Katana (old) Prototype

[Dadpole]

Found a couple of pics of the one of the prototypes for the first Katana (the ONLY Katana IMHO) It was at the handover from Target Design to the new owner.

"last weekend, as planned, the Katana ED-2 Party at Target-Design took place. The prototye ED-2, freshly restored by Target-Design, had been handed over by Mr. Kasten to Mr. Ehn and is now to admire again at the Motorradmuseum Eggenburg."
A brief history is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Katana

Ahh: The memories...

[SARGE]

Found a couple of pics of the one of the prototypes for the first Katana (the ONLY Katana IMHO) It was at the handover from Target Design to the new owner.

"last weekend, as planned, the Katana ED-2 Party at Target-Design took place. The prototye ED-2, freshly restored by Target-Design, had been handed over by Mr. Kasten to Mr. Ehn and is now to admire again at the Motorradmuseum Eggenburg."
A brief history is athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Katana

Ahh: The memories...

i had a popup... wicked bike for its day

[Dadpole]

i had a popup... wicked bike for its day

Seen a few turning up on Tardme lately. Some fairly reasonably priced too.

[slowpoke]

One of the true modern classics, shame they had to go and corrupt the name by slapping it on some of the later sluggardly yawn-mobiles.

Aaaaaaah, Hiscock- Katana-Wanga's, what a combination!

[nudemetalz]

Totally agreed here !!!
I remember the days of helping Dad clean down his wire-wheeler back in '82 after a meeting at Puke. He loved that bike.
Wonder what an original one of those would be worth today?

[AllanB]

I must be getting old - I recall those prototypes being in magazines - the red MV based one in the background was very cool as well.

Now it occurs to me that it would be a fairly honest project to restyle my 1200ss to that original design (bar the tank) next winter.......hmmm

That's what the Bandit s should look like - wonder if they would sell more?

There were only really 2 Katanas in my book the 1100 & 750 - the wire wheel 120hp 1100 was the bees-knees at the time.

[terbang]

Awesome bike and such a looker as well. I was lucky enough to take one (1100) out for a day ride back in the 80's. Having just stepped off an RD350 and onto this brand new beauty, it was an experience to remember. I was absolutely blown away by its performance and handling. I fell in love. The owner binned it a few days later in some loose metal and it was written off.

[orangeback]

Wonder what an original one of those would be worth today?[/QUOTE]

Im up for that
Ive had 5 ove these monster (love them ) SF pop up and 2 SZ 750 and 2 SZ1100 , one of the 1100 with gsxr Running Gear
if you could land your hands on one ove the few SZX youll be paying 18-25 Grand for one, Have a freind with one that he bought out ove Invercargill in 1988

[avgas]

That drawing in the background of the orange bike is the original concept drawing.
Someday i will get my popup

[nudemetalz]

Wonder what an original one of those would be worth today?

Im up for that
Ive had 5 ove these monster (love them ) SF pop up and 2 SZ 750 and 2 SZ1100 , one of the 1100 with gsxr Running Gear
if you could land your hands on one ove the few SZX youll be paying 18-25 Grand for one, Have a freind with one that he bought out ove Invercargill in 1988[/QUOTE]


$18-25K?
Far out !!!!

I think the wire-wheelers were called SXZ not SZX from memory, but I might be wrong.

[Dadpole]

I can't remember what the WW models were called, but SXZ may be right. A mate had one back in the old days and we traded bikes for a couple of weeks. I found the Katana too hard to live with for daily use compared to my GSX1100EZ. Illegal speeds were where it was meant to spend its life. At over 140km, the weight on your wrists was gone and the suspension started to work.
I must, however, report that my EZ was faster - courtesy of the performance bits off my old 1100EX black pipe coupled with decent carbs and Yoshi ($700!!! back then) exhaust.

PS
The thought of a 1200ss "Katanaised" is food for thought. :niceone:

[T.W.R]

Std Katana was a GSX****sz and the wire wheel was szx(1100 only)
plus the yanks got a 1000cc model to allow them to be run in the AMA superbike series, had a smaller bore & different carbs.

The unique speedo/rev-counter was a trick around the 140kmh area:wacko:

The pop-up headlight model was a SE katana, scary at speed without the fairing off though :whistle:(a 16in front going nuts at 180 ain't nice:crazy: ) the servo motor for the light wasn't the greatest neither was the plastic bead linkage

There was a supposedly genuine Wire Wheel advertised for sale a couple of years ago in Auckland, (one owner, low Kms) asking $22500, probably went off-shore.

