Suzuki Hayabusa - Performance and other enhancements.

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Last Updated : 02 July 2012

There are heaps of performance enhancements available for motorcycles.  However like all enhancements there are some which actually work and some which don't. I receive a lot of Emails about this topic so here's a running list of sorts with various notes on the topic and those you can contact. Remember : I am not a mechanic or motorcycle engineer and cannot personally verify any of these as I haven't tried them out myself.  This site is for general information purposes.

Performance improvements can be made in a variety of ways.  It depends on what so of enhancement you want to do to your bike.  In the Hayabusa's case there appears to be an increasing number of stuff you can try. 

Motorcycles these days have been designed with so many concessions to reliability, exhaust emissions regulations, noise levels, and other mostly legislative requirements and so forth that most modifications result in breach of any of these criteria which the bike have been designed with.  Many performance enhancements can breach the warranty that comes with any new motorcycle.  It can lead to reliability problems and some dangerous...but not all are bad....it's up to you to try and if your not sure ask someone who knows. (not me !).

This page is continually being updated!

Don't forget to checkout my Motorcycle Pictures Site
for examples of so many specific and generic motorcycle modifications in action.
Or maybe this one
General motorcycle accessories page

Index

Mufflers

Apparently you can remove the internals of the stock cans for more power.
Thxs to Lee.  (I don't know how effective or legal this modification is.)


Some manufacturers include (not all make Hayabusa ones) :

Akrapovic - Arrow - Cobra - D & D - Hindle - Kerker - Megacycle - Remus - Staintune - Termignoni - TTS - Two Brothers - Vance & Hines -
Wolf
- Yoshimura HMF

Personally. I prefer Yoshimura but many choose Akrapovic because they are cheaper.  I think the Yoshi's have a piercing top end. *shivers*  Remember it the the skill of the tuner rather than the pipe itself!

Other exhaust pipes : The best site for information on exhausts pipes is Martin's Hayabusa Page Heaps of stuff on performance and other tech enhancements which I don't cover.

Sidekick Performance Silencers : According to them adds 6 HP.  However I haven't seen where the improvements were made.  The construction of these things look like a work of art.  Like the use of multicoloured 0.5mm thick 99.9% pure Grade2 titanium etc... Try telling that to boys & gals next time you see them !!  Their site can be accessed on the links page.   You must check out the 'Alien' exhaust !

Skorpion Exhausts : Looks good and sounds even better. With thanks to *Pete Priss for the pics.

Suspension

Try these suspension settings for a racier ride. Thanks to Darrell
Check out this web-site for the settings

Below is are the settings in case they remove the page from the web.
Front
Preload 2.5 lines showing
Compression Out 2 clicks
Rebound Out 2 clicks
Rear
Preload 1.25inches of sag
Compression Out 5 clicks
Rebound Out 7 clicks

Fuelling (EFI)

The most effective way to get the best performance from your Hayabusa modifications or any other motorcycle is the Power Commander system.
www.powercommander.com

Denso iridium sparkplugs are a cheap way for a slight performance gain.

Thanks to Dany

Air Filter modifications

Using BMC Air filters is another way of increasing power without any detrimental side effects.  Except for an increase in fuel consumption of 10-15% (city ?).
Update : Freeway cruising has no effect on standard fuel consumption i.e. 0% increase ! Thanks to Andy

K&N airfilter is another suitable replacement.  Thanks to Dany

A new one from www.bikeramairbox.com and there's a picture too ! - The picture

The best modification to the Hayabusa for a noticeable performance gain is to the airbox mod and filter and the Power commander .  - This essentially involves enlarging the hole to the

Cosmetic Enhancements

View this site for some inspiration : Motorcycle Pictures

MRA german made Sport tourer flip tinted screen.
Baglux coloured full tankbra.
Seats & Tankbag in matchin brown'99 model.
Scotland scottoiler(touring) auto lube.

A pair of givi side panniers on the made4haya PL series bracket unlike the Blackbird more expensive Wing rack!!
with slim panniers Thanks to Dany

Carbon/Kevlar fibre Fuel Tank. Weight saving of approx. 8 pounds.  Contact John
or visit the web site http://members.aol.com/fuelcel/

Chrome look ! : Stripping the paint of the wheels reveal a nice aluiminiumhrome look !

Eliminate! Eliminate! : Removing or shortening the rear fender (mub-guard thing) is another thing you could try.

