katana the right bike for me?need advice

[JBREWER]

i have a 2001 katana 600,it is my first bike and i got it in may so i have had all summer to ride and get used to it. i love the bike, most of the bike that is it looks great! it is comfortable but already i feel like it does'nt have enough juice for me.so i'm already debating to myself about selling it next spring.now i don't care if it takes away from my top speed or not i've already took it as high as it will go and in my opinion it would be good for me to lose that but i would like to know what i could do to improve my acceleration. i've heard jet kits and new sprockets but what is the actual improvments these make? is it considerably noticeable?if so what is the best sprocket sizes to make this happen? I also have heard something about an ignition advancer.i'm kind of green so how expensive are all of the above and what will make the most drastic change to my dead stop to start speed.i know alot of you guys are probably thinkin i should go and get another bike. well that's exactly what i want to know should i get another bike already or stick it out do some mods and maybe become satisfied!

[Alley_Kat]

If you want a rice rocket the kat is not for you.
A 600cc sport bike will be lighter and have more hp. Even the F4i has more HP (110) and less weight.
I think it would be cheaper to sell the kat and get a sport bike, than to try to put the mods on the kat.

[Zepp]

If you want a rice rocket the kat is not for you.
A 600cc sport bike will be lighter and have more hp. Even the F4i has more HP (110) and less weight.
I think it would be cheaper to sell the kat and get a sport bike, than to try to put the mods on the kat.

I would keep the Kat for at least a year and hone your riding skills first. If you think that you want something faster then don't waste your money upgrading your Kat, save the money for your next purchase. How many miles have you ridden on the bike since May?

[The CyberPoet]

If acceleration and only acceleration is your bag, I would suggest tracking down an used Yamaha VMax. It doesn't turn particularly well, it doesn't have a massive top speed, but it will roast your eyeballs straight out of the sockets with raw acceleration. It was designed for that one purpose and literally accels at it.

As for sprocket changes, this too will give you raw off-the-line acceleration. Running something custom like a 13/56 combo will net you over 1/3rd more acceleration, readily loft the wheel skyward, and make your runs up to peak speed like a raped ape. You'll be shifting much more often (because the engine will run through it's RPM range much faster), and your top speed will be drastically reduced (because you'll hit redline at a much lower speed in top gear), but you will get one hellacious heft of acceleration out of it. All other upgrades to the Kat aside from transplanting in a much larger displacement engine and/or putting very lightweight wheels (magnesium race wheels) on it won't give you that acceleration you seem to be asking for.

Now, all that said, I suspect that you have become tunnel-visioned into appreciating a single aspect of motorcycling to the total abandonment of all other aspects (carving, railing, touring, etc.). Four months isn't a long time under your belt, and I feel that I would be amiss to suggest that you get something that has sufficient torque to flip over on itself with a single twist of the throttle... Maybe I'm wrong, but I've been around for a long time and generally know what I'm talking about.

Back to your acceleration issue and the concept of other bikes...
Basic acceleration is dictated by only three factors:
1. Displacement. The amount of maximum torque an engine can make is directly proportional to it's cubic displacement (if you run some figures on all the engines out there, you'll find this is true within about 10% on every motorcycle engine made). The cylinder count, cam lift and fueling methods will change how the torque curve is expressed (flat or curved or steep, etc), but the max torque will remain the same in general for any displacement.
2. Gearing. The more you alter the gearing (trading top-end speed for low-end torque), the faster the acceleration will become on any combustion vehicle.
3. Weight. There are two types of weight at play - the total weight (including you on the bike) and the rotational masses. Generally a 1 lb savings in rotational masses translates into the equivilent of 12 lbs of other weight shed at 50 mph, 25 lbs at 100 mph.

Good Luck and hope the Gods are with you...
=-= The CyberPoet

[Imagin]

JBrewer, these are words you probibally dont want to hear but i feel you need to heed them

You have gotten nowhere near the limit of what a Katana can do.

You probibally want more power, and to have a bike that people dont laugh at when they see as being a "girl bike"

Be wise, you have a solid running bike, that in its day was Suzukis racebike and Katanas are not exactly high up on the "steal me" lists of most theives.

Like Cyberpoet said, you live in a seasonal riding place (i thank god i live in hawaii, year round weather), so the 4 months youve been going isnt enough to justify you need more bike.

If youre set on selling the katana for an SS bike, then go with it, cuz our words here will go in your eyes and out just as fast. Just heed the words that you dont have the slightest clue what your Katana can truly do in such a short time riding.

My personal path is probibally going to be keeping my Katana as a commuter bike because bike theft here in hawaii is completly out of hand, and buying a SS for when i ride hard on sundays or feel like showing off in waikiki. The katana is good at what it does for me, so im definitly considering a 2 bike approach.

[ctandc]

Wow...I really don't get it.

My Katana is an old stock 600. And it can get to to 120mph + in a heartbeat. And I'm not so old I've slowed down, but besides a racetrack, where can you readily push a Katana or a SS bike for that matter, to those speeds and actually USE that acceleration?

I've built probably 10 project cars over the last 15 or so years...the last on was a low 12 second street car that hit 11's on slicks, and I drove it everyday. I just don't see how you can actually get any use out of all that power...the Kat to me is the perfect compromise, at least for me..

