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There have been reported cases of subframe failures on Suzuki\'s flagship. The Hayabusa is the world\'s fastest production bike, tested at 194mph .
Cases have been reported in England and Israel. No one has been reported hurt but some of the failures have occurred while the bikes were being ridden. The following reports have been carried by the Motorcycle News in England.
Sean Pretty discovered that his Hayabusa\'s subframe had broken after the exhaust pipes started blowing. He found a crack in the system under the engine. Further checks revealed that the exhaust had broken as a result of downward pressure caused because the subframe had broken. The silencers are bolted to the end of the footrest hangers which, in turn, are connected to the rear subframe.
Pretty, aged 35, from Preston, Lancs, bought the bike in May 1999 in Germany. He later moved to Israel and discovered the problem earlier this year. He used the bike for weekend blasts from Tel Aviv to Elat - a 280-mile trip.
At times the bike was ridden flat-out. It was fitted with a Givi luggage system although it was not fitted at the time the subframe failed. Pretty also insists that his bike has never been overloaded. After talks with Suzuki in Germany, his bike was repaired free of charge.
\"Suzuki said the work was being done outside of the warranty and as a kind of goodwill gesture,\" said Pretty.
Nick Smith was travelling solo on the motorway when he found himself \"sitting on the rear wheel\" as the back end of his two-month-old bike gave way without warning.
The 44-year-old father of three said: \"It was a pretty frightening moment. One minute I was cruising along nicely, the next I was slipping off the back of the bike. Fortunately I was able to bring the bike under control and got away with a few grey hairs.\"
Smith, complained to Suzuki and is demanding a refund from them.
Smith\'s bike was fitted with a pannier kit made by Givi. The Italian firm has also examined the bike and issued a recall notice on all Hayabusas that are fitted with its luggage systems.
Givi says the move is a precaution until the cause of the failure is found. Around 65 UK Hayabusas have been fitted with Givi pannier kits. Givi is alerting other luggage makers. If you have a Givi system on a Hayabusa, take it off and contact your Givi dealer.
Givi UK\'s Peter Hudson said: \"There is a safety issue here. At the moment we don\'t know what or even if it had anything to do with the luggage system. We are just acting in the interests of customer safety until the cause is found.\"
Kevin Brown was returning from a touring trip to the Shetland Islands when the subframe gave way on his one-year-old bike.
The 36-year-old from Manchester was negotiating a roundabout near Edinburgh when the seat dropped on to the back wheel. Brown, who weighs 16 stone, was riding with a passenger who weighs 13 stone. The bike was also loaded with a tankbag, throwover panniers and a two-man tent.
Brown said: \"Fortunately I was only doing about 10mph when the subframe broke. There was a loud crack and the back of the bike just dropped down on to the rear wheel. I was able to stop without us falling off or getting hurt. \"It might have been a different story if it had happened a few minutes earlier on the motorway. We found that the top left-hand rail on the subframe had broken at a weld that joins a cast section to an aluminum tube.\"
The incident happened in June and Brown\'s bike has since been repaired. He says Suzuki carried out the work under warranty.
In all cases cast sections of the top two subframe rails have snapped.
Suzuki says it is investigating, but so far they have not found the cause of the problem.
Suzuki UK says anyone who is concerned should go to the dealer that they bought the bike from to have their Hayabusa checked.
It is not usual for Silver-Bullet writers to reproduce other publications stories, to this instance HOWEVER in the interests of safety for the New Zealanders who have purchased these motorcycles PLEASE get them checked. Please note suggestions from Givi if you have one of their luggage systems fitted to this motorcycle .
Quotes and details were taken from Motorcycle News website in the interests of safety.
