Suzuki GSX 1300R Hayabusa

Review

From the beginning, Suzuki's Hayabusa has been all about standing out from the crowd.

Since its debut in 1999, the Hayabusa's over-the-top styling and prodigious top speed have made it unlike anything else on the street. That the Guinness Book of World Records lists the Hayabusa as the world's fastest production motorcycle doesn't hurt either, especially because Japanese manufacturers have since electronically limited their motorcycles to 299 kph (186 mph), making future comparisons impossible.

The 'Busa has become nothing short of a modern motorcycling icon, a 10,000-a-year seller and a rock star at bike nights across the country, where they're often decked out in one-off paint and customized with everything from NOS bottles to extended swingarms.

The 'Busa's broad appeal
Some major motorcycle manufacturers have recently appointed executives to the task of reaching out to minorities and women, to broaden the market for their motorcycles. But Suzuki already has an established hit with the Hayabusa.

Suzuki says 37 percent of Hayabusa buyers identify themselves as minorities. It doesn't hurt that famous athletes such as Shaquille O'Neal own Hayabusas and that rap artists have featured the bike in their videos.

Suzuki says Hayabusa buyers are a diverse lot beyond ethnicity, too. Twenty percent are between ages 18 and 29, but another 20 percent are between 45 and 59.
So when it came time to update the GSX1300, Suzuki's designers took the logical approach: They took everything the Hayabusa does well and maxxed it out.

As the world's press discovered at the bike's intro at Great Lakes Dragway and Road America Raceway in Wisconsin, Suzuki engineers have created a bike that can do a quarter-mile pass in the 9s, bury the speedo at 180 mph on the racetrack and still be a surprisingly manageable streetbike.

Changes for '08 start with the engine. Instead of a full makeover, engineers stroked the motor 2 mm to increase displacement from 1,298cc to 1,340cc and bumped compression from 11.0:1 to 12.5:1. Valves are now titanium and lift was increased on both the intake and exhaust sides.

The curved radiator is new and is fitted with two electric cooling fans. Throttle bodies now sport two butterflies, with a computer controlling the downstream valve and the rider controlling the other. Engine power is said to be up 12 percent, to a claimed 194 horsepower.

Tune your powerband on the fly
Remember when you had to peel off bodywork, disassemble a row of carbs and install new jets if you wanted to change the tune of your engine? How quaint. Now Suzuki lets you push a button.

Located on the righthand control housing is the Suzuki Drive Mode Selector switch, which debuted on the 2007 GSX-R1000. This three-position toggle lets the rider swap among A, B and C injection maps on the fly for a hard, medium or soft power curve.

The Hayabusa version works differently from the GSX-R1000's, which mainly affected the upper 4,000 rpm of the rev range -- appropriate for a racebike. Switching maps on the Hayabusa shifts the entire horsepower curve up or down, making a difference at all rpms. That works better on the street, when you need to back off the power a little because of wet roads, cold tires, or other traction considerations.
Helping control that power is the Suzuki Drive Mode Selector, similar to the system introduced on the 2007 GSX-R1000 sportbike (see sidebar, right).

As for styling, Koji Yoshiura, who also designed the original Hayabusa, said he was influenced by a visit to the United States, where Suzuki collected opinions from riders at bike nights and sportbike gatherings. Prior to that trip, he was leaning toward a sleeker, more slimmed-down look. Instead, based on the input from owners, the 'Busa's muscular and beefy look was accentuated.

Viewed on its own, the new bike is obviously a Hayabusa. But when it's compared side by side with the previous model, the differences jump out. Ultimately, the new design does what many thought was impossible: It makes the old 'Busa look conservative. The '08 model continues the grand Hayabusa tradition of looking like nothing else on the road.

My first minutes aboard the new 'Busa were for two runs on the drag strip. My rookie launches resulted in quarter-mile times in the low 11-second range, with several riders dropping into the low 10s—all with no experience on the bike. After five runs, Jordan Suzuki AMA Superbike pro Aaron Yates managed to drop just into the 9s, and that was on an allegedly stock bike. Impressive.

