Suzuki Hayabusa

Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa
ManufacturerSuzuki
Production1999–present
AssemblyJapan: Toyokawa, Aichi (Toyokawa plant)
India: Gurgaon (Gurgaon plant)[1]
ClassSport bike
Top speed1999-2000: 303–312 km/h (188–194 mph)[2][3]
2001: 299 km/h (186 mph)[4][5]
RelatedSuzuki B-King

The Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa is a sports motorcycle made by Suzuki since 1999. It immediately won acclaim as the world's fastest production motorcycle, with a top speed of 303 to 312 km/h (188 to 194 mph).

In 1999, fears of a European regulatory backlash or import ban[6][7][8][9] led to an informal agreement between the Japanese and European manufacturers to govern the top speed of their motorcycles at an arbitrary limit starting in late 2000.[10] The media-reported value for the speed agreement in miles per hour was consistently 186 mph, while in kilometers per hour it varied from 299 to 303 km/h, which is typical given unit conversion rounding errors. This figure may also be affected by a number of external factors,[11] as can the power and torque values.[12]

The conditions under which this limitation was adopted led to the 1999 and 2000[2][3] Hayabusa's title remaining, at least technically, immune, since no subsequent model could go faster without being tampered with like early 2000 models.[13] After the much anticipated[14][15][16] Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R of 2000 fell 6 km/h (4 mph) short of claiming the title, the Hayabusa secured its place as the fastest standard production bike of the 20th century.[17][18][19] This gives the unrestricted 1999[2][3] models even more cachet with collectors.[20]

Besides its speed, the Hayabusa has been lauded by many reviewers for its all-round performance, in that it does not drastically compromise other qualities like handling, comfort, reliability, noise, fuel economy or price in pursuit of a single function.[5][21][22] Jay Koblenz of Motorcycle Consumer News commented, "If you think the ability of a motorcycle to approach 190 mph or reach the quarter-mile in under 10 seconds is at best frivolous and at worst offensive, this still remains a motorcycle worthy of just consideration. The Hayabusa is Speed in all its glory. But Speed is not all the Hayabusa is."[21]

  1. ^ "Suzuki Hayabusa: Make in India | Autocar India".
  2. ^ a b c Trevitt, Andrew (June 2010), "Big Dogs: Derestriction; Uncorking the top-speed potential of the Hayabusa and ZX-12R", Sport Rider, archived from the original on May 11, 2012
  3. ^ a b c "2000 Suzuki GRS1300R Hayabusa Program #1922", MotorWeek, archived from the original on March 13, 2004
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brown2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Hoyer2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Burns, John (April 2, 2012), "Fifty Years of "Do You Have Any Idea How Fast You Were Going?" It cost around 60 lakh-70 lakhIndian rupees A brief history of Ludicrous Speed", Cycle World, archived from the original on April 7, 2012, retrieved September 17, 2017{{citation}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ Brown (1999)
  8. ^ Richardson (1999)
  9. ^ Cole (1999)
  10. ^ Boule (2000)
  11. ^ Ford (2003)
  12. ^ Searle (2009)
  13. ^ End of the arms race? (2000) p. 31
  14. ^ Mahler (1999)
  15. ^ Levine (1998)
  16. ^ Ash (1999)
  17. ^ The Hayabusa could just as easily be called the "fastest production motorcycle of the millennium." Guinness World Records, in 2001, lists the Hayabusa as "the fastest production bike in the world," with a top speed of 312 km/h (194 mph). See Kynaston (2000) p. 179, Footman (2000) p. 139
  18. ^ Brown (2005) pp. 284-285
  19. ^ Hartfiel (1999). "Among the accolades, the Hayabusa was named Cycle World's 'Superbike Of The Year' and Motorcyclist's 'Motorcycle Of The Year.' It also won Popular Mechanics' 2000 Design & Engineering Award and was named the 'World's Fastest Production Bike' in the millennium issue of the Guinness Book Of World Records. Consumer's Digest picked the SV650 as the 'Best Buy' in motorcycles, 'and several of the buff books singled out the SV650 for special recognition... Even our dealership information center won an award,' noted Harris. The Point-Of-Purchase Advertising Institute awarded Suzuki's Literature Information Center/Video Monitor Display a bronze medal."
  20. ^ Ker (2007) p. 230
  21. ^ a b Koblenz (1999)
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Edwards2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).