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2000 Suzuki GSX-R1300 Hayabusa |
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Posted by Peter Jones
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Saturday, 18 September 1999 |
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Page 2 of 3
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The aluminum twin-spar frame of the Hayabusa is virtually a beefed up GSX-R750 unit that features a huge cast steeringhead and a swingarm that has been significantly reinforced up to its giant, cast, pivoting end. One is tempted to try to adapt a 750 swingarm to the bike to see how it would handle with a shorter arm, but it might be best to add structure to such a modification first. Be forewarned, the bike might steer quicker but it will also certainly go vertical much easier, too. Like, to the moon, Alice. |
| The Haya's forks are upside down, 43mm units with full adjustability, and they carry a pair of six piston Tokicos mated to a set of 320mm rotors. The rear is suspended by a shock that also features full adjustability and which sports a piggyback reservoir rather than the conventional remote tank. The rebound adjustment is a little hidden but by flexing the rear fairing pan it can be accessed. Getting to the preload adjustment on the shock is just as difficult as it is on most bikes. |
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The Bus sports a dash set in a fake carbon fiber frame that stands apart from most every other dash byvirtue of the tachometer being on the left rather than on the right. Why, we don't know. A fun thing about the gauges is that when the key is first turned on all of the needles do a full sweep before returning to their default positions. It's not a detail of any great import but it is entertaining.
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| The idiot lights are the best we've ever seen because they're bright so you don't have to look at them six times and then block the sun with one hand and look three more times to see if any of them are on. One glance is enough to see these lights. The bike also has two trip meters that each have independent fuel consumption gauges that estimate the mpg you should be getting from how you're riding the bike. And just like every other vehicle designed to breach the time continuum, the bike comes with a clock. |
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Regarding the Happybus's looks, I have to admit that it starts to grow on you after a while. After living with the bike for a few days certain details of its shape actually become attractive and I don't think it's simply a case of the bike's personality shining through. We were floored by how the bike grabs the attention and imagination of non-motorcyclists. Never before with any other test bikes have so many people in cars at traffic lights been unable to stop themselves from commenting positively about the bike's looks. And on the first day that photographer Blake took the bike to his other job, he was called by a good dozen women in the office who couldn't resist telling him what a great looking bike the thing is. If a bike's looks can inspire women to spontaneously call, who among us can complain? |
| The Hayabusa's shape was reportedly designed in a wind tunnel with concerns for airflow having more weight in the bike's final shape than simply styling whims. No, it doesn't look much like a GP bike, which we all know are very fast, but then again, those things don't carry giant four cylinder, four-stroke engines, either. Secondly, if Suzuki had made it look like a sharp looking sportbike it would have been just another sharp looking sportbike. Sure, most sportbike riders love the look of the Yamaha R-1, but no one else seems to notice the thing. It just might be that Suzuki has discovered the coolest looking design for the largest possible audience. That aside, the last thing to consider about the Haya's looks is that it just plain doesn't matter. Only a fool would turn his back on this bike's performance just because he didn't like its looks. |
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Riding Impression
On paper the Hayabusa appears to be an overly heavy sport-touring slug that would be best suited for the open road. The open and straight road. The shocker about the Bus is not so much its incredibly stunning acceleration as much as it is the fact that it is a very capable sportbike. And it has incredible acceleration.
When we initially took the Hayabusa down roads that had tight turns, it frightened us by the way that it threw its weight all over the place. Especially under braking. It was immediately obvious that the beast had springs but whether or not it had damping we couldn't yet tell. On what we considered to be just moderately hard braking, the bike would dive full to the fork stops, putting the machine into a skittering chatter that caused wide running in the turns. It's hard to have confidence in throwing a machine over on its side if its front end's connection with the pavement is dubious. Or feels dubious, anyway. An illusion of traction is necessary for a rider to experience the full thrill of the illusion of riding talent.
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| Before we made any changes to the bike's suspension, photographer Blake took a turn in the saddle so that we could commiserate on our confused adjustments. It's always best to be dumb in pairs. As soon as we saddled up, Blake came screaming by me on the Heyimgoingtoofast, driving into the next unknown turn way deeper than I ever would have been willing. I thought, wow, that guy must really ride much better than I do to have that kind of instant confidence and feel for a machine. At our next stop, Blake related a frantic little story about how he scared the crap out of himself by going way too fast into the first turn he encountered after he got on the big Zuke. So much for talent and confidence. I think "fools rush in" pretty well covers it. Oh, I forgot. Blake's online now so I can't bad talk him anymore. Or so he might think. |
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