Suzuki Hayabusa Goes ADV

[advrider]

Hard enduro rider Matt Spears continues his video series exploring the inappropriate use of big-bore bikes off-road—now, he’s flogging a Suzuki Hayabusa in the dirt. And it goes surprisingly well—at first!

A few of y’all might know Matt’s name from his dirt bike adventures (see his older posts on Instagram here). But it’s far more likely you’ve seen his more recent adventures on his Honda Gold Wing, which have gone viral (and predictably sideways, as you can see at the start of that ‘Busa video). See below:

As for the Hayabusa vid, the bike’s fate is no surprise. The ‘Busa was not made for ATV trails. And I suppose this is the point where I should start an old-man-shaking-my-fist-at-clouds routine, complaining about kids wrecking bikes. “Someone could have ridden that thing for years, doncha know!”…

But I won’t, because I think this clip shows something that people on this forum are complaining about all the time: In some places of the world (particularly rural areas, it seems!), kids are still having fun on motorcycles and are willing to take chances.

Wrecking what appears to be a perfectly respectable motorcycle is definitely not something I approve of. But have you looked on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist lately? The used bike marketplace is filling up with big-bore bikes that boomers and even Gen X-ers are aging out of. If a few get cracked up along the way because they were put to hard use, well, that’s a better fate than dying at the hands of some ill-fated bob job project or other customization calamity.

And besides—if you’re old enough (older than me), you’ll remember a time when nobody said you had to have a factory-approved ADV bike to go adventure riding. Some of the best-known names in the overland community did hard miles on street bikes—Nick Sanders or Sjaak Lucassen or Bruce Smart or Peter and Kay Forwood, for example. Here on the forum, there are many riders who’ve had amazing trips on new or old Harley-Davidsons or other pavement-oriented machines. An ADV bike isn’t necessary for an adventure—it just makes it a lot easier and safer.

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