2022 Suzuki Hayabusa still strives to be the fastest thing on two wheels
With an electronically limited top speed of 186 miles per hour, there's not much competition for that crown, either.
The Suzuki Hayabusa is one of those motorcycles that even non-motorcycle people are likely to have heard about. It has an infamous reputation for being wildly fast and incredibly powerful -- and that's before people do crazy stuff like add turbochargers and nitrous oxide to them.
It's a bike that's been around for a long time, relatively unchanged, and its once-wild performance figures now seem a little bit quaint in the face of 200-plus horsepower street-legal Ducatis. Perhaps that's why Suzuki's engineers saw fit on Friday to announce a new, third-generation Hayabusa.
The new bike looks a lot like the 'Busas of old. A little bulgy and bulky, certainly not pretty, but that shape is there for a reason -- low drag. The 2022 Hayabusa is still capable of doing an electronically limited 186 miles per hour, but it does it now while meeting super-strict Euro5 emissions and sound regulations and while being easier to ride.
Power and torque are both down slightly, even though the 1.3-liter inline-four engine got a fairly significant overhaul. Torque is up, and the inclusion of Suzuki's Intelligent Ride System (SIRS) means that safety is up too. SIRS includes lean-sensitive antilock brakes, wheelie control, traction control and ride modes. A quickshifter is included as standard, as is a semi-electronic suspension by KYB.
The new Hayabusa should hit dealers sometime towards the end of 2021 with a starting price of $18,599.
