[christianguitarest]

I just bought my Kat this march, its my first bike that I own. I used to ride a cruser that was my dads and to me this bike screams. No it does not get the front tire off the ground and if your not using good form it sure sucks getting it on the centerstand, but it rides nice, is quiet, and it goes both 75 and 147(where my bike tops out) the same as any other sport bike (maybe not as fast but come on, its pretty scary that fast, well it should be scary anyway after the fun part).

[Cruisingram]

I am not a fan of the post styling to be completely honest. That being said- it is a great and rugged-reliable bike. When I had my shop on the mainland, I fixed several of them. and Arsenic was my pipeline to parts (thanks BTW) They are comfortable, reliable and a true sport touring bike at a great price (usually) Point out that it is a GSX F for gawds sake, NOt an R. It is not a race bike and was never designed to be anything other than a sport tourer- which it does with great aplomb.

I can't wait to get my old oil cooled bikes over here and get wrenching again. Both my R and F will have R motors in them, 1127s. Should be good great dirty fun!

[Badfaerie]

My Kat is a girl bike. What's wrong with that?

[Wild-Bill]

My Kat is a girl bike. What's wrong with that?

????
Of course your bike's a girl bike. Last I heard, you're a girl.

[Badfaerie]

One of the things the OP said people use to put the Katana down is that it's a "female bike". To my thinking, if you like girls and you like bikes and you specifically like girls that will ride bikes, having/riding a bike that girls like would be a compliment, not a put down.

Unless they are implying that Kats are slow and stupid enough that girls have to ride them so the big bad boys on supersports can keep up with the girls, I guess it would be an insult then.

[KatanaGirl.00]

I had a guy at a Toy Run make the comment that he thought I needed more fairing on my bike. I just laughed. He was on a Harley (which btw I do not like). I didn't make a negative comment back about his loud vibrating machine. To each his/her own. I love my pre. Yes it's a dinosaur, and it's heavy...but it's mine & I love it. I had a Ninja before I bought my Kat, I just didn't feel comfortable on that bike. If your bike makes you happy...ride...and don't give any thought to what someone else may think or say.

[minikeith]

I love my kat. Sure it's not my dream bike, but it got me back on a bike after a 10 year layoff. It has some pep, it's fairly comfortable, it's reliable and cheap. I'm pretty sure 90% of the people with sport bikes would never be able to even push their bikes to the limit anyway. The mentality is that if you have one of those bikes you suddenly have the skills to use that power. Sure there are people who can but the vast majority of people would struggle to get the most out of the bikes they have.
The kat appeals to more realistic people, or people who want some experience before stepping up to the big boys.

[Badfaerie]

The kat appeals to more realistic people, or people who want some experience before stepping up to the big boys.

I also know a few people that push the limits of their big boy toys but keep a Kat around for normal street riding. Seem the people that have the skills to ride really well can appreciate the Kat for what it is as well.

[Mojoe]

For everyday riding and just tooling around, I love the Kat. On longer rides with buddies, I always laugh when they start to complain about the length of the ride...

Let them rag all they want, Smile and Wave....

you do realize, don't you, that by being an 1100 owner you are excluded from the "kan-o-tuna" comments.....or at least you should be. back in the early 90's I used to get more compliments on my bike than the gixxer riders I used to ride with, and gixxer owners often complimented my bike, and I could tell many of them wanted to take it for a spin.

fast forward to the present.....it still looks damn hot compared to some of the trash they are putting out today, and those 1100 stickers on the side still brings respect. :

as for you 600 and 750 owners, well....it's no secret that they are grossly under-powered for the weight of the bike, and the technology is way outdated. I have rode with enough of them, and even my old early 90's 1100 can leave an '06 750 eating my dust on a straight, where as an 06 gixxer 750 will leave me eating his dust. hell, they are so outdated with their whoppin' 90hp that even www.suzukicycles.org stopped listing them after 05.

anyway, my intentions aren't to bash them....they are what they are. my intentions aren't to bash anything, but I do have to say that a new post every week about how someone called your bike a kan-o-tuna is becoming as old and outdated as the bike itself. in short, if you like your bike, who gives a crap what anyone else thinks? however, if it bothers you what others think and say about your bike....well, you might want to think about selling it and buying something that meets everyone's approval.

