15 April 2001

Update of 15/04/2001First chance to go for a decent ride in months, and I did.  The following update may contain experiences which may offend but remember I was there and well aware of the conditions. Many of you don’t get to travel at the speeds the Hayabusa is capable of thus this may be a eye opener. If you are offended – try living here and see the conditions for your self it might teach you a few things about where I’m coming from. Do the research in other words.

It’s not an Autobahn and its not a multi-lane highway either but somewhere in between. Major cause of death on the roads is in the town centres, caused but inexperienced, drunk, stupid drivers and riders. In the open limit zone is people sleeping on roads and 4WD roll-overs, these things don’t handle so why drive them like sports cars ?

Note I live in the Northern Territory the only place in Australia that still has a open speed limit. Most travel in the 120-140kph and are very sensible. All bikes seem to travel at 160kph. Traffic levels are low even in the tourist season. But one must watch out for wild life and the like. It is at least 100kms between some sort of fuel stop between towns. Temperatures are 28 degrees C and almost cloudless skies. Very dry conditions and a good road.

Anyway back to the ride details. First thing noticed was that the suspension had definitely gone softer. Not surprising considering it still the standard ones. Definitely softer at the front than the rear. It is not noticeable at normal speeds however when you can go as fast as you want as long (where I live) as its long as it is safe to do so which is surprisingly not all the time there is a sense of wallow, more tourer soft.

When you traveling 160kph on average you do tend to notice the softness. Mind you after almost 2 years ownership and thousands of k’s it is expected. So next service it is definitely time to adjust the settings, I think the head bearings my need ot be tightened too. I also noticed the ‘engines vibe’ at 4500rpm seem to have lessened after the recall although they seem to diminish 1000rpm up the scale. Overall my bike anyway is running very well much smoother overall. Fuel consumption was a creditable 5.4 liters per 100kph on premium/normal combo.

The issue of speed is another topic which I’d like to comment on – in fact a new page is in the pipeline addressing this issue shortly.
The Hayabusa like all modern performance bikes speed is relatively effortless. In my opinion the cruising speed of the Hayabusa is definitely 180kph-190kph on a normal road. The bike seems to feel ‘just right’. BTW with the hump on at 180kph it doesn’t want to wheelie anymore ! High speed handling, absolutely planted even when cornering. Braking, lack of bite initially at slower speeds changes – the long travel brakes suddenly become quite effective at the higher speeds.

Aerodynamics – Tuck behind the screen and you immediately notice the reduction in drag ! Coasting to a stop with no brakes, the thing coasts a lot more than other bikes. Vibes, they are there easily forgotten as your busing trying to navigate.
When there are multitude of tight corners the Hayabusa can be kept at about 120kph as long as it’s not a 90 degree turn ! – and safe. Again this is relative, if your a racer for example it may be a tad slow !! based on my current suspension set up – hence the damn thing can handle for such a big bike.

The self described hoon I was traveling with wanted to add that the CBR600F4 is a very stable bike at 220kph. It handles brilliantly but uses a lot of petrol. He loves his bike and the new tyres.