Since that much lauded arrival at the
turn of the century, the Hayabusa (former-
ly known as the GSX1300R Hayabusa),
has only had one update before 2022.
That came in 2008 with a new 1340cc
motor and revamped styling, pushing the
Hayabusa back to the forefront of speed freaks'
minds the world over.
But times have changed in the intervening
years. The world has largely moved on from top
speed accolades with much of the industry's
attention diverted to more sustainable, smaller
capacity machines. So has Suzuki released a ma-
chine worthy of the legend, or is this a case of dad
just trying to be cool with the young set?
In creating the $18,599 2022 'Busa, Suzuki has
taken the 2008 model as a base and refined it for
the modern age. This is not a ground-up
redesign, and if you, like me, were hop-
ing the new Hayabusa might come with
a turbo, a supercharger, more capacity
or even a couple of extra cylinders, then
you might be a touch disappointed.
The model remains very much a Hayabusa. An
enormous amount of time was spent in the wind
tunnel to ensure the slippery shape that wowed us
so 22 years ago was retained, but also improved.
Straighter, sharper, slipperier lines were the name
of the game. The stacked LED headlight and
integrated side turn signals, to the exposed side
pockets on the fairing, to the taller and wider seat
unit, the Hayabusa is unmistakable.
Long and low with a seat height of 31.5 inches,
the riding position is from another age when com-
P80
RIDE REVIEW I 2022 SUZUKI HAYABUSA
The 2022 edition
has gone through
copious hours in the
wind tunnel but it
remains unmistakably
a Hayabusa.
