The ever popular Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa has been missing from the Suzuki line-up since the end of 2018 as it failed to meet updated and more stringent Euro5 regulations, but a replacement is due later this year according to insiders.

Back in 2019, Suzuki President Toshihiro Suzuki said: “Our role at Suzuki is to create products people need, bringing a source of fun and excitement into their lives. There is much more to come from Suzuki, as we maintain our customer-focussed perspective and bring innovative and exciting motorcycles to people around the world.

“By 2021, we plan to launch 10 new models, focussing particularly on large bikes, and strengthen our overall line-up and create new series from existing models.”

We’ve already seen a number of these new models appearing in Suzuki dealers; the updated V-Strom 1050 being the most recent and this came a year after the new Katana, which was shown at the end of 2019.

The main image on this story is of a paper model that Suzuki wheeled out in 2015 to give an idea of what was to come. It gave no details, no idea of timescale and now, five years later, we’re still waiting to find out what it means for the forthcoming Hayabusa replacement. However, at this stage, it’s about as good as it gets in terms of official information.

The new Hayabusa is likely to be among the 2021 list of new bikes to add to that promised tally of 10 new bikes. This means we are likely to see it revealed towards the end of 2020 if Suzuki stays true to normal new model reveal timelines. The company usually releases all of its new models at Germany’s biennial Intermot show, or Italy’s massive EICMA show, which takes place in Milan every November. Could the new Hayabusa break cover in Cologne on October 6?

The Suzuki Hayabusa can be traced back to 1999 and after establishing itself as the world’s fastest production motorcycle, it gained cult status. It received a few updates over the years, and was quickly limited to 300kph (186mph) after fears that it, along with other hyper bikes like the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird and the Kawasaki ZZR1400 would be banned for being too fast. The ‘Busa, as it was commonly called, remained on sale all of the way through to the end of 2019 when new Euro5 rules killed it off in Europe. It remained on sale in other countries not governed by Euro5 rules but now, the final stock has all been sold.

Throughout the time the Hayabusa was on sale, changes were kept to a minimum throughout the 20 years the bike was on sale, cosmetically it looks almost identical to the original bike, it was only the updating of elements of the technology and rider safety systems including ABS and traction control that changes the bike significantly. Despite its huge performance figures, the Hayabusa and its peers found favour as sports tourers, rather than out and out superbikes.

What can we expect from the new Hayabusa?

While there are no official details on what the new bike is going to be like or what the technical specifications will be, we do have some recently unearthed patents to draw some more details from.

The patents, recently revealed by Motor Cycle News (MCN) show off a revised exhaust system and even an automated manual gearbox with a button mounted on the handlebars to shift gears.

The automated gearbox lends the forthcoming Hayabusa more of a hyper-touring motorcycle role rather than a rival to the current field of ultra-focused 1000cc sportsbikes which are only aimed at track lap times. By making it more of a relaxed offering, it becomes more in keeping with what the Hayabusa evolved into over the 20 years it was on sale.

Inside information has given a fairly clear idea the engine is going to increase in capacity from the old 1299cc up to around 1440cc which should be enough to offset the exhaust and engine changes that will need to be implemented in order for the bike to pass current and future emissions regulations.

With the increase in capacity will likely be a power figure that will remain at or perhaps even slightly above the 200bhp of the outgoing model.

The biggest change visible on the patent drawings is what appears to be a more up-to-date chassis which looks far closer in terms of the design to that of the current Suzuki GSX-R1000 rather than the outgoing Hayabusa’s beam chassis. The thinner and lighter design appears to be mated to a new design of swingarm.