Hayabusa means peregrine falcon in Japanese. Peregrine falcons are not only the fastest animal on earth, they also love to feast on blackbirds. And that’s exactly what Suzuki wanted the Hayabusa to do; to eat Honda’s Blackbird for breakfast. They’ve been around since 1999, they’ve sold nearly 200,000 units and, whilst they’ve been at it, earnt a bit of a cult following. And now, for 2021, there is a new one.
And whilst it does look a bit more modern, with its sharper lines, LED lights and new exhausts, it’s certainly still a ‘Busa. With it’s low, long and wide stance, it’s true that it still looks mega similar to the first Hayabusa, 22 years ago. But I wouldn’t say it looks dated. It’s such a unique look that, even after all this time, there’s still nothing that looks like a ‘Busa.
After testing loads of different engine layouts, turbochargers and bigger displacements, Suzuki’s engineers and test riders decided not to fix what isn’t broken. They like the 1340cc inline four, so they’re keeping it. That said, they’ve put a bit of work into developing it, and in doing so created the fastest launching Hayabusa yet (apart from all the ones that people have put turbos on, or NOS, and taken drag racing). New pistons, conrods, cams, and changes to the combustion chamber all help the engine spin easier and burn fuel a bit more effectively. And a bigger airbox and throttle bodies help get fuel in quicker. Whilst all this has given the new model better mid-range, peak power and torque have taken a hit. You can expect to get 190bhp and 150Nm, meaning power’s down by 7bhp at the top and peak torque is down by 5Nm. Like the outgoing model, top speed is limited to 186mph, as per the gentleman’s agreement amongst the main Japanese manufacturers.
There’s nothing particularly new in the chassis department either. The twin-spar ally frame is, as far as we can see, identical to the last one. But you do get a new subframe, which is 700g lighter than the last one. The new 7-spoke wheels look pretty saucy, and they come with special Bridgestone S22s, which definitely gets our vote.
And there’s loads of fancy new electronics, too. You have six rider modes, three pre-set ones and three customisable ones. The modes all adjust the power and level of traction control, lift-control etc. And as well as the power modes, you get a shifter and blipper, a speed limiter, launch control, cruise control, hill hold and a few other helpful little electronic nuggets.
If you wanted Suzuki to drag the Hayabusa into the space age with a million bhp, you’re probably going to be a little bit disappointed. But if you are a true Hayabusa fanboy (or girl), and you want a modern(ish) take on the classic Hayabusa, then I think you’re going to like it. At £16,499 it’s not cheap, but it’s 2021, nothings cheap anymore. If you fancy a look, they’ll be available in Suzuki dealerships in March.
I have a new 2022 Hayabusa Iam 73 ridding since 14 have
had many motorcycles and I now have my dream bike .
A smooth and clean look, everything I have wanted in one bike and could not find till now. Yes it’s all about the ride and this is. A big 10 for me .
THE BEST
No doubt this toy is the King of the motorcycles
I have 209 nothing compared to other motorcycles.
Definitely 100% Pure Adrenaline
Looks like she may have gained a few covid pounds….
Any idea when there will road/track rewiews of the new busa and what she’s like to ride??
Have to say I love the new busa, it’s top of my list for my next bike hopefully this summer (it’s a bloody long list), as I’ve never bought a bike for any practical reason I’m not planning on starting now, yes there are faster, lighter, better all-rounder bikes but I think this will put the biggest smile on my face😁
I have owned an 09 plate ‘busa. I have not found anything that feels the same. I am looking forward to giving this one a try. BUSA BABY
Always loved the Hayabusa. A new BKing wud probably do better in this day and age though.
Subframe 700kg lighter – I seriously doubt that.
I’ve always thought they were a bit of a bloater – like the fat girl down the pub, I’d have a go on her but wouldn’t want to take her home
I’m glad it’s not dead. BUT its got a longer tooth than a walrus! My old man had a 04′ blackbird for YEARS. All his mates had the ‘busa, he always lost down the bypass. But at least his bike wasn’t as common as a cold. P.S, that black and gold is a great colour scheme!
I’m definitely puzzled by the market for this, would be good to hear from anyone who can explain whether there is a market for this.at £16k it’s £6k more than currently you can pick up a last model ZXR14. The typical buyer isn’t going to be a young person, probably nearer 35yr old upwards and wanting longer tours with the partner, which means likely to be someone where the £6k difference would be a big part of the buying decision. That’s still £2K a year over a finance deal without interest applied. So that leaves it fighting in the space where BMW S1000XR, Multistrada 1260S or maybe a base Multi V4 or a Triumph Tiger 900 GT Pro, so you have to hate ALL of those alternatives before seriously looking at this. Finally it’s quoted as 264KG wet, that’s a lot of weight in anyone’s book. I fear the market for this is the US, There’s a bigger fascination with riding on motorways and simply ‘cruising’ judging by what the big Vloggers do, so maybe Suzuki don’t care about the UK. In isolation, I don’t think it’s ugly, and it’s good that we have so much choice.
I am puzzled. I am yet to ride a Hayabusa but am considering one. I viewed the Hayabusa as a do it all sports ‘tourer’ which you can still keep up with your mates on a ride, enjoy a little adrenaline and fun but still take a pillion from time to time to share the fun and it would haul your luggage with no complaints. From what I saw here and on MCN they pretty much made everything that made that possible sort of worse while adding a bunch of electronics which yes, I know, they sort of had to because people would poo on it for being archaic (some still do because of the analog gauges) but are not neccessary in my humble opinion. Less power, less torque, smaller back seat, smaller tank, worse fuel economy. It is apparently 2 kilos lighter… slap an exhaust or a lithium battery on the gen2 or take a poo before you ride and you are on the same weight. More midrange.. okay although I think a powercommander and some tweaks would do the trick on the gen2. Brakes and suspension you could upgrade also. I think if you bought a used Gen2 with around 30-40k km on it (which for a Busa is nothing.. my K6 Gix thou has 100k+ and is still running strong) and the rest of the cash you spent on upgrades you would end up with a better motorcycle overall. You would lose cruise control .. which.. okay, and if you started with a pre-ABS gen 2 you would lose ABS which frankly, from the reports – ABS on some japanese bikes can put you in dangerous situations if it reacts poorly so I think I would rather count on my own input on a non ABS brake lever. As for wheelie control and stoppie control and all the other controls… on the road? Why? To make the ride more dull? But at least the new one has hill hold assist– like… why.. guys.. what are we doing here 😀 I guess we will have to wait for the actual reviews to know for sure but on paper it doesn’t seem that exciting. I am however not a Busa rider, nor a motorcycle electronics user so if I am missing something feel free to correct me, I would be happy to learn something from the more experienced..
700kg lighter subframe? Probably to accomodate 1000 kg Americans?
On a serious note – are you not worried about total lack of innovation from Suzuki? They have pretty much the same bikes for the last 5+ years.