Hello and welcome to PowerDrift.
This is a very special episode because obviously we have
two Hayabusas, the new one and the legendary one,
and we have, to match the Hayabusa, a legend in the house, India's top bike and car journalist,
which is very hard to do, I've tried, no I haven't,
but he doesn't need an introduction,
but this Hayabusa does, her name is Radha and this is his Hayabusa.
So what you should know, before we start,
before we say anything about the new Hayabusa is,
I've been in love with the Hayabusa ever since I rode my first one.
These machines do stuff that they should not be able to do at all
and of course Singhee is a huge fan, because, well, this is his bike.
Actually, no, I'm not a fan of the bike because it's mine,
the bike's mine because I became a fan of the motorcycle.
The beauty of this motorcycle is just what a big heart it has,
because of the traditional displacement
even when you're riding it hard, it's never strained, you want to cover distances, it's...
I just love that flexibility.
I mean, and okay, that was one part of it,
but then there was the chassis and man,
that's the part that you were talking about, right?
It shouldn't be doing a lot of the things that it does.
100%.
And we took it out to the track
and a lot of people over there said to me that why have you got a Busa to the racetrack?
And I was like, why not, right?
And the rest is history because the pictures, the performance, what we heard of the bike,
what we saw of the bike, was just incredible,
but, let's just shift the focus to the black one over there.
I would love to.
I certainly thought that there would be a larger engine because you know,
new new emission norms, so it'll, won't be able
to make as much power while meeting those norms.
So that we thought was...
But it doesn't actually make that much power,
it's the is the more powerful machine for sure.
Correct.
Were you a little disappointed when you read the press release and say,
hey, look, 1340cc inline-four again?
Well, I was happy, I was like, I've still got the more powerful bike.
So you don't think that instead of buying the last, of the last,
you should have bought the first of the latest.
I love the logic behind it, that Suzuki said that this is a tried, tested engine,
it's bulletproof and they didn't want to mess with it too much.
But imagine that with an inline-six with, say, a 1600 or 1800cc engine,
would that be insane?
I don't know, man, I think this formula that they've created,
I don't know if anybody else can recreate this
in another configuration, whether it's possible or not.
I don't know even if Suzuki can recreate it in another, you know, configuration for that matter.
Okay.
My perspective on that is, when we rode the GSX-R 1000 R, we were at the racetrack together,
I remember our conversation there was about, how is a 200bhp bike this simple to ride.
Correct. And that motorcycle to me is exactly that.
So, when we rode down to Chennai, we were riding through fog,
we started when it was still dark,
and I remember being very worried about you know,
and this was right after the monsoons, right,
so we didn't know what kind of road conditions we were going to get,
and after some time, I was just like, yeah, it's fine.
And I actually did accidentally hit a really bad patch
and after that, I am pretty sure they've got some...
Magic in there, right?
Yeah, it's definitely.
I don't want to say the word ADV there, but the way it handles bad roads,
which is why I also love it, right?
It works in India.
But what he's saying is exactly right, because there is a difference between the two suspensions,
I think that has a lot more control, it has a lot more ability.
I know Shumi is nudging me to talk about that bike,
I'm gonna come out and say what I have to, that has blown my mind.
It has completely blown my mind.
Especially because Suzuki has said, nothing to the effect that, it's going to blow your mind.
They've just said, new generation Hayabusa,
these are the 30,000 changes we've made,
which is one screw here and one oil path here and one this hear.
It's a very Japanese way to write a press release, no?
And then when you ride it, and you're like, dude, this is, this is generation-three
and if you look at gen-one, what happened is the change to gen-two,
and then when you look at gen-three, this is seismic compared to what they did between
gen-one and gen-two. 100%, and let me set that in context
because a lot of the international media reports we've read,
talk about a continuum between the Hayabusas, about how that is a better Busa
and more power would have been welcome and all of these things.
I don't know what bike they were riding, because that is more than a generation change,
it's absolutely incredible to ride that machine
and it's not just the performance, okay, so we know
that the, that Hayabusa makes less power
than the generation-two, it does have a much stronger mid-range for sure
and so much so, that Kartikeya's first reaction to riding it is, they've changed the gearing.
And I don't think they have, it's just a lot more mid-range, it is a little bit angrier
than this motorcycle and not in a, I won't say, in a violent way,
in a very Japanese way saying, it's like a focused thing saying, I feel like
destroying something right now, so would you please allow me to do it.
That's actually the right term.
And to me, that has remained, and what I like about
that bike is, today again, I was in fourth or
fifth gear through heavy traffic, closed the throttle...
