Motorcycle Monthly - August 2019 - Preview

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2020 is GO!

KTM’s new Super Duke R caught

OA ND R DSTER U ?

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ZX-R250 Kwak rumours surface!

Riding the Suzuki Katana in Japan Can it lilive up to C t th the hhype??

D ROADSTER UN ?

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WOWSER

PERFECT AL HE L★T

Honda’s CB650R & CBR650 0R

Gobert BEATEN ‘nearly to death’

£2.74 MILLION a DAY needed to fix UK roads!

Potholes legacy of ‘dereliction of duty’ by governments

Over the next decade, British roads need more than £10 BILLION just to get our crumbling highways system up to par.

The shocking news comes after a study into the state of the nation’s road network that will make depressingly familiar reading for every single motorcyclist. >More on page 5

NEWS 3

Finished and ready to rock Here’s the COMPLETE KTM 1290 Super Duke R for 2020 in all it’s glory

Then make your essential, one-stop website.

Words: Tony Carter At first glance, the bike doesn’t appear to be too radically different from the 174hp, 1301cc bike that’s currently on offer from the Austrian factory – but once you compare the two motorcycles side-by-side the large amount of differences are immediately clear.

On the 2020 model we can see that the new bike has a completely new exhaust, the downpipes snaking around the motor Ducati Panigale V4-esque style to improve lean angle, allowing for a bigger radiator and better handling into corners. The end can is new too, echoing a retro look rather than the track-derived brutish look of the current bike’s item.

Gone too, is the traditional KTM trellis subframe. Pillions (as if you’d carry a pillion on this bike… look at the size of that passenger seat!) are supported now on a cast-ally frame instead of the pipe-based look of the 2019 model. The new bike also has an all-new swingarm, which is connected to the rear shock via a link instead of directly connected as on the current bike.

There’s been some serious reworking of the engine too – now called the LC8-V2 – with new cooling routes visible and, no doubt, better manners on the road. Rumours are that the motor is going to be Euro 5 compliant, but will still make 180-190bhp.

The riding position looks slightly less severe too, with the riders photographed sitting more ‘in’ the bike than ‘on’ and pitched forward, which is what we’re used to seeing with the 1290 Super Duke R. In terms of looks, the new model’s bodywork has come in for some radical work. The radiator shroudfairing has much more aggressive, knee cut-ins than on the current bike; the large cut-out hole in the fairing has shrunk down to something much smaller; and the top of the fairing is much more angular, resembling mini

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Lid light-up kit

Perfect if you ride at night or gloomy weather, Lightmode’s retrofit kits attach to your helmet using either adhesive tape or liquid adhesive, depending on which variant you choose. Charged using a USB port, it should last between six and seven hours, depending on your chosen set up. And you can even extend the charge up to around 11 hours if you opt to use its ‘flashing’ mode. Prices start at £102.58 for the Neutron, £118.48 for the Electron, and £134.39 for the Proton.

wings in some of our photos.

In terms of changes directly for the rider’s comfort, the next generation Super Duke R gets a new TFT, larger screen, which may be touchresponsive, and the headlight has been re-designed to force more air out wide and past the rider’s legs at speed.

Expect to see this motorcycle make its debut in the flesh at EICMA in Milan, which runs from November 5-10. The bike will go on sale early in 2020 around the world.

Yeah! Now THIS is the sort of Kawasaki ZX-25R we’re waiting for (take note, Mr Kawasaki) Our mates over at Young Machine magazine in Japan have been going on about a hot Kawasaki quarter-litre sportsbike for as long as we have – over three years now – and whilst the road-going easy-to-ride A2-friendly bike’s had the momentum so far, it sounds like it’s time for the hot version to appear.

Well, when we say that, we mean that this is what the rumour-mill in the land of the rising sun reckons is going on and it also reckons that something like this illustration from Young Machine will be what we see at the big motorcycle shows throughout Motor Cycle Monthly, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR Tel: 01507 529529

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Editor Tony Carter Editorial design Fran Lovely Publishing director Dan Savage Publisher Tim Hartley Email editorial@motorcyclemonthly.co.uk Production editor Mike Cowton

the start of winter 2019.

Figure on the bike making over 50bhp and revving to something in region of 18,500rpm.

