Deciding just how to upgrade a motorcycle that has established a huge international fanbase is a nightmare for a manufacturer. Get it wrong and you face a backlash, while even hitting the nail on the head isn't always a guarantee of success... which is why it took Suzuki nine years before it braved upgrading its legendary Hayabusa model. However, in 2008 it took the plunge and the secondgeneration Busa was unveiled.
Did Suzuki get it right? Well, considering it remained virtually unchanged for the next 12 years and outlived almost all its hyperbike rivals, you have to say yes. If you are after a bike that will melt your brain when you open its throttle and make you feel like king of the road during every ride, while also remaining impressively practical, nothing does it quite like a Hayabusa...
After a lot of market research, in the mid-2000s Suzuki concluded that there were a few (rather obvious, it
