Girlfriends Nephew wants Busa for his first bike.

[DTM Brian]

Cliffs -

He is 17 years old.

He has never ridden a motorcycle

He thinks because he has a quad he can get on a busa and haul ass.

Has no respect for the law.

I am trying really hard to convince him that 250 - 500 cc bike is more then enough to have fun on and to learn how to ride safely on the road. He reminds me that my first bike was a 1000. However the difference is I was 29 when I got my first street bike and have owned and driven a number of cars that will out accelerate a liter bike. In other words, I had a lot of respect for my bike and took baby steps before trying anything stupid. The sad part is I think he has the means to be able to buy one.

I guess I will try talking to his parents. Maybe he needs to meet Brian who suffered injuries to his spine and now rides with the help of training wheels.

Anyone have any suggestions for me to discourage him getting a busa?

[DTM Brian]

Please excuse my grammar, english, and writing skills.

Now on with the suggestions.

[Kmanlyst]

Is he paying for the bike, if so point out the costs of insurance,replacement parts if and when he does lay it down. If that doesn't could always try the shock method show him the results of people that think they can handle a bike like that as a first.

[DTM Brian]

Maybe I should put him on the back of my bike and push him off the back of it at 10 mph. See how he likes hitting the black top. If that does not bother him try 20 mph.

[Kmanlyst]

that may be a tad too much shock,I was thinking more along the lines of video pictures and maybe even real life stories from people you know that made the same mistake.

[DTM Brian]

that may be a tad too much shock.

It was just a thought. LOL

[Gixxus Christ!]

Have him ride someone's 600 and when he thinks he has his big boy pants, put him on the back of a liter or a Busa and have that person safely scare the Brown into his drawers. I'd hate to hear about another zip-splat.

[Kmanlyst]

Was just about to suggest taking him for a "spirited" ride might wake him up a bit. Crusher beat me too it.

[DTM Brian]

Was just about to suggest taking him for a "spirited" ride might wake him up a bit. Crusher beat me too it.

This is probably what will end up happening.

[Gunner75]

Sounds like someone needs a case of tough love. Let him get it, when he wrecks it, or we see him on the 11 o'clock news because he ran from the law, you can tell him told ya so.

I started on a V65 Saber, i wasn't complaining at the time because it was free to me, but today, i admit, that was too big of a bike to start on. Give him some shock and awe treatment. Got any friends in a rescue squad? Im sure they have pictures or videos that aren't available to the public that can assist with viewing them. Thats what my mom did to me when i was about his age. Except her hope was to turn me off of bikes all together, obviously that didnt work.

[DTM Brian]

Calling Midget Todd!!!!!!!!!!

[Dying Shadow]

Have him ride someone's 600 and when he thinks he has his big boy pants, put him on the back of a liter or a Busa and have that person safely scare the Brown into his drawers. I'd hate to hear about another zip-splat.

+1 i like ur idea

[Rctaylor]

I was thinking the 'spirited ride' with him as a passenger idea too.

But.. what if he likes it?

[MeefZah]

It's not your concern, he's not your kid. He thinks he's an adult and is competent to make mature decisions, and his parents are so stupid as to "get talked into it", then wash your hands of it.

Hopefully he survives but if not, that'll be by his own doing.

[wht_scorpion]

To avoid him from getting a busa its not a good starter bike to much power for a person that will not respect it he could get killed on one

[imprez55]

I am not so sure a spirited ride will scare him. Just be careful that it might actually have the opposite effect and make him desire it even more. If he is a lowly passenger, he will see the skill of an experienced rider and think that he will be able to perform those maneuvers just as easily. Why do you think he wants one? It is probably because he wants to go fast and showing him that it can go fast might just make him want it more. It might also have the more desired outcome and scare the piss out of him, but then the result might be that he will be too scared to ride any bike.

My father told me a story of how he was a salesman at one point and a young kid, on his 18th birthday with his MC temps and not a day on a bike, walked in and purchased a brand new liter bike. He never even made it home to his parents and crashed into the back of a semi. I'm sure he will just write that off as "I'm better than that kid" but that story has always stuck with me.