From the drag strip, we left for the street ride portion of the intro. The following 160 miles of asphalt gave me more time to appreciate the re-designed dash, which updates the original nicely while keeping both an analog tach and speedo. It also gave me a chance to get a feel for the bike in the real world: construction zones, 45 and 35 mph speed limits and small-town traffic. While not exactly an A-list route, these roads did prove that the Hayabusa has surprisingly predictable and relatively nimble street manners for a 485-pound bike with an 58.3-inch wheelbase.

The 'Busa is exactly the opposite of what I'd expect from a 9-second production bike. Its broad torque curve makes it downright docile at legal speeds, especially with the drive-mode selector on C, which would be perfect for wet roads or cold tires.

And if that's too docile for you, all it takes is moving the switch from C to A and twisting the throttle. No matter which gear you're in, the bike will launch to the horizon faster than you can say "speeding ticket."

Living with this bike would take pallet loads of self-restraint.

But luckily, on the ultra-fast straights of Road America Raceway, which we visit on the second day of the press intro, we don't need no steenking restraint.

Reaching an indicated 160 mph on the front straight is absurdly easy. And with only a little fear management involving turn one approaching at more than 270 feet per second, it's possible to max out the 180 mph speedo. Luckily, the redesigned radial-mount brakes are excellent, with great feel and power. A slipper clutch makes downshifts drama-free. And just in case things do start to get a little out of shape, the Hayabusa comes stock with a steering damper.

As I left the track, I felt like I could relate to a lot of 'Busa owners, who probably tell themselves, "I never plan to go that fast, but hey, if I ever need to…"

And that's kind of the point of the 'Busa. It's not that you necessarily need this kind of power, but it sure is nice to have it available, especially when you don't have to make any streetbike concessions to get it.

Source Amadirectlink.com

Review

For the big redesign of its iconic, pavement-scorching Hayabusa, Suzuki revisited the wind tunnel and gave the bike a muscular new look. The king of speed's basic engine architecture remains the same, though attention to detail—not to mention a 41cc bump in displacement—has added up to increased power and acceleration. Strapped to Cycle World's dyno, the ’Busa’s liquid-cooled inline-Four produced 173.4 horsepower and 103.9 foot-pounds of torque at the rear wheel. That was backed by a 9.70-second, 148.48-mph pass through the quarter-mile, making the new Hayabusa the quickest production bike we've ever tested.

A 2mm stroke increase upped the cubes from 1299 to 1340 cc / 81.7 cu-incc. Stronger shotpeened chrome-moly steel-alloy connecting rods carry new forged aluminum-alloy slipper pistons fitted with lighter, smaller-diameter wristpins and new rings for reduced blow-by with the motor's substantial bump in compression ratio (11.0 to 12.5:1). The cylinder bore is treated with a nickel-phosphorus-silicon-carbide coating said to improve heat transfer, durability and ring seal. Valve diameter remains unchanged, but titanium valves have replaced last year's heavier steel poppets, allowing for both a reduction in valve-spring pressure and use of higher valve lift for intake and exhaust. A new 4-into-2 exhaust is capped with freer-flowing, large-volume mufflers. Feeding the beast is your typical ram-air intake and dual-butterfly throttle body now featuring a twin-injector arrangement with 12-hole nozzles said to offer improved fuel atomization for better combustion efficiency.

Improvements to braking, handling and power delivery make the new 'Busa tough to beat.
A new feature is the Suzuki Clutch Assist System that uses a ramp and cam to increase clutch-plate pressure under load without use of heavier springs. Also new is the Suzuki Drive Mode Selector, first employed on the 2007 GSX-R1000. A switch on the right handlebar toggles the S-DMS between a trio of engine control maps, with the B and C modes reducing overall output and slowing the rate that the secondary throttle valves open. That softens the power delivery for use in less-than-ideal surface conditions.

Blazin' 'Busa
As before, the 'Busa's ergos are roomy and accommodating for the 6-foot-plus crowd. Engine vibration is subdued below 4500 rpm, but it seeps through the bars, tank and pegs once you exceed an indicated 85 mph in sixth gear. Wind protection has been improved with an 18mm-taller windscreen that results in a remarkably low amount of turbulence. An upgraded KYB inverted-cartridge fork now has black Diamond-Like Coating on its 43mm stanchion tubes, providing more supple action and an improved freeway ride. Though the new 'Busa tips into corners at street-legal speeds with reasonable ease, it weighs-in at 585 pounds with its 5.5-gallon fuel tank topped up. That makes for an aerobic workout when hustling the bike along a twisty road at speed. Still, for $11,999, there may not be a quicker—or more thrilling—means of getting in shape.

