The bike can easily kill you.

The problem is that people who begin to ride are not in full control of their bike. I started last year and I was certainly not in control. I am still a long way from having the type of control an experienced rider who has been through many avoidance and recovery situations would possess.

I ride an SV650 now, as a second bike having started on a 250. The 250 gave me a sense of what it was like to ride and let me learn the basics. It was very forgiving of my newbie mistakes.

The SV has served me very well and I have screwed up on it, nearly going down after using too much gas or too much brake. In panic situations the SV has responded well for me, and I find the bike to be linear and predictable. Nevertheless, I need many more miles of riding to train my body to react correctly when something untoward happens. These are hardwired reflexes that take time to acrue. Not concious decisions. There simply is not time. The instant your mind senses that something is wrong the correct response must be applied without hesitation, in the proper amount.

Think back to learning to drive a car. Look at your driving abilities now. Huge difference. Now, have you taught someone to drive a car? How nervous were you sitting in the passenger seat while they had control in traffic? Why were you nervous? Would you rather teach them in a Ford Taurus or a Mustang Cobra? What is your brain telling you about this situation?

A motorcycle like a Hayabusa is at the top of the power class. Power is very dangerous when you can easily apply it accidently; striking a pothole and having your hand slip, for instance. On my SV that power application will be minimal. On the Hayabusa that power application would probably be disastrous.

Furthermore: Why must a person start out with a top notch motorcycle? Logic clearly points the other way. If you are going against logic you are obviously not making clear decisions. Should someone who does not make good decisions ride this bike? Would they also perhaps decide to show off for a girl at a light? What about following better riders into corners they are not capable of mentally handling?

Is your goal in riding to enjoy yourself, or to appear badass? Is risking your life worth having the newest, fastest bike today because you want it right now? Why do the opinions of others cause such a strong emotional reaction when they tell you to start off slow? Do you feel they are doubting your abilities? When you begin to ride, you *have* no abilities. This does not mean you suck, or that you have a small penis. It means you need to learn. Learning takes up most of our lives. If you had nothing more to learn, you would be pretty bored. I personally enjoy learning and progressing through motorcycles. When you are ready for the purchase of your dream bike, you will feel that you have earned it.

Everyone wants to be the best, to appear to do things effortlessly, to prove that they are naturally inclined to greatness. The process of learning cannot be circumvented and if you try it will bite you in the ass. You admire top notch racers because they are skilled, but they have worked long and hard for the skills they so beautifully display. It look so easy, doesn't it?

By starting out on a motorcycle like this, you are limiting yourself. It seems to me that riders who start on dirt bikes are best of all. They are constantly exposed to wheel slippage, non-ideal conditions, falls, the need for throttle control. On the street I am almost never presented with these events. If I am, my life may be balanced on the edge of a very sharp blade. Yes, I may learn if I live. Or I may kill myself by sliding out into oncoming traffic.

Most people know their limits, know how they should approach something like learning to ride a motorcycle. Those who decide that they are going to prove everyone with experience wrong by buying that R1 or GSXR1000 have the wrong goal in mind and are making a conscious decision to ignore what their brain is telling them.

I think good questions to ask a current owner of a Hayabusa would be these: How much of your attention is devoted to making sure your bike is in complete control? How mindful are you of your throttle position? If you were to borrow another motorcycle, say an SV650, do you devote more or less attention to operation?

No one wants to keep new riders down. No one wants a new rider to go out there and kill themselves. They may joke that this "squid" or that "moron" removed themselves from the gene pool, but they do not mean it. Part of that response is fear: fear of their own possible death. Part of that response is horror and sadness that a person with a life, a life like yours, containing all manner of wonderful things has now abruptly ended on account of a mistake. And it is so easy to kill yourself on these things. You will understand when you almost do.

Think about this. Riding a motorcycle is inherently dangerous. You may, at any moment, die. In order to ride a motorcycle, the mind blocks these thoughts out for the most part, or fear would get the better of us. It is quite possible for the mind to bury important information in this manner, and it will certainly not consult you when doing it, or this trick would not work. How often have you looked back upon your life and asked "What was I thinking? I knew better." You must keep this in mind and analyze your actions. Only then are you making proper decisions.

This board abounds with stories of riders who were killed or injured. You will see them all summer. Do you think these people wanted to die or crash? Obviously not. Let us rule out accidents that were not avoidable, and focus only on 1. Riders who made a mistake and caused their own crash and 2. Riders presented with an emergency situation in which they did not react as best they could. Every person wants to live, and yet many riders are killed and injured frighteningly often. Why? You can be assured that they did their best to prevent harm from coming to them. What stopped them from doing so?

I leave you with the following story:

One day I let a friend of mine borrow my starter bike, a 1983 250 CM honda cruiser. After traveling three blocks he came to a stop sign. When taking off from the sign he became confused regarding the operation, pegged the throttle by accident, dumped the clutch and whe-ERR unknown POP command! wheelied the bike across a road, over a fallen telephone pole where he began to somersault like a rag doll. I thought he was dead.

Why did that happen? Imagine a Hayabusa in the hands of a new rider.