[nudemetalz]

Even by today's standards, the Katana is still a beautiful bike and W/W model,...well,.....

(forgive me for posting this again, but it is a very cool pic of mine)...

[orangeback]

sorry a slip ove the fingers SZX
mates WW at mine last year after we went on a little Kat run

[nudemetalz]

Thanks Orangeback, both nice but like the original one better.

Cheers

[betti]

Like this ya mean?

[orangeback]

Like this ya mean?

no no betti puke on wheels has to be the gsx1200y or 1400:chase: :chase:

[orangeback]

Like this ya mean?

wonder who this is ????:buggerd:
and the one id like, if the misses would have it on , crops up for sale about once a year when he's home in nz from SBK (hes a bike tech ) you ready to sell yours yet betti?

[ajturbo]

i have loved these bike from the very begining, i would love to have one restored in my garage!!!

[betti]

Hey mate, no way jose!
Just got mine wof'd again yesterday, she's sweet as and rockin, you know you need another one asap!.:2thumbsup

[HenryDorsetCase]

there are a couple for sale at present on tardme. Ive seen some really cool Gixxer engined ones with USD forks and 17 inch wheels as well. usually different swingarms etc. Bloody cool then, bloody cool now.

I was dead set to buy one back in the day.... till I rode it. the extreme shortness of my arms (OK, all of me) made it really uncomfortable. but such a great looking thing.

I never liked the popup ones as much, though I have seen a custom black one which was styly.

[T.W.R]

I never liked the popup ones as much, though I have seen a custom black one which was styly.

Getting around ChCh ? Eric Wood's built one up as a promotional bike years ago that was all black with chrome disc in-lays on the wheels to make them look like solid disc wheels (used to sit on the rotating display stand for a while).
There's also one in Rakaia that commutes to ChCh daily that is all black with quite a few go-fast goodies on it. It's a real tidy example.

[AllanB]

Oh yeah those 1200/1400 mock-ups are the go - look better than the base bikes, so why not make them.

only reason I can think of is the Katana was 'the' Suzuki sports bike way back and GS/Bandit rehash will not be.

Still a GSXR1000 - Katana.............

[Dadpole]

They would stick the "Katana" name on a quad if they thought it would sell more of them. The Katana name has ben abused (IMHO) by slapping it on the F models in the states.
The 1200/1400 mock-ups look good though.

[betti]

Yeah, I guess it's only the same as kawasaki using ninja on everything from a hyper bike to a shopping trolley.
But puttin katana on a 50cc scooter is bloody sacrilege!.
I also reckon a gsxr kat is necessary .. c'mon suzuki get it together!.

[Dadpole]

I also reckon a gsxr kat is necessary .. c'mon suzuki get it together!.

I agree. But only if it is a hard-edged bike like the original. One to "sort the men from the boys" type of thing.

[nudemetalz]

And what about this 6-cylinder Katana concept Suzuki previewed a wee while ago?
Not really hard-edged looking like the original is it......

[Lord Derosso]

They would stick the "Katana" name on a quad if they thought it would sell more of them. The Katana name has ben abused (IMHO) by slapping it on the F models in the states.
The 1200/1400 mock-ups look good though.

I have no problem calling my little old 600, which is the above Americian F model, a Katana especially as its a model with 86 HP as opposed to the 79HP of later models. 86 HP isnt bad for a 600c as opposed to 120 HP for the 1100cc, and shes a wonder to ride. I simply have no problems with whats on the side of the fairing as thats not the reason I brought the bike. Theres been this sort of ranting before and its really quite amusing. What does it matter ? They already have R's so by calling it a Katana does that mean it has to be like a R' for handling and power or is it based on the style? I always thought it was a combination of both and yes, the original Katanas were truely awesome bikes in their day and I am more than old enough to have been riding when they first came out BUT they weren't perfect either. Though I do agree that the 50cc bit is certainly way too much. Perhaps I may 'upgrade' my inferior little F to a true Katana, but Nah... I have a life and dont need to let such nonsense worry me. I ride because I always have and names dont made it any more or less enjoyable.

[Dadpole]

Not meant as a personal attack on anyone. :hug: I am simply of the generation that the Katana defined (if you follow). We old codgers like to see the word "Katana" and be transported back to our glory days.

