Speed King
Speed King
POWER PACKED SECTION
Yoshimura hot-rods a Hayabusa
BOLSTERED BY ITS RETINA-FLATTENing, ram-air-boosted top speed of 194 mph, Suzuki’s GSX1300R Hayabusa is a watershed motorcycle. Other sportbikes may weigh less or offer crisper handling, but nothing—repeat, nothing—accelerates with such astonishing alacrity.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the horsepower junkies at Yoshimura would be the first aspirants to squeeze the maximum from Suzuki’s sleekly styled hyperbike. The hoped-for
result, company officials purport, is a mind-boggling 200 horsepower and an equally stunning 200-mph top speed.
We’ve been down this road before. More than a decade ago, in the February, 1988, issue, Cycle World track-tested Yoshimura’s GSX-R-based Tornado 1100. The built-to-order Openclass street racer produced upwards of 160 horsepower and rocketed its way to a top speed of 180 mph. We were impressed: “It accelerates as hard at 150 mph as most liter-class bikes do at 120. It’s a machine that will keep the most jaded of sportbike riders amused-at least until he loses his license.”
Well, that was then. Yosh’s hottedup Hayabusa will make mincemeat of that decade-old droner. Don’t get your
checkbook out just yet, though. Whereas its limited-edition predecessor was offered in street trim with headand taillights, turnsignals and rearview mirrors, the all-new “Tornado II” is presently a racebike only.
Despite the lofty performance goals, engine modifications are relatively straightforward. Yosh yanked the vibration-quelling counterbalancer, then added Stage 1 camshafts and a freerbreathing titanium/carbon-fiber TriOval Cyclone exhaust system. The stock electronic control unit was ditched in favor of a self-adjusting Motee setup, and the clutch cover was lightened and reshaped. Headwork, high-compression pistons and new injectors are in the works, but the engine already produces 180 rear-wheel horsepower, 20 bhp more than stock.
Given its satisfactorily stiff structure, the Twin-spar aluminum frame remains stone-stock, while the Öhlins suspension, hand-milled triple-clamps, sixpiston Nissin brakes, beefy braced swingarm and Marchesini wheels were sourced from Yosh’s extensive GSX-R parts bin. Only the beautiful, machinedfrom-billet shock linkage is exclusive to the Hayabusa.
The riding position is dramatically different, too. The clip-on handlebars are still located in the standard position atop the triple-clamps, but a modified subframe raises the race-issue solo tailpiece. Yoshimura rearset foot controls are employed, as well, moving the rider’s boots up and back. The two-piece fairing retains the original’s silhouette, sans headlight and turnsignals, of course. Ditto the custom aluminum fuel tank, save a slightly raised top to compensate for its greater 6.3-gallon capacity.
In its current form, the Tornado tips the scales at 419 pounds dry, 102 pounds less than stock. That’s a dramatic weight savings, but the bike still far outweighs its All-Japan Superbike competition, which consists largely of pricey homologation specials such as Honda’s RC45. The Hayabusa’s more conservative steering geometry and lengthy 58.5-inch wheelbase offer additional concerns.
Which makes the bike’s racetrack debut all the more impressive. At the opening round of the All-Japan series,
and suffering from a lack of setup time, the bike ran as high as 12th before an electrical gremlin caused it to slow and eventually finish 17th.
Officially, there’s no word as to whether a street-going version of the ’Busa Tornado is planned-or how much it would cost. If history is an indicator, though, another Yoshimurafettled Suzuki streetbike may be just around the corner.
Bring it on, baby. -Matthew Miles
This report was compiled with information provided by Japan 's Big Machine magazine.
