Suzuki Hayabusa: Death Metal

Back in 2016, the editors of Motoring World magazine arranged for me to keep a Suzuki Hayabusa for 2-3 days and ride it to my heart's content. The experience was quite unforgettable

It was early-2016 and I had just moved from Pune to Greater Noida. I had been working with MV Agusta in Pune, a very short stint that barely lasted three months. I had moved to Greater Noida in search of work, hadn’t found anything and was bored out of my mind. One day, I was talking to Kartik, at Motoring World magazine, and asked if he could arrange for me to ride or drive a really fast machine, since it had been quite a while since I’d had a go on anything with a few hundred horsepower. Kartik asked me if I’d be interested in doing a story on the Suzuki Hayabusa and, of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Here are some excerpts from the piece I wrote for the magazine:  

With a top speed of about 300kph, the Suzuki Hayabusa can keep up with just about anything on two wheels. At least in a straight line. And that’s nothing short of amazing, because the Hayabusa, which was launched back in 1999, is now all of seventeen years old. To give you some perspective on how old that really is, 1999 was when the Euro was first introduced, Keanu Reeves starred in the first Matrix movie, the Khmer Rouge was officially disbanded in Cambodia, movie DVDs were still a novelty and listening to music meant buying a CD rather than downloading an MP3. Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp hadn’t been invented yet, and people used to have actual face-to-face conversations rather than only chatting on WhatsApp, can you believe that?

The world of fast motorcycles, too, was very different back then. Yes, ABS was available, but traction control and the dozens of other electronic-nanny bits that are common today simply did not exist at that time. You bought very powerful, very fast motorcycles only if you were an expert, experienced rider. Then, you opened the throttle and hung on for dear life. Pre-1999, Kawasaki had the mega-fast ZX-11 Ninja and Honda had the CBR1100XX Super Blackbird – both were capable of doing about 260-270kph. And then the Hayabusa came along and asked everyone to fork off. The first-generation ‘Busa’s 1300cc inline-four pumped out 175bhp, pushing the bike from zero to 100kph in well less than three seconds and on to a top speed of 312kph. Well, it was the 1990s after all. Sharon Stone was doing a full-frontal in Basic Instinct, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky were going at it in the White House, and Meat Loaf would do anything for love (though he wouldn’t do that), so why the hell not a motorcycle – without ABS, remember – that could do 312kph on the street? Screw the safety Nazis and just ride. The dotcom boom and the subsequent bust still hadn’t happened, and life was still a party. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, baby.

The Hayabusa’s top speed potential must have sent the motorcycle industry’s head honchos scampering back to their leather-upholstered boardrooms, quaking in terror at the possible legal ramifications of a street-legal bike that could do 312kph. And just one year after the beast was launched, Japanese and European bike manufacturers entered into a so-called gentlemen’s agreement, whereby they agreed to limit their bikes’ top speed to a just 300kph. Why 300? Because 250kph was not nearly fast enough for most people? Or maybe because 300kph was deemed just that little bit safer than 312? Who knows. But sod it, because the bikes were only electronically (not mechanically) limited, and electronics can always be hacked into, right? For what it’s worth, post-2000 Hayabusas are officially restricted to 299kph, which bureaucrats believe makes them safer than their older, 312kph-capable predecessors.

It’s the funniest thing ever – countries that have speed limits of 100kph or so allow 299kph machines to be sold in the first place, then allow buyers to tune and modify the hell out of those machines, so that they can go on to do 400kph. It’s all legal until you’re actually caught doing 300kph, which is when you say goodbye to your license. Nudge nudge, wink wink? Anyway, with its near-unburstable inline-four, the Hayabusa has been a favourite of tuners everywhere, especially in the US, where turbocharged ‘Busas that produce more than 500bhp and which are capable of doing more than 400kph, roam the streets fearlessly. Lengthened swingarms, lowered suspension, chrome, garish paintjobs, more chrome, and riders wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts, flip-flops and a mohawk are all part of the Hayabusa folklore in the US.

