Team Classic Suzuki Katana Endurance Bike | Features | Motorcyclenews.com

[@mrfob6237]

Suzuki are such a sensible company in such a good way that's brilliant that we can have the old parts.

[@rodanderson1922]

Back in 1987 I owned a 1981 or 1982 Katana 1100, and it was a great bike. I used it virtually every day to commute to and from work, and did a few longish trips on it. It wasn't a great handling bike compared to modern stuff, but it was much better than the GSX1100E I had before hand? I made money on it when I sold it, and now wish I could afford another one? Here in New Zealand, the Suzuki Agents, Coleman Suzuki, produced a Limited run of I believe 200 Katana 1100's with Different Cams, Flat Side Carbyretors, , Exhaust's and Wire Wheels. 200 road going versions needed to be produced for the then Castrol race series, in order for them to be eligible to race, and now, 27 years later, they are super rare. I rode a friends one several times, and the performance was notecibly better than a "Standard" 1100 Katana. I have yet to sight the New Katana that Suzuki has introduced, and I am looking forward to throwing my leg over a demo model?

[@Ts_Evildroid]

sounds amazing! It's incredible how HUGE that motor is compared to a modern equivalent displacement motor.

[@JustTex]

looks and sounds sick

[@Q.Q.]

One of the best designs in sportbike history.

[@akshaypherwani7084]

Beautiful bike They should start the production again!

[@inkitatus1]

Good to see a number 7 Suzuki on track again 🏁 Good luck Gents 👍

[@RaittyRat]

One of the best looking bikes I have ever seen, absolutely in love with that thing

[@stirlingshire]

That sound is glorious. Best of luck.

[@carterturk9947]

Beautiful machine. Had my 83 Kat since 93, bought for $400. Got about 120,000 miles on it now. Done 20 trackdays on it with a skinny 19" front and single piston calipers. No complaints really, aside from 7 starter clutch explosions..

[@hedgehog3900]

Just imagine what this bike would have done back when we were less wrinkly....... Great little vid,good feel,Witham is a down to earth straight talking lad as usual.

[@OperationFoxley19441]

That sound is insane!

[@SkyPowers]

DUDES!!! ...GOOD LUCK x ...Classic bike!..... rather small profile rear though LOL!!!

[@dieselking8778]

Wonderful piece

[@HIGHDEFMOTO]

What an awesome looking machine, 30 years old too!! 😎

[@esfitnesspro2455]

first Katana ive looked at and wanted to own since i was probably 11yrs old lol

[@oganwaluyo12]

Agreed

[@scottieray]

Air-cooled inline 4's still sound amazing and so different from modern inline 4's.

[@daa3417]

I've had a T500 just waiting for a restore and this could be a good reason to get it started.

[@CPUspeed]

Very cool. I'm actually old enough to remember the katana.

[@davidlush187]

Good luck guys hope it all goes well

[@banditorunner6946]

really enjoyed this review, hope there will be some more reviews of older bikes

[@motokrack]

sounds fuckin sweet

[@TheFujac]

nice....i miss mine.... 1100 in an 1150EF frame so it was longer than normal but had a monoshock..... it was a beast!!! katana has to be one of the best looking bikes ever with a bit of personalisation to get rid of the german-ness

[@thetruth5232]

People don't get how much fun these old bikes make if you just do minor upgrades and set them up right. Also dat dere 8valve sound! damn!

[@chrismumford9206]

Miss my '82 Katana!

[@dereklane5231]

Wow whatta beast of a machine!! I Love the muscle car sound that comes outta that ol rocket!!! Awesome build and a phenomenal machine especially for the age of her,,, Shes like the Crazy Cougar of motorcycles,,, Ok a bit too far i know but,,, how many exhaust pipes does she have 4+2?? HaHa KeepSafe All...

[@dogstar167]

simply beautiful

[@adamstratford6740]

Awesome love the colours 😍

[@albymangled]

Cool old Kat....nice to have a ride on that.

[@albymangled]

the sound 3:10 is unusual for these days but let's you know she's got some go..

[@turbo311]

This is why old air/oil cooled four bangers are so damn cool.

[@ReizePrimus]

Damn, I wish I could get to ride a Katana at least once in my life. Such a sexy looking bike, no matter what people say.

[@robertharrold4214]

How many of you did the airfix/tamiya model of the kat back in the eighties? And the Hailwood replica. My mate has still got his 1000 kat from back then too.

[@leesmartin]

Good to see JW back on a bike

[@shinethelight01]

He said it was an eight valve engine. ? The original Katana had a 16 valve TSCC (Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber) engine. The heads on their engine looked identical to the 16 valve head of the original Katana.

[@zulhailisamsuri4238]

damn nice looking bike

[@johna6968]

A thing of beauty..

[@MrClivehill]

What's Witham on about?, he states that it's a big 8 valve motor, the Katana engine is a 16 valve, also the square cam caps show it's 16 valve motor.

[@gregormiller4037]

Nice torque machine, lov it!

[@toby7504]

miss those days without all that electronics thay put on racing bikes...THAT was real fun..

[@projectg408]

That thing is gorgeous

[@TheFireblade1000RR]

Lovely sounding

[@andygaras]

beautiful machine

[@filthyhooligan1370]

I remember seeing those Katanas as a new bike when I was a kid. I have always loved the style of them. I wish i had the cash to restore one.

[@giff74]

Some of those older, semi-bespoke bikes are soooo sexy! However, they tend to be such money pits to get them there! I had a 1990 Katana and would love to go back in time for another one, but all the cool, new parts end up costing a truckload of money. Ugh, first world kind of issue I suppose!?

[@nk0surfer]

Very very nice bike! Are the wheels 18"?? This could partly justify the slower turn in corners..

