Hayabusa means peregrine falcon in Japanese. Peregrine falcons are not only the fastest animal on earth, they also love to feast on blackbirds. And that?s exactly what Suzuki wanted the Hayabusa to do; to eat Honda?s Blackbird for breakfast. They?ve been around since 1999, they?ve sold nearly 200,000 units and, whilst they?ve been at it, earnt a bit of a cult following. And now, for 2021, there is a new one.

And whilst it does look a bit more modern, with its sharper lines, LED lights and new exhausts, it?s certainly still a ?Busa. With it?s low, long and wide stance, it?s true that it still looks mega similar to the first Hayabusa, 22 years ago. But I wouldn?t say it looks dated. It?s such a unique look that, even after all this time, there?s still nothing that looks like a ?Busa.
After testing loads of different engine layouts, turbochargers and bigger displacements, Suzuki?s engineers and test riders decided not to fix what isn?t broken. They like the 1340cc inline four, so they?re keeping it. That said, they?ve put a bit of work into developing it, and in doing so created the fastest launching Hayabusa yet (apart from all the ones that people have put turbos on, or NOS, and taken drag racing). New pistons, conrods, cams, and changes to the combustion chamber all help the engine spin easier and burn fuel a bit more effectively. And a bigger airbox and throttle bodies help get fuel in quicker. Whilst all this has given the new model better mid-range, peak po...