2012 Busa: Gen II, Gen III or discontinued?

[quick77]

Suzuki unveiled its new 2011 lineup with what appears to be fairly improved GSXR 600, 750 & 1000 compared to previous year (although I am not familiar with those models so I could be wrong).

On the other end, the 2011 Hayabusa only gets new colors, with no major improvements since the Gen II introduction in 2008.

The 2011 GSXR1000 is now up to 197hp, up to the level of the current Gen II Hayabusa.

Motorcycle sales seem to have not been that great for the past few years, and insurance premiums for big bike like Hayabusa are way up (at least here in Canada, is it the same in the US?), which makes those big bikes not so popular anymore.

So with all this in mind, what do you think will happen for the Hayabusa in 2012 ?

1) Will Suzuki keep poducing the GenII with no major improvements (I doubt this would be a good strategy as it has been for sale for 4 years now)?

2) Will Suzuki bump up the power (of either the Gen II or a new Gen III) to give it more hp than the current GSXR1000 (I would certainly prefer this option)?

3) Is Suzuki preparing to discontinue the Hayabusa for lack of sales of big bikes, their latest GSXR1000 with its 197hp now being powerful enough to fill the void?

I know it will only be speculation until Sept-Oct of 2011 (unless someone has privileged information), but I'm still curious to read what anyone think is going to happen...

 

[Paulie1300]

Yeah 197 at the crank, just like the new ZX-10, euro gets the 200HP bike, we in the states get 175ish cause of emissions. But from what I hear a PC and a good pipe puts you right back to the top numbers for the ZX-10.

 

[Jza]

Answer me this:

A) How long did the GenI run for without major evolution before it was replaced...?

B) Did punters stop buying the 'Busa because of A)...?

Think they'll drag it out to the point where no one buys a new bike... or it starts making them a loss

Jza

 

[skydivr]

Linky for 2011 models?

 

[jeepinocala]

Something is cooking. Maybe one of these??

- Suzuki's Biplane : DigInfo[/url] This is well worth watching Suzuki

 

[Got-Busa?]

Times are changing, if Suzuki doesn't they will suffer...

 

[NickSully]

As Jza said when do we get anything other than new colors? It took them 9 years to release the Gen II. Prior to that there were only fix it changes to the Gen I.

The 600cc and 1000cc are constantly evolving due to competition in the market. However, the big bikes like the Busa and ZX1400 are for a smaller market and are really more for bike connoisseurs. The busa is like a fine wine: It gets better with age and needs less refinement from year to year. JMHO

 

[sportcustoms71]

As Jza said when do we get anything other than new colors? It took them 9 years to release the Gen II. Prior to that there were only fix it changes to the Gen I.

The 600cc and 1000cc are constantly evolving due to competition in the market. However, the big bikes like the Busa and ZX1400 are for a smaller market and are really more for bike connoisseurs. The busa is like a fine wine: It gets better with age and needs less refinement from year to year. JMHO

+1 on that, the more and more i ride her the better it gets

 

[gmartin73]

i dont know about you guys, but part of the reason i bought a busa was because they dont change them every 2 years. i got tired of my new sportbike being outdated every 2 years.

 

[Hayabusa4life]

I think they will keep the same look, as far as power maybe they should do something, but since they didnt do much for so long on the first generation I dont think they will.

 

[nappinj12]

x2 gmartin73 . put new bike money in motor. 220 h.p motor, 420 with nos.

 

[Busa1166]

As is is fine with me. The 600 and 750 have more acceleration than you need or rather should be using for the street. Don't see the point of adding more hp to it. There is a speed cap anyway right

Besides let the turn key lovers keep on riding and buying a new bike every time they squeeze a pony or lose a pound on it somewhere. There is a blueprint lying around here somewhere to yank 350 hp out of your busa without cutting a hole in your fairings. Doesn't matter how much power it comes with at the wheel or the crank at the showroom floor if you want something done right do it yourself

 

[daaef]

...their latest GSXR1000 with its 197hp now being powerful enough to fill the void?...

Its not all about power. I rode my mates GSXR1k on the weekend and I forgot how small those bikes are. There will always be people who want a bigger bike or something to do longer rides on.

 

[dmallord]

one of the main reasons that i chose the busa was that it makes power from low r's. i can ride without winding her tight, and still have excellent performance. less r's = longer lasting.

while smaller bikes may indeed have higher peak hp, you really have to be on the pipe to get performance. more r's = shorter life.

i love the low end grunt of the busa, and if i do choose to wind her up...very fun.

 

[Mythos]

i dont know about you guys, but part of the reason i bought a busa was because they dont change them every 2 years. i got tired of my new sportbike being outdated every 2 years.

True dat.

Also, I'm not about to worry about a few tenths of a second in the quarter mile. The next time I lay out cash for a new bike it will have to be A LOT faster than what I have now.

 

[Big E]

Imagine what the busa could possibly put out HP wise in the next few years. Liter bikes are getting 200+Hp to the crank. The possibilities with a 1340 The Busa isnt going anywhere. Its a big seller for Suzuki.

 

[neoBusa]

who careas about change... Gen I and Gen IIs are awesome bikes... enjoy them while they last...

 

[UncleSteve]

Probably will not see a Gen 3 until 2015 or later. So why worry? They are having trouble selling their stock now....

 

[GsxrBots]

I don't get why people always say this about bikes that realistically NEVER change. The GSXR platform (in particular the GSXR1000) has changed every 2 years. The 2001-02 is different from the 03-04 which is different from the 05-06, and so on. THESE are the bikes that Suzuki needs to change every two years to keep up with the Jones'... The 'Busa has NO JONES to keep up with. The only reason the ZX14 changed after 2 years was to try again to be better than the 'Busa, and guess what, it wasn't. So they left it alone as well. These are "niche" bikes, and they would be absolutely foolish to make new tooling every two years for a bike that sells perfectly fine (if not better than the liter bikes) without change. When is the last time you saw the SV650 change? How about the DR650?? THEY DON'T HAVE TO, THEY SELL THE SHNIZ OUT OF THEM ALREADY!
THINK ABOUT IT!

Sorry, had to vent....

 

[Busakid08]

sports tourer not a "sports" bike