![]() The Katana sees it in the same somewhat moderated, but still pretty bloody impressive, 150 horsepower and 108 Nm level of tune that we first sampled in the GSX-S1000. The long-stroke engine from the K5-K8 has earned a well deserved place in motorcycling folklore, and for good reason. The lead Japanese rider from Suzuki controlled the pace of the ride in the conditions, despite me giving him the hurry up. 2020 Suzuki KatanaĬharging proper hard on a good day would see you run the system at level one, but I fail to see any scenario, apart from extended wheelies, that would require the system to be turned off. The system retards the ignition to reduce power when it senses tiny amounts of wheel slip, and only becomes more intrusive to the point of clear ignition cut and throttle butterfly modulation when the situation has really become quite dire. I switched to level two which saw the warning lights settle down and just got on with the job. ![]() With the traction control on level three the TCS light was going ballistic on every corner exit, although I felt no real intervention or significant dulling of the power. Those freezing conditions, I actually saw snowflakes falling outside my hotel room window earlier that morning, and patches of damp asphalt, saw me exercising a little more caution than normal. Likewise the traction control system is not of the lean-angle sensitive variety, but in real world use it caused me no bother. The overall silhouette of the Katana is not the most handsome in motorcycling by any stretch, but there are numerous instances where you can see the design work that has gone into making the individual parts of the machine. It is the first time Suzuki has fitted such a number plate hanger, and like so many parts of the Katana, there is some clever attention to detail employed to carry it off. A lot of owners will be junking that as soon as the first good under-tray kit hits the after-market, but I don’t mind it. 2020 Suzuki KatanaĪ small hugger is mounted to the left side of the swing-arm and carries the number plate and indicators. Suzuki explained that this took some time to get right in regards to the air-flow over the bike, to ensure there were no adverse effects on stability. I actually quite like it, and the normally bland surfaces of the inner guard actually look to have come in for some serious attention to detail. The hue of the LED lighting and the way it is stacked, with a small separator in the middle, flanked by two more small LEDs, I find incredibly appealing.Īt the tail of the machine Suzuki have gone for a very clean look, an LED tail-light formed into an interesting shape that almost tucks under the seat. I reckon Suzuki could have even made it a bit larger, for an even more nostalgic look, but overall it is beautifully executed. It is a bit retro but at the same time thoroughly modern. ![]() After spending some extended quality time with the Katana in the place of its birth, it gradually did start to win me over. ![]() Upon seeing the machine in the flesh for the first time at the Australian MotoGP event last year I was still not overly enthused by the styling. It started to look a little more pedestrian, something I guess that is largely unavoidable when you have to add those mandatory items to achieve road-registration. Once the necessities for a production machine were added, such as a number plate, along with legal sized indicators and mirrors, the gloss perhaps faded a little. When the design proposal was first unveiled two years ago at EICMA it caused much excitement among enthusiasts.
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