The Japanese can be a little uptight; they're salarymen who live to work, wear pressed corporate overalls, give total deference to the boss and generally live by
"The Rules."
But they've also got a dark side. Once they get into the karaoke bars and throw a few Scotch whiskies down their necks they loosen right up, tearfully singing Elvis songs while drinking their socks off. Then they huddle in a corner and make wacked-out plans; one such concept was to build the fastest road bike in the world, name it after a peregrine falcon and then paint the whole thing metallic beige.
OK, so that might not be exactly how the Hayabusa was conceived. Back in the late 1990s, Kawasaki and Honda made the fastest bikes in existence: the ZX-11 and CBR1100XX Super Blackbird respectively. Both these heavyweights had 1100cc inline-four motors draped in slippery, aerodynamic bodywork, and they could easily hit the nasty side of 175mph. Suzuki, meanwhile, was watching its GSX-R1100 fade into obscurity, and while its GSX-R750 was busy building on its legendary status, the guys from Hamamatsu needed a new flagship. Why not join the fight for top-speed superiority?
This is about the only part...
This is about the only part of the Hayabusa that most challengers at the strip ever saw for a number of years.
The original Hayabusa continued unchanged for almost a decade, which suggests that Suzuki got it pretty much spot-on to begin with. And you'll look in vain for anything even vaguely revolutionary in the 'Busa's design. Starting with the motor, you find a basic layout that's pretty similar to the GSX-R750 SRAD: a 16-valve DOHC, water-cooled, fuel-injected, inline-four with a six-speed gearbox. Ditto the chassis: twin-spar aluminum frame with USD front forks, six-piston front brake calipers and a braced swingarm. The suspension was fully-adjustable for preload, compression and rebound damping, and the tire fitment was a special version of Bridgestone's BT-56-the sportiest road rubber the Japanese firm offered at the time. The BT-56 was the only tire Suzuki recommended to fit to the Hayabusa because its reinforced carcass yet soft tread compound gave great grip and stable handling. There was a cost though: a rear BT-56 could be destroyed in under 800 miles if you were over-enthusiastic with the throttle.
There was one major part of the bike that did stand out though-the fairing. Honda had shown the way with the Blackbird's aerodynamic fairing design which helped increase the top speed without needing more horsepower. But Suzuki went a step further than even the curious looks of the Blackbird with a crazy bulbous fairing, massive ram-air intake scoops and an enormous "duck tail" seat unit. It looked nuts, and plenty of folks pelted it with abuse. But for most people that hatred evaporated as soon as they rode the thing.