While it would be nice if more bikes had names (Intercepter, Bantam etc) instead of number & letter combinations, at the end of the day, if the bike suits you then what is in a name. If I wanted a bike named "Spoonbill" I would get it - just paint over the name though.

[Ixion]

Well, Triumph still give their models names. And Honda do with some models (Firestorm, Fireblade)

And most manufacturers do with their crusiers.

[Dadpole]

Well, Triumph still give their models names. And Honda do with some models (Firestorm, Fireblade)
And most manufacturers do with their crusiers.

Good on them for trying to give the bikes an identity.
What wories me is: What can we expect from a country that gave us the Datsun Cederic and the Nissan Homy. Not to mention my personal favourite - A Mazda 323 Captain Wind

[imdying]

Some bikes don't need conventional names to have an identity. The 'R1' is a classic example, or the 'X7', or even the 'Gixxer' range.

[Lord Derosso]

[QUOTE=Dadpole;777883]Not meant as a personal attack on anyone. :hug: I am simply of the generation that the Katana defined (if you follow). We old codgers like to see the word "Katana" and be transported back to our glory days.

Hell I was riding long before the Katanas were a spanner up an exhaust pipe.
My first 'superbike' was a GS750, note no extra letters or numbers, just plain GS750. Cant even remember what year it was though it had to be early 70's at least. I do like the old Katana very much and I wasn't worried about any 'personal' attack on my model but the reality is that she would blow away my GS750 and the VF750 I also owned some years ago and loved for its touring abilities. Never really saw the need for anything more than a 750. I always thought the Katana name was given to the originals both for the performace and especially because of their beauiful swordlike lines. I recall that they did release a 400, 500 and 550 Katana in the original lineup, but maybe I am wrong about that, though you certainly dont see many of them around now.

[nudemetalz]

I worked as a young boy during the school holidays in a Suzuki bikeshop in Auckland at the same time the Kat's were released.
I remember there being such a fuss as they were nothing like anything you'd seen before.

Yes, at the same time, they released the GS550M and GS650G these being virtually identical save for the 650's capacity and shaft drive. They weren't quite in the same league as the 750 & 11 though.
Also a 400 came out but was "soft Katana" styled.

I remember being on the back of my Dad's 1100 and hanging onto that strap for dear life as he'd "open 'er up a little" on the motorway onramp !!!:2thumbsup

Oh the memories ....

[dangerous]

Wonder what an original one of those would be worth today?
I know a guy that recently sole his wire wheel for 20k



mates WW at mine last year after we went on a little Kat run
mate, whats the deal with the front indercators on the repowered bike? mine are like that but i figgered they had been put on after sale.

Gezzzz... all you lot dreaming of the old days, :banana: and Im out there living it :2thumbsup
Having said that pushing the old bitch around the track aint no easy feat, god its heavy :beer:

[nudemetalz]

Nice photo!!!

That's an '83 (SD) model init? (wheels a giveaway??)

[dangerous]

Nice photo!!!

That's an '83 (SD) model init? (wheels a giveaway??)

:2thumbsup yip 16" front, makes life a lot easier on the track but I believe on the rd was a diferent story

[nudemetalz]

You ever thought about....cough cough,...putting spoked wheels on the old girl...cough.... :chase:

[orangeback]

[QUOTE=dangerous;778713]I know a guy that recently sole his wire wheel for 20k


mate, whats the deal with the front indercators on the repowered bike? mine are like that but i figgered they had been put on after sale.

yours are like that stock, as its jap import , i put them on mine as i got sock of walking in th the o/e ones and cracking the fairing

Hay D will you guys let me run a 83 RZ500 in that class ove pre 82 since you have a 83 kat in it ???

[Crasherfromwayback]

One of the true modern classics, shame they had to go and corrupt the name by slapping it on some of the later sluggardly yawn-mobiles.

Aaaaaaah, Hiscock- Katana-Wanga's, what a combination!

Let alone Robbie Phillis on his A10 equipped monster!

I'm pretty sure you'll find the 'wire wheel' version was made here as a racing 'special'.... Do what you liked here back then for proddie racing, as long as you made 'x' amount of them.....

[dangerous]

Hey D will you guys let me run a 83 RZ500 in that class ove pre 82 since you have a 83 kat in it ???

I'd love to see one out there, and I dont think that others will give a shit... but getting the OK from the BEARs club will be the prob, but we get on well with them so I cant see a problem.

