Hayabusa (隼) is Japanese for "peregrine falcon", a bird that often serves as a metaphor for speed due to its vertical hunting dive, or stoop, speed of 180 to 202 miles per hour (290 to 325 km/h), the fastest of any bird.[6][7] In particular, the choice of name was made because the peregrine falcon preys on blackbirds,[8] which reflected the intent of the original Hayabusa to unseat the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird as the world's fastest production motorcycle.[9][10][11] Eventually, the Hayabusa managed to surpass the Super Blackbird by at least a full 10 miles per hour (16 km/h).[4][12]
In 2000, fears of a European regulatory backlash or import ban[13][14][15] led to an informal agreement between the Japanese and European manufacturers to govern the top speed of their motorcycles at an arbitrary limit.
The media-reported value for the speed agreement in miles per hour was consistently 186 mph, while in kilometers per hour it varied from 299 to 303 km/h, which is typical given unit conversion rounding errors. This figure may also be affected by a number of external factors,[17] as can the power and torque values.[18]
The conditions under which this limitation was adopted led to the 1999–2000[2][3] Hayabusa's title remaining, at least technically, unassailable, since no subsequent model could go faster without being tampered with.[19] Thus, after the much anticipated[20][21][22]Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R of 2000 fell 4 mph (6 km/h) short of claiming the title, the Hayabusa secured its place as the fastest standard production bike of the 20th century.[23][24][25] This gives the unrestricted 1999–2000[2][3] models even more cachet with collectors.[26]
Besides its speed, the Hayabusa has been lauded by many reviewers for its all-around performance, in that it does not drastically compromise other qualities like handling, comfort, reliability, noise, fuel economy or price in pursuit of a single function.[5][27][28] Jay Koblenz of Motorcycle Consumer News commented, "If you think the ability of a motorcycle to approach 190 mph or reach the quarter-mile in under 10 seconds is at best frivolous and at worst offensive, this still remains a motorcycle worthy of just consideration. The Hayabusa is Speed in all its glory. But Speed is not all the Hayabusa is.
