bike was banished. I like the size of my Busa, as any other smaller sportbike I've demoed I found too small for my 6'2" build.(The ZX-14 is also comfy for me) I like the fact that my Busa gets 40 to 50 MPG as it RPMs at 2,900 at 100km/h compared to my friends Sportster at 3,400RPM. I like the exquisitely throatier exhaust note compared with the smaller whining sportbikes. I love, love, love the look of my Busa which is distinct from any other sportbike.
Now my dislikes: I don't like the fact that 3 cruiser riders in my province lost their lives last summer because their machines weren't designed for the speed at which they attempted to negotiate the curves. I also don't like that this summer the parents of a newly licensed kid bought him a 600RR as a first bike and he killed himself the very first day he took it out. I don't like it when I'm cruising with my Busa and Harley riders pass me on the highway and crack their throttles wide open as they go by, apparently trying to impress me with their big guzzlers' wild accelaration and noisiness until their disapear from view. hehe. Believe or not this happens also every second time I ride! And most often from guys who have their chicks as passengers.
I will continue my quest to attempt to reason with the nuts on bikes, regardless of the type of bike they ride and persuade them to lose their shinanigans ways or at the least that they act stupid at their peril only. Away from the rest of us.
I enjoy all motorcycles, but I prefer the looks/handling/braking/power of a sports bike. Unfortunately my diet plan doesn't work and I'm 6'3" 270lbs...if I could fit on a 600 comfortably I would.
I don't use my bike for high-speed runs, blasting corners, or "stuntin". I prefer to get on my bike and ride until I need gas and lunch, returning home as the sun starts to go down.
Do I need all 1340cc's of engine? No. Do I mind it being there in those instances when I need to get away from a cell toting soccer mom? Most definitaly.
Your attitude changed from your original posts of "Ban all hypersport bikes" to "seize the bikes of the immature"....so which is it?
your facts are used as smokescreen to cloud the argument....
the numbers you quote tell us that sportbike riders are more likely to injur of kill themselves than other riders....
but you rant about the safety of the public,how many drivers have been killed due to thier impact with a sportbike?
also please provide how many deaths were caused by impact in the 100mph and over range.
you throw out the stats thatsupport your idiotic rant...yet ignore the fact that :
60% of the time the other vehicle is the cause of the accident. not the rider of a motorcycle.
you also ignore the fact that speed is rarely a cause of accidents, most are the result of cars not seeing the motorcycle.
I guess your really all for banning MY bike then. I own a turbocharged Hayabusa with 280HP. Yet I manage to ride just fine and rarely do above 120mph. Heck, I rarely go THAT high a speed. You reasoning is the same as "Why take a shower, you'll just get dirty again?". Why not ban all the drinking while riding cruiser riders? Seems like a Harley past time for most.
All I say is it depends on WHO is riding the bike. Most sportbike owners use helmets (DOT Approved). Here In delaware almost 95% of cruisers on the rode I see the rider AND Passenger not wearing helmets or non DOT helmets. Cruisers are haters!!!!!
Hal, you entertained me with this thread. Your agenda is one sided and rediculous IMO! Use your brain for a moment. Is a Desert Eagle .50 dangerous in the hands of an inexperienced person than a .22? Both can kill, correct? This analogy applies to big bore hyperbikes vs. uhmm, is it medium sized bikes you deem worthy of existance?
Onward I go. The Hayabusa, your targeted EVIL bike. What an incredible piece of equipment! Tours comfortably, goes fast if needed, excellent handling, gets around town nicely, turns heads where ever it goes. A true ICON. Practical, as 50mpg is regularly seen at highway speeds. Safe, good brakes, excellent stability and power, handles cross wind very effectively,(aerodynamics)Wet roads are another stable point if not accelerating hard. A huge following the Hayabusa enjoys. Average Hayabusa owner age: mid to late thirties. Insurance in U.S. I pay $37 a month due to clean record, married, and over 30. My insurance agent told me there are actually very few calms made by Hayabusa owners relative to other sport bikes....uhmmmmmmm they ought to know.