NOW, my Kat being a 83 is elagible in pre 82 as it was in production before Dec 82, the only difference is the smaller front wheel and this dosnt matter as you can change wheels ie: even use slicks.

next BEAR's meet is 12/11/06 bring it out and get ya self a bucket :2thumbsup twice the racing for no more cost.

[Kickaha]

I'd love to see one out there, and I dont think that others will give a shit... but getting the OK from the BEARs club will be the prob, but we get on well with them so I cant see a problem.

NOW, my Kat being a 83 is elagible in pre 82 as it was in production before Dec 82, the only difference is the smaller front wheel and this dosnt matter as you can change wheels ie: even use slicks.


What part of Pre 82 eligible bikes being in production before Dec 82 dont you understand?

[dangerous]

What part of Pre 82 eligible bikes being in production before Dec 82 dont you understand?

What I dont understand is you at times... wheres ya sportsmanship, christ all OB wants to do is have fun like us, who do you think you are that a fat bastard on a RZ5 will get in your way on the track.

The thing I love about the BEARS/Buckets is the fact we all get on great and have fun... its not like we are racing for the world title of jerks in post classic. :Pokey:

[Dadpole]

Hell I was riding long before the Katanas were a spanner up an exhaust pipe.
My first 'superbike' was a GS750.

Hmmmm. This all sounds very familiar. You are not me are you? Perhaps you are an alter ego that my warped mind blanks out. Perhaps I should increase the strength of the pills.
My first 'superbike' was a GS750 (78) also - although some may count my GT750 as a superbike too.
There was a 550 & 650 (shaft drive) Katana too.

[imdying]

What part of Pre 82 eligible bikes being in production before Dec 82 dont you understand?Technically, you're totally correct. In the spirit of motorcycling, D is also right onto it.

I'm picking that the 82 data was picked because there's a particular beast that was released in 83 that they want to exclude... which is always the way, if you can't beat it, exclude it. They should have called it the old piece of shit racing class, then the Kat and RZ500 would be no less eligible than say an LC.

[Dadpole]

the old piece of shit racing class

Gets my vote as a new class anyway.

[dangerous]

Technically, you're totally correct. In the spirit of motorcycling, D is also right onto it.

I'm picking that the 82 data was picked because there's a particular beast that was released in 83 that they want to exclude...

Ahh just Kick being Rog, I understand his point and it needs to be adhered to 82 technology is where post classic stops.

I'd say 82 was chosen as it was the year before powervalves, 4 valve heads and water cooling became common practice, just as pre 72 was with the Japs getting a strong hold in motorcycles.

[nudemetalz]

Oops, I hope I didn't stir up a hornet's nest with stating the Kat as being an '83 model...:whistle:

[dangerous]

Yeah ya bloody trouble maker, now look whats happened. Na man, apparently theres a legality thing involved just saw the tail end of a MSN message, maybe Kick will clarify, something I'm not up to speed on.

[nudemetalz]

Well my thoughts are, what performance advantages are there over a stock 1981, 82 & 83 1100 Katana anyway ?
If you're racing you would play around with rim sizes as far as the rule book allows anyway.

Maybe the 120hp of the w/w model over the 111hp std model would be different but then again a good 4:1 and some rejetting would probably get you those 9hps....

Hmmm,...okay I'll stay out of this.....

[orangeback]

back ot o/e thead A:Pokey:
As everything began
Masao Tani gambled highly and risked his job and neck. The SUZUKI marketing boss for Europe was tired to be responded again and again about the boring SUZUKI design. European-wide the importers required a more obliging style for the otherwise protruding SUZUKI technique.
The managing director of the German SUZUKI commerce company, Otto de Crignis, finally took the initiative into his personal hand and persuaded Masao Tani to unusual acts:
A very sporty, futuristic design had to change complete the, so far dull, SUZUKI image. The participants, Hans A. Muth, Hans Georg Kasten and Jan Olof Fellström, stood also ready for it, and so the project GSX 1100 S KATANA could be started in April 1980. Already after 3 months the TARGET-troop had finished the prototype for presentation.



