Few motorcycles hold as much influence in pop culture as the Suzuki Hayabusa. The peregrine falcon, as it was called, was arguably one of the craziest, most outlandish bikes of the time, and was one of the machines responsible for the so-called speed war between Japanese manufacturers. Indeed, the Hayabusa, for a time, held the title as the fastest production motorcycle in the world.
Now, if we fast forward to the present day, it’s an unfortunate reality for Suzuki that tightening emissions standards have all but bumped the Hayabusa off of the list of fastest motorcycles in the world. After seeing a hiatus of four years, the Hayabusa was relaunched in 2021, now compliant with Euro 5 regulations, and far from the top spot in terms of speed. Nevertheless, the Hayabusa is still no slouch. With a 1,340cc, liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, in-line four cylinder engine, the Hayabusa has an impressive power output of 190 horsepower at 9,700 rpm, and 105 lb-ft of torque at 7,000 rpm.