I'm curious, have you been able to find the tail of a Busa sticking out of a car yet? Just wondering, maybe it's happened somewhere. I love my Hayabusa, and I ride the speed limit 98.547% of the time. I leave whats left for vacant areas, for brief moments of FUN. Thank God for the HAYABUSA, a two wheeled antidepressant, that may even save live!! Go ahead Hal, go buy one, we know you want to.
Busa Owner and I will be happy,healthy cellmates as we exchange stories and memories of all the wonderful times we had on our incredible, predictable, dependable, controlable, HAYABUSAS. We will remember how the machine's credibility allowed it to travel the world with the Goog. Motorcycle Exibition, how the bike made history and began a brand recogition known the world over. How every year in production more people joined the ranks of happy healthy Hayabusa owners (with pera-grins due to ownership.) We will remember the photo shoots, and the verisatility, and most of all we will remember how effortless all that power makes moves in traffic at legal speeds, and how safe and confident it makes the rider feel. The Hayabusa, one of the safest bikes on the road, in responsible hands. The Hayabusa, for responsible, experienced riders.
And on a side note: The European points system for ownership might help reduce Squid ownership a bit....Sounds like you might have been a Squid at one time, that is until you turned over your new green leaf. 50mpg...50mpg = Busa at 75 mph......
You realize Hal, that is not a Hayabusa tail sticking out of the car in your picture!
I'm a 31 year old street rider with 5 years experience. I ride a GSXR-750 with a top speed of 176mph, and a ZX-14 with a top speed of 186mph. Hal, these bikes don't belong on the street. I think that to myself at least once every time I ride them. The truth is that Americans love excess. We also love the freedom to choose. You have to admit you had a hell of a time back in the old days on your FJ1100.
Hello Hal. I have read much of what others have said and what you claim and have come to the conclusion that you are very delusional. You need to stop being so ignorant and listen to what others are telling you because it is falling upon your own deaf ears. And I would be even more willing to be that you are going to poo poo me as well for having a differing view.
Anyways, Our sportbike forum has found your blog and articles and are sure giving you hell for what you have said and claimed. If you dont like sportbikes, fine. If you dont like sportbike riders, fine.
You claim... "Busa Hotheads ramming into innocent bystanders at 1/3 the speed of sound kill lots of other people other than themselves. I am not trying to save speeding motorcyclists from themselves. I'm trying to save INNOCENT PEOPLE."
Yet, I have found that not a single motorcycle accident involving a busa has killed another other than himself. So I am confused why you can paint such a violent picture of something that has not even happened. Please answer me this. How many people who ride sportbikes recklessly and are determined at fault kill innocent people annually? I would be willing to bet that this number could be counted on my left hand (that is if it is higher than 0). I feel as if you are crying over nothing and are worrying that sportbike riders are out to kill you. You have a higher chance of being struck by lightning than being innocently killed by another motorcyclist.
I am absolutely disgusted that you believe sportbike riders to be out to get you while you are on your way to see a movie. You need to drop this whole motorcycle paranoia and look at real statistics. Drunk, inattentive, preoccupied drivers are the real threat to you and your family. And statistics show that they tend to be sitting in their cages, not on motorcycles. You are wrong and have been wrong this whole time. Why is it such a crime that I love sportbikes and want to enjoy the road just as anyone else?
Hal, do you need help picking up all the names that you just dropped all over the place? Holy shit, I mean, really...
How often is it that you've been plowed into by a sportbike rider doing 185 mph? Must be scads, dozens, a daily occurance even, if the shrill urgency of your hub content is any indicator. How often is it that some moron hangs a hard left in his SUV without looking while jawjacking on his mobile and ends up with a motorcycle of ANY KIND parked in his back seat?
Perhaps this is the question we should be asking, yes? I know the "sportbike death machine plows into van full of children and fuzzy puppies" scenario makes you go a big rubbery one, but the fact is that this sort of thing is a rare occurance. Most sportbike crashes involve a single operator, often at speeds that are MUCH lower (i.e. 25-50 mph).