Assimilate! - Colour coding the mirrors, handle-bar grips, fairing screws, engine side cover, bar ends etc...  is also a nice touch.

Are you after a new colour scheme for your Busa ? - in fact as so many people have asked can they have the original Copper/Bronze colour scheme ... strange huh ?

Change the background of the speedo.  This is quite a common enhancement.
You could possible do it your self, but I wouldn't recommend it. 
I don't have any links at present but I'm sure someone will send me something soon.

Oil and the Hayabusa

Quite a few questions about using different types of engine oil so
I shall put some notes here.
Any change/refresh with new oil helps clutch feel and gear changes and hot engine running.

Another note regarding using full synthethic oil is that on a bike with multi-plate clutches is that it will cause the clutch to slip especially on take-off ! 
Thanks to Lbla

Full synthetic: Silkolene PRO-4 race is supposed to be a good one to use.

Full synthetic: Mobil is another that comes recommended. Thanks G.Raiford II

Synthetic Blend i.e. Mineral & Syn : Seems to cure grabby clutches. (Motul in the brand) Thanks to M Dickinsun

NEW !
February 2004

The following is an email that was sent to me from Lynn Holzner

Having been a lubricants distributor for the last ten years as well as an avid Motorcrosser I feel I can shed some light on the synthetic lubricant clutch controversy. I will try and keep it short and simple.

1. All lubricants whether petroleum or synthetic are engineered to meet a specific, requirement or range of requirements, i.e. two stroke, hydraulic, ATF etc.

2. Synthetic lubricants ( at least most synthetics ) are engineered from the ground up. Petroleums start with a petroleum base stock and additive packages are added to make it do its job. I like to think of it as going NASCAR racing with a street car you tried to adapt to the job rather than starting with a frame and building it to do the job. Which one will work better?

3. Regular motor oils (for non-wet clutch applications) have components in their chemistry such as robust friction modifiers that are not a wet clutches friend. If the truth be known, motorcycle owners that have used synthetic oil in their bikes and experienced clutch slippage used oil not specified for motorcycles (although you would be hard pressed to get them to admit it).

4. Synthetic motor oil spec'd for motorcycles with wet clutches are engineered with different types of additives to make them function with the clutches as well as providing optimum engine component protection.

5. The original clutch in my 1999 YZ 250 lasted almost 3 years using full synthetic motorcycle oil. I did not experience any slipping or abnormal "grabbing" throughout the life of the clutch. I extended my change intervals to at least 3 times the recommendation in my manual while my ridding buddies were changing theirs after every full day of riding.

6. It is the 21st century and oil technology has not been idle all these years. There are loads of "wives tales" out there. Mostly started by people who are resistant to change or have monetary interest in keeping people changing oil every three thousand miles and bad mouthing synthetics.

7. If you are really interested in the truth there is a book out by Michael Kaufman called the "Motor Oil Bible" which dispels all the rumors and myths about oil change intervals and synthetics vs petroleum. The book is based on information from many industry sources including SAE.

Other Stuff

Note : Check out the pictures site for some pretty good ideas.

Higher front screen : for those who find the standard front screen too low the most recommended replacement is :
Zero Gravity's double bubble screen.  There site appears to be located at
:
www.zerogravity-racing.com

Gear Indicator : See what gear your using as well as the optimum shift points.

Higher Handle Bars : At last I have some stuff on raising the handle bars. www.helibars.com
Takes a while to put on but makes a huge difference.  Thanks George

Another firm that produces bar raises. : ww.zianet.com/genmar Thanks Wayne

Lowering the Hayabusa :

Use the Schnitz lowering bones for the rear 1- 4 inch drop
These are essentially straps that compress the forks and springs.
Also check out his really mean looking Hayabusa's in the Pictures Site.

Raising the Hayabusa :

I have never heard of anyone who actually wants to raise one..

October 2006 Update: I have finally heard of someone who actually raised theirs!
DW Scott says its the best thing he's done to improve the handling of his bike.
It increases the weight bias to the front and shortens the wheel base!

Frame sliders :

Great addition if your after looks especially if they are shiny or light up !
But don't forget they add wind drag so reduce top speed.
Frame sliders are there to protect the major parts of the motorcycle fairing from damage if you happen to drop your bike.  Also helps in preventing damage when transporting your bike in a trailer and so forth.  Mind you it doesn't prevent other damage like to the frame itself or wing mirrors handle bars and so forth.