[@Kneedragon1962]

It's not an 8 valve Jamie, it's a TSCC Suzuki, more or less exactly the same as the first one in the '80 GSX-11. It does have lots of midrange, and it doesn't rev much beyond 9 .... and that particular example looks about 4 ~ 5 inches taller than the original and at least a foot shorter. Yes, it has a tube steel frame, but I don't think it has the same geometry as the original.... Even if you did have an original one, it's not a very hard bike to just get on and ride. I haven't owned a Katana, but I have owned 5 GSXs, and they're easy in most ways to just puddle around the street on. About the only thing that's hard, if you are a youngster coming up from a smaller or slower bike, was throttle control. There's just so MUCH torque, and it's there instantly... it does take you a while to get your head around how tiny your throttle movements need to be... If you pulled a completely original one out of the museum today, it probably wouldn't feel anything like that, but when they were new, it was a bit of a surprise just how much go they had, at ANY rpm... I never liked that chassis all that much, but I sure fell in love with that engine. Actually, the chassis was alright, the problem was the tyres. To put modern tyres on it, you'd need different wheel sizes and a wider swing arm, then you'd need to move the drive chain over by at least two inches, which is easy to say, but a bit harder to do....

[@Kneedragon1962]

+1. Yep, sure does.

[@pkaramer]

Dude,you seem to know more than those guys on video..youre right in all of it.Bet u could ride better too...Bikes were better those days..faster, lighter.Underrated, that is.Except ABS, anythin else is pure, utter b**s*t..Cheers from a veteran!

[@OP-om1dg]

Are the parts on the side of the engine darker grey engine covers? The beautiful engine looks very exposed during a crash otherwise.

[@RandomVideos11100]

Hope they make a new katana

[@Gintonious]

Thats a beauty!

[@UnknownProdrive]

The greatest vintage stuff here were the three old boys riding the Suzuki.

[@sharpsdoublerifle1439]

Yeah, they can still kick ass and take names...

[@SmellyEllie2]

Superb bike,,,

[@gnarshread]

Very cool!!

[@M.M-84]

that sound!!! sweet!!!!!!

[@JedTaneo]

I like basic bikes with carburetors and no complicated electronics.

[@Godegei]

Man, zis my dream boike!

[@BobPruett]

These Katanas look as good as they did 30 years ago.

[@muchamadchanifal-fath9701]

awesome !!!

[@sickunit2096]

Is this a one off chin spoiler?

[@AngryPrawn]

Dear god, that thing is cool as shit.

[@sharpsdoublerifle1439]

yup, I dearly love the oldies myself, building a ELR replica on a 81' gpz1100. I'm amazed the power it has...tons of torque on tap and with the Kerker it roars.

[@rikuchun3748]

So Gorgeous!

[@southwestsage]

He said it was an 8 valve?, is this right i thought all Suzuki multi's by this age were multi valve?, anyone know

[@mpoll1016]

Damn I want one

[@arzunajumat2658]

suzuki katana and honda cbx rare bike ever

[@topgun8683]

very cool!

[@gonerydin4225]

Rode one when they were new.

[@DriveLongRoad]

so nice

[@207Richy]

Good luck

[@Errol.C-nz]

News flash Jamie.. it's NOT an 8valve.. same 16v head SPECS with similar ports as the later oil cooled engine.. just different external look

[@TheLoneWolfRider]

Wow that noise!!!!

[@theriderdtm8650]

Mantap BO55KU 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

[@2secbest9]

Nice..

[@camerond8176]

That's NOT an 8v motor, it's the TSCC 16v GS****E motor. The only question is it a 750cc or an 1100cc?????. Sounds just like the previous 82 GS750E and GS1100E bikes I used to have. Even though they redline at 9000rpm, they have that old school burble when they scream, and sound like music to my ears. I still miss both my old GS's, still the best all around bikes I've ridden to this day.

[@markthompson1556]

Shame they crashed out ,I was really looking forward to seeing them rag round

[@oganwaluyo12]

Damn....cool....katana

[@paulwhite7475]

That's a 16 valve Jamie

[@thetruth5232]

Hnnnnnggg! Mirin' hard!

[@erskasuurland5518]

16 valves not 8..........but the mechanic is as close to a God as you would like, I got to watch him in action twirling spanners on a RGV 500

[@sharpsdoublerifle1439]

Nice to see this beast spinning er' wheels in anger. Maybe one day some smart lad will come of with a retro fit EFI for these old bikes, that would really smooth out the harshness, and allow you to really drive hard out of corners without the piping mid corner.

[@SATPALBHAMRA]

affat

[@tijolparoujetom8761]

brutal

[@JRinsaniac]

The dude said it was a big eight valve unit, he doesn't even know what he's talking about. That Katana is a 16 valve motor.

[@Danny7930]

People that ride the katana here in the US have a tendency to be.... let's just say they're viewed sub-class to the "gixxer vape life BRO"

[@albymangled]

vape life? hahahahaha

[@Danny7930]

albymangled could not have said it any better.

[@georgeflutey5925]

This is a 16 valve engine that revs to 9000, not 10,500 or 11.Guy doesnt know what hes talkin bout. these motors dont need to rev high!

[@patrobbromccreanor820]

I just rode my 37 yr old 1981 SZ 1100 katana 11,300 klms last month, that's not only endurance, that's friggen EPIC. Check FB katanarama.

[@bradthomson4830]

Ilk is negative... please use Era..

[@mrmaker9355]

As a katana owner myself, I can assure you that you can NOT buy ANY part for your classic suzuki at all, that is a lie! Most parts for the katana are discontinued as I've personally found out! 😡

[@XA393GT]

Angry old girl