Hayabusa Motorcycles – The Fastest Birds in The World
Back in time till 1999 when a historical event took place. Suzuki introduced to the world their fastest production motorcycles ever, the Hayabusa motorcycles. Does this name tell you something? It means “Peregrine Falcon” a bird which can dive from the heights with more than 200 mph to kill it’s next dinner. So you got the idea? The Hayabusa motorcycles were built for only one purpose: to conquer any other motorbikes in the world both in performance and usability. Well, Suzuki succeeded…again! The GSXR1300 Hayabusa was powered by a 1299 cc DOHC inline-4, liquid cooled engine. The claimed power output was a 175 bhp at 9800 rpm which translates to at least a 157 bhp at the real wheel easily without any modification. Just to give you some idea how big the Hayabusa’s strength really is I would like to compare it to the Honda CBR600 motorbike. So the “Busa” has double the bhp and the torque and the CBR has to rev 10.000 in order to produce the same power what the big Suzuki does at 5500 rpm or if it wasn’t enough then there is another fact that the Hayabusa can produce 20 bhp more than the Yamaha YZF-R1 at any given speed. But speed is just one tiny factor. What makes a bike a “really good bike” is the overall usability and the amount of money it needs in order to keep it well maintained. I need to tell you in advance that this bike is not cheap to run at all. If you don’t ride it carefully enough then it could eat the back tire within a 1000 miles distance. So if you are not a tire dealer to get the rubber really cheap then you have to have a thick wallet. But there are some other facts that will make you pay out big for the joy what this bike has to offer. Now let’s jump on it and take it to a test ride. When the bike is still it feels a bit heavy and it isn’t effortless if you want to turn around on a narrow road. It has a clutch fitted with a torque limiter which can delay the full power sent to the wheel during start from standstill which is also very useful if you are not too experienced in handling a lot of horsepower. When you are moving the bike handles very well. It is agile and easy to navigate on the right track. There is a small annoying thing when the bike hits approximately 5000 rpm because you will encounter some disturbing vibrations through the handlebars and from the foot rest but it is not a big deal. The power delivery is very smooth and the electronic fuel injection is really close to perfection. There is an awesome thing on the field of acceleration because when you twist the throttle hard instead of instant wheelies the bike will launch you forward and slowly starts to pull the front wheel off the road. If you are riding it more in a race style then when a bend is coming and you are changing to lower gears at high rpm it is a good thing that the rear wheel won’t lock so you can lean confidently. The riding position on the Suzuki Hayabusa is quite comfortable even on long journeys but after all it was designed for touring purposes in mind. The bike itself leans a little bit forward so it might not be very comfortable for your wrists if you are tall or in a heavyweight league. However it doesn’t matter what is your weight when it comes to the seat because it is so comfortable that you will never feel your arse in pain. The fairing of the bike was designed according to wind tunnel tests so that’s why it is a bullet and of course it has a totally unique shape which grabs attention wherever you go so don’t buy this machine if you are a shy type of guy or woman. It offers very good wind protection even at around 170 km/h so your height doesn’t really matter on this motorcycle. You can keep the normal riding position up to 200 km/h. In traffic it is also comfortable but please bear in mind that the fuel tank has a 21 litre capacity so you will definitely need a stretch after a full tank of petrol has gone and if you ride it carefully enough then you can achieve nearly 5 liters fuel consumption for a 100 km. The Hayabusa tend to behave a little imprecise in fast corners due to bigger weight compared to small sport bikes so more effort required to control this beast. If you keep the throttle still during cornering it will go on the right angle but you need to be experienced if you want to push it harder. On the Hayabusa speed happens at ridiculously short time so you really need a clear head when riding. I used to feel the adrenalin pumping in my veins when I was cruising on the city streets and suddenly I saw a beautiful woman who was smiling at me and I wanted to show off for her. You will need a lot of self-control to learn riding without emotions because this is one of the major factors that can kill you instantly. Never ride if you are angry or desperate. So you got the bike and you are happily riding but the time is coming when you need to think about maintenance if you wish to continue to enjoy your rocket. I have good news. You won’t need anything special than you would need on other motorcycles. The back tire can last between 5000-10000 kilometers and the front one around 10000 kilometers if you ride it normally. Any other parts are no different regarding servicing interval. Just make sure you are not careless about regular maintenance. Don’t forget that you can only go fast safely when every part of the bike plays together to make a beautiful orchestra.