Let's get a grip, shall we?
Hal: Agreed. One month in jail for every mph over 70 mph. That goes for you, too. Splat-splat-splatting down the freeway on your Hardley Ableson and happen go a few miles an hour over the limit? Prepare to spend a few months in jail, evil-doer!
On a more realistic note, if you think repliracers are riding fast now, wait until boneheaded "1 month for every 1 mph" legislation is passed. Spend ten months in jail for 10 mph over the speed limit? Your "get tough" approach will simply have an effect that is opposite of your original intent. Why serve a draconian jail sentence for a minor traffic infraction when the rider can just drop two gears and twist the wrist? Oops, not thinking there, were you sherlock?
You cannot be serious.
You are correct, Hal. I'm not really aware of what you've been doing recently, mostly because the things that you do probably aren't that interesting and what little of your hub content I've read seems to affirm this.
However, I will concede that you have a knack for generating content that is hysterical and over the top. No doubt this particular hub generates a volume of traffic (and ad clicks) that is above average. It takes genuine talent and ability to turn a profit by posting uninformed drivel to the intarwebz. Most people do it for free.
With that said, I must say that I take issue with your "get tough" solution to excessive speeding on public roads. It's simply not comprehensive enough. I propose extending the "1 month per 1 mph" rule to EVERY speed limit, all the way down to 10 and 25 mph posted limits. After all, we can't have someone just blithely tearing along on their electric scooter at 27 mph in a 25 mph zone. This person is obviously behaving in such a reckless and irresponsible manner that it befits a two month jail sentence. What if a small child crosses the street? If it saves just one life, it's worth it in my book!
Wouldn't you agree, Hal?
If you want to ban super sport bikes, then I want to ban cruisers... All the chrome is a distraction. My point is that this is a never ending argument. I am 18 and started on a 2008 250 ninja (by choice to gain experiance) I have recently advanced to a 2006 zzr600. I will be attending Ed Bargy race school next year. I have gone threw every permit/ BS period that they can throw at me. I feel that I am qualified to ride any bike (within my experiance level). I also feel that I should have the right to choose what bike I want. As far as the gas milage argument... Most people ride bikes for enjoyment, if they can afford to feed them, then let them ride them. There are many other ways to help the environment. Where I live, if you are on a sport bike then the police will not even try to pull you over... so mabe that problem could be addressed to help keep riders within the boundaries of the law. After all you guys know what they say about opinions...
I have only been riding two years and with my experiance, I feel more endangered by other motorist, rather than feeling like an endangerment to society. I was almost hit on us 129 (the dragon) by an ambulance... there was no excuse for his neglagent driving. Had I been hit I would have been helpless. There for I fell that Motorcycles can be dangerous, and should be used to there potential on a track only. But this is no reason for them to be ban. I do agree with another post earlier in the thread, it talked about a cc limit to new riders. Sure this would be a good idea, but not a long term limit.
Hey Hal.. its me again... What makes you think your so mature? with all the coments youve posted about other riders, i tend to think your just the opposite.. However, I do agree with your last statement... where do banning JUST hayabusa's and other supersport bikes fit in that last statement? Its everyones responsibility to be safe for there own benefit and others.. Finially you are making some some valid points but you are throwing all your hard work on this hub down the drain backstepping like that..
we all love you hal... just stay out our way.. ;) lol
I just saw a 300+ pound man riding a hayabusa... This guy made the busa look like a 600... there is no way this guy would fit on a 600 and im not sure it could accelerate his ass, anyways, whats a guy like that to do? Im sure he isnt trying to break the sound barier. He supposed to ride around looking like a adult on a little 50CC bike?
Ban supersport motorcycles because the CAN go fast on the highways and residential roads.
Uhh that just sounds ignorant.
