2008 Suzuki B-King 1340

Barnstorming B-King

WHAT IS IT?
The latest generation Hayabusa engine stuffed into a naked chassis, with surprisingly little detuning involved.

WHAT'S IT LIKE?
Very, very fast, and surprisingly well-mannered. Lifts the naked bike standard by several notches.

THE BIKE
It's safe enough to say that the Suzuki B-King has been, for several frustrating years, one of the most eagerly anticipated naked bikes in living history. Frustrating because the original supercharged concept bike shown at the Tokyo Motor Show way back in 2001 caused one hell of a stir.

And, once Suzuki announced it really would produce the thing, the speculation turned to how much the factory would emasculate the idea before it went into production. Though many of us may have been hopeful (and scared…) it's doubtful that anyone seriously expected the company to go with the supercharging idea. But it did stick pretty much to the original wild styling and you could hardly be disappointed with the performance.

All too often makers cut the proverbial balls off their performance engines once they slip them into a naked bike, but the engineers from Hamamatsu have been relatively kind in this case. It claims around 181 horses form the new-gen 1340 engine, which is only about 9 down on the new Busa, and translates to a hefty 165-plus at the rear wheel, or a little more than a first generation Busa. That's very serious urge.

In case that wasn't enough, the gearing is lower than for the Hayabusa, so up to near 200km/h it's going to out-accelerate one, provided you can keep the front wheel somewhere near the deck.

Wrapping all that into a package is a twin-spar alloy frame, an alloy swingarm welded from three pieces, high-end suspension with full adjustment, and a big set of four-piston radial-mount brakes up front. Fuel capacity is a relatively small 16lt and weight a claimed 235kg dry.

IN THE SADDLE
The riding position is upright and tall folk may find themselves altering their ride position a little to fit their legs under the heavily-scalloped panels on the side of the fuel tank. It's not especially tall, despite its substantial looks, and medium height riders will have no issue with it. The pillion accommodation is minimal - you would need to look elsewhere for a serious two-up bike.

Hop aboard and there are few surprises, other than the massive frontal view of the machine. The injection, run by a 32-bit processor, seems faultless, with a benign throttle response. There are two engine modes - normal and restricted. You might try the latter in wet and slippery conditions, but otherwise there doesn't seem much point.

The acceleration is truly stunning and is without question the highlight of the bike. Turn the twistgrip and you can feel the thing slingshot itself at the horizon at an appalling rate. Great fun.

Clutch action is progressive and light, while the gearbox is dead accurate with a slightly heavy action.

Braking, mercifully, is super strong and responsive. The front brakes are great - as good as anything else out there, given the considerable bulk that's being hauled up.

Handling is the real surprise. Like a lot of heavy bikes, it likes to be set up for the corner, though is tolerant enough if you fling it in at the last second. The steering is reasonably light and accurate, while the suspension provides really good mid-corner control, even over suspect surfaces. In short, the overall package handles better than its looks would suggest. Once rolling, it's nowhere near as intimidating as it looks.

The styling is controversial, particularly those wild muffler ends. It will be interesting to see how the aftermarket industry tackles this bike, as it would be easy for the back end to look silly with the wrong pipes on board.

Fuel consumption is pretty good, depending on how severe you are with the throttle. We were getting on the high side of 16km/lt if riding somewhere near the speed limit - which is much easier said than done, given the strong temptation on hand. That can drop to the low teens.

The B-King costs about the same as the fully-faired Hayabusa, but close inspection of all the unique body parts soon explains why. It may be a naked bike, but is anything but a cost-cutting version of the full road version.

Overall it's a hell of a lot of fun and really does lift the standard when it comes to naked bikes.