Motorcycles are strange old things. Motorcyclists stranger still! I was minding my own business, walking through North London, when I spied the metallic grey monster. Stopped in my tracks, then whipped through the traffic to the other side of the road. The wife was still meandering along, under the impression that I was just behind her rather than about to squander the family's entire savings!
It wasn't even outside a dealers. The owner came out of the supermarket to find me pawing his superbike. When he realised it was a case of motorcycle lust rather than larceny he was OK about it. As it happens, he was quite keen to sell and, yes, two grand would just about seal the deal. The bank was just up the road and he lived around the corner. Money exchanged for docs, a quick talk with the insurance broker on the mobile, and the deed was done.
He was kind enough to throw in a lid, I roared home just ahead of the nearest and dearest. 1100 Katanas look outrageously fast just standing still, so when I wobbled to a standstill she thought some biker was trying it on! Hey Presto! Off with the lid, big grin - gobsmacked was an understatement. We'd actually done our courting on a CB750F1 (not literally, I hasten to add), she knew all about the joys of motorcycling.
Still, it took a bit of sweet talking to bring her around but after a few fast and sweaty runs on the 1100, she could see the total outrageous sense of it all. Luckily, this was the summer of '98, the weather held up long enough to get her back into the game. The Katana was one of my dream bikes back two decades ago, was, in fact, the fastest and most powerful machine I'd ever owned... not having ridden a bike for eight years made it an even crazier experience.
Two grand for an eighteen year old bike? This one was close to immaculate, had done only 17000 miles and growled contently with its good engineering, The owned bunged me a wad of receipts - new seat, exhaust and air filter as well as recent tyres. Three owners but they had all kept the bike for at least half a decade each. I've since seen them advertised for three grand, so that impulse buy wasn't totally insane.
The wife only really began to complain after I took her for a fast run up the M1. After an hour she was squirming around with an intensity she never manages in bed. The combination of the saddle's lack of compliance and the big four's secondary vibes led to massive discomfort. Had to pull into the services to give her a chance to stretch her legs; thereafter she wanted some relief every 30 minutes. The Katana happily cruised at 120-130mph, mileage still rapidly covered. I could do two hours in the saddle before I felt the need for a stretch - I have long arms which work well with the Kat's clip-ons and otherwise fitted the machine OK. My part of the saddle could've done with more padding but | must have a tough arse.
I could always take my mind off the comfort by using the acceleration and gearbox, the latter typically slick. Blistering was the only way to describe how the bike roared forward, the poor old wife had to hug me intimately or be thrown right off the back! I didn't mind this at all! It wasn't a wheelie bike, though, too long and too much mass to go out of control (for all its sporting pretensions and lean look, it still sent the scales past the 500Ib mark).
Handling was generally fine. Yes, they had a reputation for weaves and wobbles but this one had strong suspension and grippy Avon tyres, was quite stable on smooth roads. Bends with bumps in them had the bike a bit squeamish and not entirely stuck on the line that I wanted to take. High speed motorway sweepers, taken at 125mph, had the back wheel weaving but I never had the bars wrenched out of my hands, as some Katana owners have experienced. I suspect that had any of the bearings, tyres or suspension components gone off then a very different beast would've emerged!
Fuel was about 40mpg, though pottering around town at mild revs gave 60mpg. There was a bit of jerkiness in the throttle action at low revs but disassembly of the throttle, oiling of the cabling and perfect balancing of the four carbs soon sorted it. The drive chain needed a daily tweak but it might've been the one that came with the machine, the sprockets certainly looked far gone. Still, there were no tight spots in the run and it's lasted the 3200 miles I've done so far.
As I work from home, I don't have much incentive to ride through the harsher winter months, the bike a bit tremulous on wet, slimy roads, needing a careful throttle hand and taller gear than I'd normally employ. I cleaned it up after riding through wet weather, which has kept its finish fine - the matt black exhaust becomes spotted with rust but it wipes off easily, I doubt if it would last for more than three winters, though. The calipers needed a strip down at the end of January to stop them sticking on, but they pulled apart without much hassle.
At one point, I was worried about the starting, but that just turned out to be poor contacts on the battery connectors - too much white crud. The battery's level needs topping up every 1000 miles, or so. Electrics are notoriously weak on these bikes but mine is still running Suzuki rectifier/regulator and the alternator screws don't look like they have ever been touched. Any weakness in any electrical component will cause the whole lot to overheat and blow, as will neglecting regular oil changes!
At this age, bikes always have little niggles and problems turning up. Expect that, but at the same time enjoy the sheer brutality of the Katana - it's still in a class of its own!
John Wright