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Suzuki Hayabusa Three Wheeled

What would you do if all your mates had a Hayabusa, and you wanted yours to stand out in the crowd? Nick Dagostino decided to add a third wheel to his 2003 Hayabusa. Now, he says, he has no problems finding his bike – it’s the one with a crowd always gathered around it…

Speaking to Super Streetbike, Dagostino, a resident of Saratoga Springs, New York, says, ‘I did all the usual stuff. Chromed the gas tank, polished everything else, lowered the bike, stretched it seven inches… but everywhere I went out here, I saw 10 more that looked exactly like mine! I hate being in the mainstream – I always want to have something different from the rest. So I went home one night and, halfway into a 12-pack, I thought what the hell can I do that no one's ever done before. This is what I came up with.’

Dagostino’s 2003 Hayabusa has been fitted with a super-trick tandem swingarm, which allows the fitment of a third wheels on the bike. ‘I love it. It's so stealth. Coming at you straight on, it looks like any other ’Busa, but once guys see the third wheel, everything changes. It's so much fun to watch them do a double take and grab their buddies,’ says Dagostino.

The extra-long swingarm has been built by Myrtle West Cycle in Longs, South Carolina. It is more than four feet long and features extra underbracing to ensure strength and stability. Of course, only the centre wheel is driven – the rear wheel is fitted with a dummy sprocket with its teeth machined off. For now, Dagostino says driving both rear wheels would be too complex, though even that might happen in the future.

Surprisingly enough, Dagostino rides his three-wheeled Hayabusa regularly. ‘It tracks pretty well. The only place you really feel the extra wheel is on hard, 90-degree turns. The second wheel will scrub a little bit, but you know when this is going to happen so you can deal with it pretty easily,’ he says. Just as well then that the man makes his living driving a truck for the New York highway department, and has sufficient practice with tandem-wheeled vehicles…

Other trick bits on the Hayabusa include a five-inch LCD colour monitor – which is connected to a rear-view camera fitted below the tail-lamp – on top of the fuel tank, and an HMF high-mount dual-pipe exhaust system. We’re not too sure if we’d really want a three-wheeled Hayabusa, but for those who have trouble finding their bike in parking lots, something like Dagostino’s bike might just help.

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