Yikes. Anyone remember the 14,500rpm redline of Kawasaki’s road ‘racer’ from 1995, the ZXR400? That wasn’t exactly a mini-superbike, but it did look the part and was a hoot on the road – providing you weren’t too mechanically sympathetic.

Should this turn out to be true, then expect the bike to be revealed in November at EICMA in Italy. As long as the ZX-25R has those 1989 ZXR750 H1esque mini-hoses coming out of the fairing and into the front of the petrol tank area, we’re in!

Benelli spy shot

The 400 was a four-stroke screamer in 95

The 1989 H1 was the first with big hoses

Picture desk Paul Fincham and Jonathan Schofield Group advertising manager Sue Keily Divisional advertising manager Zoe Thurling 01507 529412 Advertising Emma Knott 01507 529583, Mirela Vulaj 01507 529409 Advertising deadline for September issue August 1, 2019 Distribution 01507 529529 Marketing manager Charlotte Park

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Spy shots have appeared, which confirm that there’s a new naked sportbike on the way - the BN600 (aka TNT 600). The new front LED headlight is thinner and longer, and is flanked by a pair of LED indicators.

There are also new radiator covers, a black plastic cover under the tank and full-colour TFT screen.

For more info on getting on two wheels, check out our brilliant sister publication

Learners Commuters Buying On Two Wheels

Riding

MCM recommends bikesafe.co.uk

Independently proven pick up: 67,717 copies

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Anthony Gobert beaten ‘almost to death’

House intruders wielding baseball bats leave the former race ace in a bad way

Ducati’s new Streetfighter V4 confirmed for 2020 release We told you that Ducati was quietly working on the Streetfighter V4 a few months ago. Now here we are with the latest machine from the Bologna-based factory being finally unveiled to the general public.

Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati , confirmed the schedule for the official, customer-ready arrival of the naked V4 superbike with wide bars, saying: “The Streetfighter V4 will be one of the stars of the Ducati World Premiere 2020.

The Streetfighter V4 is the Panigale for road riding."

The prototype Streetfigher will race with a 'pixelated' livery, too. It is designed by the Centro Stile Ducati so we now know pretty much what the upcoming production model will look like.

Thankfully, it sounds like we won’t have to wait too much longer before we can ride it, too. Ducati says that the bike will be presented to the public at EICMA 2019 later this year. This is before being available in Ducati dealerships from as soon as mid-March, 2020.

Former 500GP, WSB, AMA and BSB racer Anthony ‘Go Show’ Gobert has been so severely beaten that medical staff couldn’t identify him.

It was only when he could eventually talk to Australian surgeons and tell them his name that the former superstar racer’s family could be contacted.

The assault happened three weeks ago after an argument and fight in a restaurant on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, but has only now come to light, such was the severe nature of the beating.

Reporting a message sent to Road Racing World by Anthony’s brother, Aaron Gobert, the site published the message. Here’s what RRW said they’d been sent: “The

Go Show wasn’t heard from in weeks.

Turned out some drunk said, ‘Are you the Go Show?’ while he was out eating. He said, ‘Yes, but I’m eating.’

Then they came back more drunk and one started a fight; he TKO’D that guy.

“But then his drunk friends followed him home. That night they came back in a group, kicked in his door and bashed him with bats to almost death and put him in ICU. (He) was in such a bad way they didn’t know who he was. Then when he could talk they Googled him and made contact with us. He’s in a bad way and will live. All on the Gold Coast of Australia.

That’s the story. Followed home and bashed by a group with bats after kicking in his door.

More on his health to come.”

NEWS 5

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Watch THIS!

British Pothole

Tony Cairoli has been out training on track in Lommel, Belgium – and he’s produced this awesome piece of video with the help of his GoProHERO7 Black. It’s well worth a watch. Go to: MoreBikes.co.uk and search ‘Cairoli’.

‘SCANDAL’! £10 BILLION needed over the next decade to fix decaying UK roads Words: Adam Rear

An investigation by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) has found that councils need to spend a whopping £2,740,000 A DAY for the next 10 years to rid the UK of its subpar road surfaces.

According to council figures a pothole is fixed somewhere in the UK every 17 seconds. This is a result of a cash boost totalling £24.5 million, itself an increase of 20% over budgets from 2016-2017. However, RAC figures still show drivers are twoand-a-half times more likely to suffer a pothole-related breakdown now than in 2006.

