Redefining Awesome: The Suzuki Hayabusa 2008

From The Uber-Review:

Have you heard of Ghost Rider? Not the comic book character that was turned into a movie starring Nicolas Cage last year, the other Ghost Rider, Patrik Furstenhoff, Swedish motorcycle stuntman extraordinaire. The Ghost Rider video series features some of the most extreme motorcycle action that you will ever see. In part of the 2002 release, Ghost Rider: the Final Ride, the 70km from Stockholm to Uppsala is covered in 14 minutes 55 seconds. His bike of choice, you guessed it, a Suzuki Hayabusa. The bike used in the videos was heavily modified in order to average a speed of 276 km/h (168 mph) for the entire trip. To get an idea of the speed and power that is involved; the 2007 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 had an unlimited top speed of 315 km/h. The 2008 model is 1340cc and features 12% higher engine performance from its four stroke, four cylinder, liquid cooled engine. With a dry weight (no fuel) of 220 kg, this is a monster. This is the bike to drive if you want to leave a Ferrari in your rearview. A turbocharged version set the street bike speed record of 411.68km/h. Just remember, at over 300 km/h with no seatbelts, airbags, roll cage or vehicle body to protect you, your body is the crumple zone and inertia is not your friend. If you have the skills and the insurance to handle one of these, you are in for a wild, wild time. Price: $11999 (about $150,000 cheaper than a Ferrari)

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