Stressed and nervously Masao Tani sat in the presentation-room and stared to his president Osamu Suzuki, while the model was revealed. With no expression on his face, examined the president the German proposal, breathless silence prevailed in the room. Then the SUZUKI-chief started applauding.
"It pleases me, it reminds me of the CONCORDE!" he expressed and all present ones began to donate applause also. Even SUZUKI stylists took part in the ovations although European design had seemed always too drastic to them.
Masao Tani had won. For the first time in motorcycle history, now excellent Japanese technique is to be brought with progressive German view, by form and functionality in connection.
Masao Tani, descendant of an old Samurai family (this knight clan were abolished in Japan 1950), will not have to repent a marketing strategy, which is not inferior to its ancestor in courage.
Naming
KATANA the term of the traditional Samurai sword.
It seems already a little strangely: Since the 2-stroke KAWASAKI "Samurai" there were no more Japanese motorcycle, which have been called by an original Japanese name. In deed, a German had to become this kind of idea.
Hans A. Muth surrounded the naming with an aura of theatrics:
"...Japanese Samurai (knights) carried a mouth protection, because the fine-polished steel would already steam up by the breath of the warrior. It succeeded to the best one of these elite troops, to three-divide with the Katana sword, a leaf falling from the tree, with three unbelievably fast body turns ...."
(quotation from SUZUKI company magazine SUZI-Rider).
Also if the actual purpose of this razor-sharp sword was not of a very friendly nature, it is the symbolism of the association of precision, speed and effectiveness, which inspired this motorcycle.


Design and technique
Hans George Kasten were assigned with the technical implementation : "The most important facts for us, were functionality and ergonometry to fit the rider into the machine. He must feel connected with it, sit as he were in it. Therefore we provided for an extremely close knee conclusion at the tank... "

The double-seat, planned by Jan Olof Fellström, is likewise unusual. Visually splitted, although as a double-seat designed, it looks like a solo seat.
The wild-leather referred seat had a further special feature: The front section could be opened upward.

Complex aerodynamic tests have been absolved at Turin/Italy. Where is the manufacture of PINIFARINA, an italian chassis stylist.
The frame-fixed spoiler fairing, an idea which Muth had already tested at the MV AGUSTA, should the aerodynamics improve and the lift-off forces lower on approximately twelve kilopond at the front wheel.
The driving qualities are substantially better thereby than during a steering wheel-fixed cockpit fairing.

For the debut in Germany the 1100th preserved however still another small aerodynamic "deflector", as Muth calls it.
The tiny instrument board with his unusual scale page and pointers, moving in opposite directions, moves deeper and is covered by the cowl. The small front surface enables an air resistance (air resistance factor c/w multiplicated front-area) of 0.488 square meter, a good value for an in principle uncovered motorcycle (to the comparison: the uncovered BMW R 100 S has an air resistance of 0.495 square meter)
Functionality may not lead to unaesthetic solutions, according to the opinion of Muth. An example of it is the old SUZUKI choke at the steering console, which reminds too much of a car. "The rider wants to access down to the engine." Result of this consideration is switch on the left side, integrated in the connection between tank and seat.
Also new are the electronics switches on the right side of the central tract, which can be used for additional devices. Thus a function was granted to the side covers. Muth calls it "service panel".
Engine
With the GSX 1100 KATANA succeeded SUZUKI such a good development, like it in these performance sets still nobody else established.



Already essentially of the origin GSX, the unchanged taken over four-cylinder engine with four-valve cylinder head - TSCC combustion chamber (Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber), there is nothing comparable in the "Big Bike Class". Particularly since this, from the GS 1000 of the same manufacture developed powerful engine system, for the KATANA service was still continued to improve. Around still better performance yield and running culture reworked.
The competitors HONDA CB 1100 R and KAWASAKI GPZ 1100, could learn at least in one point of the KATANA. In acceleration of speed and passage values the SUZUKI engine emerged as the largest one. Only eight seconds elapsed, until the KATANA reach the 160-kph-limit, and in the passage from 60 to 120 kph, in the fifth gear, its submitted the optimum within 6.9 seconds.

Result
It would be possible to enumerate page by page the already published advantages, peculiarities and perceptions of this unusual motorcycle classical.
Fact is that the KATANA did also not lose after over 20 years anything of their fascination. Even the engine technique is still up-to-date. SUZUKI's powerful engine systems of the subsequent models such as GSX EF/ES GSX-R and Bandit structure on this technique.
Naturally a due portion of fatalism belongs to the owner of such a "sword", with its own head, to force it through the curves. It could be more easily and more comfortably with the modern technique.
Maybe one reason for it: Who rides KATANA identify himself with his bike. It is also a special kind of life attitude, far from the regulation, not daily, interesting and sometimes also a hard proof, but that has to be accepted.
Some KATANA riders have already successfully tried the symbiosis - KATANA technique and modern technique. Meanwhile there are magnificent STREETFIGHTERS to admire at many places, which are almost not inferior to the new models on the market. On the contrary, they still look very extraordinary. Because a KATANA always remains unique - exactly like their owners. Webmaster Katana-Berlin