Source Cycle World

Review

When Suzuki’s Hayabusa debuted in 1999, it inspired controversy for two aspects that would go on to become iconic: its controversial aerodynamic styling and its ability to open a giant can of whup-ass on anything else on the showroom floor.

After word got out about its 9-second abilities down the quarter-mile and its 190-plus-mph top speed, its “Eye-Abuse-Er” nickname became less prevalent. Soon the Busa was seen by some groups as the hottest thing on the street, and the mighty falcon became one of the primary canvases on which to polish frames and bolt on big-tire kits to up the bike’s badass-ness.

Now nine years on (and with a manufacturers’ agreement to limit top speeds to a laughably sedate 186 mph), the Busa was hit on the chin in 2006 by the Kawasaki ZX-14. The Kawi proved to be quicker and more powerful but also smoother and more comfortable. Regardless, the Busa remained as popular as ever and was unmatched for its street cred. Fearing a “New Coke”-type backlash, Suzuki engineers didn’t want to stray too far from the original Busa concept in this new redesign you see here. It’s still unmistakably a Hayabusa even if every fairing panel has been remolded. And it’s not much different underneath, either.

While it’s the new skin that first grabs your attention, it’s the unholy monster motor underneath that has earned the Hayabusa its veneration. Potent and durable, it has been the inspiration for a closer relationship with god among those who have twisted its throttle to the stop. For ’08, this legendary lump has received a 2mm longer stroke to yield 1340 cc / 81.7 cu-incc instead of the old bike’s 1299cc. New forged pistons are lighter and stronger and produce a 1.5-point increase in compression ratio to 12.5:1. Also forged is the crank, as it attaches to new chro-moly rods that are now shot-peened for added strength. Cam chain adjustment is now accomplished hydraulically, which also helps reduce mechanical noise.

Up top are 16 new titanium valves that save 14.1 grams on each intake and 11.7 grams on each exhaust for a significant weight loss in this critical area, allowing the replacement of double valve springs with lighter single springs. Valve sizes remain the same, but a new camshaft now forces greater lift on both the intake and exhaust poppets and has revised timing. It’s all fed by a pair of double-barreled 44mm throttle bodies. They use a version of Suzuki’s Dual Throttle Valve system that has a secondary throttle valve mounted above the primary that’s controlled by the bike’s electronic brain to maintain the ideal velocity of the intake charge based on rpm, throttle opening and gear position.

Controlled by a new high-powered Engine Control Unit, Suzuki says that the Busa has the company’s “most powerful, most advanced digital fuel-injection and engine management system.” Another important task of the ECU is controlling the different parameters of Suzuki’s Drive Mode System. Like the GSX-R1000 and ’08 Gixxer 600/750, the Busa has a handlebar-mounted switch to set the power mode into three available positions. It produces full power in mode A, the default setting, while mode B has a bit of the power edge clipped off. Mode C might be an asset in the rain, but it neuters all the excitement out of the muscular motor.

'Suzuki claims the new bike cranks out 194 horsepower at the crankshaft'

How muscular, you might ask? Suzuki claims the new bike cranks out 194 horsepower at the crankshaft, a 21-horse (12.1%) improvement. Torque is boosted 8.5% to 114 ft-lbs. The old 1299cc engine produced about 160 ponies at the rear wheel, so we expect this new one to spit out around 175 horsepower on a rear-wheel dyno.

“The new 2008 Haybusa is just so freakin’ fast it is unreal,” relates Neale Bayly from his experience at the press launch. “Accelerating off the corners with a quiet whoosh from the twin pipes like it had been shot out of a Howitzer, it feels like some sort of macabre video game flicking through some of Road America’s tighter sections. It starts making lots of power early, and by the time the needle is past five grand all hell is letting loose. It pulls without a break until the rev limiter kicks in with a bang somewhere around 11 grand.”

Bayly also told us that the response from the high-tech fuel-injection system is flawless, aided by injectors with fine-atomizing 12-hole squirters instead of the previous four. “Giving superb throttle response from very low in the rev range all the way till the rev limiter kicked in, the system was faultless. One area that can cause problems with fuel-injection systems is at lower rpm on small throttle openings, but this was not the case with the big Suzuki.”