The survey also revealed a big

discrepancy in spending on road surfaces between councils.

Some local authorities received highway maintenance funding of more than £90,000 per mile last year, while others had less than 10% of that. The report said: “The English local road network has been allowed to decay so much that it would take more than a decade to bring it up to a reasonable standard.

“This is a national scandal that shows a dereliction of duty by successive governments and individual local councils. The Government must act now to remedy this.”

Local Government Association transport spokesman Martin Tett said councils face “significant funding pressures”, which have a detrimental impact on services such as roads maintenance.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said not putting enough money into fixing the UK’s local roads is “a false economy”.

He continued: “In doing so, an unnecessary burden is being placed on councils.

“And then, when roads inevitably fail and need emergency attention, we all end up paying through taxes for short-term repairs that

don’t sort out the problem in the long term.”

A Government spokesman said: “We know potholes are a nuisance and a hazard for all road users, particularly for motorcyclists.

“To improve local roads we are providing councils with £6.6 billion between 2015 and 2020, which includes more than £700 million for extra maintenance.

“We are also investing in trials on new road materials and repair techniques, as well as using technologies to help councils predict when roads will need repairs and prevent potholes.”

Spot a fake

Watch our MoreBikes video about how to spot a fake helmet. Shoei UK explains what to look out for and what to make sure of so that you get the right helmet for your head, and not a cheap knock-off copy. Go to: MoreBikes.co.uk and search ‘Fake’.

6 NEWS

Honda files patents for the CB125X and CB125M funky future roadsters that we first saw in Milan!

Last winter a lot of the world’s biking Press (us included) opine that Honda’s small-capacity prototypes shown at Milan should make it to the road.

What we were treated to was a pretty upright roadster and a small Adventure-styled bike. More of a styling exercise than a real presentation of a future bike or two, collectively we wished out loud and then moved on to the next pretty motorcycle to see. But now Honda

has gone and filed patents around the two concepts.

So what does this mean? Are we going to get these little A2 bikes on the road? Hard to say, as it’s entirely likely that Honda is doing little more than protecting its ideas with this bit of legal stamping on the models.

Still, it’s an interesting thing to see how close these patent designs really do ape what we saw at the Milan show, and in the flesh, these things were very smart indeed.

Not GRRRRREAT

Check out this simply terrifying video from a pillion’s helmet cam in India when a male Bengal tiger launches himself at the two-wheeled tasty treat before the rider manages to accelerate away. Shocking. Go to: MoreBikes. co.uk and search ‘tiger’.

1 2

1. This is the CB125X 2. Thi 2 This is i th the CB125M

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Suzuki extends 0%

Suzuki has extended its 0% finance offer on the GSX-R1000R plus the entry-level GSX-R125, with the deal now available until the end of September 2019. There’s also a new £250 Suzuki deposit contribution on the GSX-R125.

Available with a minimum deposit of £1,000 on the GSX-R1000R, customers can opt for either a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Hire Purchase (HP) agreement.

8 CROSSWORD

ITT’S THE MOTOR CYCLE MONTHLY

CROSSWORD!!

WIN WIN WIN WIN! This FANTASTIC Cardo PACKTALK duo bluetooth communication system worth £559.99.

FOR FREE! Crossword compiled by Ben Rumbold of MotoXwords

FOR FREE!

ALL you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this AMAZING Cardo bluetooth communications unit for your helmet is complete our free-to-enter Crossword Competition and send it into us.

It's as easy as that. So turn your competition head on, focus on

The hear and now now. How Cardo came abo about Back in 2003…

Cardo was one of a few companies creating bluetooth headpieces for early mobile phones. The units were called Scala and they were unique with wind-suppressing technology.

A year later Cardo launched the world’s first motorcycle bluetooth headset, the Scala Rider.

In 2005 the company made the world’s first built-in FM radio into a helmet-based

Worth £559.9 9

unit. It also introduced automatic volume control, to ensure best sound at any speed.

The world’s first rider-torider intercom appeared in 2007 with the Scala Rider Q2 unit connecting two riders over distances of up to 700 metres (0.45 miles).

2009 saw the world’s first long-range intercom crossing the mile barrier with Scala Rider G4.

World’s first music sharing

Scala Rider G9x appears in 2012 and introduces music sharing over Bluetooth with the most fully featured communicator of its day.

