[falcon950]

Very true!! Appreciate the concern. I should probably check myself more than I do.

[loneraider]

Hey for 80 dollars,only 2/3 throttle will save me from getting speeding tickets..lol
Good deal/

[mammut89]

for what its worth I consistently get 125 on track with my 2001 600.

[Tempted]

Everyone crying about speeding on public roads are more than likely guilty themselves. Owning a sport bike means you enjoy riding a sport bike, otherwise you would have a cruiser that's more comfortable, more reliable and easier to ride. I sold my Harley after I ground the pegs to pointy triangles and put holes in the primary cover and exhaust.

[Stumpy]

Oh I'm not crying about it - I see it every day and I've been known to blip the throttle to get out of bad situations. I don't decide to see just how fast I can take it on a public road though - save that for private land.

Thing is - I have no speeding tickets whatsoever on all three of my driving licenses.

Ever

[astevens54]

130 mph indicated, with plenty of throttle and RPM's left .

[92xjunker]

Everyone crying about speeding on public roads are more than likely guilty themselves. Owning a sport bike means you enjoy riding a sport bike, otherwise you would have a cruiser that's more comfortable, more reliable and easier to ride. I sold my Harley after I ground the pegs to pointy triangles and put holes in the primary cover and exhaust.

There would be your first wrong assumption. The second would be the assumption that a Katana is a sports bike, not fully true like 50%. Though most newbs think that it's a gsxr, so they ride it as such on public rodes, not the most intelligent thing to do either. Most, ride just to be riding, track days are for racing. I have told many young stupid riders to slow the !!!! down.

[Tempted]

The Katana is *classified* as a sport cruiser. Its a sport bike. Not a super sport, not a hyper bike, not a race bike, but a sport bike none the less. Its a bit clumsy and can feel like its stuck in glue but its riding position, lean angle and high revving engine are all characteristics closer to sport bikes and more suited for spirited riding than actual cruisers.

Nobody will ever confuse a Kat with a Sportster or Vulcan.

[Kreylyn]

The Katana is *classified* as a sport cruiser. Its a sport bike. Not a super sport, not a hyper bike, not a race bike, but a sport bike none the less. Its a bit clumsy and can feel like its stuck in glue but its riding position, lean angle and high revving engine are all characteristics closer to sport bikes and more suited for spirited riding than actual cruisers.

Nobody will ever confuse a Kat with a Sportster or Vulcan.

Actually.. it's a "Sport Touring"... not cruiser.

My understanding of English is that in that terminology the first word is a descriptor... not a noun.

Like "big door".

The Katana is a economical (cheaply designed and manufactured) TOURING bike, with sporty styling. Touring bikes are heavier, longer, and generally have tuned back engines for giving longer mileage/use at the cost of high performance.

Along those same lines, there are many bikes out there classified as "Aventure Touring". Same concept, different direction on the styling. Those share more characteristics of off road dirt bikes... taller stance, more upright, narrower seats, so on... but I certainly would not call them "dirt bikes".

That said, I think the point was missed... It may be styled to be more sporty in nature, but the comment "it's not a sport bike" was correct. It's significantly heavier and was equipped with much lower performance options than the real sport bikes made the same year for a more accurate comparison. Add to that the real sport bikes have progressed 20 years in design and performance vs the Kat is still the same thing 25 years later performance wise...

The knit has been picked.

Krey

[Tempted]

I've never confused a Katana with a Concours, Honda ST, BMW RT, etc. The Kat isn't a fast sport bike, and it isn't the most nimble. It is a comfortable sport bike. It isn't in the same ballpark as a real sport touring bike. Sport touring bikes are big CC, long range bikes that can keep up with most 600 sport bikes. They are comfortable and have storage areas as well as adequate passenger seating positions that won't give them blood clots after a half hour. Typically sport touring bikes run comfortable highway RPM, the Kat doesn't. I know how its classified and that helps our insurance premiums but as the owner of other sport, touring and cruiser bikes I'm confident that any sport touring rider wouldn't be taking a Kat on a cross country road trip. I've taken my ZRX, a classically designed muscle bike, on trips I wouldn't take the Kat on because of comfort.

A Kat is a fantastic bike. It doesn't do anything great, it does most things good. Quick enough, nimble enough, comfortable enough, etc. Its a good beginner bike for a larger rider and is good around town for someone wanting their feet pointed down and not backwards. I love them, and I ride them, but I can't agree with them being a touring bike.

[92xjunker]

Actually.. it's a "Sport Touring"... not cruiser.

My understanding of English is that in that terminology the first word is a descriptor... not a noun.

Like "big door".

The Katana is a economical (cheaply designed and manufactured) TOURING bike, with sporty styling. Touring bikes are heavier, longer, and generally have tuned back engines for giving longer mileage/use at the cost of high performance.

Along those same lines, there are many bikes out there classified as "Aventure Touring". Same concept, different direction on the styling. Those share more characteristics of off road dirt bikes... taller stance, more upright, narrower seats, so on... but I certainly would not call them "dirt bikes".

That said, I think the point was missed... It may be styled to be more sporty in nature, but the comment "it's not a sport bike" was correct. It's significantly heavier and was equipped with much lower performance options than the real sport bikes made the same year for a more accurate comparison. Add to that the real sport bikes have progressed 20 years in design and performance vs the Kat is still the same thing 25 years later performance wise...

The knit has been picked.

Krey

[rschlegel]

Reading threads on this site seems to show that the Kat can be just about whatever you want it to be. I have mostly ridden sport bikes. I took 15 years off and have started back on a 98 600 and I love the bike. I have seen 100mph indicated once on a 75MPH highway catching up with a group after getting caught at a light and she had more left for sure. I am 5'10" and 225lb. I consider my bike a sport bike and a touring bike considering what I consider safe speeds on public roads. Non twisty roads I ride about 5mph over posted, when it gets twisty I run about 10-15mph over posted through that section. In reality if riding in the style mentioned above, a SS bike will gap the Kat but not nearly by what you would see on a track. Riding together the Kat would have a small gap to make up after the twisty section on the public road while at the track the SS would be saying goodbye and later saying hello as it comes up from behind again. All said, in the above case the Kat would severely gap a cruiser bike. On public roads I consider the Kat a sport bike that I can also put 400 miles on pretty easily. In my SS riding days 400 miles was only fun because you were between 120 and 150mph a lot.

[default]

I have personally taken my 98' 750 to an indicated 110mph before sensibility overtook stupidity. A friend took it to 125mph before he chickened out, he said it still wanted to pull.

In town I never exceed posted limits unless overtaking and on Motorways tend to sit at 80mph (indicated) in 70mph zones as this is where the Kat actually feels most comfortable to me.

[crazycraven420]

ive hit 137 max read off a gps, not the bikes speedometer.

[darnellj32]

I got the point being made here.
Just because your bike can do 135 on public roads you would be a fool to do so (no matter how good you THINK you are there is always a putz on 4 wheels that will show you you’re not)...
I have my kat because I did not want a super sport as a new rider and I did not want a cruiser. This was the best fit for me and I love it.
That being said I’m not in my 20's anymore and have a family I have the bike to enjoy the ride. Not to Ride or Die.
Having that kind of power on the road means you should also be reasonable
Just be smart about it or be dumb and tell us where to send the flowers (hmm i think that one was too much)