Suzuki Is Letting the Hayabusa Fly Once More
While bikes like the BMW S 1000 RR can out-handle the Hayabusa, the Suzuki sportbike wasn’t really about corner carving. No, it earned its reputation on its ludicrous levels of speed. Unfortunately, regulation changes meant Suzuki had to clip the Hayabusa’s wings, seemingly for good. But based on some recently-released videos, it seems the ‘Busa is back.
Even in the US, the Suzuki Hayabusa didn’t last past 2020
Technically called the GSX-1300R, the Suzuki Hayabusa was a genuinely fast motorcycle. Cycle World set a production-bike world record with it, going 194 mph and running the ¼-mile in 9.86 seconds with a 146-mph trap speed.
Unfortunately, the early Hayabusas were so fast that they inspired motorcycle companies to make a top-speed-limiting “’ gentleman’s agreement,’” Cycle World explains. They were afraid governments would ban their bikes outright otherwise.
However, it wasn’t a speed-related regulation that spelled the end for the Suzuki Hayabusa, Autoblog explains. The bike’s 1340cc liquid-cooled four-cylinder engine wouldn’t pass Euro4 emissions standards. Hence, outside of the US, Suzuki dropped the ‘Busa from its lineup at the end of 2018, Cycle World explains.
But even in the States, the high-speed bike’s days were numbered. Initially, Suzuki only planned to sell the remaining Hayabusa stock through 2019, Autoblog reports. So, while it lingered on through 2020, it didn’t appear in Suzuki’s 2021 lineup, RideApart reports.
However, it seems Suzuki isn’t quite finished writing the Hayabusa’s history.
But Suzuki is teasing the Hayabusa’s return
Recently, Suzuki released a short teaser video for an upcoming motorcycle, shown above. It only shows a few brief glimpses of the bike, along with a shot of its gauges. But based on the bike’s fairing designs and gauge layout, there’s little doubt that it’s the next-gen Hayabusa, Hagerty reports.
The nature of the video makes it difficult to tease out much information about the hypothetical Hayabusa, but it does reveal some things. Firstly, the next-gen bike has a TFT center screen instead of an LCD one, Autoblog reports. Secondly, that it will offer a quickshifter, multiple riding/engine-power modes, traction control, and wheelie control. And, finally, based on the 180-mph-plus speedometer, that it will still be plenty fast.
To be fair, this teaser isn’t coming completely out of nowhere. Back in 2018, “Suzuki insiders confirmed” that the Hayabusa would eventually return, Cycle World reports. But receiving this level of semi-official confirmation is always appreciated.
What we still don’t know, but will likely learn soon
As of this writing, we don’t know what kind of engine the next-gen Suzuki Hayabusa will use. Based on several Suzuki patents, it’s likely a liquid-cooled four-cylinder engine, Cycle World reports. And “Japanese sources” previously claimed its displacement would be 1440cc, Bennetts reports. But officially, potential displacement and output are still unknown.
It’s worth pointing out that several high-end sport bikes have eclipsed the ‘Busa’s power, Hagerty reports. The 2020 Hayabusa has 197 hp and 114 lb-ft, WebBikeWorld reports. But the 2020 Ducati Panigale V4 S’s 1103cc V4 makes 214 hp and 92 lb-ft at the crank. And in non-US-spec, the 2020 Honda Fireblade SP also makes 214 hp from its 999cc four-cylinder engine, Cycle World reports.
Luckily, we won’t have to speculate for long. Suzuki is taking the wraps off the upcoming bike on February 5th, 2021.
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