World’s first Mesh device is debuted in 2015 with Packtalk, the world’s first motorcycle communicator to go beyond Bluetooth.

Introducing Dynamic Mesh Communication (DMC) connecting up to 15 riders with no hassles, no time wasted, and no worries.

the two-wheeled world and get scribbling, and you could soon be the owner of this superb bit of biking kit that takes all the hard work out of enhancing your ride.

If you can talk whilst you're riding, you can operate the Cardo unit without having to take your hands off the handlebars.

We're giving away a stunning Cardo PACKTALK BOLD duo unit with JBL speakers worth £559.99.

The Cardo people have been building brilliant bluetooth units since 2003 and these latest bits of kit from the company have several brilliant touches, including what's called 'Natural Voice Operation'. Just tell the Cardo what you want from it, and it'll do it. The PACK TALK BOLD duo also features Dynamic Mesh. Set your intercom group once and then forget about it.

The built-in tech takes care of the rest, making sure that you can keep in touch with your mates when you ride.

With the pack being IP67 rated, nothing will interrupt your riding audio – not rain, shine, mud, dust or snow.

And with the powerful, highdefinition JBL speakers for the inside of your lid, plus the specially tuned audio processor, you get a sound experience in your helmet like no other. It's quality stuff.

If you want to know more about this top-level bluetooth communications system, go to: parma.com/cardo/

CROSSWORD 9

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July 2019 Issue #157

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Last Month’s Answers:

Across

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28 32

33

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1 & 4 Across & 23 Down: Ultra Low Emission Zone, 8 Race To Dakar, 12 Lever, 14 Ground Clearance, 15 New, 16 & 17 The End, 19 Tourer, 20 Tady, 24 Magura, 25 Bolt, 28 Sided, 29 Earth, 31 EK, 33 CZ, 34 & 35 Yoshimura Suzuki, 36 TT, 37 Bel, 38 Triple Clamp, 39 Spanners, 40 Autobahn

Down 38

39

Across

Down

1: Starting line address for the Isle of Man Mountain Course.

(13,4) 8: Victorian Park which encloses a mile-long race track where the Welsh Open is held at the end of July each year. (8) 9: Rubber part that keeps things from leaking! (4) 10: See 24 Down 11: Major university city or major bike products manufacturer and distributor. (6) 13: Senor Alzamora, former 125cc World Champ and manager for the Marquez brothers. (6) 14: Type of valve used in high-performance two-stroke motors. (4) 16: Famous red football stand or a classic Hill Climb in Buckinghamshire. (3) 19: Castle ___, popular Wiltshire race and track day circuit where Guy Martin rode the Honda-6 a couple of years ago. (5) 20: The only bike that has gone round the TT course entirely on the back wheel, courtesy of Dougie Lampkin in 2016. Quite a fear in itself! (7) 21: Leading brakes manufacturer based in Northampton. (3) 23: See 35 Across 25: In Euro measurements, a 39 across is a whole one of these wide. (5) 26: Since April 2018 all bike clothing has had to meet these regulations to be legal. (3) 29: African country that was part of the Dakar rally route until it left the continent of its origin. (4) 32: Suzuki street bike with, most usually, a 650cc engine. (2) 33: Italian helmet manufacturers which sport their nation’s tricolore as part of the logo. (3) 35 & 23 Across: TV series featuring a fictional chopper-riding gang based in Charming, California. (4,2,7) 36: A naked RSV Mille? Yes please, in red and black only please! (5) 37: One of the few countries in the world that ride on the left-hand side of the road. (2) 38: Limited edition model of the Ducati Panigale that sports a tricolore colour scheme. (8) 39: Big, as in 111 cubic inches big, American cruiser named after the company’s original home town. (6,11)

1 & 23 Down: Statistically still the greatest GP rider of all time, with a section of course not far after 1 across named after him. (7,8) 2: John McGuiness’ silver dream racer, not quite living up to the brand’s historic success this year. (6) 3 & 17 Down: Fantastically named motorcycle display team who allegedly live all together in a castle on the Isle of Man. (3,6,7) 4: Either an Asian mass market scooter model, or a cool black MotoGP bike when the green team pulled the plug. (6) 5: The way there, often decided by maps and now sat navs. (5) 6: To reach the far eastern part of this country you have to attempt to ride the Road of Bones. (6) 7: Carburettor specialists who also use the tricolore as part of their branding. (4,4) 12: Producers of all varieties of motorcycle video and now, of course, DVDs. (4) 15 & 27 Down: Historic Worcestershire brand now