The Hayabusa has also been available here in India for the last eight years and Suzuki are even assembling the bike here, which has brought the prices down to relatively sane levels. Suzuki had updated the Hayabusa in a big way back in 2007-2008, with engine capacity boosted to 1340cc, power output hiked to 194bhp, gear ratios revised, slipper clutch added, and braking and suspension components properly beefed up. Styling was also sharpened up a bit, but nothing major. The new Hayabusa can accelerate from zero to 100kph in 2.6 seconds, cover the quarter-mile (400m) in a whisker under 10 seconds, and hit a very sensible top speed of just 299kph and no more. I couldn’t wait to get on board and the guy who handed over the keys probably sensed my eagerness and put in a gentle word of caution: ‘The Hayabusa has ABS, but no traction control, so please start in the low-power mode until you’re more confident with the bike. Enjoy the ride!’

The Hayabusa has a ‘drive mode selector’ with three power modes and I did start in the lowest power mode and worked my way up to the full-fat setting. The surprising bit is, the Hayabusa actually feels happiest only in the full power mode, where it remains fully composed and controllable despite the lack of TC etc. The other two modes, which blunt the power delivery, just make the bike feel strangulated and are best left unused, except maybe in really bad weather or on very wet and slippery roads. At 265 kilos and with a wheelbase of more than 58 inches, the Hayabusa definitely feels long and heavy at very low speeds – making a U-turn at walking speeds can be difficult. But get out on the open road and twist that throttle, and the Hayabusa truly comes into its own. What can I say about its acceleration that hasn’t already been said before? It’s simply mind-boggling, almost unbelievable. On the six-lane Noida-Agra Expressway, almost entirely free of traffic at five in the morning, the Hayabusa repeatedly hit 250-260kph rapidly and effortlessly and would have easily gone faster had I not run out of courage. The sheer intensity, while accelerating from 50-60kph to 250+, is astonishing and you just want to do it over and over again.

Not that one finds too many corners in Greater Noida where one can go all Kevin Schwantz on the ’Busa, but around the few that I did find, the Hayabusa handled well and with composure. It is big and heavy, so you can’t brake late and slam it into corners the way you’d do with a 600cc supersports machine. Staying smooth is the key here – use the brakes, the handlebar and the throttle like a Sushi chef’s scalpel rather than a construction worker’s jackhammer, and the ’Busa surprises you with its alacrity in the bends. At high speeds, it turns in quickly, stays rock-solid while cornering and then accelerates out hard, without a twitch or shimmy. In fact, I prefer the ‘Busa’s twin-spar aluminium beam frame, massive alloy swingarm and firm suspension set-up to the Kawasaki ZX-14R’s monocoque chassis and rather weedy swingarm. While the Kawasaki is even more powerful and offers the safety net of traction control, and has a slightly more comfortable riding position, for me, the ’Busa is the perfect playmate – an always willing partner in crimes of speed.

So, almost two decades after it was launched, does the Hayabusa still have a place in the world of very fast motorcycles, or is it almost ready to be consigned to the status of a motorcycling anachronism? Well, modern litre-class superbikes are a good 40-50 kilos lighter than the ’Busa and are about 10-15% more powerful. What’s not to like about machines like the latest RSV4, Panigale V4R, S1000RR and ZX-10R? Nothing, that’s what. However, for me, the Hayabusa has a unique charm that’s all its own. It’s raw and visceral, wild and wanton, not held back by in any way by the digital nannies that have become all too common on some other high-performance machines. It’s a man’s motorcycle that makes you feel like Superman – twist the throttle and it’s as if you’ve been given the power to soar to the skies. It’s a machine that truly deserves its iconic status. If I had one, I’d simply never stop riding it.

I remain eternally grateful to Motoring World for having arranged for me to keep the Hayabusa for 2-3 days and ride it to my heart’s content. It was an incredible dream come true for me.