Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Nat ional Cup road raci ng series is evidence of its sporti ng intent. But w ith the GSXR IIOO repli -r a cer alrea dy in th e.ranks, the Katana llOO cou ld be geared more towards th e tou rin g rider. The retractable electrical windshi eld serves as elega nt testimony to that fact. In th e 750cc ca tegory, Suzuki already had th e GSXR750, th e hottest thing to hi t th e race track since slicks. And wi th th e Ka tana 1100 already available, the Katana 750 cou ld be designed to fill th e void between spo rt bike and two-up sporttourer. The Kat's air/oil-cooled engine is based on the short-stro ke GSXR7 50 mo tor first in troduced in 1988, but is sligh tly detuned for more low and midrange power. Valve tim in g is tamer on th e Katana, with consi derably less valve overlap and lift. T o furth er ' en h an ce midra nge power the Katana 's four-into-two exha ust system features , two sub- chambers o n 'the 'h eader pipe canisters. T h e su bc ham ber s produce negative pr essure in th e exha us t for incr eased in take efficiency during valve overlap. T he digital ignition 's timing has also been retarded from th e GSXR 's setting. , A cable-operated push rod gives th e Katana smoother clutch engageme nt to gen tl y transfer p o wer to th e transm ission. Fir st gea r is low er than the GSX R's, as is th e fin al drive ratio to help compensa te for the Katana's heavier weight. Much of that weight comes from the fram e. Unli ke th e GSXR's alum inum alloy chassis, the Ka tana has a steel perimeter fra me, sim ilar to th e one found on the 600. It is a little heavier, though, du e to a thicker backbone a nd rear su bfra me. A longer swingarm slightly increases the wheel base. Suspe nsio n is handled by Suzuki's Fu ll Fl oat er linkage a t the rear connected to a' Sh owa shock with seven prel oad and three rebound , damping adjustmen ts. Showa forks with three rebo u nd damping adjus tments grace th e fro n t en d. T he adj ustment kn ob s are easily reached atop th e for k tub es. .We found th at th e midd le position wo rk ed best The Katana 750's bikin i fairing (a b ov e) provides minimal w ind protection. Rebound damping is conven iently adjusted v ia knobs atop the fork legs. (Left) The stock Metzeler ME33 Laser front tire is excellent. (Be lo w) The same adjustable brake lever found o n the GSXR 1100 g races t h e Katana's handlebars. arou nd town and in ligh t sporti ng applica tions, wh ile posi tion three better suited fast canyon ridi ng. Backin g off th e for ks to the first position 'helps soa k up bothersom e freeway expa nsion jo ints . Brak es are lift ed stra igh t off the Katana 600 with 290mm floating discs up front and a 250mm di sc in the rear. Hi gh -qual it y Metzler tir es are mounted to hollow, th ree-spoke, cast alumi n um wh eels at bo th ends. At front is a Metzler ME33 La ser, which we ap precia ted for its excellent feedba ck under , braking, but which also produced an odd oscillation when coun tersteered. At th e rea r, a Metzeler ME55A Metronic comp limen ts th e Laser front. Both 'pro vide excelle nt traction, but not at th e expense of long life. We were pl eased to find that the 750 Katana's front brake did not exh ibit th e imprecise, mu sh y feel that pl agued last year's 600 Katana. (T he '8 9 600 recei ved a m ast er cylinder with a lar ger pi ston bore which we hear cured th e problem. ) The 750 Katana 's, whil e, not quite wh at on e expe cts from a cu tting-e dge sport bike, does provide acceptable feedba ck. T he rid ing position is, at last, roo my eno ugh for ta ller riders, but th e hand leba rs are set at a stra nge" angle. Wh en th e bike is ridden hard, 'the rider find s himself grasp ing th e bars somew ha t like a hockey stick. T ired, ach ing wrists follow soo n after.The fairi nl$' is a bi t too small, deflecti ng wmd from. the r ider's , lower chest only. And th e holes m the sides allow engi ne hea t to fry bo th his shins. Last year's 600 remi nded me of th e time my fat her took me to see the "S uper Guppy," a pregna nt -looki ng cargo p lane used to transport Sa turn rocket parts during the late '60s and ear ly '70s. This was lar gely due to -the pain t scheme whic h emp hasized th e smaller Ka t' s h um pback wh al e appearance. T he 750, however, uses tastefu l silver wit h black and red stripes w hi ch de -e mp hasi ze its oddball shape, and tra ns form th e bike into a pleasa n t loo ker. It 's also avai lable in a just-as-attractiv e blue with red and silver stripes . T he powerp la n t is o ne of the smoothes t we've ever sampled, and as a result the bik e is deceivin gl y fast. P ower bui ld s fro m' as low as 2000' rpm , with a bi t of a to p-end ru sh above 7500, but nothing like th at of ei ther GSX R. A flat spot just above idle is the on ly thing standi ng betw een .the Katana's engine and electric train sta tus. But someo ne forgo t to tell the mirrors, which Engine type •• • • • • Dillair-cooled, . four- stroke. DOHC, in-flne f our , Bore x stroke ••• •• 78 x 59 mm • Displacement • • • • •• • • 1127cc Compression ratio ••• • • 10.0 :1 Carburetor • • • • • Mikuni 36mm BST36SS x 4 Horsepower • • ••••••••• N/A Torque . . 11.4 Kgm @ 7250 rpm Valves per cylinder • ••• • •• Four Starting system • ••• • •• Electric Ign ition . . Transistorized /digital Lubrication ••• • ; Oil. wet sump Redline • •• •••••• 11.300 rpm Primary drive . . •• • Straight-cut gear (spur) Final dr ive • • '••• •.• •• •• Chain Primary drive rat io • • • •• • 1 .565 Final drive ratio • • ••• '• •• 3 .200 Chassis •••••• • Double cradle. aluminum alloy Rake ••• •• ••. • • 24.8 degrees Trai l • • • • •• • • ••• ••• .• 3.9 in. Fron t suspension ••••.• Kayaba te lescopic forks Fork tube diameter •••• 43 mm Front wheel tra vel •• : ••• 4 .7 in. Rear suspension • • • Full-Floater w lsingle Kayaba unit Rear wheel t ravel • • • • •• 5.5 in . Front brakes •••• Dual hydraulic discs Rear brakes •• • Single hydraulic disc Front wheel • • . • Hollow. threespoke, aluminum. MT 3.50 x 17 Rear wheel ..•. • Hollow. threespoke, aluminum. MT 4 .50 x 17 Front t ire • • • • • •• Michelin 'A48 radial. 120170 ZRn Rear t ire • • • • • • • Michelin M48 i adial. 160/60 ZR17 Claimed dry weight .•• 463 Ibs. (CA model 467 Ibs.) Overall length • •••• • • • 80.7 in. Overall width • . • • • • • • 29.7 in . Overall height ••• •• •• • 45.3 in. Wheelbase •••••.•. •• 56.7 in . Seat height • ••• •• . . : 32.1 in . Ground clearance ••••• • 4 .3 in . Fuel capacity •••• • • •• 5 .5 gal. . ICA model 4.75 gal .) Colors • •••• . • . • Black/silver. blue /white Retail price • •• • • • • • • • $6599

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