1 Upright, 2 Tachometer, 3 & 30 Down Old Hairpin, 5 Mir, 6 Silencer, 7 North West, 9 Tinted, 10 Axle, 11 Analogue, 13 Veen, 18 & 37 Down Ny-Baa, 21 Handguards, 22 Tohru Ukawa, 26 Michelin, 27 Peru, 32 KYT, 33 Campsa, 35 Sweet, 36 Ties built, and selling massively, in India. (5,7) 17: See 3 Down 18: Before glass or after carbon, either one gets you a very useful material for parts all over a modern motorcycle. (5) 22: Loris, small but strong Italian who won the first MotoGP for Ducati’s Desmosedici, and is now the safety advisor for the series. (9) 23: See 1 Down 24 & 10 Across: Sponsors of Honda’s BSB team, back when they won titles in black and orange livery.

(2,5) 27: See 15 Down 28: Premium Japanese leather suit and boot makers. (6) 30: Tyres from the West Country, named after a big local river? (4) 31: Italian whose sole world 500cc title preceded a long drought for champions in the class both from Europe and for Suzuki. (6) 34: Both 32 and 39 across run with this configuration of powerplant. (1,4)

Here’s the legal bit that you need to know

To be in with a chance of winning, fill in your details on the form and return the completed crossword to: Motor Cycle Monthly, August 2019 Competition, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR. Competition closes: August 9, 2019 Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms (please circle)

#5

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Guy Martin: Fake driving licence trial date moved to January next year

Huge rise in motorcycle sales across Europe!

Television personality Guy Martin will face trial in the Crown Court next January over fake driving licence claims.

Martin, 37, of Barnetby, Lincs, was originally due to stand trial on July 1, but the date has now been moved to January 6, 2020.

Martin has previously denied possession of a document with intent to deceive between December 4, 2017 and May 15 last year, relating to ‘a document so closely resembling an Irish driving licence as to be calculated to deceive’.

We’re also UP, but NOT as much as our neighbours across the water...

Figures from the European Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (ACEM) make for some nice reading over new motorcycle sales, showing huge increases appearing when compared to the same period last year.

The ACEM says that 244,991 new bikes were registered for the first time in the first three months of this year – that’s 19.2 per cent more than in the same period of 2018.

Here’s how the European markets are broken down: Italy is still the largest European market with 54,826 new bikes registered from January to March (an increase of 18.7 percent).

In second place is Germany with 44,450 new motorcycles (up by 23.3 percent). France managed 43,942 motorbikes (a plus of 20 per cent), Spain 37,255 (20.5 per cent up) and the UK 25,913 (an increase of 10.3 per cent over the first quarter of 2018).

New registrations of electric motorcycles increased by a whopping 71.2 per cent, but don’t go thinking this means an emerging e-bike glut.

A total of 14,251 electrically operated two-wheelers were newly registered.

Of these, 11,258 are scooters and only 2,295 are motorcycles.

The largest e-market is France with

4,407 electric two-wheelers (+ 105%). In Belgium, 2,627 e-bikes (+ 78.5%) have been registered; in the Netherlands 2,598 (+ 52,6%); in Spain 1,632 e-bikes (+ 28%); and in Italy 901 (+ 49,2%).

The market for 50cc bikes has also grown considerably. The ACEM says that 52,715 50cc vehicles have been registered, which is an increase of 30.1 per cent. The largest moped market is France with 17,997 vehicles, ahead of the Netherlands (13,040 vehicles), Belgium (4,683 vehicles), Spain (3,993 vehicles) and Italy (3,846 vehicles).

Check this out: a Yamaha R6 Anniversary special There’s been the Suzuki GSX-R1000 in Kevin Schwantz colours and the Yamaha R1 in it’s 20th Anniversary clothes that sold for €40,000, which BOTH sold out in 24 hours, so you’ve got to think that there’s a market for a 20th Anniversary Yamaha R6. But this isn’t an official Yamaha motorcycle for such a thing. Oh no.

This particular bike was made as a one-off and is now owned by the winner of a lottery of Japanese R6 fans. The lottery was drawn on June 28 and now the bike is going to be delivered to the winner, who will then pay £11,308 for the one-off special.

There are no changes technically between this special and the standard, current R6. The bike still kicks out 118.4bhp and 61.7Nm of torque from the four-cylinder inline engine. It still tips the scales at 190kg.

Whilst it’s not an official Yamaha model (yet) the bike’s design by GK Dynamics (who came up with the original R6’s red and white livery) was unveiled at Sugo to much positivity, so there’s a good chance we could see this motorcycle appear as an ‘official’ model in the near future, based on the public’s response, at least, to the way this thing looks.

“This particular bike was made as a oneoff and is now owned by the winner of a lottery of Japanese R6 fans.”

He has also denied that between March 1 and May 15 this year he made a false statement by claiming he was the holder of an Irish driving licence, entitling him to drive certain categories of vehicles for the purpose of obtaining a British licence to drive some categories of vehicles.

Martin was excused attendance at a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court when Judge John Pini QC put the trial back to January 6.

The trial is expected to last three days.

NEWS 11

Kit your Grom out with a sidecar!

US custom house Industrial Moto has just revealed its sidecar kit for Honda’s hugely successful Grom.

Of course, the Grom (or MSX 125) is a hugely popular base bike for custom builders – with an entire community creating unique scramblers, nakeds and race machines. But up until now, we’ve not seen a sidecar unit for the 125cc machine.

Called GUS, the Grom Utility Sidecar is essentially a compact sidecar unit, which fits on to a standard Grom using existing fitting points. And we think it looks the business.

If you fancy kitting out your own Grom, the sidecar kit will set you back $1,600 (£1225). For more information go to: industrialmoto.com/gus/

Naked biking West Berlin police pulled over a naked scooterist on decency grounds last month. The rider’s reason for scootering au natural was that it was just so damned hot… At least he had his helmet, sandals and gloves on.

BMW files patent for a new flexible fuel tank Is this proof that a new hybrid motorcycle is on the way?

Patents have been filed by BMW for a new flexible fuel tank, which all but confirm that there’s a hybrid motorcycle on the way from the German giant.

Of course, this isn’t the first we’ve heard about the Bavarian factory’s forays into the hybrid world. Remember Wunderlich’s BMW R1200GS, which was powered by a 7.6kW electric motor in the front wheel hub, in addition to its usual Boxer lump?

Well, now it looks like things are getting official.

The new patents show

a ‘variable capacity’ tank, with the lower part made of a flexible material to make it easy to modify its shape and accommodate (in a nonpermanent way) an additional battery designed to power an electric motor.

The main advantage of the supposed system would be that you could take advantage of its hybrid capabilities when you’re in and around town, and then remove the extra battery and expand the traditional fuel tank for longer journeys.

Sharp Blade

With the iconic Japanese endurance race a month away (the entire event runs from Friday, July 26th to Sunday, July 28th) Honda has unveiled this beauty. It’s a trick Blade under the Red Bull colours. Traditionally, whatever Blade Honda runs at Suzuka usually gives us an indication of what we’ll see on the following year’s roadgoing model.

12 THE MODERN RETRO ROADBIKE

SUZUKI’S ‘NEW’

KATANA: On the prowl

Suzuki has gone to its 'Greatest Hits' back catalogue to bring out an old favourite with a modern underbelly.

WORDS: Mikko Nieminen, Editor, Motorcycle Sport & Leisure magazine PHOTOGRAPHY: Suzuki

Spend any amount of time in Japan – as we did for the world launch of the modern bike with the retro touches – and it quickly becomes clear that everything they do, from cooking to gardening, from flower arranging to engineering, is carried out with great care, precision and devotion. There’s no room for half measures or a ‘that’ll do’ attitude.

The thinking seems to be that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. And if getting the right result takes time, so be it.

So, you can imagine the shock when Suzuki engineers – who would consider three years a reasonable development cycle for a new bike – learnt about the time frames of the Katana project. They were expected to go from a design concept into mass production in just over a year – and this was a remake

of the Katana, one of the most iconic bikes in the company’s history. You could hear the engineers’ screams of despair a mile away.

Adding to the challenge was the fact that the whole project was based on a concept bike created

by Italian designer Rodolfo Frascoli, with no consultation with the factory. Suzuki bosses simply saw it at a show and decided to make this the rebirth of the Katana. So, the Suzuki team was given an artist’s impression of a bike, and next to no time to turn it into a finished article.

