new guy here, need some info. please...

[canadianbacon]

hi all, I was directed here since it was said you guys would be able to offer some advice, info.

Anyway, I'm not new to the biking scene, been riding for about 11 years, about a half million miles or so on bikes, I've got a touring bike already which I'll continue to use for crossing continental gaps but there's a 2001 Katana600 around the corner from me that the guy is selling. He wanted to get into riding and only put about 1000 miles on it, was bought new in '02 but now he wants the cash to do other things, so he's offering it up at a good price. I'm considering picking it up as a commuter bike and save the miles on my bike now... Can you guys tell me if there is anything to look out for on the '01 models or for the Katana in general? Good things, bad things, things to look out for, whatever you got. I've ridden a 750 before but not a 600...any real difference?

Thanks in advance.

[KeithRoxx]

the katana's are basically bullit proof and parts are cheap. they are easy to work on also, once you get the body work stripped away.

You can even swap motors (mostly just a bolt in) all the way up to a 1200 bandit motor.

Almost any peice of maintanence advice, or modification information you could ever want is attainable here on this forum.
So, that being said, if you buy it, enjoy!

They handle well, are stable, all while being comfortable.

[ZukiFred]

I have not noticed any common problems with the 98+ Kats myself.
Personally I think they make a great commuter bike, I use mine for commuting when ever it isn’t raining and the temp is at least 40 degrees.

The only big difference between the 600 and the 750 are the handle bars, 600 has the clip on type that are a tad lower than the 750. And the 750 has a little more power than the 600, not really that noticeable till you ride 2 up though. But this is all just my opinion and others here might have more/better info for you.

And Welcome to KatRiders.

[Mojoe]

Hey CB....welcome to the forums my fellow canuk. where ya from?

question.....how did you manage to do 500k miles in 11 years? that is close to 50k miles per year......canadian years, where half of it is buried in snow. I am pushing for a million miles in my lifetime, and after 25 years I haven't done much more than you. How the heck do you do it??

and to answer your question.....depends on what you expect from a bike. What do you ride now for a tourer? How many cc's? How do you find the power of your current bike? Is it enough? Not enough?
The reason I ask is aside from the fact that the 600 kat is a tough as nails bullet-proof bike, it is still only a 600. Personally, I ride an old 1100 kat and could NEVER revert to owning a 600 just for the fact that I would find it grossly underpowered because I am so used to the 136hp. But if power is not your concern, the 600 should be fine.
I guess I just assume someone with your mileage experience might find it a bit sluggish if you are used to a bigger bike, like myself.
So....the 600 kat is a great little bike, and you can't go wrong with it at all.....but you have to ask yourself if 80hp is going to be enough.

[tdrcomm]

I'm guessing not all of those years were spent north of our border. At any rate, welcome to KR. You are my new hero.

The Kat is damn near bulletproof as Keith said. Comfy and forgiving. Great commuter bike especially on the highway. I had a 99 600 and loved it.

I'd still have it but love my present bike a little more and didn't ride the Kat very much.

[Mojoe]

I'd still have it but love my present bike a little more and didn't ride the Kat very much.

be honest......how do you find the power of the 600 now, compared to before you owned the busa? Did you find that after owning the busa for a while, that the 600 is more noticeably "gutless" now than before? I only ask to see if my theory is just my own, or if you agree. That theory being once you get used to the bigger bikes, going back to a 600 can be sort of....well....disappointing.

[md86]

Well of COURSE . Once you get used to a certain level of performance , anything less is just no fun . But going backwards performance-wise might hold a certain nostalgia depending on the bike . Even I know that , and I still think a fairly stock Kat 750 is fun .

[The CyberPoet]

It's the world's best commuter.

That's the single best statement I can make about the 98+ Kat -- it's an UJM that really idealizes everything you'd want in a commuter in general (big weather protection, lots of light on the road, high visibility, comfy riding postion, damn-near bullet-proof engine, oil-air cooling, simple-as-beans maintenance).

