Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Speaking of being worried...

if you have to get one, get the Busa. You will most likely kill youself in the first 10 minutes with the razor and extreemly rough controls of the ducati, just finished reading a few reviews of it. At least with the busa you will most likely drop it first due to its extreeme weight and be in debt, and maybe you will drop it on your foot and will delay ending your life sooner. The busa is a straight line machine, its acutally classified as a sport tourer, so you can save some face on insurance costs with that. Depending on your age, some insurance companies might not insurue the ducati for you.

If you are truely a newbie squid and want a extreemly fast death machine, get a 06 Yammie r6 or 06 r1 . They are more reliable, cheaper, and better handlers (initially) then either of the two you listed.

FYI I also rode motorcross for like 8 years, rode atv's, driven unimogs, boats, ridden other bikes, etc... I just bought a 97 Ninja 500.... thought for food!!!!

I know that this is sarcastic, but there is some good info in there.

Thanks for the info. I guess i forgot to include that i am going to be taking a two week racing course this summer before i buy the bike. Plus my uncle just basically gave me his Harley to ride this summer until he gets back from canada, so im not gunna be going in completely blind.

Plus, this may sound really pathetic, but if im prone to kill myself, id like to be having fun and not be completely scared when i die. It could be worse, i could be jumping out of a plane and both shutes dont work.

Thanks again.

Ok, that does change the equation a bit. Also, most people around here take safety very seriously.

You sound pretty young, nothin wrong with that. Just remember that life is long, and if you dont take safety seriously, you might be killed before you have experienced much of life... or even worse, get a crippling injury. My wife works with lots of serious cycling accident victims, she teaches them how to eat, shower, just basically to exist as normal as possible.

Take safety seriously. That doesnt mean not to ride hard or have fun, just do it intelligently and in full leathers. If you have several months riding experience under your belt, then getting one of the bikes you mentioned isnt out of the question. Just take it easy and ride like you plan on living.

A good biker can have just as much fun on a 250 as he can on a 1300.

Wow this one blasted off !!!

Murph, I gotta ask you why these two bikes?

Because you are comparing Apples to Oranges.

A Busa is a Ponderous bike - a straight line machine - the bike world's equivalent to a '69 Road Runner or a '70 Hemi Cuda. Put it on the straights and off you go like a rocket ... but fawk stay the heck out of the twisties.

Then you've got the Duc ... which is more like a 911 porsche. Maybe not quite as fast as the other but will tear it up in the twisties.

And the two week course you are taking - Is it a track/race course? If so, you're probably going to be leaning towards the Ducati in terms of the handling characteristics of the bike. It turns faster and brakes faster - A much better setup for the track. Of course it IS Italian... which means it's going to require a little extra attention and TLC, but there IS an aftermarket to mitigate much of the general maintenance that a Ducati needs.

If you are not one to take care of a bike and do regular checkups, the Ducati is not for you.

If I may make a few suggestions -

Other straight line performers like the V-Max and the V-Rod will be more suited to the riding style you are getting into on the street with the Harley. If speed is your final objective, then the v-max can be tuned for outrageous horsepower. All of these bikes, however (The 'Boosa included) are NOTHING like the dirtbikes you are accustomed to riding. They have the maneuverability of a 747 ... especially at low speeds.

Other track-oriented performers, like the R-6 and CBR600 can get you going before you make a full-on commitment to a Ducati. (The Honda RC-51 is a good v-twin bike that won't run you what the Ducati will, but has many similar characteristics) Another bike to consider if you like Italians is the Aprilia Mille. This is an Italian with power and reliability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finally. Before you decide to get a bike, I would recommend that you talk to your instructors at the course you are going to take. I have no Idea what their mindset is, but I would bet you that they are going to tell you that in order to get the most out of yourself and the bike, it's better to develop your skills over time on a bike that is suited to your level of riding experience and practical knowledge.

You seem to be infatuated with speed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The speed capabilities of a bike, however, are highly irrelevant. You will never use a bike to its maximum capacity on the street. You might take it up to speed on a deserted stretch of highway once or twice, but first of all, no one's going to be there to see you do it, and second of all, any dumb screw can hop on a bike on a straight and crack open the throttle and hold on for dear life. These guys then typically never shut up about how their bike can do 200 mph ... they know, they've been there.

Hope you're not one of these guys. Anyway. To be the fastest guy out there you have to develop your skills. You can't do that on a liter-class bike unless you are on a track. You can do that on a 250 or 500 on the street, because you can max out the bike's capabilities and learn from it. If you are just looking for bragging rights, go ahead and spend your money on one of the bikes you mention. And Talk. Cuz that's probably all you'll be able to do. There's a reason why all the big names in racing started out small.

If you read reviews of the Duc you will find it is basically a Race Ready Replica built so Duc could race in certain classes. If you want all out speed and handling, looks, etc... Get a Yamaha R1 or Aprilla. I mean the R1 handles nicely on twisties, and does a 1/4 mile in like 9.XX .

Here is the Aprilla:

http://www.aprilia.com/models03/road/en ... html?id=55

yeah id pick the aprilla if anything...i think the busa is ugly.

I really dont know why i picked these two bikes. I have just read up on them and had a huge fascination between both of them. I really dont know why.

And i think its funny you say that bout the Road Runner cause i sold my Road Runner and got a Challenger about a year ago. Irrelivant(SP?) but i liked to add that.

And the course, they are teaching on a track. They have a bunch of different bikes that we use during the course to get used to different brands. Every 2 days we are on a different bike learning a different thing.

And i might like to add that i would not be driving this bike all of the time, because i know how prone i would be to death. I was planning on getting something like a Ninja 500 or something that i could drive most of the time to broaden my ability.

murpheus wrote: And i might like to add that i would not be driving this bike all of the time, because i know how prone i would be to death. I was planning on getting something like a Ninja 500 or something that i could drive most of the time to broaden my ability.

This thread started off so wrong with you saying that you wanted a busa or duc for ur first bike. But now you have explained that you like speed, are taking a racing course, and may consider a ninja to tool around on. I must say that my opinion of you has changed. You seem that you just want speed but are going in the right direction of obtaining it. If you are truely looking for a race bike, i would highly, highly, highly suggest the 05 or soon to come 06 Yamaha R6. Again, I also like the Aprilla. I got a Ninja so that I could learn how to ride comfertably on the street and roads. When I get a hold of that and have money after college, I will probably get a R6 or alike and either race that, or race the ninja 500. Happy looking!