2022 Suzuki Hayabusa First Track and Performance Test

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Suzuki has revamped the Hayabusa with new bodywork, rider aids, and engine internals. Is it still the king of speed and comfort? (Kevin Wing/)

It’s difficult to imagine it has been 22 years and change since the Suzuki Hayabusa set the motorcycle world on fire. Time flies, and so does the Hayabusa. Quite literally, in the sense of the Japanese falcon that lent its name to the fastest production motorcycle ever tested by <i>Cycle World</i> magazine.

Some Hayabusa History

My first encounter with the legendary ‘Busa was at its 1998 debut in Barcelona, Spain. Present-day Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer recently related the shared adventure from that epic launch. But at the time Hoyer was a young scribe working for a competing publication, and I was in my prime and among the quickest riders in attendance. I recall machining a few extra degrees of cornering clearance off the Japanese monster while hot lapping the classic Circuit de Catalunya.

Sparks flew at every apex as hard parts gouged the grippy Spanish tarmac. Back in that pre-rider-aid era, painting rubber streaks at corner exits typically required skill, confidence, and right-wrist feel on par with the likes of Kevin Schwantz. But the big Suzuki had a planted sense of high-speed stability and cornering ability that transcended the norm for the heavyweight sportbikes of the day. Its arm-stretching acceleration made me feel like a racing hero, and even though the tire marks were light, the arching claw marks scraped into the track by touching down engine covers and other hard parts at full tilt were a gratifying sight, lap after lap.

I also recall the neck-muscle burn endured during a sustained triple-digit blast on a Spanish mountain freeway out to the coast. Seduced by an intoxicating cocktail of broad three-lane roads, billiard-smooth surfaces, and lazy sweeping curves, the sure-footed ‘Busa made its own insane sense while keeping our rabid ride guide in sight. That guide was one Ludwig Braun, a heavy-wristed staffer at Suzuki Germany and an importer said to have played a key role in the bike’s development; later, I would jokingly dub our fearless German leader “AutoBraun.” As we strafed past slow-lane traffic like it was standing still, I remember thinking: Damn all guilt. Screw the throttle open and hope our host had greased local law enforcement.

Riding the 2022 Suzuki Hayabusa: A Speed Reunion

Over the past two decades I’ve enjoyed several thrilling rides aboard the Hayabusa, and was stoked to have the chance to get reacquainted with the beast at American Suzuki’s recent press ride aboard the thoroughly updated 2022 model. To my delight, I arrived to learn our street and track guide for the event staged in Salt Lake City, Utah, was Michael Martin, my Team Valvoline Suzuki Endurance teammate many years ago, and a rider with a multitude of WERA roadracing championships to his credit. It’s no surprise the man can still ride like the wind. As for the ‘Busa, meeting strict Euro 5 emissions hasn’t silenced the thunder. In fact Suzuki claims a boost of low-to-midrange torque production.

The 2022 Hayabusa comes in three colors and costs $18,599. (Kevin Wing/)

It was great catching up with a couple of old brothers in arms, man and machine. Back in the early 2000s I got a taste of salt fever aboard a built Hayabusa on Bonneville’s famous salt flats. The goal was to become a member of the 200-mph club, a badge of honor I regrettably still don’t wear. Run after run we topped out at 198 and 197 mph. The irony was that I’d previously gone 194 mph on the stock 1999 <i>Cycle World</i> testbike, but the rear tire was loose on the salt surface and spinning at top speed. Adding ballast in the form of tools wrapped in a towel and tucked under the solo cowl didn’t help. We even tried cutting additional grooves in the rear tire, but all to no avail. I can’t help but wonder if the 2022 ‘Busa’s traction control system would do the trick.

Hayabusa Rider Aids Tame the Beast

While that question must remain suspended in time, I can say the addition of ride-by-wire and Bosch IMU-based traction control has transformed the new Hayabusa into the most approachable big-bore four I’ve ridden. Our street day began and ended in downtown Salt Lake City, where the tempered throttle response and peak output of ride mode C made smooth and perfect sense, and I wager particularly so if you have a passenger. Toggling into B mode’s slightly sharper response and full power potential didn’t upset the cart either, as road conditions on our street day were ideal. The new clutchless bidirectional quickshift allowed for fluid gear changes at partial throttle and seamless action on the boil. The auto-blip downshifts make this old man smile, though the slipper/assist clutch has reduced effort at the lever, and as typical of quickshift arrangements, changes between first and second are best done using the clutch due to the wide ratio spread.

