“Hayabusa”. Every person who knows something about bikes knows this name. It is the dream bike for any person, who knows a thing or two about bikes. It is a legend that needs no introduction. When you hear the name…..you know, that you will get insane speed, mind-boggling performance, supreme quality and extreme reliability. You know, that you can go on long rides with your friends on the highway to cruise and chill, you can ride it on the road with other common people, you can take it in the hills and hit the twisty sections of road and also, take it on the race track and push it to its limits. In all of the above situations, you will stand out, and it won’t let you down…no matter what, because what you are sitting on, is an icon, and one of the most legendary bikes ever produced. When you hear its engine roar, it strikes fear and adrenaline in the hearts of whoever hears it. When this bike was released, it was so fast…… that the company that released it had to limit its speed. Of course, I am talking about none other, than the Japanese legend, the Peregrine Falcon, the Suzuki GSX1300R aka “Hayabusa”!!
Well, now that I have glorified the bike quite a lot, I will talk about the bike and I will talk about some facts, so that those who disagree with me and say that “Hey!!! The Suzuki Hayabusa is NOT AN ICON!!!!”, will hopefully agree with me or get pissed off. Just kidding.
Bike enthusiasts always had an inner feeling to go faster. Just like car enthusiasts, they felt the need for speed. Every manufacturer was competing to make the fastest bike in the world. In 1949, Vincent Black became the first bike company to break the 150mph (around 240 km/h) barrier. That Vincent company held the record for quite long. But the Japanese company Kawasaki (of course you might have heard of it) was pissed off and wanted to make a speed record breaking bike of their own. So, they worked hard and released a fast bike of their own, the GPZ900R “Ninja”, which started the speed war. Of course, thanks to 6 years of hard work and the magic of noble Japanese engineering, it broke the world speed record, and set a new record by reaching a blistering, 151 mph. Now, Kawasaki was celebrating as their stock bike had ticked the box for the worlds fastest bike, but Suzuki on the other hand was getting pissed off, because three years before the Ninja, they had released their own fast bike, which was also the most powerful bike in the world back then, the GSX1100 “Katana”. It was a completely new design in the motorcycle world, with sharp angles and bodywork that blended into the frame. The Ninja had blown the conch, which marked the start of a bike speed war between all of the world’s most prestigious bike manufacturers which would change hands for the next 15 years. Everyone wanted to make the world’s fastest bike and beat the Kawasaki Ninja. The top-speed record was changing hands rather quickly in the 90’s between bike manufacturers. Suddenly, in 1996, Honda came out of the blue and showed up with their top speed champion, the Honda CBR1100XX “Super Blackbird”. Of course, it was named after the Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” which was then, the world’s fastest plane. It had a top speed of 178.5 mph (287.3 km/h). Of course, Honda was getting the bragging rights and the “Fast Boy” attention, but if you see above, Suzuki was still getting pissed off and desperately waiting for their move, their chance to prove themselves. And finally in 1999, Suzuki beat the competition with a strong move. They finally released their all-new motorcycle, the GSX1300R “Hayabusa”. Now, Hayabusa means “Peregrine Falcon” in Japanese. Now, why that name? The Peregrine Falcon is no ordinary bird. It is the worlds fastest bird with a top speed of 390 km/h. It can dive at speeds close to 200 miles an hour (320 km/h) and it eats Blackbirds. Now clearly, this bike had offended the Honda “Super Blackbird” and silenced the competition when it comes to raw speed and all other categories. Of course, it fulfilled it’ s purpose of setting the record for the world’s fastest bike back then, with a claimed top speed of a mind-blowing, earth-shattering 194 mph (312 km/h)!!! It had 173 horsepower and 98 foot-pounds (133 Nm) of torque. That was quite a lot back in the day. It had a liquid-cooled, 16 valve Inline-4 with Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC). The engine was extremely durable and reliable. It was bulletproof. It had an awesome, infamous and timeless design and bodywork. The body was incredibly aerodynamic because it was built by testing in the wind tunnel, and the body was built for high-speed riding. The shape of the ‘Busa (As it is called by biker boys) was made by Koji Yoshiura, whose goal was to create a new shape that would not be dated quickly and would be the face of Suzuki. The tank was shaped to allow the rider’s knees to tuck behind into the bike even further reducing drag at high speeds. The Hayabusa was a Sport tourer. So, the purpose of the bike was not to just go fast in a straight line. It needed to be smooth while cruising on the highway and in the twisted roads on the hills and also, it needed to be prepared to hit the race track hard and set competitive lap times. This is one of the many reasons why people love the Hayabusa. It became the all-time favorite bike for cruising in the highway and going for long rides. What I mean to say is, that the Busa is an All-rounder player. It can go on normal roads, cruise on highways, be comfortable on the twisty roads and also hit the race-track. And in every use, it can do anything you want it to. This is what makes this bike so kick-ass and iconic. Many people bought the Hayabusa and the majority of the people modified their Busas . The engine was so reliable that you can slap a turbo on it. People were putting turbos on it, keeping the internals stock and they were able to make crazy, insane power from the Busa. The custom scene that this iconic bike had created also included many other additions just for style. If you look up the images for custom Busas, you might feel surprised and might also laugh at how creative can people be when they customize their Busas just for style. Another area where custom Busas were used were on the drag strip. People would customize their Busas to race on the drag strip and set record breaking speeds and times. As mentioned above, the engine was so good, that because of the reliability and the high power and low weight, it could be used in other vehicles as well. People would turbo the motor and shove it in their cars as well. A modern replica of the Bugatti Model 100 air racer was made using a Hayabusa engine was made. Also, there is something known as streamliners. They are custom two-wheeled vehicles which are specifically designed to set world land speed records. But the streamliner that set the world land speed record was a vehicle that was powered by two Hayabusa engines and made an earth-shattering 900 horsepower!!!
