The B-King took an awfully long six years to become a reality; but at last it has graced us. Using Suzuki’s Hayabusa’s new and insanely powerful 1,340cc engine, the B-King boasts 181bhp, making it the most powerful naked street bike today.
Its styling was kept very similar to the bike’s much applauded concept version. It retains the wide shoulders, enormous twin-exhausts and a huge engine below; although extra supercharger was seen as superfluous. At 235kg the bike is not light but that’s due to its engine from the legendary hypersports tourer. Getting the B-King’s chassis to cope with that amount of power must have been a nightmare, but Suzuki has proven it is up to the challenge.
The headlamps are of a more retro- style than others on the market, but Suzuki gets away with it. The tank region is 0.6 metres wide and remains so all the way to the inset indicators at the front. There are cutaways for your legs which aid the riding position, but even so taller drivers will not fit well on this bike.
The suspension is a little softer than you might expect. But with a great gearbox, excellent steering, good stability and very strong brakes, you can throw this bike around like you would a sportsbike. Also, should you fear its outrageous power on slippery ground, a switch atop the tank reduces the output by 30 per cent.
Some follow, others lead the way, subsequently gaining legendary status. This bike is definitely amongst the latter.
Vehicle Suzuki B-King
Price 18,000 USD
Performance 181bhp, 245 km/h top speed
Why Huge power, naked styling and versatility in driving characteristics
www.suzuki.com
