Is Suzuki’s Katana a brilliant retro buy, or a bit naff? Plus: What’s wrong with a R1250GS?
Suzuki’s retro packs a punch but lacks the finer things in biking life
237 miles Suzuki somewhat jumped on the bandwagon with the 2019 Katana having no doubt seen Kawasaki’s success with the Z900RS. Take a tried and tested road bike, in this case the GSX-S1000, give it a restyle and a name that taps into fond memories of the ‘good old days’ and away we go. Only many feared, after seeing it at various shows and from early test reports, that Suzuki hadn’t gone far enough and at £11,399 (a Z900RS is £10,199), it was too steamy for some. I liked the looks of the new Katana and wasn’t too worried about how authentic its links to the original Katana were. I was a bit too young (honest guv’nor) to have that particular rulebook ripper-upper adorning my bedroom wall. 1076 miles After two months, the Katana had won me over with its in-your-face styling and GSX-R K5-derived engine. It’s not perfect, of course, but on everyday rides on everyday roads, it delivers plenty of guts and grunt. It’s fairly comfortable although two hours in the saddle is enough, which is a good job really as it needs filling up at the 120mile mark. On trips to the Super Sausage Café, near Silverstone, and Donington WSB in May, I returned to my Suzuki steed only to find a small crowd gathered around gawping. 2037 miles Most of the time that 12-litre tank is bearable. With a 120-mile tank range it’s rare that it becomes a proper pain. But when it does, it does and a 250-mile trip becomes a two-stop strategy. Meanwhile sunny days highlighted readability issues with the dash. Even on its brightest setting the smaller bits of info (like the clock) aren’t readable. 3793 miles When the OE Dunlop Roadsport 2 tyres started showing signs of wear I decided to try something a little different. Maxxis SuperMaxx STs cost a wallet-friendly £150 (about £70 less than the Dunlops) and are generally regarded as a decent, hardwearing sports touring tyre, so on they went. As well as turning my back on more popular tyre options I also made a schoolboy error and leant the Katana to a colleague. A low-speed slide on the fresh rubber saw my red-faced chum damage the right-hand side of the bike. He was at a loss to explain what happened and scuttled off hurriedly to order some parts, including a lower frame cover, bar-end weight, front and starter idle cover. That little lot came in at £250 and I also need to replace the exhaust shroud and small bottom fairing at some point as they have also been scuffed up. Subsequent miles proved less dramatic although it took a while to build confidence in the new rubber. 3917 miles With the Katana now gone, the elephant in the room pokes me in the chest demanding an answer: “Would you buy one? Would you, really?” I like the bike, the engine and I got upset when others claimed the Honda CB1000 was better. I don’t agree. But I don’t think the Katana justifies its £11,399 price. A Yamaha MT-07 is almost half the price and not half the bike. Although… Suzuki are currently doing a deal (until the end of January 2020) which sees £1000 taken off the asking price, so at £10,399 it’s tempting.
‘A Yamaha MT-07 is almost half the price’