With Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-14 and Concours 14 stealing the ultra-performance thunder from Suzuki’s venerable Hayabusa, the team from Hamamatsu is swooping in with a two-clawed counter-assault. Wisely uninterested in abandoning the Hayabusa name, Suzuki has instead given the bike a substantial upgrade, including an all-new 1340cc motor that is said to provide an 11% power increase over the previous Hayabusa. Particular attention has been paid to the leading edge of the Hayabusa, as it has new forks, radial front brakes, and an aggressively aerodynamic (and quite distinctive) fairing that is new from front-to-back. Also new in the rear is a bridge aluminum alloy swingarm.
Suzuki has put its new 1340cc motor to use in two guises: The Hayabusa.
The new B King, first seen as an upright sport concept bike at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, is a close cousin to the ’08 Hayabusa. The oddly named B King features a more civilized Hayabusa motor. Like the Hayabusa and GSX-R1000, the B King has a Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (S-DMS) that allows the rider to adjust the power delivery for road conditions and rider preference. The B King displays a prominent backside, with bazooka-like underseat exhausts and a cruiser-width 200mm rear tire (down from 240mm on the concept bike).
Suzuki B King.