[Ninja750]

I am picking my 750 up today. I'll grill the staff and see if I can get some more info.

[slapshot]

I think a heavy revamp would put the Katana out of the market for which it has found its niche. It currently is a decent priced, easy to work on, easy riding bike. Any major changes would definately change the price on it. If they go with fuel injected well so much for the easy to work on also.

[ronin]

i agree. where can you buy a brand new sporty bike like the katana (750) for under 6,700?

[The CyberPoet]

i agree. where can you buy a brand new sporty bike like the katana (750) for under 6,700?

The seedier parts of Moscow.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[tdrcomm]

The guys at Southland Suzuki said they'd be pissed if Suzuki doesn't replace it with something in the same price range. It would leave them with nothing in that niche.

[rotary13b]

I'm sure that Suzuki will have something in Kat's price range. However I don't think they will drop a good model like Kat. The bike may not the best, but it works and it works good.

[WildKat]

Its such an affordable bike, and so many people buy it for the comfort, price, cheap insurance, and easy maint...only to get it home and find its fun to ride too

It just makes sense to keep the bike and make some basic improvements without jacking up the price that helps make it so appealing.

[trinc]

well i hate to rain on the parade.... but here it goes. i don't see why anybody would buy a new katana. there are so many out there ( somebody has been buying them ) you can find great deals on a low milage, basically new bike.

but new ?

kat 600 $6300
kat750 $6999
sv650s $6449
sv650 $ 5949
599 $7399
yzf600r $7099
fzr600 $6799
650r $6299
zzr600 $7299


for just a little more money you'd get a lot better bike looking elsewhere.


tim

[Omegaman]

The Kat is great. As long as they are makining a profit on them, they will not change things. If people are not buying them, it is time to move on regardless of what we all think.

Water cooling sucks. You have to change the Anti freeze every other year or so if you live in the frozen North and the radiators are prone to damage. Besides, the plumbing complicates the whole deal. Anybody know someone that fried a Kat engine solely because it overheated? Possible but unlikely.

FI is good, but will certainly add expense, I don't even want to think about the cost of replacing the computerized controller.

Simplicity is the Kat's strength.

Carl-

[tory]

The Kat is great. As long as they are makining a profit on them, they will not change things.

in most cases it's true, but not always... some companies like honda run 6 year spans of their vehicles. i.e. the integra, the del sol, and the prelude. just because it's making money doesnt necessarily mean they wont discontinue making it. i dont know enough about other car or motorcycle companies to give a more detailed history, but i'm sure popular rides have been discontinued because the company just wanted to move in another direction.

[Omegaman]

Yes, it's rare but it does happen.

Usually they just upgrade cosmetically and keep the same Chassis/drivetrain. Sometimes they release under another name.

Of the 3 you mention, I would not exactly call the del sol a big sales winner though.

In any case, The Kat, the Kawasaki Concours and the Honda Gold wing are 3 that come to mind that seem to have gone on forever because they sell year after year.

As mentioned before, it may be something as simple as emissions driving the demise of certain models.

Carl-

[The CyberPoet]

In any case, The Kat, the Kawasaki Concours and the Honda Gold wing are 3 that come to mind that seem to have gone on forever because they sell year after year.

I thought this year or next is to be the last year for the Concours (to be replaced by the Kawasaki GTR instead)?

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Omegaman]

Yeah, that's kinda my point. That thing has been resurrected about 4 times. But it is a great, inexpensive touring ride with a little bit of sport to it.

Very few companies would discontinue a model that was making them a profit. If the current MSRP can no longer make a profit and they feel they will not sell at the new (higher) msrp, it is time to change.

They all get replaced sooner or later.

No biggie, we already have them!

Carl-

[The CyberPoet]

Very few companies would discontinue a model that was making them a profit. If the current MSRP can no longer make a profit and they feel they will not sell at the new (higher) msrp, it is time to change.

Interesting point about the profit issue, although I am inclined to think that somewhere deep in the bowels of the Honda mothership, there is a bean-counter who decides that the statistical forecast tell him that if they stop selling model W, more people will buy models X, Y & Z (at a higher profit margin)... or it might be some ju-ju tribal witch doctor with chicken-bones spread on a blanket in Honda's sub-basement.

I'm not so sure Suzuki ascribes to this theory until the sales numbers actually dwindle to a point of diminishing returns, in part because Suzuki motorcycle is a much, much smaller company (something like 15% the size of Honda's motorcycle arm). And I think Kawasaki may be in the same ball-park as Suzuki, also being much smaller.

If you look specifically at Honda's products and Suzuki's products, you'll note a really BIG difference in basic engines. Honda has something like 12 basic engines in the 600cc & up category, from a flat opposed-6 cylinder (Ruin, GoldWing) to transverse inline-4's (CBR) to V-4's (VFR, ST), V-twins, parallel twins (outside the USA), and singles. Suzuki seems to have four or five basic engine types in the 600cc and up sizes (transverse 4 water cooled, transverse 4 oil cooled, single cylinder & V-twin water-cooled -- do they make a V-twin air-oil cooled?). And Suzuki tends to reuse a lot of their basic engine components across the range of similar engines, while Honda often doesn't.

Ah, I'm just rambling... lost my train of thought trying to figure out how to make the KR system do footnotes.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Omegaman]

You certainly have done the research!

I can't disagree with anything you have said.

Maybe they should hire you!

I always wonder about the "Europe only" and "Asia only" models.

It seems like the companies are way off the mark with some of them because the US market screams for some of those models to reach our shores.

Personally, I would like to see a REAL single cylinder sportbike in the 600cc range. Light, full fairing. Like a Gixxer 600 only with a 650 thumper spooned in. MZ had one with a yammie engine years ago, but they discontinued it.

I digress, I am hijacking so let me just say I bet the Kat will be around at least another year.
Carl-