He's wrong, for once in his life, Shumi is wrong.
It's not remained, it's gotten way, way better.
Way, way better, trust me, I ride this every day, right?
And you get onto that, and it's like, it's tighter, it's lighter,
I mean, it's not lighter, I mean, only by two kilograms,
but it's feeling lighter, it's feeling tighter,
I came back to him and I told him, dude, it's almost like a sports bike,
but without the discomfort of the sport bike.
Yeah, exactly, right, I mean, this makes a great tourer already,
but, I think that will make a great commuter, strangest thing to say ever.
I remember one time, we were on an airstrip, that orange and black Busa, giving joy rides
to people, only insisting, please wear your helmet, please wear jacket, sit, we'll go.
We'd go 180 up, we'd come back 250, people will be blown away.
And the Busa did that...
Just kept on doing it... without any feeling of stress or strain,
and think about it, it's a media bike, it's probably the most abused example there is
at that point, right? And I don't know, 50 joyrides that day
with people going back and standing at the end of the queue, not a sign of trouble.
That's why they haven't really changed the engine.
How about the brakes, tell us about the brakes.
That, you can brake hard with confidence
and this is what I'm saying, you said commuter, tourer, I'm saying, take that to the track.
It's gonna blow people's minds.
I'm not kidding, it's going to be easy, because of that same, you know, limitless sense of
power and torque that it has and now they've,
I don't know how they've done it with the chassis
and the suspension being largely the same but, it feels so different.
So I think this would be a good time to pitch to Suzuki the idea saying that, look, we've
already got the gen-two, can we take the gen-three and go to the racetrack?
Him and me, and we'll make a great story out of it?
What do you say?
Absolutely man, I would love to do that.
Seeing these two bikes in the same frame,
coming around a corner is going to be, I mean, I'm going to be over the moon.
If you were to ride these two bikes out on the highway over a long distance with luggage,
now based on what you know about this bike, and what you've seen of that bike,
how do you think they're different from each other now?
In terms of ergonomics with the bars being closer,
it's definitely giving you a far more relaxed seating position,
whereas on that, I mean, I'm a short guy, so it's a bit of a reach for me.
You do settle into it, but it is something that you feel,
whereas on this, you're sitting a bit more upright, even for me.
And your head is much closer to the visor and the meters and it
feels like you're more inside the motorcycle, than sort of behind the motorcycle,
so when you accelerate, you're more part of the process
than being sort of carried along by the bike.
The reason why I bought that bike was, no electronics.
I wanted it.
I mean, it's only got ABS, right, and power modes, that's it,
that's why I wanted the bike.
It keeps you honest, it keeps you from getting, you know, getting carried away by who you
are as a rider, right?
I think you're sending the wrong message to young viewers out there because
to me, electronics are primarily invisible for most of your riding,
and they sort of come into action when you're in trouble.
So today, on the last stretch, there was rain and there was mud on the road
and I was I think in C mode, which is their softest mode
and it kicked in at some point and told me that you were just being a jackass
and I save your ass, right?
And I would rather have that safety net than not, so,
full props to you for being able to ride a motorcycle like this.
No, no, my point is, when you have something like this,
you are not going to be stepping over that line, right?
You're going to be far more conscious of where that line is
and you're going to be careful to tow it, right?
And that is my point, like, at least that's how I approach it.
So everything they've done with that, the chassis,
the engine, it's making it feel like it's
taken the fear or the intimidation that the Busa had,
that one will not intimidate people, especially now because of the electronics,
you will not worry about putting the power down or braking,
but I think, really, the biggest part still for me is, what they've done the changes that
if the subtle changes, which have changed the character of the motorcycle and made it
so much more intimate, and that was the beauty of this.
There are lots of motorcycles that if somebody gifted it to me, I'd probably return them
or sell them and get something else.
If somebody gifted me that, I would not say no.
And he asked me, am I gonna sell this and get that?
The answer is, I want to keep that and I want that.
That'll be a nice garage to have.
It has to go back to Suzuki at some point.
Other people have to have an opportunity to ride that motorcycle...
we will try and delay it as much as possible.
But COVID-19 lockdowns are about to begin, I'm sorry, we can't return the Busa.
What could Suzuki have done better on that motorcycle?
Because that bike is absolutely perfect, it's as close as I've ever seen it done.
I agree, man.
I mean, look at the front, they've sharpened it up,
they've tightened it up, just look at the
two motorcycles side by side, that looks sharp and tight.
