Big Kat diary!
Like a lot of folk, I was a wee bit underwhelmed by Suzuki’s new Katana when it was launched a couple of years ago.
The original 1980s Katana was part of my teenage biking fantasies, and while I never got the chance to own one, the super-trick design, solid 80s superbike performance – plus the cool name and logo – all had a big impact on me. Back in 1981, machines like the Katana were a big part of why kids like me got into motorcycles. A Kawasaki GPz1100 or Suzuki Katana poster on a 10-year-old’s bedroom wall generally only led in one direction – to the local bike shop six years later.
Fast forward four decades, and while the new Katana looks good and goes well, it’s some way off today’s cutting edge. It is, essentially, a GSX-S1000 naked roadster in a posh suit, with the same engine and running gear; a 150bhp version of the GSX-R1000 K5 motor, bolted into a twin-beam aluminium frame that’s also based around the GSX-R1000 design.
