Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127977
1998 Suzuki Katana 750 10 000 m.iles later -. wishing for a "seventh" gear. The Katana is a little "revvy" at cruising speeds. Overall, the Katana still feels taught and did not develop new vibrations or rattles along the way. Only recently did the motor acquire a slight but irritating valve tick and the brakes (which are still relying just fine on the original pads) an inconspicuous squeal. Otherwise, the seat is still firm, shifting is still precise and light, and the clutch still has good feel. If it weren't for the odometer, one would be hard-pressed to tell that our Katana has "turned over." During the past six or seven months, we've come to truly appreciate what the Katana 750 has to offer. The bike first impressed us with its user-friendly but lively motor, good-handling chassis, and extreme comfort; we can now say that the Katana impresses US even more by how well it stands up to day-in and day-out use. f:III The Katana 750 is a great everyday kind of bike, offering a good mix of performance, comfort and durability. And Suzuki offers the Katana for only around $7000. What a deal. Most of the miles we put Qn the Katana have been heavy-duty freewaycommuting miles, logged mostly by yours truly. The Katana and I have been through a lot together: hot weather, cold weather, dry weather and wet weather. We've spent many hours on the freeways, lane splitting, and in stop-and-go traffic. On occasion, we've excused ourselves from the insanity of rush-hour traffic to take the longer, back way home in favor of twisty roads through the canyons. Through it all, the Katana never let me down. In fact, the Suzuki held up extremely well, and, to make matters even better, I never got tired of riding the bike, though I did get tired. of By Kit Palmer t might not be a big deal with cars, bu t turning the big 10 grand on motorcycles is usually considered a major milestone. At least that's how we felt when reaching that momentous occasion on our 1998 Suzuki Katana 750 test bike, a bike that doesn't come to mind right away when you think of piling on the mileage. We can't, however, take credit for all 10,000 of those miles, since we took delivery of the '98 Katana with a few thousand miles already on it, but we were nonetheless sitting on the bike's seat when all those zeroes came up. I 1999 KX125 Pro Circuit Works pipe and Factory Sound silencer Magic po~er By Matt Freeman Y might recall that in our 1999 125cc Shootout issue (January 13, 1999: Number 1), we criticized the KX125's motor for being a little sluggish, so to speak, and falling short when it came to top-end power. Some of our testers even felt that the KX needed more power everywhere, while others felt it came out of comers fast and was snappy off the botfom but still complained a bout its top speed, or lack thereof. Others felt that the midrange power was there but overall was just too hard to keep on the pipe. To quote our shootout, "It's not that the KX doesn't make power; in fact, it does, but the window of opportunity is very narrow." For the new year, we popped the cork off the_KX by mounting up a Pro Grcuit.Works pipe and a Factory Sound silencer. By doing so, we blew the winOU 26 dow of opportunity wide open with power not decibels. Pro Circuit definitely did their homework with their '99 design, because the smooth KX power is still at hand but with significantly more power across the board. The motor's bottom end now hits harder and revs quicker, which is a nice improvement over the stocker, especially the added revs. More importantly than these things, however, is that the top end comes alive with the Pro Circuit exhaust setup. On the high-speed Glen Helen Raceway National track, for example, the KX in stock form feels wimpy on long straightaways. Previously, we added a tooth to the rear sprocket so the motor could keep up with itself. With the Pro Circuit pipe and silencer in place, on the same track, the KX not only goes much faster, it easily pulls its original 48-tooth rear sprocket. Both pipe and silencer bolt up sanitary, and another added bonus is that, according to Pro Circuit's Mitch Payton, there is no rejetting required, to which we can attest. Simply put, not many motocros ers come alive with just the assistance of a pipe and silencer like the KX125 does with the help of the Pro Circuit Works pipe and Factory Sound silencer. f:III Pro Circuit Works pipe. Pro Circuit Factory Sound Silencer . 5191 ... 595 Pro Circuit (909) 738-8050 w'ww.procircult.com