Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

SRIDING IMPRESSION 'W i th the introduction of the GS XR600, Suzuki now has two 600cc sport bikes o n th e mark et. Since its int roduct ion in 1988, the GSX600 Katana ha s become one of th e co m pa ny's best -seiling model s. Althou gh the race-o riented GSXR600 a n d ba ck roa ds-m i n ded GSX600 Katana sha re almos t the same designations, they are ent irely two different mo torcycles. Or are they? Ever si nce the fir st Kat ana 600 appea red in 1988 and featured (and still does) a downsized version of th e first GSXR750 motor whi ch debuted in the U.S. in 1986, the Katana has seen no maj or internal changes to its 599cc airl oil-coo led, DOHC, 16-valve, ·in-line four-stro ke, four-cylinder motor. Until now. e _ 'C 0. <. 1992 Suzuk iGSX600FKatana CBR600 and Kawasaki ZX6. But the Katan a is in the hunt . T he Katan a is also exceptiona lly q uie t. At speed wi th th e wind blowing th rou gh your helm et, you can barely hearthe engi ne revvin g out, so keeping an eye on th e tachometer is a mu st. We were sometimes surprised to look down after backing off the throttle to see the tach needle pa ssing through the red zone. • Sh ifting the Katana is typical Suzu ki - awesome. Feel o n the shiftlever is precise and takes little effort to find ' the next gear , and clutch actio n is also posit ive. Overall handling is first-rat e. Flicking it th rough turns requires little effort by th e rid er, and since the Katan a is a little bigger than most 600s, it's easy to move around on . At a claimed A new valve-train design results in more revs at peak rpm. For a 600cc sport bike, the Katana is very comfortable and roomy, unlike its new brother, the GSXR600. The new GSX600 Katana is by far the peppiest yet, and it still looks as good as ever, 32 T his year 's Katan a features an allnew valve-train system, a design first introd uced last year o n the GSXR7 50 and 1100 models. The new valve-train system uses in depe nde nt rocker arms in order to " reduce valve tra in inertia," accordi ng to Suzuki. This new design isn 't mea n t to increase horsepo wer, bu t to bette r sustain pea k power at h igh rpm. Suzuki technician s also cla im that the new valve train is lighter and pro vides better accuracy when adjus ting the engine' sl f valves. The primary gears h a ve al so ch anged. Pr evious Katana 600 models used quieter but, according to Suzuki engi neers, horsepower-robbing helical (slant ed) gears. T o improve "tra nsfer of p ower ," th e same stra ig h t-cu t primary gears used in the GSXR750 are now found in the Katana 's sixspeed transmission. That 's abo u t it. Other th an th e obvious new graphics, the rest of the Katana remains unchanged. As far as performan ce, the Katan a 600 is an abso lute blast to ride. It pumps o u t respectable power and handles extremely well , making it a very easy and comfortabl e motorcycle - to tackl e canyon roads. The motor produces decent power . off the bottom through midrange and hits fairl y well on top of th e rev range around 8000 rpm, but not quite as hard as som e of th e other 600Cc sport bikes we'v e ridden - like the Honda 440 pounds, the Katana is also aTittle heavier than the competition, which perhaps exp lains its overall stable feel in the come rs and the straights. The Katana is not what we would call a hyper motorcycle. Combined with its smooth powerband, nearly vibrationfree motor , q uiet exhaust, strong brakes and stable handling, the Katana gives the rider a complete sense of securi ty. Co mfort is definitely o ne of th e Katana's many strong po in ts. Again , its bigger-than-average size, matched with a not-too -cramped layout and thi ckly padded seat, makes the Katan a comfor table eno ug h for lon g weekend rides. The 4.8-ga llon gas tank carried us ap p ro xima tely 180 miles before forcing us to switch to reserve. As compared to the new GSXR600, the Katana holds it own. Even though their motors are entirely different, you can easily tell th e two bikes are from the same family. From low rpm to midrange, the GSXR reall y isn't all that much faster than th e Katana , but from about 8000 rpm on up, the GSXR says "See Ya " to the Katan a. It's in the handling department where the GSXR reall y shines over th e Katana. -T o no one's su rprise, th e GSXR is mu ch more sensi tive and twitchier than its more conserva tive brother and can dart in and out of turns mu ch quicker. Simply put, the Katana feels less responsive and sluggis h in back-to-bark co mpariso ns. all agree that it ma kes an excellent allaround motorcycle. O n e you can comfortably commu te o n during the week, and play on du rin g the weekend. After racking up more than 1000 mil es on the Katan a, it was easy for us to see why it 's o ne of Suzuki's best-sellers. Opinions Ra the r than list all the th in gs I like about the Katana, it's a lo t quicker to list all the things I do n 't like: The gra p h ics - sorry, but the flam in g pi nk paint brush spla tter scheme mu st go. Sol id red would do just fine, thank you very much. But as far as everything else, the Katan a 600 is rig ht up my alley. It' s just fun to ride. I like the fact tha t it's " big" for a 600, and th at the nearl y vibra tion-free motor deli ver s good power in a predictable ma nner. I also like the Katana beca use it's q uiet, has strong brakes, shifts fla wlessly and feels lig h t, desp ite the fact it's about 20 pounds heavier than most of its co u nter parts . Perhaps bes t o f a ll, tho ugh, the Katana is comfortable. This is definitely a motorcycle I cou ld live happily ever after with. Kit Palmer ••••• Sus pension-wise, both bikes feel stiff but not harsh. While both suspensions feel si m ila r o n th e highway, th e GSXR's shows its streng th over th e Katana in corn ers. The sligh tly stiffer GSXR trac ks better and maintains a steady lin e through bumpy turns, wh ile the Katana feels less pr edictabl e and wallows aro und a bit. . As .far as comfort, the difference is ni ght and da y. The Katana is spaci ous and easy to live with as compared to the cramped quarters of the GSXR. The Katana feels tall and narrow; the GSXR low and wide. Overall, as for the Katana itself, we After spendi ng a week commuting o n th e new GSXR600, riding th e Katana ca me as a welcome relief. Although there's a bi t of a reach to th e narrow bars, th e riding po sition is still fairl y upright and my knees didn't feel like they wer e being crammed up to my chest. Pulling away from the first stop light showed me that th e Katan a is much better su ited to everyda y street riding th an the GSXR. The Katana pulls strongly off of idl e, and I like that when I'm trying to get som e spa ce on the cars leaving an intersection. On winding co u ntry roads, the Katan a performs eq u a ll y well , alth oug h after riding the GSXR I could feel that the Katana's suspensio n was a little soft for hard-core speeds in corners. But I'll tak e the softer

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