The Suzuki Hayabusa has an illustrious past attached to it, all of which started with the OG first-gen model. The follow-up Gen-II ‘Busa, though, pushed the goal post further, making even more power, and selling in extreme numbers throughout the world.

Wondering which one’s faster between these two iconic bikes? Well, here’s a drag race that’ll paint you a picture.

The Contenders

First up, we have the OG first-gen Hayabusa. It was powered by a 1,299cc, inline-four engine which put out a claimed 173 horsepower and around 95 pound-feet of torque while tipping the scales at 550 pounds (fully laden).

Next up is the second-gen Hayabusa that came out in 2008. This used a bigger 1,340cc, inline-four engine that produces 197 horsepower and 102 pound-feet. Thanks to the updates, however, a fully laden gen-II ‘Busa weighed 583 pounds.

It’s worth mentioning that none of the bikes featured here are stock and both boast drag race-friendly hardware. These include a stretched swingarm, an aftermarket exhaust, and possibly a few engine updates to extract more juice.

First-gen Suzuki Hayabusa vs Second-gen Suzuki Hayabusa Drag Race

As soon as the lights go out, the heavier second-gen Hayabusa gets the jump on the first-gen model. Now, at this moment, one would expect the more powerful second-gen model to just power through and gap the first-gen model, but that’s not what happens.

The first-gen Hayabusa, once hooked and going, takes no time to catch up to the second-gen model and starts inching ahead ever so slightly, ultimately taking the win by just 0.2-seconds. To back this up, the OG Hayabusa is also faster in the speed traps by 4mph.

Here are the final quarter-mile times:

Final Thoughts

Even though the first-gen Hayabusa wins here, we believe there’s more in the tank for the second-gen model and it can surely go faster than this. However, there’s no denying that the first-gen Busa is still nothing short of a missile even today.

Here's the video (skip to 01:13)