FIRST RIDE
P62
2013 SUZUKI HAYABUSA GSX-R1300
We rode the bike in the twisties
east of San Diego, California.
You don't have to be Chris Langan (the world's smartest man…
look it up) to realize that putting
ABS on a bike like the GSXR1300 makes a lot of sense.
Let's see: It's really fast and it's
really heavy and it sometimes
finds itself in the hands of those
less skilled than Jorge Lorenzo.
As for the negatives… well, fitting
the ABS to the bike adds one or
two pounds, according to Suzuki. Me thinks this is about the
same as Oprah making one more
trip to Dunkin' Donuts. We ain't
gonna notice.
The other negative (or positive?) is that you also can't go all
hooligan on the brakes, locking
up the rear and skidding to a stop
to impress your buddies. But that
will end up saving you some tire
and there's plenty of other ways
on the Hayabusa to burn through
the black things. So fret not.
Some of the more elite members of the motorcycling press
were given the opportunity to
sample the new 'Busa in the
mountains east of San Diego,
California (yes, there are mountains there), including the popular weekend sportbike hangout, Palomar. Thus we had the
chance to ride the newest Suzuki
on wide-open roads, the tight
and twisties of Palomar, and even
a bit of freeway and city street riding in and around our home base
in El Cajon.
And we even had two California Highway Patrolman with us
for part of our ride. Oh the irony,
but it was refreshing to watch the
CHP pull over others for us and
not vice versa.
There's not many sportbikes
that you'd want to do 190 miles
on in a single day, but the Hayabusa is one such bike. As mentioned earlier, we rode the bikes
in a variety of riding conditions on
a hot day in the mountains, but
came away none the worse for it.
The Hayabusa remains as it was:
Fast, comfortable and fairly nimble for a motorcycle that's 86.2
inches long with a wheelbase of
58.3 inches and a weight of 586
pounds.
From a comfort standpoint,
you won't find a sportbike that's
cushier than this one. My only
complaint is that it does feel a bit