Of all my years driving, mostly on the highway, I can easily say that I have been passed by more cars at speeds in excess of 120mph+ than I have by motorcycles.
a 250cc motorcycle can break 150mph so should those be banned as well? Heck pretty much any motorcycle can break 140mph so should they all be banned?
Also, last I knew, most of the annoying riceburners on the road can do well over 140mph. The only difference is how fast they get to that speed.
I think a crazy person in a car doing 140+ is more dangerous than a crazy person on a motorcycle doing 160+
A motorcycle WILL only run into 1 vehicle at those speeds because as the picture above indicates, it will be embedded into the car it hits. However, a car driving at 120+ WILL hit more than 1 car if there's others nearby. Both could cause a chain reaction equal to one another but the initial and most severe damage is caused by the initial impact.
Ok so there MIGHT be more crazy people that ride motorcycles than there are that drive cars. So what's going to happen when you ban those motorcycles they ride? Will they simply switch to fast cars and do WAY MORE DAMAGE? I believe so. Either that or they'll continue to ride that illegal bike of theirs anyway and just speed away if a cop sees them, thus causing more accidents.
There's no winning this argument. I don't agree with banning supersport bikes simply because they CAN go fast, because cars CAN go fast as well. Why not just make it more difficult to obtain one of those said bikes? Must be a certain age to purchase or operate... Sounds good to me.
Law makers need to do what they can without pissing on the people that pay their salary.
Hal obviously prefers an intrusive and overbearing government telling us what we can and cannot do, more so than is the case already. Since "we have no privacy left anyway" let's allow the government to know everything we do and when we do it. Let's have them, who are so much wiser than the rest, guide our lives.
Man, you sure are one ANGRY dude! Every other post you have to call people names; morons, numb-skulls, etc, etc. I ride a sports-bike, yes, do I run it like a crazy animal on the streets? No, no more, no less, than I do in my car because I value not only my life but that of others as well. It sad to see you undermine your own arguments with not only your anger but your complete unwillingness to listen to others. So typical, think you know it all and what is best for others, yet according by your own admission you should be right next to the speed demons in that jail cell you so readily assign them. Reality is this, outlawing items across the spectrum of life just because there are some morons out there would make for a pretty dull life. 2006 MC accident stats: "In the multiple vehicle accidents, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in TWO-THIRDS of those accidents." "The median pre-crash speed was 29.8 mph, and the median crash speed was 21.5 mph, and the one-in-a-thousand crash speed is approximately 86 mph." Get a grip dude and go complain about something else that actually needs fixing, like the moron car drivers that can't follow traffic rules and kill bikers!
i absolutly agree with bira on this one. grantd the bikes today are a little over kill i ride a gsxr600 k6 and most of the time its the negligence of the drivers on the road that come into my lane or are too busy texting on there phone to notice me. time after time drivers slam into the back of bikes or pull out infront of them when there legally going the speed limit and obeying laws like anyone elts. And this is america, if u ban bikes then youll look towards guna then alcohol then cigaretts then the color yellow because its brightness blinds other drivers. i say leave things how they are.. or go buy a bike and see what u think. I know a lot of bad things happen and things like the picture to the top happen but they also happen with cars all the time.
Jason... sry for the spelling haha at least you get the meaning
The answer is that no body needs this much capacity. As a newer cycle rider I am acutely aware of all the things that other riders do. I have seen guys pop wheelies on streets where kids play ball, he could not have stopped his speeding bike if one had run out in front of him. Stupid, ignorant and uncaring of others.
Was bicycling through town last fall, had the green light and was cycling through the intersection when an SUV started to come through the intersection. The driver was texting and oblivious to me. Luckily her passengers were screaming(I could hear them above my screams!).A close call, but when I pulled up next to her at the next stop light, one block later, she was still texting, apparently never put the damn thing down. Not a hayabusa, but that Explorer was potentially just as lethal to me.
