The Hayabusa’s replacement was previewed with the Concept GSX (pictured) two years ago. Shown at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, the Concept GSX was a sculpture made of pulped paper, but despite its weird construction it left little doubt as to the bike it represented.
The norm for such previews is for the production machines to appear about two years later, so expectations were high for the new Hayabusa to appear in late 2017 as a 2018 model.
The first indication that might not happen emerged earlier this year when Suzuki type-approved the existing 1340cc Hayabusa as a 2018 model in America. When the Tokyo Motor Show came and went in October with no news, and the same happened in EICMA, it was clear that the new bike wasn’t coming as soon as expected.
Our Japanese insider says the Hayabusa was to be the first of these bikes to be reworked to meet Euro 4 and type-approval rules. While some wilder rumours have suggested a new turbocharged version is in the works, we’re told the new Busa will be a 1440cc normally aspirated bike, 100cc bigger than the current one. That should be enough to ensure it retains a power figure of around 147kW while meeting the Euro 4 emissions limits.
The delay to a 2019 launch means that Suzuki may even opt to bypass Euro 4 emissions limits altogether and develop the new Hayabusa to meet Euro 5 instead. The next level of emission limits is due to be introduced for newly designed bikes from January 2020, and will extend to existing models at the start of 2021.
By Ben Purvis
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