[expvet]

A Kat is a great Sport Touring bike that is reliable, sturdy and easy to maintain. It is more comfortable than most bikes, has excellent underseat storage and unique looks that you either like or don't. Few Kat owners try to lift up their esteem of Kats by having to put down other peoples bikes, and that in itself says a lot.

[scottynoface]

.it still looks damn hot compared to some of the trash they are putting out today, and those 1100 stickers on the side still brings respect.

I hope you're kidding on both parts of that

[Scout]

It helps if you just reach over, and punch the mouthy mother fu*kers right in the cake hole. Do it with enough dedication, and the rest will never say it in front of (or beside) you again.


All bad advice aside, my bike gets more compliments/attention/picture takers than any of my buddies Gixxers, R6s, ZX6Rs, CBRs, Speed Triples, 650Rs and all the rest of them. Granted, it has a pretty distinctive paint job. But ultimately, it comes down to what *YOU* like, not what they like.

And if you learn to ride properly, there's no reason why you should ever get left behind in the twisty roads. I can scrape peg on my Kat in the turns (meaning I am taking turns at speeds that require me to handle the bike as such) and very, very few of the people that I have ridden with, can do that. There is nothing preventing you from throwing your bike around with greater skill than those with "super" sport bikes, apart from skill alone.

[Mojoe]

I hope you're kidding on both parts of that

not at all. it still looks damn hot, and it has plenty of power. I guess I could use the 09 rally as an example. there were some nice bikes in the line-up, including recent gixxers, and even Graham's beautiful Aprilia.....and I not only won best in show....I cleaned up in best of show. Chris (katman05) was one of the ones counting the votes, and he told me that pretty much every voting slip that passed through his hands had the number 6 on it...my number. I won nicest katana, and best of show.....with pretty much the oldest bike there, as side from the odd pre. and considering this was a "people's choice" vote, I would have to say that speaks for itself.....

so no, I am not kidding at all. head out on the road with the 92 1100 kat like Nut-Nut has in his avatar, and you will get a whole lot of "approval". I can confidently say that if I head out for a day of riding, 99% of the time I will get at least one person say "nice bike". and in the 20 years of owning one, I have NEVER had a negative comment, aside from maybe the odd harley rider who slams all jap bikes. I will say this....I would not trade you even for that zx6 I see in your garage photos. seeing it parked from 150ft, or rolling by at 50mph, it pretty much looks like any of the "transformer looking" bikes on the road today.....not to mention how extremely common looking it is. in fact, I would bet you pink slips that if we parked in front of any place with a lot of foot traffic, and just waited for "compliments" on our bikes, I would kick your azz in that department.

oh...and I am not trying to be mean or anything, or intentionally bashing your zx6.....I am merely speaking what I believe to be fact, fact that has come from experience from riding with all sorts of types of bikes.

All bad advice aside, my bike gets more compliments/attention/picture takers than any of my buddies Gixxers, R6s, ZX6Rs, CBRs, Speed Triples, 650Rs and all the rest of them. Granted, it has a pretty distinctive paint job. But ultimately, it comes down to what *YOU* like, not what they like.

that's all anyone has to do if they are really tired of the negative comments....slap on a new paintjob. imho, that is the downfall of the post kats.....extremely boring and plain oem color schemes. I am a fan of all katanas, but admittedly less so with the posts just because they can come across as really "bland" looking...and I think that is what attracts the negative comments....or at least contributes to it. there really is nothing wrong with the bike itself. it is comfortable, reliable, and plenty capable in the right hands. it's just that it doesn't look so great. I wouldn't go so far as to say it looks bad, but it is an acquired taste for sure. again, I am not trying to bash the bike....just simply stating an opinion that is likely shared by many who don't own a post kat.

[scottynoface]

in fact, I would bet you pink slips that if we parked in front of any place with a lot of foot traffic, and just waited for "compliments" on our bikes, I would kick your azz in that department.

Well yeah, but the odds of another rider being older than me are SIGNIFICANTLY greater than being my age or less...so of course they like the old bikes.

"Back in my day bikes looked nice, not like that crap these kids are riding now."


Who cares what it looks like? It's a motorcycle not a trophy.

[bagndrag]

I think try talk smack becouse after a few hours they are sore from riding and I'm still able to/willing to keep riding and I didn't have to several thousand for my bikr