- I didn't want to be fully stooped over like every SS bike
- I wanted something big enough to commute / take some trips on, but wasn't so big it wasn't easy /fun to whip around curves and use as a commuter
- I wanted good power, but good gas mpg was a conern as well, since one of the big reason was to save on gas and parking costs vs. driving my truck to work everyday


To ME, the Kat fits the bill....there aren't many cars that will even come close to hanging with my old Kat from 0-100.....so I really don't see the power issue.

Chris

It's your money, and your time, but make sure your not 'wanting something more' just because other people have influenced you by what they say or what they have.

Just my 2 cents

[crazymofo]

havent read other replies.. but im starting to see this sort of post coming on these boards more and more (and quite frankly getting tired of it)

"oh.. ive been riding a couple of months.... the bike is too slow for me.. blah blah blah" fuggin softcock

any dopey dumbsh!t can pin the throttle in a straight line... how about you start crafting and honing your riding skill??

start learning how to handle a bike thru some corners. how about your low speed (ie below 10mph) handling? can you u-turn within your own lane?

how about an emergency brake from 100mph (your going to want to know this one well if you keep pinning your bike in a straight line)

learn how to control your bike.. PROPERLY.

take the effort to read some books from keith code, take the superbike school.. theres enough bloody tools over there running round with no gear thinking they can ride. it pisses me off to see the constant flow of n00bs that say their bike isnt fast enough.

i only hope you develop your riding skills before you over cook it coming into a corner.... as theres PLENTY of things you can do to save your arse, if you learn them and practise them.


learn to ride.... it'll save you a world of pain, money and quite posibly your life.

cheers.joe.

[GixxerJoe]

JBrewer, it seems like the real question is can you make a katana as fast as a ss bike. The answer is no not without spending a ungodley amount of $$. Even then it will be no ss bike. With mods like a jet kit, full exsaust, sprokets yes you will notice a huge difference and you spend around $1500.00 for these mods. But still a gsxr will smoke you. Katanas are just to heavy. Even if you can get the same amount of horse power as a ss bike the katana is still 150lbs heaver than your average ss bike. So with that being said if you want a bike with more power you will need to decide if it is worth your while to spend $1500.00 in mods on your katana or trade it in for something else. I say trade it in and go with a gsxr 600 I think it has all the power, speed, and handleing you will want with out going overbored on the power side. And I say this becouse if your not happy with what your katana has to offer (like comfort, good looks, good enough power curve that you dont get bored,ect) you will never be happy. So good luck in what ever choice you make 8)

[JBREWER]

now don't get me wrong people like i said before i love the katana it's looks good and it does have alot of power, but i grew up riding dirt bikes so in the past 4 months i think i've covered alot of the bases of riding that most of these (noobs) haven't touched in the time span of 4 months ,but i never get to comfortable i just try to ride as safe as i can to my ability.i sure don't just beam along in a straight line i find that sort of boring even going 120+.now i've rode my buddies 900 ninja and that i have to admit is not for me i just simply want to juice the katana up a bit without spending $1500 or get another 600cc class bike.just look at how many people end of just starting out on a katana and then eventually move up to an ss i think those people felt the exact same way i do but some like the more relaxed riding and i'm not knockin that at all,i like just cruisin but i sometimes i wanna give it hell without being a retard like alot of people but truthfully if i got creamed on the road i died happy.anyway thanks everybody for the great advice always appreciate it there is alot alot of smart guys on here and i respect everything anybody has to say i like to hear the feedback so keep it comin. oh yeah i always wear a helmet!

[Imagin]

I spent my entire childhood and teenage years on a dirtbike. The ONLY thing that i can compare dirtbike to streetbike is, i knew how to start off and shift smoothly.

Thats all that compares in my eyes. Streetbikes are a different world than dirtbikes. Like i said, you sound like youve allready told yourself "im getting a SS bike" so asking for advice is pointless. You just want someone to justify your thoughts

[JBREWER]

of course dirt bikes are a different world but i think there is plenty of skills you carry along with you to the street bike world ,like just thegetting the feel of having two wheels underneath you.plenty more things then just working the clutch and gas i learned that on on a four wheeler when i was like 6.but how can you say asking for advice is pointless when i'm a less experienced rider asking other more experienced riders for there view points and thoughts.i take everybodies words and thoughts into consideration (even yours).but like i said in the begging i'm not sold on wanting an ss bike or to just stick with the katana.i'm still debating to myself that issue.

[Ythen57]

Get a Gsxr...I have a gsxr and a 02 kat 600 and I find them both to be very comfortable. The gsxr is better on my back.....but the old arse is a different story

[Zepp]

Get a Gsxr...I have a gsxr and a 02 kat 600 and I find them both to be very comfortable. The gsxr is better on my back.....but the old arse is a different story

The Gsxr is better on your back than the Katana? That is the first time I have heard that.

[Ythen57]

Yea it is strange, when I bought it I was worried about the riding position...hard to explain but it does not feel like I am hunched over more then on my katana, but I know I am. But like I said you cant beat the seat on a kat

[River]

I never thought the Kat was a "girlie bike" Actually, I've gotten a LOT of compliments on my bike. I've had a Ninja 750 and even rode my Dad's 1100 Hurricane. But if not for the Hayabusa, I'll never sell/get rid of my Kat.

And even if I do get a Busa, I'll still keep my Kitty.