PS - Mojoe, you are spoilt. I can have just as much fun on the other half's Ninja 500 as on the Kat -- it's just a matter of adopting a different mind-set for getting the enjoyment out of it

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[tdrcomm]

I'd still have it but love my present bike a little more and didn't ride the Kat very much.

be honest......how do you find the power of the 600 now, compared to before you owned the busa? Did you find that after owning the busa for a while, that the 600 is more noticeably "gutless" now than before? I only ask to see if my theory is just my own, or if you agree. That theory being once you get used to the bigger bikes, going back to a 600 can be sort of....well....disappointing.

Yeah. Maybe more strange than disappointing. A lot more work. But if I had only ridden 600's and 750's I wouldn't have been quite so uncomfortable (mentally) when I had to switch back for a while.

I had to ride the Kat for a extended period a while back when I was waiting for my fuel hose to arrive from whatever alternate universe Suzuki manufactured it in. Man, switching back was unnerving for me. Much of riding is instinctual and I was afraid that three straight weeks on the Kat would make me have to relearn so much on the Busa. With a big bike you manage the throttle. You train yourself to make "small" inputs and with FI you're used to near instant response. You learn to "expect" torque, not manufacture it. What I would do on the Busa didn't seem to even move the Kat. I was sooooooo slow.

But it wasn't slow in a "racing" context, but just real riding applications. Pulling away at a stoplight required a real twist of the wrist not just an input. Dropping a gear to pass? Wow, hadn't done that in a while. The Busa, like most big, speed bikes are very balanced and comfortable at speed. It's deceptive. On the 600, I KNEW I was doing 80. And the handling was so much better ever though it was a bigger bike (but that's apples to oranges).

City riding was fun. After getting used to throwing your weight around a 550lb+ bike the Kat felt like a freakin' dual-sport. A lot more shifting involved. You don't notice it if that's all you ride but when you move up to a bigger bike it's very apparent. But IT IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN WHAT A BIKE DOES! Folks that go straight to the big bikes don't learn how to "ride", they let the bike do it all for them.

The funniest thing I noticed was my thoughts on the engine sound: I kept thinking I was abusing the engine. I'm not sure of the exact RPM but I know 90 on the Busa is about 5200 RPM and the "HOLY !$@@!!*%*!!!" kicks in just a tick over 6200RPM (it is unreal). I looked down on the Kat and I saw 8500 and I started to freak. But I had forgotten that's how a smaller bike sounds and feels.

It took me a week to get back comfortable with the Busa when I got it back. I was very mindful to "un"learn my riding style.

[Range]

if the price is right...you can't go wrong.....but the 750 would be a little better suited for youe level of experience, but they are harder to come by...for the $500 more in price....you get a slightly better ergo's (the 600's are still very comfortable for the long haul) and about 15 more HP that is right in the heart of the powerband, so you won't need to rev it as much. The bikes have an inheirant engine buzz at around 6000-7000 rpm....that you feel in the bars.

[Mojoe]

I'd still have it but love my present bike a little more and didn't ride the Kat very much.

be honest......how do you find the power of the 600 now, compared to before you owned the busa? Did you find that after owning the busa for a while, that the 600 is more noticeably "gutless" now than before? I only ask to see if my theory is just my own, or if you agree. That theory being once you get used to the bigger bikes, going back to a 600 can be sort of....well....disappointing.

Yeah. Maybe more strange than disappointing. A lot more work. But if I had only ridden 600's and 750's I wouldn't have been quite so uncomfortable (mentally) when I had to switch back for a while.

I had to ride the Kat for a extended period a while back when I was waiting for my fuel hose to arrive from whatever alternate universe Suzuki manufactured it in. Man, switching back was unnerving for me. Much of riding is instinctual and I was afraid that three straight weeks on the Kat would make me have to relearn so much on the Busa. With a big bike you manage the throttle. You train yourself to make "small" inputs and with FI you're used to near instant response. You learn to "expect" torque, not manufacture it. What I would do on the Busa didn't seem to even move the Kat. I was sooooooo slow.