Anyway, while the Hayabusa was earning popularity both as a stock bike and in the custom scene as well, Kawasaki was working on their own bike to dethrone the Hayabusa. They released the ZX-12R to beat the Hayabusa. But the Busa was strong enough to beat it. But this was a sign that the speed war was escalating, and all manufacturers were trying to make their bikes faster and faster and faster. What the governments of US and Europe realized, is that this escalating speed war could lead to dangerous consequences and that they and the rest of the worlds other countries would have to ban these hyper sport bikes and prevent the masses from buying them. This resulted in some peace between all the manufacturers. All the Japanese manufacturers and BMW Motorrad (the chief competitors in the bike speed war), came up with a gentleman’s agreement in which they agreed to limit the speed of their bikes electronically to 300 km/h (186 mph) because of the fear that Europe and other governments would ban these Hyper Sport bikes. Of course, it was an informal agreement and hardly anyone made it official. The Hayabusa also followed this speed limit. Anyway, it was broken in 2007, by the MV Agusta F4 R 312 which had a top speed of 311 km/h(193.2 mph). The Suzuki Hayabusa earned its reputation and name in India when it featured in the movie “Dhoom” (2004). The lead actor John Abraham used it to steal money from banks and the Busa’s special feature in that movie was that it could go above 300 km/h on the Western Express Highway and the police just could not chase him. The Hayabusa was instantly known as the “Dhoom Bike” by Indians and because of the movie, people in India desired it even more. The sheer speed of the bike as shown in the movie attracted Indians towards it. The Hayabusa got a refresh in 2008. They kept true to the look of the first gen but they still updated it. So, they came to the US and travelled around bike nights and motorcycle shows in order to check out the custom scene in order to take inspiration from it and improve the design that way. The redesign was a hit. It was built upon the look of the first gen but it was given a slight overhaul. The new Hayabusa of course, came with the electronic speed limit of 300 km/h. The bright side was that they had improved the overall design. The bike had more displacement, increased to 1340 cc. The bike had more power, 194 bhp to be precise. The bike now had power modes for the first time, from touring mode to maximum power output. The bike was in compliance with the new noise and emission requirements. Later on, the bike also got ABS, which made it safer. The current, Third-gen Hayabusa was announced on February 5,2021. It released in India on April 26, 2021. It has the same shape, but a new design. It is more aerodynamic because of revised aerodynamics. It has an LED DRL headlamp on the front. Of course, it complies to BS6 and Euro 5 emission norms. The speedometer and tachometer still retains the old school looks but it has been revised. The engine is the same, but as I said, it is cleaner due to emission norms, but for the same reason, the power has been reduced. There has been an improvement in the reliability of the engine and also, the low to mid-range torque distribution. This means that the bike is now easier to ride at slow speeds. There is a lot of new electronics in the new bike, which will make the riding experience easier, better and more controllable. Of course, you get the riding modes and ABS like the previous Busa. Now, the Busa gets 10 level lean-sensitive traction control, 2 level quickshifter, 10 level wheelie control, 3 level engine braking control and launch control. Since this is a touring bike, you also get cruise control and an active speed limiter. The first batch of Suzuki Hayabusas has already been sold out in India. Such is the demand for this bike, even more than 20 years after its release!
So now, you might agree with me, that the Hayabusa was, is and hopefully will be, a legend in the bike world.
An icon, which the biker boys love.
So, this is the story of the two-wheeled icon.
Thank you for reading my blog!!!
