The Suzuki Hayabusa is undoubtedly one of the most iconic motorcycles in pop culture. Revered for its crazy performance and otherworldly looks, even non-motorcyclists are well aware of the ‘Busa's insanity. Within the enthusiast community, the bike has been the subject of numerous custom creations ranging from slammed and stretched builds to crazy performance-oriented builds like the TTS Super Busa.
The influence of the Suzuki Hayabusa goes well beyond the bike world, too, as a lot of off-road and race car builders have taken the Hayabusa’s engine and stuffed it into their own machines. As it would turn out, the Hayabusa’s 1,340cc four-banger is quite the versatile and dependable bit of kit, finding its way in all sorts of crazy builds such as a hill-climb Fiat 500 and a custom Volkswagen pickup truck. Simply type “Hayabusa engine” in the search tab above and go down the rabbit hole.
Thank me later.
With that being said, yet another crazy build centering on the Suzuki Hayabusa’s engine has managed to land on my lap yet again. This time, it’s from Australian automotive YouTube channel SnailTV, and it takes the form of an insane 800-horsepower go-kart. In the video above, we’re given a walkthrough of the go-kart’s features as it’s prepped and started for the first time.
SnailTV keeps the insane go-kart pretty lowkey by opting for a jet-black finish on all the parts. Plus, jet black means it’s easy to touch up when stuff gets all scratched up as more and more improvements are made to the go-kart’s design. It gets a custom-built frame to handle the additional stress provided by the powerful engine, as well as an aerodynamic front beak with a turbo peeping out from the front, ready to suck in air as the go-kart moves along.
Over in the cockpit, the go-kart is equipped with a Sparco steering wheel and two displays that keep the driver informed of vital information. A shifter on the left side of the driver lets you row through gears with minimal modifications to the Busa’s engine and transmission.
Speaking of the engine, the Hayabusa engine in the go-kart pumps out a claimed 800 horsepower. To do this, extensive modifications had to be made including a compound turbocharger setup. The go-kart features two turbochargers—one at the front and another one at the back—working in tandem to feed as much air into the engine as possible. The entire setup is managed by a FuelTech FT550 electronic fuel injection system and ECU.
Needless to say, I can’t wait to see this crazy go-kart in action. Regular go-karts are already tons of fun, and I can only imagine how wild an 800-horsepower Hayabusa-powered go-kart could be. Are you crazy enough to take this bad boy for a spin?
