Suzuki has confirmed widespread rumours of the iconic Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle being officially discontinued. Arguably Suzuki’s most famous bike, the Hayabusa will be discontinued by the end of this month internationally (December 2018). In the Indian market, the bike attained a cult following after the success of the Dhoom movie franchise where it was used by the leading characters. In its present avatar, the Hayabusa does not adhere to Euro-4 emission regulations which came into effect from 1st January, 2016.
Yet, all vehicle makers were provided grace periods of 2 years to clear out their stocks of non-compliant models. This will end on the 31st of December, 2018 and thereafter, Suzuki cannot legally sell the Hayabusa as a new motorcycle in the European market. The name Hayabusa translates to a peregrine falcon in Japanese and was shown in 1999 as the fastest production motorcycle in the world, a tag it retained for a very long time. Suzuki has not confirmed anything officially yet but it may revive the brand name with a new motorcycle in the future. (Possibly supercharged?). In the Indian market it will still be available till the shift to the BS6 norms.
The Suzuki Hayabusa gets an inline 1.3 litre liquid cooled four cylinder engine that dishes out a whopping 200 PS and 155 Nm. The engine is paired to a 6-speed gearbox and there is a Suzuki Drive Mode Selector which encompasses 3 engine control maps. There are twin 310 mm front discs and 260 mm rear twin discs along with 43 mm KYB USD front forks and a link-type rear suspension setup. The bike weighs 266 kg and is sold as a Completely Knocked Down Unit (CKD) in the Indian market at close to INR 13.5 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). Here, it takes on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX 14R.
