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Bad
Craziness
by Tony
Marx
 In
1999, the water in the motorcycling pond was beginning to
get muddy. The title of "Worlds fastest production
motorcycle" was held by Honda's 1100XX Blackbird. Touting a
top speed in the high 170s, it just beat Kawasaki's ZX1100
which in all tests, ran 3-4 mph slower.
Both bikes are big
and heavy. When the lightweight, stock Yamaha R1 began
breaking into the 170s but getting there quicker, the payoff
of a slightly higher top speed wasn't as great. The top
speed kings were becoming touring bikes.
Then Suzuki
grabbed the bar and used it to clobber Honda and Kawasaki.
Suzuki raised the top speed 20mph over other heavyweight
sportbikes. The bike they sent in to do this was the
Hayabusa.
It was 480 pounds
of big, ugly, aerodynamic motorcycle. It's 1300cc
fuel-injected, four-cylinder motor put out over 155
rear-wheel horsepower. That's 16 hp more than any other
stock sportbike at the time. Out of the box it would do sub
10-second quarter-miles and would top out at a real 196+
mph! Bad.... bad craziness.
For 2000, just as
Kawasaki readied their own 200mph missile, and under threats
of speed and horsepower limits from around the world, Suzuki
and other manufacturers agreed to place a 189mph limit on
their production bikes. The '99 Hayabusas, in copper or
black, were the ones that slipped through the crack. Top
speed is now "limited" to 189 mph.
At 189
miles-per-hour, you travel 278 feet in 1 second. Three miles
in 60 seconds. From Minneapolis to Duluth in less than 45
minutes.
Testing the 2000
Suzuki Hayabusa last summer, I learned a lot of things about
traveling at 189mph. At least four miles of straight,
visible, empty road is a necessity. It helps that road is
flat and of good quality because large undulations that
you'd never otherwise notice, are transformed into launch
ramps at high speeds.
You also have to
tuck in tight. Not so much your elbows, since they're
already pointing rearward, but helmet and legs. I nearly
broke my neck by sitting up at 140 while coasting down from
some insane speed .
I have to confess
that I don't think I ever topped the 'busa out. While 160 is
comprehensible and comes very easy on this bike, anything
over that gets weird. Just as aerodynamic drag increases
exponentially with speed, so does fear. My brain could
barely accept and respond to the images my eyes were feeding
it and the impulse to close the throttle had to be fought
constantly. The best I did was to bring it up to speed in
5th then glance at the speedo and see 175 (indicated) before
running it to redline and hitting 6th. From there I held it
pinned for a three count before giving up. This whole
sequence happens so fast you have to look at the clocks
before you start it. Keeping it in 5th at super high speeds
had the bike pulling as hard as would in 2nd. The power
never tails off.
With this kind of
acceleration at hand, a rider has to use good judgment.
Before my first ride on the Hayabusa the owner warned me,
"Do not attempt to pin the throttle in the first two gears!"
Doing so in first
will result in some kind of insane Mad Max wheel spin or,
with enough traction, wheel spin and a very out-of-control
wheelie. First gear wheelies have to be done with one smooth
motion up to about 2/3 throttle. Watching fellow MMM staffer
Crabby Don practice this, I noticed he was leaving 3-foot
stripes of rubber before the front wheel would rise. Pinning
the gas in second, the bike will wheelie smoothly but also
accelerates so fast it's hard to feel safe doing so. With
such a long nose it seems like there's three feet of fairing
in front of you and when in the air it doesn't have a feel
of total control.
 Racing
a friend on his new GSX-750R, we rolled on in first gear.
While he was busy trying to keep the anorexic GSXR's front
wheel on the ground, I short shifted into third and held it
wide open. At around 8000 rpm (redline is at 11) the 'busa
was pulling so hard that the tiniest dip in the road caused
the front end to loft six inches off the ground. Chopping
the throttle caused it to come down into a slight headshake,
which in turn almost caused me to pee myself.
