20 years that is how long it has been since the suzuki hayabusa came about and the moment it did it bagged the title of being the fastest production motorcycle in the world that’s not it since it came out in 1999 it also became the fastest production motorcycle of the 20th century rady years later the suzuki hayabusa is now a legend and an icon amongst all motorcycling enthusiasts all across the world but given the current did and given the new crop of motorcycles that has emerged over the years does it make sense to buy one in this day and age and also what makes this motorcycle so popular all across the world today we’re gonna find out let’s start with what makes this motorcycle such a legend and for that we need to go pack it Daniel you see in the 1990s the race between manufacturers was to have the fastest growing production motorcycle in terms of pure top speed the year is 1997 and Honda motorcycles have just bagged this title with their own hyper bike call as the super black put a nod to the nickname of Lockheed sr-71 which in 1976 bagged the title of having the fastest air speed record achieving 3529 kilometers and our record that stands even today the Honda super black but then was supposed to be the almighty record holder when it came to motorcycles but that was not to be because come 1999 Suzuki were to come out with the biggest displacement motorcycle ever called as a GS x 1300 are are simply by a Musa this name was what you would call a peregrine falcon in Japanese the Hayabusa is the fastest member of the animal kingdom but the bird eating Raptor achieves this feat while diving vertically on its prey preys like a black sword the intent was simple she phoned the honda blackbird and settle the speed boards once and for all and that’s exactly what the Hayabusa did by going about 25 kilometers an hour faster than the Blackbird achieving a top speed of 312 kilometers an hour and no production motorcycle has broken the top speed record by such a huge margin ever without a doubt the Suzuki Hayabusa blew everyone’s mind and got everyone’s attention reasons included everything from its top speed to the unconventional shape that it had it got people talking so much so that it started talks of regulating top speeds in motorcycles with all across the world with people fearing that the speed wars are getting out of control this almost led to the import of hyper bikes being banned in Europe and in response to all this all Japanese and European motorcycle manufacturers came together and had a gentlemen’s agreement that no motorcycle from now on will ever exceed 2007 gsxr 600 fairings
the speed of 186 miles per hour or 299 kilometers an hour something that stands even today as a result from the year 2000 every motorcycle ever made could not go past 299 kilometers an hour unless tampered with which means that even today it can be argued that the Hayabusa is still fastest production motorcycle ever and quite possibly will remain so for years to come so yes that is the reason by the Suzuki Hayabusa is so popular all across the world but let’s put aside all of that heritage for a moment and let’s look at the motorcycle as just a motorcycle and find out how is this motorcycle – right well the last major update that the Hayabusa received was way back in 2008 when in the motorcycle was given minor details in terms of looks and some big technical updates and to be honest I thought that the motorcycle is now old and wouldn’t be that much of a surprise and boy was I wrong the Hayabusa still packs the punch to put almost all model super bikes to shame if it wants to but let’s start off with the looks yes it might have been unconventional when it came out this day this is an iconic shape a silhouette that is instantly recognizable all over the world the design of the motorcycle looks like this majorly because there was no other way back then to make it go faster if it wasn’t for this capacious shape and that’s because feet in first and hence the design came from a big tunnel and because of this regal factor the Hayabusa doesn’t seem to have aged even a plate the only giveaway is the instrument cluster that looks a bit dated but still nothing can beat the old world charm of having several analog dials in front of you when it comes to the riding part well its biggest strong point is you guessed it that engine the 1340 cc four-cylinder liquid cooled unit makes an astonishing 199 horsepower and 115 Newton meters of torque and comes with a six-speed transmission that’s butter smooth to operate and while there is no fancy electronics like a lean sensitive quick shifter or auto Blippar or whatever the joy of matching your revs for downshifting I’m getting it right is well something you would be proud of for years to come as for the electronics there’s only choice of engine mappings to choose from and well ABS and that’s about it and because of that the rider feels almost everything that the ninja 250r fairings
motorcycle feels as there is no electronic safety net that filters it out and if you know what you’re doing you’ll love this motorcycle for it then there’s the size the Hayabusa is huge by modern day standards and let the wheelbase the size of motorcycles means two things first feels a bit cumbersome at low speeds there’s no denying that but then given its size there’s so much room for the rider on the motorcycle and the riding for sure is we will do this by modern day standards there’s even a proper pillion seat where people can actually sit for hours and then there’s the stability the motorcycle feels just so so stable at highway speeds and with the comfort that it offers this is a definitive build student let’s not forget the Hayabusa with all its glory heritage performance and practicality still costs 13.7 4 lakhs making it one of the most accessible leader class motorcycles and above in India but it has been 20 years now the death knell for the Hayabusa has been rung and the motorcycle is about to go away it has been discontinued globally as the Europol emission norms have come in place and the Hayabusa does not comply with it he has finally caught up however it is still being sold in India as it is bs4 compliant but Suzuki will only sell it till stocks last which it guesses to be until 2020 there is still some hope as Suzuki has renewed the trademark on the Hayabusa name and is rumored to be working on a new one to replace this model will it be electric will it be turbocharged well we don’t know but as for the legend of this Hayabusa it will go on forever and with that you have come to the end of our day that we had with the Suzuki Hayabusa well this generation is about to be discontinued soon yes there are a few things that I wish this motorcycle had and yes it is a bit big for a motorcycle that is being sold in this day and age but this motorcycle has a history unlike any other and luckily it is still being sold in India if you’ve always wanted to own one and have the money to get your hands on one of these well now get the time to do so r6 fairings