Suzuki Hayabusa, Fastest Production Motorcycle Since 1999

Suzuki Hayabusa and Suzuki GSX-1300R may be the names of a legendary motorcycle. But here in India, this beast of a bike is known as the ‘Dhoom bike’. For sure, adults and kids of all the generations are aware of this marvel.

Why did the motorcycle become so famous? What was special about this bike? What exactly is the ‘Busa’ factor? Are the question that may roam in a bikers’ head. So, to answer all the above we have to travel back to 1999 when the Suzuki Hayabusa was about to become an ‘ICON’

1999 | Suzuki Hayabusa Came into Being

The 1990s, when anything and everything was about going fast. Be it air transport, water transport, road cars or motorcycles everyone was in the race of breaking records. This is when in the year 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa was introduced.

• At the Suzuki headquarters ‘Yoshiura San” was the design head leading the project Busa back then.
• Yoshiura added, “the sole purpose of designing the Hayabusa was making it aerodynamic”.
• Why? You may ask. Well, the purpose of making the motorcycle was to break the record of Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird.
• If you may not know the Blackbird was the fastest production motorcycle before Busa’s existence. (Top Speed: 287kmph)

Fun Fact: Hayabusa translates to peregrine falcon in Japanese. And the peregrine falcon can attain a max speed of about 320kmph or 200mph. Moreover, the falcon’s favourite prey often is a blackbird (Legit, not making this up).

The First Suzuki Hayabusa

At the time of the motorcycle’s launch, the colour scheme was a combination of copper and silver, weird but not bad.

• With that Busa boasted of a 1,299cc, 4 cylinder petrol motor generating a massive peak power of 173hp. On the other hand, produced a torque of about 125Nm.
• The power from the engine was sent to the rear wheels via a 6-speed gearbox.
• Due to this smooth motor along with a capable chassis and perfect aerodynamic, Suzuki Hayabusa could attain a max speed upwards of 300kmph (+/- 312 kmph).
• Additionally, the rider just sees the speedo’s needle gushing to 300kmph.

The design and the technology were so reliable that the motorcycle remains unchanged for nearly a decade. In 2008, Busa saw the first major upgrade.

2008 & 2013 | Upgraded Suzuki Hayabusa

Well, on the outside this motorcycle witnessed minor cosmetic changes and the major changes were done under the fuel tank, i.e, the engine. Here are the changes in detail,

• The motorcycle finally complied to strict Euro 3 emission norms, meaning Hayabusa got a fat catalytic converter.
• In order to do so, the engine received an increase in capacity to 1,340cc engine.
• Naturally, the bike also became more powerful and the power jumped to 194hp. (That’s insane)
• The clutch and brake assembly were also upgraded for better-stopping power.
• In 2008 Numeric name was ditched, hence the icon got serious with only the name ‘Hayabusa’.

Moving on in 2013, the Suzuki Hayabusa again got a minor update with the addition of some electronic aids like ABS.

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The Undying Love for Hayabusa

Over the years, Suzuki Hayabusa saw little to no updates and at the end of 2019, the motorcycle was discontinued globally. But this legend was not yet done for India, the Dhoom bike was still selling like crazy in the Indian market, until 2020.

Suzuki Hayabusa | A Versatile Motorcycle

The legendary motorcycle ‘Busa’ came with a tried and tested engine making it very reliable. No wonder it deserves a second mention. The most common engine powering the bike was a 1,340cc motor which was super powerful also super tuneable. This is one of the reasons that made the Hayabusa a widely accepted bike.

• Suzuki Hayabusa made its entry into various motorcycles events most importantly in drag racing.
• To begin with, the Busa boasted of ‘RAM’ air intakes (Stock), that made it possible for the engine to deliver maximum performance on high speeds.
• Hence, the engine was made tough. Meaning? Suzuki Hayabusa can withstand forced induction with a fair amount of changes.
• Enters Turbocharger.
• Turbocharging is one of the highlights of the mods busa could possess.
• And, the motorcycle with a turbocharger and elongated swing arm could compete in some serious drag racing events.
• Got a Busa’s engine? Well, a Mini Cooper can handle it well.
• So, not just the motorcycle but also just the engine was used in some small cars with a sequential gearbox to go quick.

Things Got Even More Serious | SR8 RX Racecar

The 1.3-litre naturally aspirated engine is so potent that it made its way into motorsports. Let’s jump straight into the SR8 RX.

• The SR8 comes with a V8 engine that is based on the Busa’s engine.
• In laymen terms, 2 X 1.3-litre engines, mated together = RPE 2.7L V8. This engine is healthy enough to generate 411hp and 320Nm of max torque.
• That’s not even close to the most powerful engine. This engine also comes in a turbocharged alteration.
• This engine generates 850hp of max power and 860Nm of peak torque. This is at 23psi of boost. (You though Busa was Insane?)

So Why Was the Busa Discontinued? (Until Now)

The most prominent reason for Suzuki pulling the plug on the legend was emission norms. In 2019 almost all the major markets where the Hayabusa was sold got upgraded to Euro 6 emission norms. Taking the cost and time of the research and development of a new engine Suzuki decided to keep this 300kmph motorcycle at peace (for the time being).

Similar was the case with the Hayabusa here in India. In 2020 the times were changing so were the emission norms, came BS6 and out goes the Suzuki Hayabusa.

The Suzuki Hayabusa is finally coming back after a couple of years. The motorcycle maker is ready to launch an updated Busa on 5th February 2021. It gets a whole lot of changes on the skin. Here is all you need to know about the Busa’s update.

Interesting: 2021 Suzuki Hayabusa Teased Ahead Of Its Launch

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