Comfort and Speed on the Road

A brief freeway stint en route to the nearby mountains demonstrated the broad fairing’s superb wind protection, with airflow calm at head and shoulders level. Minimal engine vibration at 70 mph and up increased rider comfort. These factors, combined with one of the roomiest and most well-padded saddles in the sport segment, make not for a perch not of perdition but of buttock bliss. Moving the handlebars slightly rearward didn’t hurt either.

Excellent wind protection and roomy ergonomics make the Hayabusa a comfortable mount for crushing miles. (Kevin Wing/)

Exiting I-80 onto a winding backroad provided positive testimony to the advantages of significant sprung weight and generous wheelbase as road bumps and irregularities vanished beneath the Hayabusa’s fully adjustable KYB suspension. Steering proved neutral if not light in nature, and the addition of cornering ABS provides a level of faith that even the most devout fundamentalist could appreciate. Add to this the 10-level traction control, which can be adjusted on the fly, and I was singing praises as the clean pavement turned into a semi-loose chip seal on the latter stretch to the lunch stop. I toggled TC off and rode that same section using ride mode A, the most direct response, going back down the mountain, and found the connection between twistgrip and rear contact patch intuitive and controllable.

Steering on the 2022 Hayabusa felt light and neutral, despite weighing a claimed 582 pounds. (Kevin Wing/)

I like that Suzuki has kept to tradition on the dash by retaining the analog tachometer and speedometer, though the original model’s speedo originally stretched to 220 mph, not the 185 we see here. Positioned between the dials is a new TFT display that presents rider aid settings, tripmeter, and so on; I found it easy to navigate its options even while on the move. Another cool addition are the integrated turn signals; no mirror-mounted blinkers or unsightly stalks here.

Well-Suited to the Track

For the sake of posterity, if not current style trends, I suited up for the track portion of the test in the same now-decades-old Bates leathers I’d worn at the Hayabusa’s Barcelona debut. Our track test day was spent lapping the 3.05-mile outer course of Utah Motorsports Campus, the course formerly known as Miller Motorsports Park, which has hosted World Superbike rounds and <i>Cycle World</i> sportbike shootouts. The smooth track surface and flowing curves showcased the bike’s broad sporting capability, allowing us to tap fifth gear on the main straight at an indicated 175 mph before torturing the brakes entering turn 1, lap after lap.

Sporting the very same set of leathers worn at the first Hayabusa press launch. (Kevin Wing/)

Same as it ever was: fluid steering inputs rule the day and go a long way to extracting the most of the big bike’s cornering bank angle. The difference now is that traction control allows you to be a bit more reckless with the throttle and get away with it. Putting faith in the Busa’s least intrusive TC level 1 setting and letting her eat on the exit let us paint the track with beautiful black lines while driving out of several corners, lap after lap. Schwantz should be a little miffed that electronics have made this, once the darkest of arts, so easy. Then again, it used to be that bike racers were required to manually adjust the ignition timing of their racebikes on the fly, and we aren’t complaining.

Pressing trail-braking corner entries far more than I had on the street revealed a tendency for the bike to fall in when the front brake is released. Larger-diameter front discs have made the bike virtually immune to brake fade under extreme use. I quickly adapted to the tip-in sensation and was able to lay the bike on its side with confidence in every turn, grinding the peg feelers to nubs, skinning the exhaust shrouds, sidestand, shifter tang, and fairing lowers. All the while the stock fitment Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22 radials kept the wheels where they served best.