Enough with the
acceleration thing, it does it well and we all know it. I
was surprised to find that it has many creature comforts,
which give it a real Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde complex.
The seating
position is the bikes biggest, er, asset. At first, it
feels slightly better than a full-on sport rider position,
but after long days on the bike, no sore spots developed. I
always felt like I could go for another couple of hours. You
sit back far enough to keep weight off of your wrists. This
seat is spectacular for being stock.
The footpegs are
low and have an inch of rubber on them to kill engine vibes.
The cockpit is clean and is completely enclosed from your
knees to the dash. It has tach and speedo of equal size, a
clock, two tripometers which also tell you your average fuel
consumption in mpg. The fuel gauge is a nice feature but it
constantly got stuck at 1/4 tank on both bikes we rode. A
5.9 gallon tank will easily get you a 185 mile range, even
in crazy mode.
The tip-over
sensor that's supposed to kill spark and fuel when you drop
the bike while landing stoppies also failed to work, leaving
the rear tire to spin the bike around on it's side a couple
of times. After pulling this stunt on the '99 bike, I
expected everything on the left side to be gouged.
Amazingly damage was limited to a broken clutch lever, a
scuffed mirror housing, and a scratched engine cover. The
plastic never touched the ground and the lever and cover
were replaced for less than 130 bones.
I'm of the opinion
that six pot calipers on street bikes are simply for show
and, as of yet, I have not used a set that stopped better
than good four pot calipers. The 'busa has twin sixes up
front and, while perfectly acceptable, they do seem a bit
taxed during panic stops. Another weird thing I noticed is
that when the rear was losing traction during hard braking
it would begin to slide slightly out to the right. It wasn't
dramatic or anything, and maybe it's just me, but it did it
a lot.
Despite the high
state of tune and fuel injection the bike has great downtown
manners and will accelerate cleanly from the basement in
sixth gear which I thought was amazing on a bike geared for
over 180mph.
 Wind
protection is again, better than on most sportbikes. I had
to ride home from work in a downpour one night and was
caught with only my jacket and no rain pants. Upon arriving
at home I discovered that yes, my pants were wet, but the
bikes lower fairing had kept my workbooks and ankles
completely dry almost up to my knees!
The exhaust exits
through a 4-into-2 system that sounds like two piped EX500s
following you around. The two cans work together to
synchronize into a single note at one moment and then oppose
each other the next, causing weird harmonic reverberations
to bounce through the air around you. It's cool.
Suzuki gave the
bike decent suspension that is fully adjustable on both ends
and can be set up as hard or soft as you please. I got a
couple of chances to chase some 600s around on twisty roads
and though the 'busa hides its bulk pretty well, it suffered
through sections of tight linked corners. It would flop
over and turn in pretty quickly but was hard to stand back
up or transition quickly for the next turn. Once leaned
over, it likes to stay there and resist the
"oops-I-turned-too-early-and-need-to-pick-it-up-and-limp-through"
style of cornering. Blame it on the long wheelbase or
weight, but it's not that big of a handicap. Let the
featherweights zip & bang through the corners because
sooner or later the road is gonna straighten out and the
Hayabusa's boom will have you right back in the
game.
It's a weird role
the Hayabusa plays. Comfort and civility coupled with brute,
rowdy horsepower. A jack-of-all-trades and master of speed.
A bike whose owner is just as likely to install handlebar
risers as a turbo kit. I've seen it done, with lowered
footpegs to boot! With the introduction of the new,
ultralight GSXR1000, Suzuki has muddied the water once
again.
The 1000 boasts
horsepower figures extremely close to the Hayabusa's but has
allegedly been limited to 185mph so as not to steal the
speed crown, The Hayabusa may be quietly heading into the
sport-touring role, but those three words always burned in
the front of my brain whenever I pinned the throttle.
