I think it was a horrible write up. Full of lie's and false facts. I meen, who in there right mind would ever ride a RED Kat?!?!?!

It wasn't to bad of a write up. I don't think it will help the Kat live any longer though.

Oh well, maybe they will come out with something better (Can we say Fuel Injected?!?!)

For those who didn't see it:



Now add this to end of the above URL:

Kat_revue_cycleworld_Mar06.pdf

(this should keep those spiders from indexing it)

PDF format, 3.6Mb, high-res

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

Wow, a magazine not ragging on the Kat. It's good to see that some people have come to see the light.

ME

Hmmm...

CyberPoet starts thinking to himself that perhaps there needs to be letter writing campaign to put me on Suzuki USA's staff... What I promise to bring you if I were appointed in charge of such things:

Reintroduction of 250cc/400cc street models for newbies and the economically disadvantaged (and they can do double-duty as bad-weather rides for guys with more expensive 'good-weather' bikes). Let's face it, do we need more than 25 HP and 175 lbs to get 3 miles to campus and back for most college students? Kill the scooter craze by undercutting it with small motorcycles, and build a future generation of motorcyclists who will go on to graduate to larger bikes (ensuring viable economics for more choices and quantity-driven low prices in the 15 year horizon)

The '01 GSXR 600 engine (injected), recam'd for midrange torque and a lower RPM ceiling, stuck into a Katana-style frame as the new Kat 600. If that wouldn't fly, then the current Euro Bandit-650 engine and a little bit of dieting.

The '01 GSXR 750 engine (injected), recam'd for low- & midrange torque and bored over to 800cc's for the new Kat 800 (replaces the Kat 750). Same basic frame as the present Kat.

An 1100 to 1300cc big-brother Kat. The Stratosphere would do, but I'd want some changes in the fairings... More likely, it'd have the B12 or Busa engine, with a more touring emphasis than the Busa and more protection then the now-gone-for-2006 B12.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

Just tell em Katriders sent you ! If they cant see the value of the Kat after saying that, then there is no hope..

Good point. We are their target market after all so who better to listen to. Just think Cyber you could fill out an application and in the references part just start printing off KR threads to hand in with it.

Me too!

lou: fi isn't the end all and be all of motorcycling. check some of the reviews of the '06 fz1. it's got fi and every artcle i've read states the carbed but had better fuel metering from the factory.

I've just got one phrase for you, mister:





STFU!

Motorcyclists 2006 buyers guide has some good things to say about the kats as well .. its your basic info but it projects the kats for what they are. A bullet proof, reliable, all around good sportbike/sportourer.

I think it's a fair write up, except the mentions of it being inexpensive.

The main problem I have with the Katana is price. It's too expensive for what you get compared to other bikes in it's class.

Comparing MSRP's:

Katana 600: $6399
Katana 750: $6999

Yamaha FZ6: $6799 - for only $400 more than the K600 and $200 LESS than the 750 you can get a fantasic little sport tourer that's a new design with an aluminum frame, liquid cooling, more power, less weight, digital guages, etc. I have a friend who rides one and loves it. FWIW, he also paid far under MSRP for the bike.

SV650S $6449: Again, MUCH newer design, aluminum frame, liquid cooled, injected, and less than $100 more than a Kat 600. (I've also seen a brand new SV650S sitting on a dealers floor tagged for sale at $5k)

Vstrom 650 $6699: Same as the others, more modern than the Katana in every way yet still in the same price bracket.

Ninja 650R $6299: This is a brand new model for this year and it's $100 cheaper than the Katana 600!

I know some of you will say that none of these bikes would fit your needs as well as a Katana. That may be, but that's not my point. My point is that all of these bikes are very modern machines and they cost roughly the same as the Katana, which is almost a 20 year old design. The development costs were recouped LONG ago. In my mind, the Katana would be a much better bike if it had an MSRP of ~$4000.

I think Katana's can be a great used bike to buy and can be had for cheap, but I don't know why anyone would pay a new-bike price for one after seeing what else is available on the market for the same money.

There's a couple problems with your notion:

(A) You're comparing it mostly to two-cylinder (the exception is the FZ6), semi-faired single-headlight bikes, which are cheaper to build & transport in general. The fact that these others have significantly lower cargo load capabilities also plays into it.

(B) I agree that it could be updated, and the machining has paid for itself. On the other hand, the sales numbers for the platform aren't strong enough to justify pushing the price down too far... Integrating technology already in their supply system would be the next logical step for the company, and in some senses that has already happened repeatedly (like the tail light from the Busa). Personally, I'm happy that it's not water cooled -- it was part of my purchasing decision, because I used to run around with roasted (almost black) ankles on my other bikes from the fans kicking on in the summer at traffic lights & dumping that heat at my ankles.

(C) There's no way they could push the price-point for the Kat to $4k and continue to build them in Japan. If they farmed the work out to South Korea, or somewhere else where labor is cheaper in the PacRim, the price-point could be driven down by probably as much as $1k, but the quality of workmanship would almost assuredly faulter as a result. If you think about transport costs and mark-ups along the way, a $4k price-point at the dealer would have to be deliverable to US shores at $3k, and have a build-cost (including some factory profit margin) $2650 or so -- and that's simply an unrealistic price point for a modern 600 coming out of a 1st world country.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet