The Suzuki Katana is a
street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
sold between 1981 and 2006 and then since 2019. It was designed in 1979–1980 by Target Design of Germany for
Suzuki
is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...
.
The
Katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
name was later applied to a range of in-house styled
sport touring
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...
motorcycles in North America through the 2006 model year and, starting at the turn of the millennium, a line of 50 cc
scooters in Europe.
History
Suzuki formally engaged Target design and a three-man team led by Hans Muth, ex-chief of styling for
BMW, who had done much to modernise the image of the venerable Bavarian Boxer Twin, began work to update the Suzuki's image.
Muth's three-man Target Design team consisted of himself, Jan Fellstrom and Hans-Georg Kasten.
The design worked through several variations, with the ED1 and ED2 versions ("ED" for "European Design") revealed to the public in 1980. The Target designed machines were in general production until 1985, when all the original model Katanas were discontinued, although 'Katana-esque' styling appeared on many in-house designed Suzuki machines for some years to come.
ED1
The original design was a model called the ED1. The unfaired ED1 design featured a tall, sculpted
fuel tank
A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propel ...
, with both curves and straight edges that merged the tank with a concave seat flanked by angular side panels. This meant that the rider essentially sat more in the motorcycle than on it (as was the norm). The ED1 design would be modified for production as the GS550M Katana, and later the GS650G Katana.
ED2
The shark-like faired ED2 was a more radical design which incorporated favorable aerodynamics, with a special emphasis placed on high-speed stability, and was repeatedly
wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
tested in Italy. The same generalized design forms had already been used early in 1979 for Target's
MV Agusta
MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is a motorcycle manufacturer founded by Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of the Agusta aircraft company near Milan in ...
"Prova"
concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...
. The ED2 would form the prototype for the larger 16-valve GSX1100S, GSX1000S, and GSX750S.
Design Philosophy
"Muth characterizes the Suzuki Katana by what he calls its dramatic “flyline,” melding five key components into stylistic and aerodynamic unity: headlight, fuel tank, seat, and front and rear fenders. Central to the Katana's unique identity is its “V-shaped gas tank,” describing the way the tank narrows toward the rider and diverges toward the front of the bike. Muth's design was rendered in silver—like the sword. Originally, it had no windshield—that was Suzuki's requirement. On the side cover Muth added the Japanese character for the katana sword, interleaved with a red image of the same sword. “The sword first serves as a weapon, but a katana also has a mythological meaning in Japan,” Muth said when he presented the design to Osamu Suzuki. “If you don’t treat it right, its sharpness can be lethal. The same is true for a motorcycle.”"
Production
The production 16-valve Katanas of 1981 differed only slightly from the prototype; changes included a small wind deflector screen, paired mufflers, and black accent paint on the front fender and
airbox
An airbox is an empty chamber on the inlet of most combustion engines. It collects air from outside and feeds it to the intake hoses of each cylinder.
Older engines drew air directly from the surroundings into each individual carburetor. Modern ...
covers. Target's design philosophy—keeping components compact and close-fitting—was applied to all areas of the bike's design to reduce production costs, weight, and number of components required. Examples include the overlapping dials on the instrument cluster, and the offset fuel cap, which allowed for a clean continuous
seam weld
Electric resistance welding (ERW) is a welding process where metal parts in contact are permanently joined by heating them with an electric current, melting the metal at the joint. Electric resistance welding is widely used, for example, in manufa ...
on the tank.
Upon the GSX1100S Katana's release in late 1980, Suzuki claimed it to be the
fastest mass-production motorcycle in the world, ensuring that its new looks were matched by unprecedented performance levels. In comparative track testing Cycle Canada Magazine recorded a top speed of for the Suzuki 1100 Katana against for the standard GSX1100E. The next fastest tested was the 82
Kawasaki GPz1100 at followed by the
Laverda Mirage 1200 ,
Yamaha XJ650 Turbo ,
Ducati 900SS and the
Honda CX500 Turbo
So radical was the design departure from previous mass-market cycles that most major motorcycle magazines of the era thought the design would not appeal to the masses. Nevertheless, the Katana was a sales success, and it had a lasting impact on motorcycle design. Portions of the design ethos are still visible in many current
sport bike
A sport bike (sports motorcycle, or sports bike) is a motorcycle designed and optimized for speed, acceleration, braking, and cornering on asphalt concrete race tracks and roads. They are mainly designed for performance at the expense of comfor ...
s, including the faired-in seat and tank.
Factory variants
Several variants of the 1982 (Z model year) Katana 1100SZ were produced by Suzuki to support racing.
GSX1000SZ
The GSX1000SZ (circa 1981) was a 998cc variant of the GSX1100SZ produced in sufficient numbers to
homologate
Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...
the bike as a production machine that was eligible for racing modification under the then-current international superbike racing rules (which included a 1000 cc displacement limit). The GSX1000SZ had frame serial numbers beginning with GS10X-500001~,
["Suzuki GSX1000SZ Parts Catalogue", 2nd Edition, Jun 1982, Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd. 1-2] and were fitted by the factory with a performance inlet camshaft (part 12711–49201) paired with the same exhaust camshaft as the standard GSX1100SZ (part 12700–45820).
The 1000SZ also sported round-slide
Mikuni VM32SS
carburetor
A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
s and was often fitted with optional wire wheels, which were lighter and—with an 18" rear—allowed tire choices more suitable for the track.
GSX1100SXZ
![Suzuki Katana SXZ Carb detail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Suzuki_Katana_SXZ_Carb_detail.jpg)
The GSX1100SXZ "Wire-Wheeler" was an even rarer and peculiarly southern-hemisphere factory-built variant of the standard Katana 1100SZ. Faced with the single-seat
Honda CB1100R
The Honda CB1100R was an exotic Honda model that was produced in limited numbers from 1980 to 1983. It was a single-seat, fully faired sport bike based on the Honda CB900F. The R suffix denotes a racing version, however the CB1100R was a road-l ...
, which on paper looked likely to be the dominant machine in the upcoming local production racing series, the New Zealand Suzuki distributor at the time asked Suzuki for a new, upgraded machine to beat the Honda. Suzuki responded by building 20 units of the New Zealand E27-spec GSX1100SXZ. During this period, Suzuki sales were at an all-time high in New Zealand (with around 42% market share) due in large part to Suzuki's racing successes. In 1981, Kiwi Suzuki rider
Graeme Crosby
Graeme Crosby (born 4 July 1955) is a former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. A versatile rider, Crosby was equally capable on either four stroke Superbike racers or two stroke Grand Prix racers. He is the only p ...
had finished fifth in the World 500cc championship and successfully defended his TT Formula One title. The E27 SXZ was fitted with wire wheels, more powerful GS1100GZ front brakes, Mikuni round-slide oval-bore VM32SS carburettors, larger 33mm bore mufflers (same as fitted to the previous
Castrol 6 Hour
The Castrol Six Hour was a motorcycle race for production motorcycles, held in Australia from 1970 through to 1987.
History
The race was run by the Willoughby District Motorcycle Club and held at Amaroo Park until 1983, when it was moved to ...
special, the GSX1100T), performance camshafts (thought most likely to be Yoshimura profiles as
Pops Yoshimura
Hideo "Pops" Yoshimura (October 7, 1922 – March 29, 1995) was a Japanese motorcycle tuner, race team owner, and manufacturer of speciality motorcycle accessories. He is remembered for his ties to the beginnings of Superbike racing and the Yoshim ...
was building Suzuki superbikes and TT machines for competition during this period), braided brake lines, and an extra set of bronze sintered clutch plates. Twenty units of the E27 were delivered to South Pacific Suzuki distributors, as 20 units was the minimum required to
homologate
Homologation (Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work fr ...
the machines as production motorcycles rather than racing specials under the rules of the
New Zealand Autocycle Union (then the governing body for motorcycle sport in New Zealand). The GSX1100SXZ was crowned the overall 1981/1982 NZ National Production Champion (with riders Dave Hiscock, Neville Hiscock and Robert Holden), but failed to win the 1981 Castrol 6 Hour, Suzuki's only Castrol 6 Hour loss for 5 years. 25 more units of the same E27-spec SXZ machines were built by Suzuki and exported to South Africa.
Australia also received the Australian-market E24. This model received a number of modifications, including lightweight wire wheels with high-performance tires, heavier brake disks, 98 link chain and sprockets, a grab strap to the rear of the seat, a unique front fender, and mounting hardware along with alternate mirrors and a lever activated ignition safety and stop switch. The Australian machines were fitted with standard SZ engines, which received improved carburetors and a new inlet manifold.