Tank Cover and Tank Bag - Baglux : Looks good and works Image 
*Thanks again to

See Keith's soft luggage review

Tyres

See the tyre survey link on this site !

More power

Do you want more power ? Well try a Turbo  or the simple airbox enlargement and muffler replacement.

Derestrict the Hayabusa - Speed limiter

How to bypass the top speed restriction on the Hayabusa is by the use a TRE or Timing Retard Eliminator.

www.sportrider.com Hayabusa Vs ZX12-R

I've updated this bit yet again - I though there was enough information around the web but I was wrong so here are some links and ads.

I have heard - from no less than 3 different owners the TRE does indeed work for all year models to date. Circ.2003

Officially, the word is that the speed limiter is an electronic one that retards the injector of spark to one of the cylinders once the various engine sensors reach a certain speed limit.  It does not restrict engine power until then.

The ECU gathers information from the gear position and the rev meter to detect when to retard the injectors.  There are apparently simple electronic units that in effect derestrict the bike !  I've been reliably informed that the US mag Sport Rider had an article on their experiment.
The TRE is available from Ivan's Rockland County Motorcycles
(and other reputable motorcycle stores.)

It apparently tells that ECU that the bike is in 5th gear all the time and uses ECU program to match.
The 5th gear ignition map is also the best one they said ie better response.
Note they also used the Powercommander unit to compensate.

Note that replacing the ECU on a 2001 model with a 1999 model will not work.
There is more to change than the ECU. *Thanks Rick

With the update to the new 32-bit CPU the limiter restricts the max revs in 6th gear to about 10,200 rpm or so.  Note that the TRE is still effective but mapping not correct although still works fine though.

 

Note : I have heard a heap of good reports using the TRE.
The only side effect I have heard apart from all the good stuff is an increase in fuel consumption and some hot starting issues - to be confirmed.

Here's a picture of the Schintz Racing version :
(Clik for a larger view)

A good story about the results of a the installation of TRE.
By Huw Carden- November 2001

Great web site! Had my 2 year old Busa modified by Steve Yardley from SYMTEK Racing ). Fitted a TRE (timing retarder eliminator) and had the flapper valve ripped out of the airbox and a K& N put in its place. Finally, the system was re-mapped . Steve finds that the 5th gear re-map is the best. My 'busa has done 13,500 miles from new and it is now running the best it ever has. The TRE has allowed excellent drive from the lights and the fuel injection is extremely smooth whereas before it was rather "wooly" (not a technical term!) up to 2,500-3,000rpm. The Busa timing is retarded in 1st 2nd and 6th and after the mods were done I felt that I was riding a totally different bike.
I am still running the original exhaust system purely because I like to keep a low profile with the police!

The drive from the bike now is extremely strong and I am really impressed. Steve only works on fuel injected Suzukis - he has a 'busa himself which he can tell you about if you are interested. Had a fuel injector fail on me - the second in 12 months. I have written to Suzuki and I am waiting to hear what they have to say. I hope you don't think that I am plugging Steve's work - he aint paying me! It is just that the work he has done has so impressed me that I would like other owners to have the same benefit.

They wont be disappointed and it doesn't cost the earth! He can also modify bikes with other after market exhaust systems

The following are historical notes on the lead up to official news on the speed restriction on the Hayabusa :

At this stage whether it is an international limit or country specific is uncertain. 
There are a number of ways to limit the speed without effecting the Busa performance.  Either Electronically of mechanically. 
I'm sure it won't be a simple 'shorten the throttle cable' thing.  
An electronic restriction is unlikely as it would appear cost too much and can be over ridden by an aftermarket CPU. 
An air intake restriction could also be used however it will require CPU recalibration.  
I presume it'll be a gearing change which essentially means 6th gear will rev out at about 198mph, the commonly believed top speed for 2001 models. 
The reduced sprocket size of late 2000 models appears to be the current method.
Another suggestion was provided by Gixxer72 who reported that increasing

the amount of oil ie ZX-12R hence internal drag is increased thus limiting the top speed.
Quite a few owners have reported that there has been no change
except for the lower reading speedometer !

Note : Most of these enhancements do not represent my opinion
but the opinion of the person who sent me the article.

(Disclaimer : I do not warrant the correctness of any of this, if your bike blows-up it's your fault.)

 




 




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