Motogenn's Bike of the month - Suzuki Hayabusa

The Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa is a sports bike well known for being the world's fastest production motorbike with a top speed of 303-312 km/h.

Fearful of a European backlash or bans on imports, Japanese and European manufactureres agreed to govern the top speed of their bikes.

First introduced in 1999, the Hayabusa ( Japanese for peregrine falcon) left quite an impression and speed was the main reason.

The first generation had a 1,299 cc engine with sixteen valves driven by dual-overhead camshafts. 

It wasn't long before competeing brands were rumoured to attempt to challenge the speed of the Hayabusa. This lead to the 'agreement' between manufactureres being formalised in 2000. Since then, the question of which bike was fastest could only be answered by tampering with the speed limiting system, so it was no longer a contest between stock, production motorcycles.

Following the introduction of the speed limiting system, the Hayabusa remained mostly unchanged. Only a problem of the aluminum rear subframe on 1999 and 2000 models breaking (when the bike may have been overloaded, or stressed by an aftermarket exhaust) led to a change in the subframe which added about 4-5 kilos to the overall weight.

It also wasn't meant to be pretty. The whole idea behind the design and look of the bike was to make it stand out and memorable, not attractive.

The second generation Hayabusa from 2008-2020 was slightly revised with a minor tweaking of the bodywork, and fine-tuning of the engine's head, pistons and exhaust. Engine changes were minor, they still resulted in an increase in horsepower, and brought the bike into compliance with new noise and emissions requirements.

The third generation was released at the end of 2021. It is definitely more attractive than past generations. Check it on Suzuki Australia's site out https://www.suzukimotorcycles.com.au/range/road/hayabusa-gen-iii/

Overall, the Hayabusa is one of the most popular sports bikes. It has a place not only on the road, but also in competitive motorsports. The high-powered, lightweight engine has a place outside of motorcycles.