But it wasn't slow in a "racing" context, but just real riding applications. Pulling away at a stoplight required a real twist of the wrist not just an input. Dropping a gear to pass? Wow, hadn't done that in a while. The Busa, like most big, speed bikes are very balanced and comfortable at speed. It's deceptive. On the 600, I KNEW I was doing 80. And the handling was so much better ever though it was a bigger bike (but that's apples to oranges).

City riding was fun. After getting used to throwing your weight around a 550lb+ bike the Kat felt like a freakin' dual-sport. A lot more shifting involved. You don't notice it if that's all you ride but when you move up to a bigger bike it's very apparent. But IT IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN WHAT A BIKE DOES! Folks that go straight to the big bikes don't learn how to "ride", they let the bike do it all for them.

The funniest thing I noticed was my thoughts on the engine sound: I kept thinking I was abusing the engine. I'm not sure of the exact RPM but I know 90 on the Busa is about 5200 RPM and the "HOLY !$@@!!*%*!!!" kicks in just a tick over 6200RPM (it is unreal). I looked down on the Kat and I saw 8500 and I started to freak. But I had forgotten that's how a smaller bike sounds and feels.

It took me a week to get back comfortable with the Busa when I got it back. I was very mindful to "un"learn my riding style.

CP.....this is what I was trying to get at. I am not sure I would call myself spoiled, but I am just used to a different level of power. I do hop on other bikes, you know. I own a few. I rode the 86 kat 750 around enough to see the difference. YES....it is fun, just like Matt says. The 500 I rebuilt for the ex.....forget it. Seemed like it took forever to get it up to 100. power was so low that I was almost afraid to try to pass traffic with it.
So, you can only go so low when you are used to more. And agreeing with Range, I think 500k miles warrants him something bigger according to his experience. He said he has ridden a 750, but does not say what else he rode. Does his comment mean he has tried a 750, or does it mean that is all he rode? Or does it mean he normally rode an 1100, and tried a 750?

All I heard was that he has been riding 11 years and 500k miles. And this is one time where we can cut to the chase and skip all the blah blah blah on ergos, specs and whatever else, and just say it is a tough as nails all around great bike that is comfortable to ride and cheap to insure.

But....he has to ask himself what he expects out of it.....and I didnt see anyone mentioning that. No one ever mentions it. And they should. Why? Well try to take a guess how many dollars have been lost by the members here alone by buying a 600, only to outgrow it quickly and switch for the 750. I dont have a clue.....but if someone told me they were keeping track and it was $100k, I would probably believe it. The average joe who does not know how to deal or how to finda deals WILL lose money on the exchange. especially so if the buy a new 600 from a dealer on finance, then go in the next year and trade for the 750. CHA-CHING!!! there goes 3-4....maybe even $5k

I have no choice but to say walk away from this 600 and do just like Range said.....look for a 750. 500k miles means you have outgrown the 600, unless you just want it for commuting to work in town or something.

None of what I said was to put the 600 down at all. it is the perfect bike for those it is suited for. I would recommend it to anyone I think should have it.

[canadianbacon]

sorry guys been a while since responding i was off on vacation for a while,

anyway, my ride right now is a Honda ST1300...I've owned this bike since about July of this year, and I've been riding it and I'm up to about just over 40,000km or about 25-30,000 miles on it...i had a kawi zr7s right before this ST1300, i ran it up to about about 74,000km on that which i bought brand new 14 months earlier, but sadly I got run into while riding with it and it died a useless death...no blood, no broken bones, someone was looking out for me above i guess....

my typical mileage is about 45-50k per year, mileage adds up quickly especially if you like to leave the car at home to take the bike wherever you decide to go...want chicago deep dish, take a weekend and ride the 10 hours to chicago for it and then ride home, want some seafood, lets ride to maine to get some lobster and back in a weekend, want good ole southern hospitality cooking, lets ride to virginia and back in a weekend...stuff like that adds up mileage pretty quick...