The 1100s were raced with mixed success in Australia in 1981, but rule changes for the 1982 Australian Castrol 6 Hour saw teams scrambling to find 1000cc versions. In New Zealand, the wire-wheeled bike won the 1981 National Production Championship, as well as numerous club and national races. The Katanas were rendered obsolete for racing by the release of the
'race replica' Suzuki GSX-R750
The Suzuki GSX-R750 is a sports motorcycle made by Suzuki. It was introduced at the Cologne Motorcycle Show in October 1984 as a motorcycle of the GSX-R series.
Air and oil cooled
The air and oil-cooled models can be divided into the first-g ...
. There were plans for a 1983-model year Katana 1100SXD to be produced, but it never went into production.
One pre-production unit was produced for the then-New Zealand distributor Colemans Suzuki (the bike is still owned by Rod and Carl Coleman); it had slightly higher specifications than the E27-spec SXZ. The number of SXZ bikes built by Suzuki for the New Zealand and South Africa markets was a total of 45 units.
Other models
Suzuki also produced , versions of the Katana. The 650 had a
drive shaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power (physics), power and torque and rotation, usually ...
, while the 1984-1986 SE/SF/SG750 is distinguished by having a pop-up headlight. Appearing in 1984 was the Katana 750SE with a
pop-up headlight, still using an air-oil cooled engine. These were quite popular, even when their performance was easily outdone by other competitors at the time.
The air-cooled GSX Katanas were effectively the last Suzuki
sports motorcycles that were 'sporting models' derived from an existing
standard model (UJM). The next generation of Suzuki sports bike being the purpose designed oil-cooled
GSX-R series in 1985.
The Katana name was reused, primarily in the North American and European market, to market the revised Suzuki GSX-F series from the end of the 1980s through to 2006. However, in most other markets around the globe, the GSX600F, GSX750F and GSX1100F are considered to be the direct replacement for the in-house styled GSX550E, GSX750E and GSX1100E sports tourers, and not as direct developments of the Target designed machines. The GSX-F range comprised five basic models split into two general eras: the 1988–1997 GSX600F and GSX750F and the 1988–1993 GSX1100F, followed by the 1998–2006 GSX600F and GSX750F, both of which were heavily restyled compared to their predecessors. These same models were offered in Europe, but without the Katana name, which was absent in Europe from 1986 until the 1999 arrival of a line of 50 cc scooters.
The original design ethos reappeared at the 2005
Tokyo Motor Show
The is a biennial auto show held in October–November at the Tokyo Big Sight, Tokyo, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), it is a recognized international show by ...
, when Suzuki rolled out a
concept bike
The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', and ''dual-purpose''. ''Sport touring'' is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the ''touring' ...
called the
Suzuki Stratosphere
Suzuki Stratosphere is a Suzuki concept motorcycle, powered by an 1100cc transverse narrow-bore 24-valve inline-6 engine, rated at 180 HP. According to Suzuki press materials, the engine produced above 100 lb-ft of torque from just above idle all t ...
, which heavily incorporated many facets of the original ED1/ED2 designs, albeit combined with a narrow, transversely-mounted
inline-six engine
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bal ...
.
Features used by the design team for the original Katana can be seen in many motorcycles of the 1980s through the present, from Suzuki's own
XN85 Turbo bike to subtle markings on the
RG250 two-stroke
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
bikes. The fact that modern sport motorcycles generally have a
fairing and seat that visually merge into a sloped fuel tank is directly traceable to the original Katana ED1 and ED2 designs.
Suzuki Katana 1000
Since 2019, Suzuki has reused the Katana name for its redesigned 2020 model.
This new version is based on the
GSX-S1000F and is powered by a 2005–2006
GSX-R1000 K5 engine with a claimed power output of . The new Katana's weight comes in at with the GSX-S chassis twin-spar beam alloy frame, inverted forks, GSX-R swingarm, and Brembo front calipers. Its styling pays homage to the original 1981 design.
References
External links
*
An interview with Hans-Georg Kasten, co-designer of the 1981 Suzuki Katana GSX1100S
{{Suzuki motorcycles
K
Sport touring motorcycles
Motorcycles introduced in 1981