But that rear...
it kind of reminds me of pizza delivery machine or something, man, it's really big!
Yeah, I agree and I don't think it's just the shape of the cowl
I think it's also the fact that the cowl sort of dips down at the back, which sort
of looks like there's a problem with the subframe rather than a design,
and honestly, to me, the good part of the motorcycle in terms of design ends at about
the end of the rider's seat and from there onwards it's a little bit iffy for me.
I think that's that, the exhausts look quite big
so it's mostly about the design
but, I mean, those are the things I would nitpick about, because in terms of equipment, features,
like see, you look at this as a desirable motorcycle.
It's quite plain Jane, right?
I mean, in terms of the clocks that it has, the equipment on offer, how it's executed,
it's very basic, this, they've stepped up,
this is something that you look at, you will talk about.
I, for example, think that the chrome strips that they put on the fairing actually
add a lot of value to the motorcycle, it does make it feel premium and fresh and striking
and there's people like that, who are like, neah, not really, right.
But, I do agree, that motorcycle does incredibly feel a lot more premium than this motorcycle,
somehow it feels like they made it more expensive
and obviously the price has gone up a little bit, but,
I would complain about the menu system on the motorcycle.
So there is a little color display in the middle and it's got options and all that
and I think it would be a lot more intuitive in terms of going through the menus and setting
up the motorcycle, it could be a heck of a lot easier, I think.
So this is just nitpicking, we'll let it pass.
Yeah and the colors on the menu,
I mean, Suzuki's colors are white, blue, what's black and gold doing on that thing, why?
You've got great, I mean, have you looked at that motorcycle
in the white and blue colorway? Yeah, yeah.
I saw it and I was like, I don't want the red and white,
I don't want the orange and black,
if I were to buy a busa, the white and blue is what's
coming home, right?
White and red.
So, what's the three things about the new Busa
that people really need to know,
you give three, and I'll give three.
Okay, you go first.
Okay, to me, I think what most people don't realize about the Busa is that, its story
unfortunately, is built on the idea of its top speed,
and the story of this motorcycle is not its top speed, it is what it is able to do
at every single frickin' speed.
You pick a speed, you pick a gear and the Busa says, I got this, it's that, I got this
that this Busa is legendary for, is one.
Second, this is a really large motorcycle, there is
no escaping that, but that's only when it's parked in your garage.
out on the road it's one of the most friendly, easy to ride
and I think generation-three has taken that to another level altogether,
this is one of the easiest motorcycles, especially with this kind of performance that you'll ever use.
And the third thing, which I think a lot of people do know
is these are also incredibly reliable machines, which is why
a Busa owner is probably not going to see the garage beyond service.
Yeah, I mean, and surprisingly affordable to service as well for a big bike.
I can say that from an owner's standpoint.
What would a normal regular service cost you?
Believe it or not, about 7000 bucks.
Okay, just to give you a reference my Multistrada costs exactly twice that.
Yeah, and a major service is eleven or something like that.
Rs. 80,000.
But that's only every 30,000 kilometres, so it's not so much of a big deal.
Okay, so we've covered service cost,
but, what are the three things that people really need to know?
So, well, speed has been its calling card,
and it's the excess of speed that has given the Hayabusa its legendary status.
At heart, it's a very sensible motorcycle
and I know people will find this hard to believe,
would have found it hard to believe with this, but this one, is nailing it down, pat.
And that's coming from Mr. Sensible himself.
And the third thing,
as a sports bike, as something you want to ride hard, this is going to be immensely satisfying,
I'm not saying you're going to go and set the best lap times,
I don't know,
but you are going to find this to be a joy, like anybody's saying, Busa and racetrack
that's, that's clearly out, that's a outdated thought now.
So yeah, that's, I mean, if that was there, this one's taking it way up there.
So as you can see, we are super, super impressed with the generation-three Hayabusa.
So, my advice to you is if you were in the market for a Hayabusa,
now is the best time to get one.
If you're not in the market for a Hayabusa, you're missing out.
I think for anybody who's looking for his faired bike,
in India, right, just going after horsepower
figures or just going after, you know the brag rights of acceleration or something
like that, or the latest and greatest in that sense,
you'd be doing yourself a disservice by overlooking this bike.
No, no, you'd be doing a disservice
by spending the money at all because if the numbers are what your interested in, I can
print them out and send them to your house for free,
what you want to buy is a motorcycle that makes your heart sing,
and I don't think there are many machines on earth that will make your heart sing harder
than the Hayabusa.
Thank you so much for watching.