i've had a bunch of bikes between the 250cc-1800cc range and toured most of north america on any of them, hell my first bike was a 250 ninja, i experimented with touring and rode to florida and back to toronto area and racked up about 65k on it within 12 months...tho most of those miles were commuting miles

the 600cc kat. was my viewpoint on it as a cheap commuter bike, after adding "farkles/mods" to my ST its way over the $25k mark, but now its a really good mile eater whether twisty roads eating sportbikes or straight interstate runs or doing warp speed runs with full luggage and a passenger, but again its not terribly good at riding around in city...tho its still a very good handling bike for 850+lbs (wet weight plus all my gear not incl. me)

the 600cc kat the guy is selling around the corner which he came back from holidays is willing to deal, he's asking $4000 CDN (new MSRP is listed as I believe $9000CDN) for his 2001 with about 1000km (sorry not miles, but 1000km = 600 miles) on it...i was thinking i'd be able to pick it up, save the commuting miles in town for 1 year and ride say 25,000km on it and resell it for about $3000 it'd save me the miles/wear on my ST1300

comments? thanks for the replies thus far...

[The CyberPoet]

I agree that for your intended uses, it will do exactly what you want and you'll still come out ahead in the dollar figures.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[FatBlue]

sorry guys been a while since responding i was off on vacation for a while,

anyway, my ride right now is a Honda ST1300...I've owned this bike since about July of this year, and I've been riding it and I'm up to about just over 40,000km or about 25-30,000 miles on it...i had a kawi zr7s right before this ST1300, i ran it up to about about 74,000km on that which i bought brand new 14 months earlier, but sadly I got run into while riding with it and it died a useless death...no blood, no broken bones, someone was looking out for me above i guess....

my typical mileage is about 45-50k per year, mileage adds up quickly especially if you like to leave the car at home to take the bike wherever you decide to go...want chicago deep dish, take a weekend and ride the 10 hours to chicago for it and then ride home, want some seafood, lets ride to maine to get some lobster and back in a weekend, want good ole southern hospitality cooking, lets ride to virginia and back in a weekend...stuff like that adds up mileage pretty quick...

i've had a bunch of bikes between the 250cc-1800cc range and toured most of north america on any of them, hell my first bike was a 250 ninja, i experimented with touring and rode to florida and back to toronto area and racked up about 65k on it within 12 months...tho most of those miles were commuting miles

the 600cc kat. was my viewpoint on it as a cheap commuter bike, after adding "farkles/mods" to my ST its way over the $25k mark, but now its a really good mile eater whether twisty roads eating sportbikes or straight interstate runs or doing warp speed runs with full luggage and a passenger, but again its not terribly good at riding around in city...tho its still a very good handling bike for 850+lbs (wet weight plus all my gear not incl. me)

the 600cc kat the guy is selling around the corner which he came back from holidays is willing to deal, he's asking $4000 CDN (new MSRP is listed as I believe $9000CDN) for his 2001 with about 1000km (sorry not miles, but 1000km = 600 miles) on it...i was thinking i'd be able to pick it up, save the commuting miles in town for 1 year and ride say 25,000km on it and resell it for about $3000 it'd save me the miles/wear on my ST1300

comments? thanks for the replies thus far...

4000$ seems a bit steep (even with the low mileage) - only as I don't think you would be able to make back 3K after a year.
As an example I just traded in my 2001 Kat600 (mind you, with 21K kms and to a stealership), their blue book was 2300$ and I had to weasel them good to get more than that (ie: point out each and every little improvement, mod and whatnot.
I can not praise the 600 Kat enough though. GREAT bike.

[Kataclysm]

Oddly enough the Kats are not easy to come by in Southern Ontario. I think $4000 CDN is a good price for that low of milage provided the rest of it is in good condition as well.