That tiny 3.2-gallon tank looks good, if nothing else. If you get out in the hills and really go for it, you can drop that number to below 100 miles of range. The problem is the tank now holds only 3.2 gallons (the GSX-S1000S holds 4.5, and the OG Katana from 1981 held 6.3 gallons), meaning the new Katana won’t get you much further than about 110 miles of freeway cruising before you have to refill. Suzuki tried to incorporate a design that stayed true to the original and wouldn’t be too high, and thus impede the rider’s arms with the tall one-piece handlebar, but big enough as to continue the line drawn from the small screen to the tail. The new aesthetic is just a freshen up of the original, with the boxy front-end retained but the rear now a sleek, almost minimalist design with the number plate moved to its own separate hanger above the rear wheel-normally the domain of Harley-Davidson or Indian but a first for Suzuki. Suzuki’s engineers have done well to link this and the original, which after 40 years still looks the part (in my opinion). Without doubt, it’s the Katana’s styling that takes center stage. The brakes have plenty of power but a slightly wooden feeling at the lever, and mated to an un-switchable ABS system. There’s a smattering of 2017 GSX-R1000 in the Kat’s makeup, too, with the four-piston Brembo, radially-mounted monobloc calipers up front and a single-piston Nissin caliper at the rear taken from Suzuki’s current superbike, although the Katana has no Inertial Measurement Unit fitted to molest brake performance. You can’t blame Suzuki for scavenging the 2005 parts bin here, as the K5 is widely regarded as one of Suzuki’s best-ever superbikes. The Kat gets the GSX-S’s same chassis, swingarm, and 43mm Showa front suspension (albeit with black fork legs instead of the GSX-S’s gold), as well as the same K5-derived motor. Like many redo’s, the new Katana is not all new, as it’s based heavily off the GSX-S1000 that debuted in 2015-itself taking many of its parts from the 2005 Suzuki GSX-R1000. It took Suzuki only a couple of years to go from design brief to full production model with the new Katana, and another year after the rest of the world for us to receive the model in the U.S. 2020 Suzuki Katana Review | Step Forward, Son The Katana stunned the world with its 1980’s video game-style bodywork, all sharp and boxy-looking, and a performance that really announced Suzuki’s arrival into the 1980s-the decade that would redefine what a superbike should be with bikes like the GSX-R750, Yamaha FZR750R OW01 and Honda RC30 all released before the decade was out.Įventually, the Katana became a diluted version of itself, with Suzuki trading off the once great name to release uninspired models like the 2006 GSX-F750 Katana-a porky, underpowered sport tourer that possessed none of the panache of its forefather. The 1981 Suzuki GSX 1100 S Katana is widely regarded as one of the greatest sportbikes of the 1980s, and was a prequel to one of the company’s all-time hits in the 1985 Suzuki GSX-R750. Styling is absolutely on point with the Katana-the near perfect mix of old and new. Reviving old monikers isn’t so common in the bike sphere-Kawasaki’s Z-range probably topping the old-bike-is-new game-but the Katana is something different. Those who remember the butt-ugly Ford Mustang (it was really a Ford Capri) of the late 1980s can attest to the damage that model did to what is one of Ford’s greatest manufacturing exploits. We’ve seen this in the car game many times. If the model falls short of expectations, it can ruin a carefully built legacy at best, and cost a company massive dollars at worst. Reviving a name synonymous with a class-defining legend is a high-stakes game. There are few names in motorcycling with as much clout as “Katana.” We’ve spent the last couple of months with this new machine to find out if it lives up to the name. Rennie Scaysbrook | Ma2020 Suzuki Katana Review
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