There was a silver lining, though.

Suzuki had a choice of tried and tested components packaged into its street bikes. And in a way, the project started just like the development of the original Katana, which got its looks from a European design house, Target

Design, when its legendary designer Hans Muth penned the blueprint for the 80s Katana.

Muttering something about déjà vu, the Suzuki engineers realised that resistance was futile – so they wiped their tears, rolled up their sleeves, took a good look at their GSX-S1000 and started to imagine it in a new shape.

After 14 months they emerged from the depths of the factory blinking and frazzled, but they had done it: they had turned the GSX-S into the new Katana, ready for mass production – and it looked the business. A combination of design cues from the original Katana and modern touches, the final product was very close to the design concept, and it had a look that the factory could be proud of. It was high fives all round the engineering department.

“Jumping on something loaded with as much legend and emotion as the Katana is special.”

THE MODERN RETRO ROADBIKE 13

Divisive looks

The Katana is always going to be a bit of a Marmite bike – it’s not to everyone’s taste. Given its fairly niche market and the huge cost involved in developing a new motorcycle from scratch, it made sense for Suzuki to take the GSX-S and base the new bike on that. But that didn’t stop them making the Katana a bit of a looker.

The front of the bike is more faithfully based on the old Katana.

There are sword-inspired lines, a stubby screen, a die cast mudguard strut and, of course, a rectangular headlight. What stands out there is the single-unit handlebar, which rises higher than the old Katana’s clip-ons.

Apparently this approach was chosen for rider comfort and better steering.

Towards the back of the bike the looks are a lot more modern. Gone are the twin shocks and pipes, the big seat and the traditional mudguard. In their place you have a single shock, a four-to-one exhaust, a sleek duo-tone seat – and thanks to the licence plate

hanger attached to the swingarm and a new subframe, a tail that looks clean, light and very modern indeed.

So what’s actually new?

Apart from the looks, there are not many differences between the new Katana and the existing GSX-S1000, on which the Katana is heavily based.

The engine in both bikes is the K5 version of the GSX-R1000 fourcylinder 999cc powerplant, although with a different tune and a mellower set up. It was first bolted on Suzuki’s flagship sportsbike in 2005, and has proven to be both effective and reliable over the years.

Power figures are good too, even with the current tune: 148bhp at 10,000rpm and 80lb-ft of torque at 9500rpm. For a bike with a wet weight of 215kg, those are healthy figures.

The frame, suspension, brakes and wheels are also shared between the bikes, although the suspension settings have been changed for the Katana.

14 THE MODERN RETRO ROADBIKE TECH SPEC Suzuki Katana (2019)

Price: £11,399 Engine: 999cc, liquid-cooled, DOHC, inline four Power: 148bhp (110kW) @ 10,000rpm Torque: 80lb-ft (108Nm) @ 9500rpm Transmission: 6-speed, chain final drive Frame: Light alloy, double sided beam Suspension: (F) KYB fully-adjustable 43mm inverted telescopic fork, coil spring, oil damped; (R) KYB link type, coil spring, oil damped shock, preload adjustable Brakes: (F) Brembo radial monobloc 4-piston calipers, 310mm floating discs; (R) Nissin single-piston caliper, 250mm disc. Bosch ABS Tyres: (F) 120/70ZR17M/C (58W); (R) 190/50ZR17M/C (73W) Fuel tank: 12 litres (2.6 gallons) Seat height: 825mm Kerb weight: 215kg Service intervals: First service 600 miles, then 7500 miles Warranty: 3 years, unlimited mileage Roadside assistance: 1-year roadside recovery and home start Colours: Silver or black Contact: bikes.suzuki.co.uk

As the seat has moved forward 80mm and therefore more weight has transferred to the front, Suzuki has stiffened the forks slightly.

Adversely, the rear suspension is slightly softer. The old rims get brand new rubber on them in the form of Dunlop Roadsport 2 – according to the tyre company, they’re developed specifically with the Katana in mind.

Also derived from the standard streetfighter is the three-stage traction control, which can also be switched off. ABS is non-switchable.

