Production of the Suzuki Hayabusa has ended after 20 years

[Don Roque]

In another blow for the motorcycling world, the venerable Suzuki Hayabusa has ended production some twenty years after it first arrived.

It's always been a stalwart of the biking scene as long as I've known bikes and it was the 'hard lad' bike of my youth. The Super Blackbird was maybe cooler and sleeker but the Hayabusa was the name-bike. It harks back to a time which seems like ancient history now, when biking was less about portable commode Adventure bikes and more about performance.

I suppose changing market trends and Suzuki's never-ending cashflow problems meant that trying to update such a bike to be Euro 4 compliant was never going to happen.

I've never owned a Hayabusa but I think something of that ilk will be my next bike. A VFR1200, K1300S, Hayabusa or similar, I just love those comfy cruise missiles.

[Don Roque]

Freakuk said:

If you're fat and wear camo you'll probably be upset LOL.

Aye, they were always seen as a bit of a chav bike and were probably the stuff of dreams to hard-up Bandit 1200 riders who had fur mohawks on their lids. The Hayabusa probably suffered this more than most bikes, because they were a two wheeled equivalent of the 'Mitsi Turbo', as the knuckle draggers used to say.

[Don Roque]

podman said:

In some ways wish I still had my original 1999 model, I sold it 3 years ago with less than 3,000 miles on it...I think its now still sitting totally un-used.

That is just stunning. I always thought the copper coloured ones were the best looking ones, followed by the black and red scheme that was shared with the late 90's SRADs.

[Don Roque]

graylag said:

No

I do OK

Speaking from experience then?

They're a product of the power wars of the 90's and may seem a bit of a dinosaur these days, particularly since a litre bike was always a better choice for belting up B roads, but the Hayabusa maintains a strong following and there are plenty of current and former owners with plenty of good to say about them. If they had a shaft drive I'd have one now.

[Don Roque]

Speed addicted said:

I had a VFR1200 for three years, a bike coming from a similar fast tourer background. We did 3k miles through 9 countries in a fairly hectic 8 days, during the run I did 170mph, blasted through the black forest and screamed over Alps. All with full luggage on board.
A smaller bike with no luggage capability would have been no use to me at all.

You lucky fker. A VFR1200 is what I want next.

[Don Roque]

graylag said:

No, they just banged on about performance, being stupid fast and other obvious comments. Nobody denied it either though after my comment, one even started to provide links and talk about drag racing too.

They are stupid fast, though I don't think anyone suggested they were the fastest. By any sensible measure they're really bloody fast and if you're splitting hairs over a fraction of a second here or there against a sports bike, you need to step back from the biking bubble and look at things objectively.