[orangeback]

mint one on trade me
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=72910390

[nudemetalz]

Very interesting, Orangeback. :2thumbsup

[Dadpole]

Thanks for that orangeback. Interesting (though strange) article. They were dead right about the "boring SUZUKI design" of the time. Very UJM, and Suzuki were a usually conservative company in the design stakes - but they had the occasional brainstorm such as the RE5.



although some may count my GT750 as a superbike too.
Still dangling a leg in the water to see if a Great White (Ixion) swims by.

[Ixion]

Nah, the Kettle never claimed to be a Superbike. It was the last in the series of Suzuki tourers, the grandest Grand Tourer of all. Not a Ferrari, more a Bentley Continental.

Nothing quite like it in its day, nothing like it since, and never will be.

[Clivoris]

They should have called it the old piece of shit racing class.

Hell, I wouldn't even need a bike to be eligable.:weep:

[imdying]

Hell, I wouldn't even need a bike to be eligable.:weep:

bahahahahahahahahahah

[orangeback]

bahahahahahahahahahah

with out these old pices ove shit from the past we would not have the modern shiters we all ride to day, they where a step in the wright direction being the first bike with clipons and raced by all the old greats , in there off seasion here in NZ buy people like Crosby & Freath , at Wanguni

[imdying]

with out these old pices ove shit from the past we would not have the modern shiters we all ride to day, they where a step in the wright direction being the first bike with clipons and raced by all the old greats , in there off seasion here in NZ buy people like Crosby & Freath , at WanguniAhhh, don't read my words with contempt, there's quite a few old pieces of shite I have much affection for :yes: Doesn't make them any less a piece of shite though :lol:

[Blondini]

my partner had an 84?pop up model was white,but after he died i passed it on to one of his best mates,i didnt want it sitting wasting:( it then got painted bright orange and entered in the post classics at manfeild year or so ago.nice to see it back in action ,but sorry it not about now:baby:

[xwhatsit]

I was at uni the other day and walking down Alfred St where everybody parks their bikes... and suddenly noticed a Katana parked among the scooters and GN250s (GN125s too, lol)! It's a more recent model, with aluminium wheels, but I mean... come on... commuting on a Katana? To uni? It seems a little harsh! It is a fearsome looking bike -- that's the first time I've seen one in the flesh and it is still very handsome, even today. Even the choke lever looks space age.

[acewheelie]

i had a popup... wicked bike for its day

I was going to trade in my VF750F on a Pop up, but it was slow compared to the Honda. The bike shop kept trying to get the Honda off me!

[acewheelie]

I worked as a young boy during the school holidays in a Suzuki bikeshop in Auckland at the same time the Kat's were released.
I remember there being such a fuss as they were nothing like anything you'd seen before.

Yes, at the same time, they released the GS550M and GS650G these being virtually identical save for the 650's capacity and shaft drive. They weren't quite in the same league as the 750 & 11 though.
Also a 400 came out but was "soft Katana" styled.

I remember being on the back of my Dad's 1100 and hanging onto that strap for dear life as he'd "open 'er up a little" on the motorway onramp !!!:2thumbsup

Oh the memories ....

I had a GS650G, was probably the best tourer around, excellent mid range, just wouldn'y go above 180k,s.

Used to ride down the Coatesville Highway against a guy on an RZ350 (he was good to, much better than me) and he wouldn't get far away from the Katana.

[Dadpole]

but I mean... come on... commuting on a Katana?

The mate that had the wire wheel Katana used it for years as a commuter too. Wainuiomata to Petone rain or shine.
Just to show how "different" he was, he would ride in a cotton jacket, overalls and steel capped boots.

[xwhatsit]

Those are open roads though, innit? My geography isn't the best, bear in mind.

This guy is riding around Auckland -- the CBD no less. I suppose it's a relatively modern vehicle and not like driving a clutch-grabbing, transmission-snatching, backfiring 1970s Ferrari supercar around town... but I'm sure a bike like that would like to stretch its legs...

[Dadpole]

Nice hill road, then 50km industrial areas & bulk traffic. Damned if I would do it on a wire wheel Kat, but he said that it was a do-anything bike :weird: