Facing a weighty issue
Emm’s finding the Busa heavy going, but it’s not all the bike’s fault…
Seven years have passed since I last spent time with a Hayabusa, a Gen 2 that I ran as an MCN long termer in 2014, and casting my mind back, I can’t ever remember being phased by its weight. However, these days I’m having trouble manhandling my new termer with the engine off. Backing it into my ever-soslightly angled garage is a proper grit-your-teeth-and-push exercise. And if I’m parked up on uneven ground with a full fuel tank I have to dismount in order to lift the Busa off its sidestand. The logical conclusion is that the Gen 3 Busa must weigh more than the Gen 2, why else would I be finding it a problem? The thing is, though - it doesn’t. Checking back through my notes, the fully fuelled 2014 bike measured 265.8kg on MCN’s scales - exactly the same as the current model.
With both evolutions of Busa identical in mass, I’ve reached the conclusion that this weighty issue is completely down to me: my riding tolerances, attitudes and – dare I admit it – physicality have changed, so much so that something which wasn’t even an issue seven years ago has now become a daily bugbear. Yes, I’m officially a grumbling, aging weak ass who should obviously stick to riding small, lightweight bikes. Or perhaps not… I recently took a ride on a colleague’s BMW S1000XR and was amazed with the ease at which I raised it up off its sidestand, despite not being flatfooted on the floor. On the move, too, everything felt light and easy – from the throttle to the steering. Never at any point did I feel like I was managing a 1000cc adventure-sports bike. It just goes to prove the significance of ergonomics and weight distribution. At 240kg, the XR is still a heavyweight, yet because of its wide bars and taller packaging it feels easier to interact with than the low-slung and long Hayabusa.
Now, don’t get me wrong – on the move, the Suzuki still makes me smile in a way no other bike has ever managed to replicate, and its long’n’low stance and mass conspire to produce that uniquely devastating stability under acceleration. However, this new issue regarding its weight has made me appreciate how our preferences can change, and also how much difference a bike’s stance – rather than it’s out and out weight - makes to how easy it is to interact with. In the meantime, though, pass me the spinach…
‘Fully fuelled it weighs exactly the same’