if a (Brit) guy were to just have a need for speed, what would the ideal bike be?
I'm sure I can't imagine who you're referring to
. But outright speed isn't (usually) the point. Most roads have wiggles in them, and it's nice to be able to get round those wiggles in one piece. Japanese bikes have greatly improved since the days when you could blast down a straight, but had to get off and wheel the bike round the bends.
The fastest I've been on a bike is about 180mph on a Kawasaki, but although it might have been OK on a racetrack for me the handling didn't come close to what I need on the road.
Probably the best all-round fast bike I've ever ridden was a Hailwood-replica Ducati, but in those days the electrical switchgear was dreadful and the quality of assembly not much better. But the handling was a dream.
As a real-world bike I was greatly impressed with the BMW K1200GT, with the older-style "housebrick" engine. The replacement model is much faster and lighter and probably better (I haven't ridden it) but the earlier one is plenty fast enough for most sane people and has a wonderful feeling of solidity on the road, combined with surprising agility. And of course the shaft drive is clean and needs no regular fiddling like a chain and little maintenance during the life of the bike.
I don't like the Hayabusa at all. It's certainly (very) fast, but it's not well designed and not that well put together. And I don't like the attitude of the company to faults. The early models had a nasty habit of the rear sub-frame breaking - one person in England had an amazing escape when at over 100mph he suddenly found himself sitting on the back wheel. One of many reported incidents of the subframe simply breaking off. Yet Suzuki ducked and weaved and did everything they could to try to avoid liability. I don't deal with companies like that.
I think the best Jap bikes are the Kawasakis. They have incredibly powerful and durable engines - 500k miles isn't uncommon - but the cycle parts leave something to be desired. The weakest are Yamaha, with Suzuki not much above them. Honda are pretty well made but don't inspire me.
If I were going to buy a chain bike I'd love a Ducati if someone else was paying the bills; otherwise I'd probably buy a Triumph. The mechanicals have the durability of Kawasaki but the overall quality and thoughtfulness of design is IMO better. But I don't like chains - they're OK on the track when they're replaced after every race, but in the real world they're unreliable, don't last long, need a lot of maintenance, and are extremely expensive to replace. That's why I have a BMW and will probably continue to have BMWs.
Edited by peterbj7, 16 February 2009 - 09:20 PM.