The differences, apart from the looks, are mainly to do with the riding position, which has been made more relaxed by keeping the pegs where they are, but lifting the seat 15mm to 825mm to give your knees a bit more of a relaxed angle. The bars are also slightly higher, making the rider sit more upright – looking cool doesn’t have to come with a backache.

One victim of the styling exercise was the tank, shrunk down to 12 litres from the GSX-S1000’s 17-litre unit. With the claimed consumption being 53mpg and the figure on the dash after our fairly rapid test ride on closed roads being 37mpg, depending on your riding style you have a range of around 100-140 miles. It’s not a huge distance, but Suzuki are expecting most buyers to use this as a bike for fun rather than commuting or touring. That should do for a Sunday dash.

Kyoto in Japan, and Suzuki had closed a section of a twisty mountain road for us. This meant that highway cruising and town riding were out of the picture, but in fairness it was exactly the sort of environment where you might expect the customers to want to ride their Katanas.

Jumping on something loaded with as much legend and emotion as the Katana is special. Technically, this is just another modern bike, but if you look past all the Katana history and forget its roots, you’re missing the point.

Either way, as we started our ‘hill climb’, the initial feelings were pretty much as expected.

The riding position was relaxed, the engine smooth, and the whole package worked effortlessly.

One instant discovery was the improved throttle feel.

If you’ve ridden the 2015 GSX-S1000 you’ll probably remember the initial throttle opening being rather abrupt. But fear not.

The shape of the throttle grip cam has been changed for the Katana, making the power come on less abruptly when the throttle is first opened. Power still builds quickly as the throttle is opened further, but the snatchiness is almost entirely gone and the little that is left is easy to ride around.

The excellent throttle feel, combined with the light clutch and an effective rear brake, make slow riding easy.

The only thing to note is that Suzuki’s Low RPM Assistance raises the revs a little when the bike thinks that you’re about to stall. This means that

Suzuki are expecting most buyers to use this as a bike for fun...

On the move

The world launch ride event of the Katana was arranged just outside

you have to pull the clutch in slightly earlier than you normally would to take the drive off the rear wheel at crawling speeds.

Reading the dash is easy, with your speed, selected gear and revs dominating the view. You can also see trips, fuel consumption, range, clock and traction control settings.

Controlling the latter is easy with the buttons mounted on the left side of the bars. The dash is a simple LCD item rather than a swanky full-colour TFT jobby. A slightly more radical Katana design would have been nice, but it does the job.

Continued on page 16

Could it be better?

Given the tight deadline for the project, we asked Suzuki Chief Engineer, Satoru Terada, if he would have added anything to the bike, given unlimited time and money. He said: “We needed to deliver the project very quickly, so we stuck with existing technologies. With more time and money, we could have gone for something like a ride-by-wire throttle, and with that all sorts of rider aides such as wheelie control.”

16 THE MODERN RETRO ROADBIKE HANGER

The licence plate hanger is a first for Suzuki. It looks great, but whether it does the job of a proper mudguard remains to be seen

TANK

With clear design inspiration from the original Katana, the tank holds 12 litres of juice.

That means a range of 100-140 miles

THROTTLE

BARS

Re-routing the throttle cable has (almost entirely) solved the issue of snatchiness. Now the action is smooth, but still perky

The single-piece item which has replaced the donor bike’s clip-ons is an n obvious step away from the original motorc cycle. It does help with comfort and steerin ng

DASH

The e LCD display has a hintt of the old Katana’s dassh design with the curvved tacho counter bars, but you do feel thatt Suzuki missed a trick with not making more of it

HEADLIGHT

The e headlight is recttangular to match the original Katana. In a mod dern twist, it’s a full LED D item, as are the rest of the lights

TYRES

The OE fitment Dunlop Roadsport 2 tyres weren’t particularly confidence-inspiring, but the cold, damp weather and stop-start nature of the ride didn’t help

SUSPENSION

If not pushed too hard, the suspension works well, but the hard front, soft rear set up makes steering slower

FRAME

The frame is the same item that keeps the GSX-S1000 together, but the subframe has been slightly modified to make the tail slimmer

ENGINE

The K5 engine has been around since 2005, and earned its stripes a long time ago. Even with the slightly lower tune, it’s still a great powerplant

BRAKES

The monobloc Brembos at the front are highly efficient. ABS is non-switchable, but only came on during very hard braking – it’s useful rather than annoying