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2019 Katana


It's motorcycle show and launch season, so the blog has been weighted towards new bikes for the last few days.

This is the new Suzuki Katana, and though it's being labeled a retro, that's a bit of a stretch in my mind. The latest 911s aren't retro, but they're related to 1960s Porsches.

The Katana is based on the GSX-S1000, the 'roadster' version of the Suzuki GSX-R1000. The engine is a retuned version of the 2005 GSX-R1000 (my favourite litre superbike of all time), making 150bhp and 108lb.ft of torque. It has proper suspension and monobloc front brakes from the current GSX-R1000

The new Katana was designed by Rodolfo Frascoli. You might not be familiar with the name, but you'll know some of his work, including the 2005-10 Triumph Speed Triple, Triumph Tiger 1050; Guzzi Griso, Guzzi Breva, Guzzi Stelvio, various Moto Morinis, Gileras, Piaggios and others.

It'll be in dealers in Spring 2019. I could definitely see myself owning one of these, and I haven't thought that about a new bike for a while (ok, that's a lie, it's about two months since I nearly talked myself into a KTM 790 Duke)...

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