SIX-CYLINDER KATANA
We all love Kats, but what about a ‘big Kat’? Well, here’s the story of Pip Higham’s six-cylinder ‘big Kat’!
Pip Higham’s amazing sixy beast… Lovely!
Kawasaki made one with 1300cc, Honda made one with 1000cc. Yamaha and Suzuki took the sensible path and never built a six cylinder superbike. Benelli even did one with 750cc…
Sensible? Pah! There are lots of ‘sensible’ bikes out there and I, for one, see bikes as a powerful means of expression, so let’s have a six cylinder Suzuki, and let’s make it a big ’un. How about a quad-cam 1600cc Mutha... with fuel injection!
To be honest I’ve had the six for around 20 years now and I’ve had lots of fun watching people’s reactions when they do the neck wrench double take and then try to understand how, when, where, and possibly even why. But time marches on and I eventually came to terms with the realisation that my original decision to build it as an EZ (twin shocks, big headlight, conventional) was flawed. But the decision was as clear as Mother Teresa’s conscience. Build it into a Katana chassis, and stop faffing around.
Now taking this decision is all fine and dandy, but there was one component, without which the success of the venture would be a struggle: the fuel tank. Now I can re-hash, repair and fix more or less anything, but making a rotten, dented, rusty fuel tank into a reliable fuel containment device is, well, it’s not going to happen, and no, I don’t do tank liners, coatings or any of that junk. So, a tank? Hmm, after a chance confab with Chris Jackson (it was CJ who stumped up the Kat frame for the SVP Kat chassis remake) he suggested that I concentrated my search for a tank using a slightly different part number. After various threats, promises and a bit of pleading, CJ spilled the beans and gave me the elusive five plus five. At this point I hit the ‘M’ button, I called up Oggy (we’re guessing this is Martyn Ogborne, former Barry Sheene mechanic) and briefly ran my ‘plan’ past him. Oggy has always been sympathetic to
my meticulously planned projects. No, wait, my hair-brained ideas. I asked him to run the part number through the Suzuki system and see if anything cropped up. A couple of days passed and then the phone call that I’d hoped for... he’d found one in Europe, possibly the only one, and did I want it? Oh yes, I think so. The die was cast and the rather large, slightly crusty wheels were set in motion.
I intensified my search for anything Katana, and more specifically a correct 1000/1100 frame. I eventually located one with all the right numbers in the correct locations. It had a couple of issues, but 30-year-old Kats stand a fair chance of having had the occasional Tarmac encounter in their active lives so I was totally relaxed about a bit of corrective surgery to establish all the right factory geometry. At about this time I faced the next big decision: would it be stock, or modified? I love the concept of ‘factory correct’, but hey, I’m just an old HotRodder at heart. The Kat would have twin shocks and conventional front suspension, probably Bandit based, with 17-inch wheels and brakes that work. Otherwise stock Kat fairing and side-panels, seat and seat tail and, of course, tank. In my mind I had a good idea of how I wanted it to look; that was the easy bit. Things were about to get a whole lot more difficult…
I’ve built and raced loads of bikes over the last few decades and putting together an effective, reliable race bike requires major commitment, but building the Ludikat is a different proposition. The aim is to create something with build quality of the highest order; every piece will need careful planning and then meticulous prep and execution, and if it doesn’t look right, do it again… Quite early on I opted to install fuel injection for a number of reasons. I was keen to free up space around the extremities of the air-box. The foot-peg position on the EZ left knees and air-box vying for the same space: not desirable. I had also built two sets of carbs for Triple six Mark one, both of which suffered ethanol-itis. Again, not desirable, and very time-consuming! So in timehonoured hot-rod fashion I picked the closest Suzuki with injection, the GSX1400, to use as a donor. Soon I had two complete throttle body assemblies. All I needed to do now was re-set the spacing, make all new linkages, a new fuel rail, and get the new set up to fit and look right.
