CUT & THRUST

The legendary Suzuki Katana swings back into action! An icon reborn or a lazy rehash job? We find out.

- SHIVANK BHATT

The idea of cashing in on the success of past hits isn’t something new. Be it movies, music, or motorcycles, there have been countless attempts that promise to take you back to the La-La land of the past. Suzuki is trying to do something similar with the new Katana, which very recently landed on our shores.

For the uninitiated, the Katana name goes all the way back to the 1980s when the original Katana, the GSX-1100S, made its world debut. While not a huge commercial success, the Katana is considered to be a stepping-stone for modern sports bike design. It kick-started a trend of radically styled motorcycles and encouraged others to be more imaginative, to go beyond those age-old, staid design templates.

Suzuki ran the Katana nameplate from 1981 to 2006, making it available in multiple engine options across segments. It has to be said, though, that not all Katanas were as sharp as the original – in fact, some of them were downright duds. So, Suzuki pulled the plug on it, which indeed was the right call.

And then, 13 years later, Suzuki decided to bring the legendary Katana nameplate back – the wraps came off the new-age Katana in 2019. Now, the very same motorcycle – with some minor updates – has arrived in India as a 2022 model. But the question remains – is this remake better than the original? 

PROS

Performance Design 

CONS

A few features missing 

FACTOR