Over the weekend, you may have seen reports from Europe about the demise of the Suzuki Hayabusa, as the venerable hyperbike has been rumor to go the way of the dinosaur, especially now that its Euro4 waiver is set to expire at the end of the year.
This has led to quite a bit of chatter about the machine’s future, with many of the headlines that we have seen focusing on the end of the iconic motorcycle’s run, and that production on the bike has ceased. But, what’s the real story?
It is true that the current Suzuki Hayabusa will no longer be available for sale in the European Union in 2019, but that ignores the fact that the legendary Busa is still legal for consumption in virtually every other country.
Take for example in the US market, where Suzuki Motor of America lists the Hayabusa as a 2019 model. As such, the 2019 Suzuki Hayabusa will very much be available in the United States of America next year – our sources have confirmed this fact with us.
Suzuki won’t comment on the production halt of the Hayabusa, though that much of the story we believe. Motorcycle manufacturers space their production cycles throughout the year, and a bike like the Busa is pretty easy to plan for.
Now, there is a more interesting element to this latest development regarding the Hayabusa, and it includes our previous coverage of Hayabusa rumors and reports.
The Suzuki Hayabusa has been tipped to see a replacement machine, and it is worth pointing out that the 2019 model year will be the Busa’s 20th anniversary.
As such, it would make sense then that the future Busa is closing in on its debut, especially if you look at the report from Europe as confirmation that Suzuki is no longer going to make the Hayabusa…in its current form.
We expected an all-new Hayabusa model to show at INTERMOT or EICMA show this year, but maybe Suzuki is waiting for the trade show fervor to pass. Maybe the bike will be an early 2020 model. Maybe it will have rocket boosters and laser beam guns. Who knows?
The more likely tech specs are well over 200hp, a full electronics suite that includes traction control, ride-by-wire, and likely IMU-assisted goodies like launch control.
More importantly though, we suspect that we haven’t seen the final days of the Suzuki Hayabusa, and we trust our earlier reports that the iconic motorcycle is due for an imminent refresh. Stay tuned, my dear speed freaks.
Photo: Suzuki Motor of America
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