Out Of The Scabbard, Sharper Than Ever

We tested the mettle of the 2019 Suzuki Katana in Australia to see if it is still just as sharp!

- Karan Singh Bansatta

WITH warriors, one thing is certain, their time comes and their time goes. But in case of some legends, their time comes and it never really goes away. They just move aside to give the younger ones a chance. They are away, yes, but by choice. And when the need arises, they make a grand comeback to tell others what made them a legend and to… show others how it’s done. Even if the title did not reveal the warrior we are talking about, the above description might have given the true aficionados a good enough hint. The warrior is a motorcycle which went… and goes by the name Katana.

The original Katana is one of the most iconic and one of the most radical motorcycles ever made. It shook the motorcycling world to the core because of the unconventional design and because of the fact that Suzuki claimed it to be the most powerful and the fastest motorcycle of its time.

It was also a very interesting motorcycle and the reason is that it is a Suzuki motorcycle designed by a team called Target Design (Germany) and the members comprised of Jan Fellstrom, Hans-Georg Kasten, and Hans Muth ex-chief of styling for BMW! The Katana, when launched in 1981, was an instant hit. It broke the conventional norms of motorcycle styling and ushered sportbikes into a new era.

Despite the design, the power and the speed it possessed, the Katana was slowly sidelined by newer motorcycles which were a lot more focussed on the sporty intent. These motorcycles include Suzuki’s own GSX-series of motorcycles. The Katana became, from a sportbike to a comfortable sports-tourer. Time kept progressing and finally, the production was stopped in 2006.