Testing Hayabusa Launch Control

To cap off our trackday, each tester got four standing-start passes down the main straight. This allowed an opportunity to feel out the new launch-control feature, which offers choice of a trio of drag-style stutterbox rpm settings. First pass was at the tame 3,500-rpm setting, allowing riders to hold the throttle pinned at the line and focus completely on clutch engagement on launch. No surprises; this selection felt pedestrian. The following pass was set to 6,000 rpm, a bit more thrilling but still not enough to raise either the hair on my neck or the front tire, even with wheelie control disabled. A third pass at the 8,000-rpm business-class setting got the bike out of the hole with minimal bog at the point of full clutch engagement. It’s important to note that the track is 4,400 feet above sea level, enough elevation to reduce air density sufficiently to neuter some of the Hayabusa’s burliness. The result was acceleration times that couldn’t match the 9.86-second quarter-mile run I posted aboard Cycle World’s 1999 testbike at the seaside Carlsbad Raceway back in the day. With a VBox GPS datalogger attached to the rear seat, my third pass (corrected to sea level) was in the low 10s with a 145-mph trap speed. Past experience testing bikes with launch control suggests several tenths can be shaved with all rider aids disabled. We can’t wait to get official passes at our much-lower-altitude test facility in Southern California for official quarter-mile times.

Achieving supercar-rivaling straightline performance on the 2022 Hayabusa is easier than ever. (Kevin Wing/)

Hayabusa Performance Test Reenactment

Back in 1994 Cycle World joined our then-sister publication <i>Road & Track</i> at Pomona Drag Strip for a 0-100-0-mph feature pitting the famed Shelby Cobra 427 S/C against a handful of performance cars of the time. Proud to say we crashed the party with a then-new Kawasaki ZX-9R; the bike ripped off an 11.5-second total time, and did it in a shorter measured distance than the quickest four-wheeler, a Porsche 911 Turbo, could even reach 100 mph. (The highlight of the experience, for me, was meeting Carroll Shelby, who told me I was mighty brave as he straddled the parked Ninja, shaking his head in awe at riding a motorcycle so quick. All in a day’s work.)

The Hayabusa’s Brembo Stylema calipers matched to larger 320mm handled the rigors of heavy track use without fade. (Kevin Wing/)

With that classic test in mind, I performed a 0-100-0 run on my final pass down the UMC straightaway. I have to say, launch control and ABS does eliminate the brunt of the hard work: Rat-a-tat-tat on the launch, followed by a seamless shift into second at the 11,000-rpm redline, and then an aggressive stab of front and rear ABS brakes near the top of second gear. While it was a thrilling way to end the day, data analysis later revealed that I had overshot the target speed, hitting 105 mph on my way to recording an 11.84-second run. While another attempt to more accurately dial in 100 mph exactly wasn’t in the cards, I can say the Hayabusa was a full second quicker to 100 mph than the ’94 Ninja, despite the elevation.

The Hayabusa remains a remarkable example of speed, quickness, and composure. (Kevin Wing/)

Cycle World will soon gather official acceleration numbers and answer the ultimate question regarding the third-gen Hayabusa’s straight-line performance. The Hayabusa’s stock performance remains remarkable, if not quite as raw as the original’s. It remains one of the ultimate GTs on the road, and one of the most highly modified machines for strip and land speed racing efforts. As for this salty dog, it’s rejuvenating to learn that a mature and battle-hardened friend still exemplifies fire and grace.

2022 Suzuki Hayabusa Specifications

MSRP:	$18,599
Engine:	DOHC, liquid-cooled inline-four
Displacement:	1,340cc
Bore x Stroke:	81.0 x 65.0mm
Compression Ratio:	12.5:1
Transmission/Final Drive:	6-speed/chain
Fuel System:	EFI w/ 44mm throttle bodies
Clutch:	Wet, multiplate assist/slipper; hydraulic actuation
Engine Management/Ignition:	Ride-by-wire electronic
Frame:	Twin-spar aluminum
Front Suspension:	KYB 43mm inverted fork, fully adjustable
Rear Suspension:	KYB shock, fully adjustable
Front Brake:	Brembo Stylema 4-piston caliper, twin 320mm discs w/ ABS
Rear Brake:	Nissin 1-piston caliper, 260mm disc w/ ABS
Tires, Front/Rear:	Bridgestone Battlax Hypersport S22; 120/70ZR-17 / 190/50ZR-17
Rake/Trail:	23.0°/3.5 in.
Wheelbase:	58.3 in.
Ground Clearance:	4.9 in.
Seat Height:	31.5 in.
Fuel Capacity:	5.3 gal.
Claimed Wet Weight:	582 lb.
Availability:	June 2021
Contact:	suzukicycles.com

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