94 katana handeling upgrade

[rhino370]

what will make my kat handle curves better?

[md86]

Um , better tires , better suspension .

[Anonymous]

better rider?

[md86]

That too .

[rhino370]

better rider

well everyone rides differently however what i meant was how do you get it to curve better? i have a 95 gsxr 750 also that out handels the kat ,oh yeah same rider...

[Anonymous]

Well, excluding the rider you can do a number of things.

First, gixxers are lighter, making them easier side to side.

So you could weight reduce...aka, go run and lose some pounds or get a 4-2-1 exhaust instead of a 4-2-2 stocker

Next a tire upgrade is a DEFINITE. Better compound, better tire angling (aka a sport tire vs. a sport touring tire)

Next is suspension...
A stiffer rear shock possibly (and maybe an adjustable one), and/or one that raises the rear so that you have a sportier form on the handlebars (making turn ins faster)
New stiffer, more responsive front springs or emulators, better fork fluid

But the best is rider education...getting your butt of the seat so that your bike can stay more upright..bla bla stuff like that

[Black_peter]

Re: better rider

i have a 95 gsxr 750 also that out handels the kat ,oh yeah same rider...

Well no fixing that...
The primary diffences between the two are:
Weight (affecting handling)
Suspension (affecting handling)
Tires (yup you guessed it)

So you can put Katana stickers on your GSXR...
Or... not expect so much out of it...

[Wingspan]

The best change I made to my old 93 600 was a rear wheel from the 98+ and Metzeler M1's, 120/60 front and 160/60 rear.

Just in case anyone was wondering how different a 160/60 is from a 140/80:

[md86]

But I don't think ANYTHING you do will make your Katana handle like your GSXR . Better tires and maybe a good shock will help , but actively working on becoming a better rider is probably ( No , IS) the best thing you can do .

[kwebbel]

Oh yeah a lesser weight of 6,3 lbs does the job! (439lbs for the 95 750 gixxer versus 445,3lbs for the 94 600kat)
The difference in handling is not caused by the difference in weight but in frame-geometry, the gixxer is shorter, lower and most important off all equipped with better suspension and a 1.4" shorter wheelbase.
Could you upgrade a Kat to match the handling of that gixer?
Yes you can, just upgrade suspension, lower the frontend by 3/4", raise the rear by 1 3/4" and the kat will handle as fine as that gixxer.
Tyres? they will give you some extra trust, but a modern sports-touring tyre will have more than enough grip, any better tyre will be overkill for a kat. (unless you don't have the skills, +1 on that....)

[rhino370]

raise and lower

how do i do that?

[Black_peter]

Lowering the front is easy..
Loosen the tree clamps and slide it down..
Raising the rear as much as kwebbel suggests
requires different dogbones or a longer shock.
Check the shock cross over post I made.
I think one of them gives you that much..

[rhino370]

lowering

would lowering just the front help or do you have to change both?

[Anonymous]

You don't have to change both...the front alone is fine...or I just raised the rear with a new shock.