Tuned Harley-Davidson Road King Shows Its Mettle Against A Suzuki Hayabusa
Harley-Davidson and “speed” are two words that you’ll rarely find in one sentence. After all, most HD motorcycles focus on providing a thumping, head-turning experience rather than getting you from A to B in record time. However, this only applies to factory-fresh Harleys, and with the right mods, a Harley-Davidson can beat even the world’s fastest production motorcycle. Don’t believe us? Well, here’s a Harley-Davidson vs Suzuki Hayabusa drag race to prove our claim.
The Competitors
Waving the American flag is a Harley-Davidson Road King. It features Harley’s 1,745cc, Milwaukee Eight mill that pumps out 83 horsepower in stock form. This Road King looks nowhere near stock, though, as we can spot lowered suspensions, lighter wheels, a slightly extended swingarm, and a free-flow exhaust. Plus, the motorcycle belongs to Ward Performance, which specializes in power-tuned Harley-Davidson cams and throttle bodies, so these are likely part of the package too.
Going against the Harley is a second-generation Suzuki Hayabusa. It’s powered by a 1,340cc, inline-four engine with 195 horsepower (stock). This one also has some mods – aftermarket exhaust, lowered suspension – but looks mostly stock compared to the Harley.
Harley-Davidson Road King vs Suzuki Hayabusa Drag Race
Though a short video, it clearly shows the Harley-Davidson Road King beat the Suzuki Hayabusa as indicated by the winning light. Now, the video title reads “smokes,” but we’ll stick with “beats” because the gap doesn’t look massive at the line, and there are no quarter-mile times either. So why did the Harley-Davidson win? Well, the credit here goes to its modifications. A Road King already has abundant torque as it is, and with performance upgrades, we believe this one has a massive bump in horsepower too. Together, these help it launch like a missile and power through the entire quarter-mile, fast enough to beat a Hayabusa.
But you shouldn’t take anything away from the Suzuki. Let’s not forget, it doesn’t have half as many mods as the Harley, but still nearly keeps up. In fact, had the ‘Busa boasted similar upgrades, we’re pretty sure it would smoke the souped-up Road King. To give you context, even a stock Gen-3 Suzuki Hayabusa (with 190-HP) records a low 10-second quarter-mile. So if you have roughly $20,000 to spare and speed is your priority, the Hayabusa makes more sense, any day.
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