The Suzuki Hayabusa is a sport bike motorcycle made
by Suzuki since 1999. It immediately won acclaim as the
world's fastest production motorcycle, with a top speed of 303 to
312 km/h (188 to 194 mph).
The media-reported
value for the speed agreement in miles per hour was consistently 186 mph,
while in kilo meters per hour it varied from 299 to 303 km/h, which
is typical given unit conversion rounding errors. This figure
may also be affected by a number of external factors, as can the power and
torque values.
The
conditions under which this limitation was adopted led to the 1999 Hayabusa
title remaining, at least technically, unassailable, since no subsequent model
could go faster without being tampered with. After the much
anticipated Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R of 2000 fell 6 km/h
(4 mph) short of claiming the title, the Hayabusa secured its place as the
fastest standard production bike of the 20th century. This gives the
unrestricted 1999 models even more cachet with collectors.