Sadly, this type of thing is all too real everyday as many can attest. The real problem is that we have slipped as a society and are not valuing others as we should be. We are terrified of getting hurt or injured and want to be "Protected" at all costs, and then so many of us do the most stupid things possible and then dare to wonder how we got into the mess that we find ourselves immersed in. Multiply that times a few hundred million and you get the idea.
We are so ready to blame the other person, but rarely look at ourselves and ask what we did to contribute to the accident. Ask not what you can do for me, ask what I can do for myself.
My point is that by taking away choice we are not safer. A single soul with a loaded gun can do a lot of damage, and unfortunately they often do. I need only pick up my local paper to read about it every day. Are guns banned? For the most part no, and paradoxically in places where concealed carrying or a weapon is lawful, one is LESS likely to be a victim of violent crime. In sheer numbers of innocents killed I suspect more are killed this way than in a squadron of "Turbo" Busas.
Which would do a greater good, banning the Hayabusas, or banning cells and texting while driving?
The real issue is not what to ban, but how to lead people into being responsible for themselves, and others lives that they impact. That begins with parenting and teaching when our kids are young. Much easier just to "Ban" things than have to think and act. The real challenge is to not to restrict the liberty of individuals, it is to create a society where asocial destructive behavior is not celebrated in pop culture.
I agree that in many respects our culture is in serious jeopardy- economically, socially, spiritually, and in several other respects. I hear the angst you feel for our cultural slide to the abyss. The rationale for your position can easily be defended, but..... Where do you draw the line?
How much is too much? Is speed the issue, if so, what is acceptable? What about 80mph? Who really NEEDS to go faster? If power is the issue who will decide how much is too much? Is 50hp too little, too much, just right? What about if you are riding double, in the mountains with luggage? What if you are like me and commute, and have a ball with 200cc? Who decides? Give me liberty and freedom of choice. This is AMERICA!
Our forefathers bled and died for freedom. Laws should be for protection, not exclusion.
Statistically, do superbikes kill more innocent people than alcohol, smoking, or any other potentially lethal item?While they are restricted in their use they are not outlawed. To do so would take away freedom for those who choose to use them. Freedom, with it comes responsiblity- Change we can really believe in.
America! Land of the free! Because of the brave
I own and ride a Suzuki GSX-R 600. It can do 115 in 2nd gear. Stock. Why so much power? Who knows. Personally, I like the way it looks. Will I ever do 115 in second? Only on the track.
I actually am writing because I had a little input on Douglas Danzeisen's post above mine... I'm actually very pissed off at the amount of people that almost kill me on a daily basis because they're texting on their phones. I thought of a solution... A lot of the new phones now have a GPS included in them that can be used for navigation, Google maps, etc. How about if we get these phones to disable texting if the GPS registers you are going faster than normal walking speed of a human? The only problem is that whole, "What if you're locked in a trunk and need to alert the authorities" thing... And passengers would be pretty pissed off.
Ok, so my idea sucks. But damn... Texting and driving is like the biggest thorn in my side right now on a bike.
Hey there hal, I wanted to say as the owner of a cbr600rr that not all of us are stupid speed freaks. I owned several other cruiser bikes prior to buying a sport bike and I have a great deal of respect for any bike I ride. I do understand that in the blink of an eye you could kill or die and personally I have never been over 75 mph on any bike and the only reason I went that fast is it was the speed limit out west on a trip I took and I will have to say it scared the hell out of me mostly because all the cars were doing 85 and passing me. I don't agree with banning these bikes but I do think the penalty for road raceing and sensless speed should be much more harsh. I would say a person being caught flying down a road should do jail time and that there bike should be seized and not returned that would sure slow them down and with the price of some of those bikes maybe they would think before they act. I don't see the point of going that fast I like to cruise and pick up girls and at high speeds you can't tell if there good lookin or not and that could cause you an accident of a different kind. I have three kids, no tickets and a strong will to live and Im sure there are some others out there that are the same. Not all sport bike riders fall into one catagory. (may the lord bless you with the ability to see and bring you into the light so you shall not be the jugde of others but see in yourself the wrongs which you so blindly preech) god bless
In now way do I come here to bash. I come as a rider of a Hayabusa. I have actually never had my bike over 85. Yeah I know I could have that in first gear if I wanted but I don't. I just want to point out that all sport bike riders are idiots or speed demons. What if for example I absolutely love the looks of a Busa. I love the ergos of the bike since I am a larger rider and just plain feel wrong on other bikes. Ive ridden 1800 goldwings... just not my thing. I love the feel and ride of a spor tbike. And the Hayabusa makes an amazing sport tourer. Sport bikes do not cause death. The people that ride above their limits cause death. Are we going to ban Ferrari's, Porche's, And demand all classic muscle cars get taken to the shredder? No, that would be stupid. Sport bikes are works of art and should be respected as such.
Loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.
Whether my comment is published or not is of no concern to me, I'm not trying to win a public internet debate. However I am honestly curious to see how you would address those points. You're political affiliation matters very little, I am simply pointing out that you're opinions on this matter are very much like the short sighted laws of protection and failed social programs resulting from the leftists.
Having read through the posts above I am yet to learn where the alleged accident took place. You have made wild comments but not offered real information which can be checked independantly for accuracy. Please supply the request information.
So are you unable or unwilling to supply the information.
"In the multiple vehicle accidents, the driver of the other vehicle violated the motorcycle right-of-way and caused the accident in two-thirds of those accidents."
- Quote Hurt Report
The MAIDS report tends to support most of the Hurt Report findings, for example that "69% of the OV [other vehicle] drivers attempted no collision avoidance manoeuvre," suggesting they did not see the motorcycle.
Unless this is your long experience can scientifically disprove two long term studies of actual crashes in both the USA and Europe.
This does not however discount the idiots on motorcycles regardless of size who believe that roads are racetracks.
By following your desire to ban superbikes the result will be less freedom in all spheres of life, once the first ban takes place what will be banned next the right to free speech which is of course not a right but the responsiblity to accept the views of others.
Do we need a superbike capable of travelling at well over the legal limit (unless you live in Germany) maybe not but then you don't need airconditioners, cellphones or televisions. The real question is do we want those things.
When you take away the freedom of choice in one area you run an extreme risk of losing all your freedoms.
Obviuosly a few more than yourself given the fact that both the Hurt and Maids reports state that most motorcyclists are killed by drivers not the otherway round.
The average motorist does not concentrate on his or her enviroment (texting on cellphones, fiddling with radios, drinking coffee, doing makeup, shaving etc.) whilst steering (I will not call it driving) the vehicle they are using to travel in, as a result of this lack of concentration they become lethal weapons to other roads user.
Is the superbiker rider guilty of hitting a motorist when said motorist breaks the law by turning in front of them or how about jumping a traffic light is the rider still guilty?
You would have everyone believe that superbike riders are taking to the roads in a frenzy to kill the poor defenceless motorists or are you meerly projecting your own desires onto superbike riders?
Why not simply call for more visible policing on the roads, this would improve the safety of everyone on the road and not infringe on the rights of others.
If you were to do this you would have the support of all reasonable road user instead you now sound like a reactionary out to destroy free choice.
And in answer to the above post
Ah! you own a cattle farm and want us back in oxcarts.
All jokes aside, make speeding a much more serious offence, above a given figure say 20mph above the posted speed limit suspending the drivers license for a period of six months, above 30 one year and any speed above 50 the loss of the license for a period of no less than five years as well as hefty fines and mandatory advanced driving courses. This system could then work for any class of road going vehicle.
Make the DUI offences carry more serious punishments than those suggested above. Texting while driving being more dangerious than either of the other offences should carry the stiffest penalties.
Intresting idea but it will not work, too many lawyers! You could always try for public flogging instead, starting with the lawyers to prevent them from arguing and claiming their clients were suffering from;
1. Road rage
2. Cafffine overdose
Sorry cannot think of anymore excuse for not being a responsible road user but then I'm not a lawyer