Bad....bad
craziness.
by
Don "Crabby" Sheldon
Deciding to buy a
new cycle is a tough decision. You read every cycle
magazine, article, report and buyers guide. You talk to
friends, dealers, and attend the cycle show, narrowing the
choices every day, until you find that special machine you
were looking for. This happened to me the second that I sat
on the Suzuki GSX1300R, aka - the Hayabusa.
Being over six
feet tall and 200 lbs. it's hard to find a bike that I can
sit on comfortably. Being all cramped up just doesn't work
for a tall guy that's had two knee surgeries. Sitting on
most sport bikes sends pain through my knees in minutes. The
'busa is different though. I knew as soon as I sat on it.
I could ride for hours.
 But
did I really want to buy a machine that set new speed
records? It would be quite a change from the old 600 I
rode. A bike with 160 horsepower could be more than I
needed. Of course I liked the idea of having a fast bike,
but this one could get a person in serious trouble. As a
kindly police officer told me once, "You get all that power
between your legs and sooner or later you are going to use
it." Having all that power and doing something stupid kind
of scared me - not to mention the thought of
insurance.
I had to ride one,
but we all know how hard it is to find a dealer that is
going to let you take a new bike for a ride. Especially a
10K + speed king like the 'busa. I did find a sales manager
at one who was going to let me ride his. However, the next
day when I got there he had forgotten, and said it was in
the shop. So I did the only thing a guy could do, I went to
a different dealer and bought one.
There I stood,
inserting the key in the ignition, my body full of
anticipation. With the turn of the key the instruments
pegging all the way to max and then back made me giggle like
a little kid. The giggling continued when I hit the starter
and the dual exhaust breathed to life. I climbed aboard
picking up its 474 lbs. After I dropped it into first and
released the clutch, the surge of the l298cc engine was
instantly noticeable. I was off on the ride home, and what a
ride.
I think by now we
have all heard the numbers on this bike. Let's just talk
about how the ''Mothership" rides.
Although this bike
seems massive, it moves with nothing but grace, taking
cloverleaves and going through traffic with ease. Running
smoothly through the gears, my only thought is, "Why are
there six?" I reached the speed limit in third gear without
even getting the revs up. At 65mph, sixth gear reads under
4,000 rpm but don't let this fool you. If you need to get up
and go suddenly it will, no shift required. Let's face it -
what fun would that be? Knock it down a couple gears and
you're flying! Be careful though, if you give it too much in
low gear, you'll find yourself looking at a wide-eyed car
passenger staring at you as you go down the freeway with the
front end rising higher and higher.
My first
impression of the riding position was correct. I can be on
this bike all day and not have any aches. The reach to the
bars is long enough that you can tuck down easy, or sit up
and feel the wind. The airflow comes off the fairing onto
your chest with some force, but not enough to rip your head
off. The seat is flat, wide and soft. Butt ache is not a
problem.
With the Hayabusa
I don't have a lot to complain about, but it certainly isn't
flawless. No matter how much fun this bike is on the open
road, it isn't at home in heavy traffic. Stop-and-go traffic
requires a lot of clutch work, as rolling along under 20mph
isn't its strong point. Your hand gets tired if you are
stuck for any length of time.
You would expect
more from the brakes on a big bike like this. They work
well, despite feeling a little soft, but I wanted more bite.
The dual pipes sound great and look hot but they are just
that. Sitting at a light after being on the freeway, you
will feel hot. This goes away as soon as you start moving,
so don't worry.
It's unfortunate
that the reason this bike has made such an impact on
motorcycling is also its biggest drawback. It's not the
simple fact that this is the "mothership," but instead that
it brings out every adrenaline junkie on two or four wheels.
I don't doubt that the R1 that slipped between a pickup and
myself could out-weave me through traffic. Smaller bikes can
fly through traffic faster than I. Go ahead. It isn't how
fast you can go, but how fast you are willing to ride,
right? [no comment - ed.] So pass me, drive like a
mad man through traffic. Just remember - if traffic clears,
and there is a nice straight road with nothing between us, I
can catch you.
M.M.M.
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