There was that same,
familiar hump to the tank,
the square headlight
unreliable pig, that nevertheless survived
my ignorance, extreme poverty, lack of care,
and others’ cruel jeers and disdain, as well as
my unrestrained coveting of those gleaming
twins with real brakes.
As time went by the Honda CB750, the
Yamaha XS650, and the extraordinary
Kawasaki Z1 900, became the bikes which
offered serious competition to the ‘cool’ title,
until then owned exclusively by the likes of
Norton, Laverda and Triumph.
But in the midst of this there came a bike
that gathered up all of that 70s cool, and
at the turn of the 80s, arrived with a roar.
The Japanese brains engaged German BMW
designer Hans Muth and friends, and he
delivered the Suzuki Katana. That Katana with
its square headlight, hunched shoulders and
aggressive looks and the infamous Samurai
Sword logo, took off – albeit to critical
acclaim.
Suzuki said it was the fastest mass-
production motorcycle in the world.
It became a legend. During that time Suzuki
had a significant market share in New
Zealand (around 42%, according to research)
and certainly it was the bike that most young
riders who I knew, had on their wish list. Yes,
it was seriously cool.
Graeme Crosby raced one. Even my brother
in law had one. So, to today – the new 2019
version of the Katana has a lot of history
behind it, but does it match up to the legend
of its name?
FAMILIAR STYLE
My first glimpse of the new 999cc inline-four
as it came off the delivery trailer was one of
recognition. There was that same, familiar
hump to the tank, the square headlight, the
Suzuki name in the same red in a downward-
sloping font, and the same Samurai sword
logo. It was recognisably Katana. But certainly
modern looking too. Exciting.
The rear end particularly appealed, a solid
and clean seat, separated in an uncluttered
tail above a business-like 190mm Dunlop
Sportmax RoadSport 2. Naked, sporty street
style, but with enough fairing to give a
streetfighter/superbike look.
The 825mm seat height was immediately
comfortable and the riding position fitted
KIWI RIDER 39