Buying a Suzuki Hayabusa, a motorcycle that’s famous for outrageous straight-line performance, and not riding it is pretty pointless, if you ask me. It was built to turn your surroundings into a blur, yet this 2008 example appears to have spent its entire life standing still.
Its odometer currently displays just four miles! Four! To make matters worse, new motorcycles don’t necessarily reach their first owner with exactly zero miles. A few miles can accumulate through factory testing, dealer preparation, moving the bike around a dealership, or a short dealer test ride. Four miles is low enough that it’s entirely plausible this Hayabusa was never actually ridden by its owner at all.
That makes me wonder what happened. Perhaps the original owner bought it to preserve, circumstances changed immediately afterward, or four miles aboard a Hayabusa proved sufficient to reconsider some life choices?
Whatever the explanation, the orange-and-black Suzuki is now looking for someone new to decide its fate. Mecum is offering it at its Nashville auction today, Wednesday, September 23.
Four Miles On A Hayabusa
The motorcycle comes from the first year of the second-generation Hayabusa, which arrived for 2008 with substantial revisions over its already formidable predecessor. Its DOHC inline-four grew from 1,299cc to 1,340cc and was paired with a six-speed manual gearbox that sent power to the rear via chain final drive.
Mecum’s listing says this example has Suzuki fuel injection and its original chrome-and-black 4-into-1 exhaust system. The orange fuel tank and upper fairing have black stripes, while the lower fairing combines both colors with prominent Hayabusa lettering.
At the front are fully adjustable upside-down front forks and an adjustable link-type rear suspension. Dual floating front brake rotors with four-piston Tokico calipers handle stopping duties, something you definitely want on a machine carrying the Hayabusa name.
It Appears Remarkably Stock
Second-generation Hayabusas became popular foundations for heavily modified street and drag builds, particularly as owners discovered how much performance could be extracted from Suzuki’s big inline-four. Turbocharged examples producing enormous power became a familiar part of Hayabusa culture.
This bike appears to have avoided that fate. Mecum doesn’t list any significant performance modifications, making its combination of apparent originality and four indicated miles especially interesting.
Sitting for years isn’t necessarily easy on a motorcycle, however, but the listing states this Hayabusa has received fresh fluids and a new fuel pump, and confirms that it runs.
Ride It Or Preserve It?
The Hayabusa will cross the block as Lot W62 at Mecum Nashville on Wednesday, September 23. No presale estimate is listed.
Its next owner will therefore inherit a slightly ridiculous dilemma. Adding miles means sacrificing one of the motorcycle’s most unusual characteristics, while preserving its four-mile odometer means continuing to deny a Hayabusa the activity it was built to perform.
After nearly two decades, perhaps mile number five is overdue? Would you ride it or preserve it? Let us know in the comments.