Girlfriends Nephew wants Busa for his first bike.

[mojocho]

personally i'd let him make up his own mind. you can only guide him toward the water.

Sounds like you care for him. you could do a preemptive strike and buy a cheap 250 or 500 and give it to him. If he wants to get rid of it he has to give it back to you. but otherwise it's his to ride and do whatever.

At 17, his need for instant gratification will win and he'll ride that before going out and getting that busa. eventually it will wain and he'll lust after the busa again, but at least you gave him a few months or more on a good starter bike.

Then after than you can sell it.

[donkason]

Tell him you'll tune it with an ECU Editor and lock it in C mode:D

I was a stubborn kid once and no matter what you say it won't change his mind. Plus the Busa is uber sexy. I have one and I love it, but I'm 31 and it is my 3rd bike.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

[JStump]

Does he not realize a 600 is faster than pretty much anything on the street anyway? Does he have friends with bikes he wants to top or something?

Show him this is what happens when going 100 and cant slow down quick enough.

Edited October 11, 2012 by JStump

[abdecal]

Oh how much our mindsets change since we were 17. The only option I see here is tell him it's not as cool as a 600.

Show him pictures of the older guys that own them and make them look all gaudy. Then show him how the younger guys get the smaller and easier to handle sport bikes like the 600s.

At 17 all that matters is that it looks cool and his friends will be in awe of it.

[JStump]

Oh how much our mindsets change since we were 17. The only option I see here is tell him it's not as cool as a 600.

Show him pictures of the older guys that own them and make them look all gaudy. Then show him how the younger guys get the smaller and easier to handle sport bikes like the 600s.

At 17 all that matters is that it looks cool and his friends will be in awe of it.

At 17 I bet he is going to like the gaudy stuff more. Have you been in a high school parking lot lately? I have never seen so much stick on chrome and neon lights!

[TheBrown57]

At 17 I bet he is going to like the gaudy stuff more. Have you been in a high school parking lot lately? I have never seen so much stick on chrome and neon lights!

:lol:

[abdecal]

At 17 I bet he is going to like the gaudy stuff more. Have you been in a high school parking lot lately? I have never seen so much stick on chrome and neon lights!

I see your point

[BDBGoalie]

He is going to die or get mangled. The more he avoids it, the more brazen he'll become. I'd just hope the first crash is hard enough to teach the lesson without causing permanent damage.

Emphasize ATGATT often.

[Tpoppa]

He's 17 and it's almost the end of riding season. By spring he might be into something else entirely.

[attentiongetter92]

Those were my exact thought when my friend first threw me on his CR250 :wheeliezx10:

My possible offer still stands

I looped mine lol

[Bitani]

At that age i think they only thing that will stop him will be if he cant afford it......mainly insurance. Please tell me his parents wont be adding him and that bike to their ins policy.

A basic policy thru Progressive i just did for a 17yo with basic coverage is $337 a mo. on a 09busa. Thats only giving you their lowest bodily injury/property damage coverage.

If that doesnt stop him, nothing will.

Hell a 05 600cc sportbike bike is still $200 a month with the same crap coverage per progressives website!

Eh, I'm 18 right now with an '03 ZX6R (636 cc). At 17 my basic rate was $60/mo. FULL collision would be $195/mo, though.

[jayjie15]

Without reading through this entire thread I feel what 17y/o says they are going to do and what actually happens are completely different. I remember telling everyone/thinking that my first car was going to be a Corvette. Needless to say I was young and dumb and that didn't happen. Once he realizes that a 'Busa is going to be 5k-8k and minimum liability insurance will be $500/6 months I doubt the purchase will go down. I'm sure every statement a 17 y/o makes comes true...not.

[JStump]

Without reading through this entire thread I feel what 17y/o says they are going to do and what actually happens are completely different. I remember telling everyone/thinking that my first car was going to be a Corvette. Needless to say I was young and dumb and that didn't happen. Once he realizes that a 'Busa is going to be 5k-8k and minimum liability insurance will be $500/6 months I doubt the purchase will go down. I'm sure every statement a 17 y/o makes comes true...not.

Also a good point

[magley64]

Without reading through this entire thread I feel what 17y/o says they are going to do and what actually happens are completely different. I remember telling everyone/thinking that my first car was going to be a Corvette. Needless to say I was young and dumb and that didn't happen. Once he realizes that a 'Busa is going to be 5k-8k and minimum liability insurance will be $500/6 months I doubt the purchase will go down. I'm sure every statement a 17 y/o makes comes true...not.

maybe, maybe not...

it's a lot easier to come across 5 or 6k than 50k... in cash especially, but also for a loan amount...

[jdonn]

My 1st bike was a GSX750F Katana... It was heavy and a hell of a lot faster than what I needed. However, I was 26 and even those 72 bhp's were enough to scare the shit out of me (for a little while). Than I got the lust... A year later I got my current bike... 2007 GSXR 600 (104 hp I think?). Well, after 15 min on that bike I realized that I was fine where I was. Now, a year later, I am starting to want something bigger. All in all, I'd say the 750 was just enough to make me RESPECT the bike instead of thinking I was better than the bike. However, with the Kat's weight, I was unable to learn the things that I needed to learn safely. I didn't understand body position, lean angle, proper braking, nor the proper head turn. Even to this day I still have some issues with these things. I would say the best thing to do would be send that kid to the track. I know that is the 1st thing I'm doing next year... I am going to the track to learn what I have incorrectly-self-taught myself for the last 3 years.

As others have said, if he doesn't listen than there is nothing you can do. I haven't wrecked but I have came very very close (in situations where I prob shouldn't have came that close). Teaching and learning is a two way street and if he doesn't WANT to learn than there is no way you can teach him.

[jayjie15]

maybe, maybe not...

it's a lot easier to come across 5 or 6k than 50k... in cash especially, but also for a loan amount...

How many 17 y/o do you know that have 5k or 6k in the bank? I think the most I ever had at that age was $2,500 to $3,000 and that was more than almost all of my friends. But hey, you may be right.

[Saacattack]

^I never even had that much at his age haha

Chances are slim that he could afford the insurance. With him being that age he'd probably get minimum and when he damages it he wont be able to afford it.

I think it's a huge mistake. But let him do want he wants and say I told you so.

I would make him do a track day though if he wont change his mind. It's got the speed factor to it but it will probably put things into a different prospective.

I got my first bike when I was 19. 2005 Kawasaki 636. It was little too big for me but I liked the way it looked and wanted the power just like every other kid. When I started riding it put things in a different view because I had never ridden a street/dirt bike not even a quad. Then after riding around for a year I finally did a track day and that's what I wanted out of a bike. So that's what I'm doing when I can afford it haha

[redkow97]

Bottom line, this kid shouldn't be on anything over an older 600. Kids are idiots.

Hell, I've been riding for 6+ years, doing track days since 2008, racing the last couple of years, and I don't even need (or really want) anything bigger than an older 600 for street use.

I'm no pro racer, but I consider myself quite competent on a motorcycle, and I could still get myself into trouble on a 'busa...

My standard line is generally "that much power just adds additional ways you can make a mistake. Accidental power wheelies or spinning the rear wheel are seriously bad scenarios for ANY rider, let alone a newer rider."

Furthermore, the potential for greater speed means that there's potential for more panic braking situations, which innevitably end with "had to lay 'er down" stories, if the rider is lucky enough to be conscious and speaking thereafter...

My first bike was an EX500, and I can think of at least 3 times where I had close calls on THAT bike that would have been wrecks on a 600...

[Ron505]

Every bike that I have put my sons on, I have had the respect talk with them. respect that bike, cause it WILL hurt you. I got a CB750 when I was 17. I respected it, but also learned my lesson the hard way. I personally don't think a scare tactic would work, it would just give him false hopes of what he can do. Our middle son went through the same thing, at the same age, and we told him we would have no part of it, but we would help him get a Dual sport or SM bike if he insisted. He is almost 20 now, and hasn't riden on the street yet....(except when he took my FZ1 to school one day) He still hasn't lived that down.

[magley64]

I love my couch for street use...

it'll hang in the corners as hard as I'm willing to push it, it's got a little more relaxed riding position, and all the "go" you could ask for.

[mgbgt89]

Tell him a Busa won't wheelie, then show him any of the million supermoto videos on youtube. Get him on a DRZ400sm.... He'll get to law break and won't kill himself in the process.

[DTM Brian]

I think the best thing I can do at this point is to show him this thread.

Does he have the means to purchase the bike? - I believe he does.

I never thought to talk to him about insurance.

The first street bike I ever rode around the age of 25 was a 99 R1. A year later I rode a Busa who was owned by the guy that built the car dyno. My dumb ass about wrecked the damn thing trying to slow down for a set of rail road tracks.

Given my history with "fast" cars it was probably a good idea that I did not get my first bike "2001 GSXR 1000" until I was 29. Now that I am 36 I find myself slowing down more and more. The thought of even hitting the pavement hurts.

[Exarch]

If he does get a busa he will probably do some one wheel action on his first twist of the throttle followed by a splat. Lesson learned...

A 250 is probably more realistic if he still wants money to walk around with after he gets done paying insurance. I pay like $250 a year for full coverage(and get some back when I put the bike up for the winter) $200-300+ a month for insurance is a killer for a young person. I payed that much for my 95 ford aspire with just basic coverage when I first started driving at his age, but I had a good paying job(Appleton). I'm sure once he looks at insurance quotes he will change his mind.

[hue jass]

If there's a loan on the bike, and the lender requires full coverage with no deductibles, shouldn't the price of all that be enough to keep him out?

[jdonn]

What lender requires no deductible?! Not doubting you, I've just never heard of it.