Picking the right bike for your rides

We are going to put the journey on hold and talk a little bit about a couple of motorcycles,  there is nothing more relaxing then the open road and you on your motorcycle and when you pick the right bike you can really make the most out of your ride. Riding makes things a lot different then when you are in a vehicle. Lets put this into an example to help you understand, imagine a trip that you often take in your car or truck like a weekend vacation of something, you take this trip once a weekend every month but this time you decide to take it on your bike, you will see everything every differently. You are more aware of your driving and so you become more aware of whats around you, in a car you are confined by the metal around you and can only see whats available through the windows but now everything is visible with nothing in your way.

          

Comparing my Honda 600F4i & Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa

          I had made plans to make the trip several years earlier on my Honda but ended up realizing that the bike would not be ideal for that trip. There are some major differences between these two bikes, in fact the Hayabusa compares better to a cruiser then to the Honda. It sounds dumb but it really does in a lot of ways, the first obvious difference between the two is the size of the bike. 

2002 Honda 600 f4i

Honda 600F4i- I do have some paper photos of my old '02 Honda 600 but I don'y have them uploaded, this is pretty much the same except this bike as an older Two Brothers exhaust on it. This bike is the perfect bike for a beginner on the road, in fact it was such a good ride that when my buddy wanted to get a bike after he test rode mine and got the same exact bike year and everything (except color thankfully). It is small, light, and easy to control, pricing on this bike is reasonable but recently due to the economy and gas prices 600cc bikes actually cost more than the bigger bikes by comparison. It is a 599.0 CC inline 4 cylinder, fuel injected engine that runs 111 Horse Power and 46.5 ft lbs of torque at 10000 RPM's. Like most sport bikes it is a 6 speed (1st gear down, 2nd through 6th up) manuel transmission chain driven. (I will go into the different drivetrain set-ups that are available on motorcycles later on) The beauty of this bike is it weighs about 375 lbs total, and when you combine that with the engine size and a 4 gallon fuel tank your talking about a bike that will cost you about $20 to fill up and will go 300-400 miles depending on how you ride it. I have been studying motorcycles since I was a little boy and before I purchased this bike I had reviewed many different motorcycles. 

          Handeling on this bike is a dream, it can hug tight turns comfortably, the throttle response is what you would expect for a beginner bike. It will acellerate fast enough for you to get tickets if your not careful and it can reach speeds in excess of 150 MPH, if you modify things like the air filter, exhaust, plugs and wires you could push around a max of 160 MPH. I ran a K&N air filter, and an off label aftermarket exhaust (I cant remember what exactly) so I was max about 155 MPH on the track. The bike would take me low and fast around the turns, throttle response is great at high RPM's but it lacks the torque I was seeking at lower RPM's. I give the bike an 9.5 out of 10 for great beginner bikes and an overall score of 8 out of 10. 

My Hayabusa

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Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa- I know this picture is cut off but it is one of my favorites, I took it in the mountains in southern California. The first time I saw this bike in real life on the road in 2001, it was the most beautiful machine I had ever laid eyes on. When you look at one you notice right away the aero-dynamics of the bike, you can plainly see that this bike was made to go fast as hell! When you lay eyes on this bike it like looking at the most beautiful women you have ever seen, she is seductive and enchanting, all you want to do is get on top of her and see what she can do! Ok, lets talk specifications. The Hayabusa has been almost unchanged since they first came out in 1999, really the only major change were the color schemes. (When something isn't broken there is no need to fix it and the Suzuki Hayabusa was the top dog for almost 7 years) My 2006 Hayabusa was a 1299cc inline 4 cylinder fuel injected engine. It runs 175-180 horsepower and 103 ft lbs of torque at 7000 RPM's. As you can see a significant increase from the Honda 600, the Hayabusa is not made to run as high RPM's, with a bigger engine means bigger pistons and they cannot be thrown up and down as fast as the 600's smaller ones. The bike weighs nearly 475 lbs by itself, even though it weighs more you dont notice it when you are cruising down the road, however when you are standing still or taking it tight on the turns you will notice the bikes increased weight. The engine has no problem moving the weight around by any means, this bike will get up and go with it and two riders on top. Speed isnt everything, 103 ft lbs of torque is a lot for a motorcycle, with this torque you can guarentee that hitting the gas the bike is moving with or without you. Same as most bikes the transmission is a 6 speed chain driven, with top speeds reaching up to 185 MPH stock. The top speed seems low but that is because it is the governed speed, in earlier models they did not have this but now they do. I had a set of Two Brothers shorty exhaust pipes, K&N air filter, Power Commander, and TRE (Timing Retarder Eliminator). The TRE is a tool that will increase the effenciey of all the other upgrades but it also eliminates the governed speed. On a track I was able to clock my bike at 210 with all the upgrades, of course your not going to get these speeds off the track but when you hit the track it is a feeling beyond explanation to be able to go that speed.
          Handling this bike is sharper then you would think, on the straight rides this bike rides like a dream. The bike is lower then other sport bikes for better wind resistance, when you sit on the bike you can naturally sink down into the bike as if you were a part of the bike making very little wind resistance. Around the turns the bike is a bit more sluggish, you can still hit the curves but not as fast and tight as you would a smaller bike and you have to get used to throwing the weight of the bike into the turns and the increased throttle response. One of my biggest fears taking this bike around the turns when was hitting it hard was the rear tire breaking loose when I hit the gas. One important techniques in taking turns fast and low is never hit the breaks, never slow down, and never let off the gas. When you hit the gas the bike responds extremely well. The increase in size and weight means an increase in fuel consumption, the bike has a 5.5 gallon tank that can still last you up to 300+ miles if you ride it good. This bike is very comfortable on long rides and is still good at being sporty, it is the best of both worlds combining speed and aerodynamics with comfort and class. The bike rates a 10 out of 10 in its class in my opinion. 


Conclusion- Two different bikes, two different ends of the spectrum and this was just comparing two bikes. There are so many different bikes in the sport bike class and like these two comparing them is crucial when you are picking one for your style of riding. If you are a rider who wants to hit the curves and take riding to the max you are going to want a bike that is made for it, if a 600cc bike is too small for you a 1000cc bike is made with the same design just a bigger engine. Beginner riders should stick with a 600cc class bike so you can get used to handling and performance, experienced riders who want to enjoy long rides should look into a bike made for comfort and speed like the Hayabusa. I will be getting into more comparisons later on but for now this is a highly useful overview.