At this juncture I was balancing a lot of plates. I had forks in bits, no rear suspension, a raft of throttle bodies, and an air-box jigsaw without a lid. But I had found John and Steve at B&C Manchester who had a moto-liner and the right attitude. At the very least I wanted the frame checked out; 35-year-old Katanas have usually seen plenty of action. After much measuring, string lines and straight edges, the Kat required a bit of hydraulic assistance to make sure that all the dots lined up. When I bought it, the frame had been powder coated, or should I say ‘powder caked’. I decided to strip it; what a job. A day of scraping and hot air revealed things that needed attention. There were several areas of porosity in welded joints. All of these were
meticulously ground out and then TIG welded by Dave Lord (22 to be precise!). Now I was happy that the frame was true, tough and up to the task.
The exhaust system on Triple Six Mark One started off with a stock black chrome Katana set up with a pair of outer pipes crafted by Tony Law in Leeds, but now it was time to crank the volume up a wee bit. My pals Jon and Phil at Racefit make exceptional tackle. I can’t reveal how the deal progressed. but suffice to say that after a few weeks I was treated to my first view of the new set of pipes and dual megaphones all fabricated in Titanium... totally amazing. I’d previously bought a GPZ 1100 high-pressure fuel pump, but after consultation with Alex at DTA, my weapon of choice for engine management, I took the decision to install a submerged, in-tank high-pressure pump.
A late GSX-R tank complete with big dents was sourced and the bottom unceremoniously hacked out. Rather more care was exercised cutting out the Kat tank. The liberated pump flange with deep grooved seal was then grafted into the tank base and the original tap location was permanently blocked off.
I’d started with Bandit forks and John at LMPS worked his magic on the sliders, applying exactly the right profile without losing any definition. John is one of my long-standing pals without whom I simply couldn’t complete a job like this. I’ve already mentioned Dave Lord and the boys at Racefit. There are a couple more who create beautiful work, if I ask nicely. Steve Adams of Lucky 7 trimmed the seat for me, a tricky test in vinyl, a near impossible one in my chosen Alcantara; and Pete Priest shot the paint in his usual meticulous, but modest fashion. Steve Smethurst did a lovely job on the wheels for me after I’d stripped sundry layers of paint from them. Karas plated the sundry steel fasteners to create the uniformity of finish I was seeking. I hasten to add that none of the above are free. I mention them because in my opinion their work stands comparison with that produced by anybody, regardless of price or reputation.
Wiring a bike like this requires patience. In this case I was hooking up switches, lights and other stuff that hitherto were total strangers. I also wanted to connect the various sensors, the injectors and, of course, the ECU. It’s possible to incorporate the engine management chores into the conventional loom, but I decided to keep the two parts totally separate. The ignition switch carries minimal current, the ECU, fuel pump and ignition coil pack all being supplied by individually relayed and fused circuits. After a considerable time spent on the wiring I turned to an issue I’ve mentioned briefly, the conflict area between knees and the ends of the air-box. By utilising the Kat chassis the situation was improved due to the rearward positioning of the footpegs. A further gain was dued to the shorter GSX1400 throttle bodies. The final tweak, by using the tubular air inlets for the outer cylinders, one and six, is unusual, but I like it. The net result of all the above is: happy days, no more knee/air-box clash.
Back at the sharp end I’d fitted a set of GSX-R yokes to allow me to use clip-ons. Come on, it’s a Kat, you’ve gotta have clip-ons! But there was another issue that croppe ed up. I couldn’t understand d why the fork brace suddenly didn’t fit. It turns out that the GSX-R yokes are five mill wider than the Bandit ones. A fresh NOS brace was sourced and a bit of re-spacing of the callipers sorted that. I’d had the brakes fully rebuilt and although I hear a lot of discussion about the relative differences twixt four and six piston callipers, I just like the six potters, so there. The conversion from the old EZ to Ludikat has been long and, if I’m honest, a bit of an ordeal. It’s now complete and I can start the setting-up process. Hope you like it. I love it!