At the dragstrip, journalists struggled to break the 10-second barrier, but Jordan Motorsports Racer Aaron Yates was able to just nip into the 9-second bracket. We expect an epic duel between this uprated Busa and the more powerful 2008 ZX-14 for the honor of quarter-mile champ. Out on Road America, the new Busa handles a lot like the old Busa with extra power. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering that the bike’s twin-spar aluminum frame is nearly identical to previous, so we’ve got the same 23.4-degree rake and short 3.7 inches (93mm) of trail. A revised swingarm shortens the wheelbase a scant 5mm to 58.3 inches and features an additional strengthening rib for less flex.

“Don’t expect to go diving up the inside of any supersport bikes at a track day,” says Bayly, “but do perfect your passing wave as you cream them coming off the turns. Not that any of this should be surprising when you consider the bike weighs in around 500 pounds full of fuel, it is just a good idea to remind yourself of these facts before all that horsepower lets you get carried away.”

The old Busa’s most glaring shortcoming was the performance from its old-tech six-piston front brakes that were barely up to the task of slowing this earth-bound missile. We’re happy to report that Suzuki has now fitted up-to-date radial-mounted four-piston calipers to the magic Bus. They bite on 10mm-smaller 310mm discs that have a half-mil extra thickness (5.5mm) to handle the heat. Bayly tells us they are a major improvement.

Also aiding heavy braking is the new slipper clutch that Bayly says it quite effective. The clutch also has the Suzuki Clutch Assist System that increases the amount of force on the clutch plates without using stiffer clutch springs. The clutch also features a new friction material for better feedback at the engagement point. In addition, the width of a few transmission gearsets were revised and the upper three gears are sprayed with oil for reduced wear and quieter operation.

As for the Hayabusa’s new clothes, we’ll leave the aesthetic judgments to you. Aerodynamic efficiency, something the old Busa had over the more powerful ZX-14, is optimized with a wider fairing and a 15mm-taller windscreen to better shelter its rider. The body panel joints are now smoother and have no exposed fasteners, and the top of the fuel tank is lower to allow a tighter full tuck. The tailsection has an enlarged speed hump that will stir some commotion on the message boards, and it also sports integrated turnsignals that are said to “evoke a jet engine motif.” Front turn indicators are nestled into the edges of the air intakes in the nose.

'The clutch also has the Suzuki Clutch Assist System that increases the amount of force on the clutch plates without using stiffer clutch springs.'

Also sure to be controversial is the Busa’s new exhaust system. The triangular muffler canisters on the 4-into 2-into-1-into-2 arrangement look ungainly but are a product of more stringent emissions standards. A catalytic converter is placed where the four head pipes meet under the engine.

“Listening to the sound of Aaron Yates and the new Suzuki Hayabusa going past a few feet from pit wall at close to 190 mph, I just couldn’t believe how quiet the bike was,” Bayly relates. “Almost knocking me off the wall, the sound of the windblast was actually louder than the exhaust.”

In the unrestricted environment of a racetrack, the burlier Busa doesn’t fail to thrill, allowing full use of its mega power. “With walls and fences everywhere, and the big fairing allowing me to get right under the airflow, the view across the clocks was surreal,” says Bayly. “The closeness of the walls greatly exaggerated the already intense speed, and every time you crank the throttle the track just seems to come at you in fast forward. The power is seamless and oh so abundant.”

So, depending on how you think about streetbikes, perhaps Suzuki’s claim of the new Hayabusa as “the ultimate sportbike for the road” has some merit. For some, it’s just too heavy and too powerful, but for others, this invigorated Busa is exactly what they’re looking for. We’ll give Bayly the last word.

“As the first significant overhaul to the all-conquering Japanese bird since 1999, the new 2008 Haybusa is everything the old one was and more. Faster, better handling, and with stronger brakes, the performance element is not going to disappoint. Looking sharper and more modern, without losing its distinct appearance, Busa lovers are not going to be unhappy either.

“And for the rebel without a clue, who thinks their V-Twin’s 67 horsepower and a set of loud pipes makes them a Bad Ass, well they are still going to hate the big, ugly lump of plastic as it goes by them at close to the speed of sound.”

Source Motorcycle.com