Are you a Kat kinda person?
When Suzuki’s Katana first hit our roads 40 years ago, the impact was immediate and it is still being felt to this day.
The machine has inspired a loyal following and the machine’s futuristic looks are still fresh, even as we move towards 2022. I’ve been lucky enough to spend time on a number of Katanas, including the recent Suzuki reboot which (nice as it was) isn’t really a Kat in my mind, because the looks just aren’t close enough, and let’s not talk about the tank range!
I’ve yet to venture into Katana ownership and the mid-1980s me loves the idea of the bigger bike with the ‘pop-up’ cool of the 750: all very ‘Street Hawk’! One thing our cover star machine does very well is act as a tribute to its owner, John Martin, who sadly passed away just before CMM went to press. John was one of the cornerstones of the Air-cooled Suzuki Club and will be much missed.
Coming in from left field a tad, this issue are the Harley-davidson powered Buells. Both the XB9R Firebolt and XB9S Lightning really do warrant a second look, 20 years after they were first launched.
They were nothing like any air-cooled Harley before or since and could be worth searching out if you want to try something a bit different.
Different but cool could be used to describe the Honda CMX1100 Rebel, too. The Rebel family has been around for decades and this is the latest in the line: the looks are classic, but the chassis and powerplant are thoroughly modern. We in CMM have ignored cruisers for too long, so expect to see the odd test of an old cruiser slip in these pages. As always, give us feedback on what you like, love or don’t like in the pages of YOUR magazine.
Finally, I’d like to thank all the readers that wrote in about last month’s editorial where I helped a friend in need. I’m pleased to say they are doing well and are on the mend. Reach out, listen, help: it matters.
Of course if you like what you see in CMM, simply scan that weird box thing on the ‘Next Month’ page or go to: https://www. classicmagazines.co.uk/issue/preorder or even subscribe (page 70.)
Editor Bsimmonds@mortons.co.uk