Suzuki Hayabusa
The ‘Busa is back!
With an opening sentence like that you could be forgiven for being disappointed to learn that the very vast majority of those new parts are there to help make the Hayabusa kitten friendly, and not to please the internet ‘experts’ or even current Hayabusa owners by adding to the already excess of power in the name of pub ammo and nothing else. The outpouring of negativity and outrage from the internet when Suzuki announced the details of this, the third-generation Hayabusa, was staggering. For me the reaction was more of a reflection on how high our expectations are these days rather than the accusation that was levelled at Suzuki for being lazy and missing a trick. I believe it’s thanks to just how far manufacturers are prepared to go to innovate and develop in order to convince us to spend with them. Superchargers, variable valve timing, crossplane cranks, electronics that turn us into gods and more recently wings that contribute nothing below 150mph have all shown up in the last five to 10 years. But here’s the rub; today the Hayabusa has no competition and stands alone in a class of one, and much more importantly, when it did have competition, it was always the best in the class anyway.
WHEN I SAW THE PICTURES OF IT I FELL INTO THE ‘PASS ME THE SICK BUCKET’ CAMP, UNTIL I SAW IT IN THE FLESH.
Suzuki got it so right with the Hayabusa, specifically with its image and engine, which in particular still makes it the ‘go to’ bike for people who want to go really fast, that it’s managed to be top dog in the ‘hyperbike’ category for nearly a quarter of a century. In that time, the Kawasaki ZZR1200 and ZX-12R have been and gone, as has Honda’s Blackbird, and though you can still buy a new H2-SX or ZZR1400 from a Kawasaki showroom, you won’t be able to for long as they’re Euro4 spec so no more are being made. Only the H2R is being offered as a 2021 model Kawasaki, and while it’s unequivocally ballistic, it’s also not road legal, which means the Hayabusa really doesn’t have a rival.
The Hayabusa’s status as king of its own castle could be something levelled at Suzuki for being the reason why, on the surface, they appear to have taken the easy option and not really upgraded it. However, as its various rivals have thrown in the towel over the years, it’s apparent that just staying in the game is a tall order these days, something also borne out by the 550 redesigned parts on the 2021 bike. Progress doesn’t always mean more power and less weight, so kudos to Suzuki for going to the effort of keeping the Hayabusa in their range at all, let alone bringing it up to date and making it cleaner without giving up any performance.
The most obvious change to the 2021 bike is its appearance, so let’s tackle that first. Like the two previous Hayabusas, the latest one will divide opinion and for the first time in 14 years of writing about motorbikes, I’m going to comment on a motorcycle’s appearance. When I saw the pictures of it, I fell into the ‘pass me the sick bucket’ camp until I saw it in the flesh (the bike, not the sick bucket). Now I’m converted, and I actually quite like how it looks and think it’s the best-looking one yet, but I’ve also been around long enough to know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it doesn’t matter one bit what I think about its looks. However, there’s no avoiding the fact that its lines are clean, it doesn’t have three dozen different ‘shouty’ colours all over it, or stickers with stupid acronyms, and as well as the lack of indicators poking out, the absence of pointless en vogue wings is pleasing. But that’s just me.
To matters less subjective, and more relevant to the reason for the Hayabusa’s continued existence, the headlines for what Suzuki has had to do to get the Hayabusa to meet Euro5 standards are a bigger airbox, new throttle bodies, new cam profiles, new fuel injectors, a new combustion chamber, new valve timing, new exhaust downpipes with extra header connectors, extra catalytic
converters and new silencers. All with the aim to run leaner and burn more of the fuel that does find itself in the combustion chamber in the name of saving the planet. There are a number of other changes to things like bearing sizes and oil passages that are unrelated to the Euro5 goal, but no doubt a result of learning from the previous model to improve durability.
The single most important upgrade that links all the Euro5 changes, and without which they wouldn’t work, is the move to ‘ride by wire’. By handing control of the throttle bodies and ignition over to the ECU, fuel maps can be written and delivered far more accurately and therefore much leaner than they can the good ol’ fashioned way by hand. The other spin-off benefit of switching to ride by wire is that if you add a Bosch six-axis IMU to the other sensors on the bike that measure the throttle position, gear position, wheel speeds and brake pressure, you get a full suite of rider aids. As well as the usual power modes, cornering ABS, traction control, wheelie control, adjustable engine braking, quickshifter and blipper the Hayabusa gets launch control, cruise control, hill start assist and a snazzy emergency stop signal that activates the hazard lights if you brake really hard. With ride-by-wire technology the Hayabusa is able to kill two birds with one stone by getting the same power from less fuel and join the modern era.
Elsewhere, the chassis is largely unchanged, although while the wheelbase is the same as the Gen2 bike, the rake and trail are reduced a good bit from 24.2 degrees and 98mm on the Gen2 bike to a much livelier 23 degrees and 90mm on the Gen3 bike. There’s also new seven-spoke wheels that get Bridgestone S22 tyres, the brake discs are up from 310mm to a more fit-for-purpose 320mm and Brembo Stylema calipers make an appearance. The suspension has been given a thorough going-over but not replaced at both ends too. The fork internals get new spring rates and damping pistons, and the rear shock also gets a new spring rate, different shims and piston design. They’re all very subtle changes that are in keeping with the overall approach to this third-generation Hayabusa to evolve and adapt for the modern day rather than rethink completely.
The slightly unfortunate reality of all the Euro5-based updates is that basic architecture of the 2021 Hayabusa is broadly the same, so on the road it is a lot like riding any Hayabusa; ridiculously fast and surprisingly easy to throw about given its sheer size. Stick it in third or fourth gear and you’ll be able to
rattle down your local A or B road at unspeakable speeds that being truthful only a committed sportsbike rider might fancy bettering.
The electronics are good, and they do exactly what they say on the tin. They don’t interfere, and when they do it’s very subtle, so no complaints. That said, the nature of how the Hayabusa goes about the business of firing itself out of corners does somewhat make the need for electronic traction control system debatable. The way it makes its power and torque so linearly and delivers it so smoothly through its compliant chassis that is long and has a low centre of gravity means that with the fancy Bridgestone S22 Hypersport tyres, there is a lot of mechanical grip on offer. Compared with the frantic power delivery and super-stiff chassis of a pure sportsbike, the Hayabusa just lays all its power down without any fuss and fires you to the next corner. There’s no wheelies that need managing electronically or manually, just thrust with both wheels more or less firmly planted on the tarmac. A point highlighted later in the day when we were let loose on a runway to sample the launch control and stretch the Hayabusa’s legs in what many would say is its natural habitat.