have i got a katana?? hellllllp

[spunky gypo]

hi guys, i just got a 1100 gsx 1984 model, but is it a katana? its on my avatar . some say it is some say it isnt..... heeeeellllllllllppppppppp!!!

[chrisgreer23]

From what I can see I think it is. The headlight area doesn't look stock but the tank/fairings look like a Kat.

[suzukiray]

That is NOT a Katana! That is what we got as the GS 1150 here in the USA. Ray.

[scottynoface]

Yep, that's a GS not a katana.

[spunky gypo]

just checked the documents and its an import to the uk, registered in 98 but its a 84 model , all i got on the docs is suzuki and 1100cc!!! ive been told its a gsx???? dont know if it helps!!

[rexazz2]

gs1100es

http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-sport-touring-1983-Suzuki-GS-W0QQAdIdZ235230863

[Mojoe]

gs1100es
http://ontario.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ235230863

actually, you are mistaken. that is an 1983 gs1100es that you linked to, but in 1984, the year he owns, they did not make a gs1100es. the only 2 1100's in 84 was the 1100 katana, and the gsx1100ef....which is what he has. although it is not complete. the full front fairing is not on the bike.

so his bike is a gsx, not a gs. and the ONLY thing in common with the 84 kat is the forks, and wheels. they are not even the same engine. the gsx1100ef has the 1135cc engine, and the kat has the 1074cc....and yes, the gsx1100ef has more power than the kat. 2hp to be exact, but the ef is also 14lbs heavier.

btw...I have a spare engine for that bike if you ever need one. might have a few other parts as well. I have parted out several of them. the parts are as rare as hen's teeth, and made me a hell of a lot of money. I got over $1000 just for the tank and body. the front upper fairing alone netted me over $500 on ebay. most of it went to a person just like you....got a hold of an incomplete bike and wanted to bring it back to original.

btw, they are great bikes. I had one for about 3 months that I was going to keep for myself. picked it up for $500 in awesome shape. it was blue. the ONLY reason I sold it was cuz that $500 brought me back close to $3k in parts on ebay.

[hardlydangerous]

its a GSX1100EF not a Katana

great bike thou !

{edit} nevermind I was too late lol

[tejasandre]

It's definately a bike.

[zuma]

It's a nice bike...I had an 83 GSX750ES that was 23 years old...wish I'd kept it too.

It was a dandy!

[jimbowv]

did you run the numbers to see what it says it is...just trying to help

[cyclefvr2]

i thought the GSX were katanas...?, the gs, then gsx/katana??? then gsxr "r= race" maybe not here so much as overseas

[cintidude04]

GSX doesn't signify Katana. Even the Hayabusa is a GSX1300R.
not taking credit for this article but it is bout right...

GS - Gran Sport, used to indicate a road going Suzuki standard motorcycle, the only model that still uses this designation in the Suzuki line up is the GS500.

XR - eXperimental Racing. Designation added to GS for Suzukis road legal race replica motorcycles thereby creating GSXR.

There are additional suffixes added to the GS "road going" moniker such as GSX (just Gran Sport eXperimental) for the Katana motorcycles and a couple older models or GSF (the F stands for something in Japanese that I can't remember but generally indicates a sporting but not race replica trim) for the Bandit motorcycles. To be noted, the Hayabusa is technically not a GSXR but some hybrid between that and the Katana given it's model moniker GSX1300R.

Also to be noted, Suzuki's non-road legal race bikes are coded as XR for just eXperimental Racing.

[Smokinapankake]

The US GS's were pretty much the same as the rest of the world's GSX.
For instance, a US GS1100SD was the US Katana. The rest of the world's GSX1100SD was the same bike.

But...
The US GS 1150's were known as GSX 1100's everywhere else.

Fo some reason the US was afraid of the GSX designation. Sounded too much like sex, I guess.....

[cintidude04]

Fo some reason the US was afraid of the GSX designation. Sounded too much like sex, I guess.....

Never heard that before. Not saying you are wrong., but wasn't the 80's lifestyle basically sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll lol. If they didn't use GSX in the US, it wasn't because it sounded like sex