My advice would be to take him a step up from a quad to a dirt bike. A small displacement, torque-y dirt bike can make him feel like he is going to loop it once he hops on it and ham-fists the first time. Teach him basic safety and some parking lot drills to see if he is actually ready to ride a bike by himself. If all else fails and he buys a busa against your wishes, pick it up for him and make him show you that he can actually ride it in a parking lot (lay out the endorsement test in cones) before he rides it on the street. Dollars to doughnuts the bike will be wrapped around a lamp post by the end of the day if he truly has the reckless abandon that it sounds like.

[Kyle Hunter]

The 600 was too much for me when I was 16, it took me two months to put it in a corn field. I have little desire to be on a sport bike larger than a 600 in hope of saving my life. If you can't keep him from getting the damn thing at least try to get him to Mid-Ohio or some other track and get a track day under his belt and help him have a fighting chance. Maybe he will get hooked on the track crack and ditch the Busa for something more track friendly.

[Gixxus Christ!]

My big thing is, 17 yr old male = swollen balls and cock on legs with a slow, wet brain limping slowly behind. He might just want a Busa because of the name, or because of the reputation. He rides a quad, that means he knows fuck-all about the street. Maybe he doesn't understand that its a 450 lb bike with more peak hp than a 2000 lb accord. If he does know that and doesn't understand how fucking dangerous that is in novice-nay, neophyte hands then maybe there's no helping him. My guess is that he has never expericed liter-class, eyeball-flattening, pants-shitting acceleration. I rode a 600 hard as shit last season and got my big boy bike this spring. The first time I layed into my tls it scared me a bit, and I only went up 30 hp and have been on 2 wheels since I was a kid.

Bottom line, this kid shouldn't be on anything over an older 600. Kids are idiots. Handing him a Busa is like giving a chimp a revolver. Sooner or later he will kill or hurt himself and/or others.

[scottb]

I would think a young rider on a Busa will paying a boatload for insurance. Young riders, plus the word "sport" anything ( car, bike) hopefully will realize it is expensive to insure. Will he have money left for riding gear?

See if you can point out to start out smaller, and then after some experience riding, ( either seasons riding or mileage? not sure) then he can move up the motorcycle food chain.

[wht_scorpion]

I pay 1000.00 ins. a year full coverage and Im 40 years old clean lic. because of squids that want a busa that cant handle it or respect it. Try to get him in to a 500, 600, he will enjoy it better. For people that dont know how to drive a bike a busa could go from 0 to 60 to dead in seconds.

[Snapper33]

I've been riding 34 years. My biggest bike until just 4 weeks ago was a 550. Now I have a BMW R90. I've ridden a 'busa; those are only intended for racing. Does the kid want to be a bike-owning poser or a biker? If he wants to be a biker he will be mature, get only the bike he needs and ride. Posers are walking among us for other reasons/needs. I regret that I have no advice for keeping the kid safe as sense is needed. Some people have to piss on the electric fence to learn.

[TSB67]

My gut feeling is an unskilled hot shot has a better chance of survival on a Busa than a 600 supersport. Something that big and heavy commands more respect. Maybe he whiskey throttles into a parked car, but once you get to the high speed freeway chases is it really going to make much difference?

If his ego is too big for a small twin, might as well let him get what he wants.

[rawlins87]

I pay 1000.00 ins. a year full coverage and Im 40 years old clean lic. because of squids that want a busa that cant handle it or respect it. Try to get him in to a 500, 600, he will enjoy it better. For people that dont know how to drive a bike a busa could go from 0 to 60 to dead in seconds.

When I was 21 insurance on a busa was $300/month. I decided fuck that and kept my 600rr.

[Scruit]

When I got my first bike at age 30 (clean license, no accidents) the insurance on a Suzuki Volusia was $180/yr. The Hyabusa quote was $3k+

Bad idea for a first bike.

[smashweights]

Just keep pressing the "you'll kill yourself" "You'll wreck it" "you can't handle it" and maybe you'll get lucky and he'll try damned hard to prove you wrong. Otherwise I gotta agree with others that have said he's not your kid, not your family, not your responsibility. Say what needs to be said and wash your hands of it. When I was 17 I thought I wanted a Busa too cause i read it was the fastest and knew nothing of bikes. Now I have a 600 and can't even fathom riding a 1000