[trinc]

love or hate the looks ( 98+ ), the pre 98 didn't really have a bad rap. but it's downfall was the basic package didn't change ( frame & motor ). Suz did try and have a middle of the road bike with the RF but it's sales were very lackluster. the katana was a cash cow so why change ? if they were to put the RF motor in the katana i think the press would have been better.

on paper, ugly, fat ( heavy ) & slow isn't a good combo. it's a bike that needs to be riden to see it's strengths. one of the motorcycle mags had the katana on the 10 worst bikes & the 10 best bike lists ! i think that pretty much sums it up.

i've always though reviews on entry level bikes must be hard once you've riden the best SS bikes... before i sold my kat i was riding my superhawk ( another bike thats heavy & down on power vs. other liters ) a bunch & when i jumped back on the kat i wasn't as impressed as i once was. ( power, weight, turn in speed etc. etc. )


tim

[BRISNDL1]

i havent even gotten the chance to ride my cat yet but i already love it. i got the bike wrecked and it needs alot of work, but it is so easy to fix. im no pro by far but i havnt run into a single problem yet except finding parts used. also the more i tear into this bike the more i can see how tough it acualy is. if it were a gixxer or an r1 it would have been totaled. but its a kat and extremly tough. i just cant wait to get it out next spring!!!

[IndyGunner]

I just say... who cares.... as long as im happy i could care less what anyone else says.

ride to ride, not to showoff your new chromed out yamaha r1 piano

[GytRDunKat]

I think alot of it is ignorance. A bunch of us went on a ride through a really twisty section in southern MN. One guy with a CBR 600 was dissing the Kat from the first second he saw it. Then I schooled him in the twisties. All he could say was "I didn't think a Kan-o-tuna could do that!". He hasn't ribbed me once yet, and actually stuck up for the Kat at a meet we went to. He said to a guy that was ripping it "Have you actually seen someone carve with one of those? If not, STFU".

The really funny part of that ride, another friend on a ZX6rr wanted to trade for the ride back, his butt hurt

It was comical to say the least. Either way, ride to ride. If it's a popularity contest for you, don't come ride with me Go park your bike where everyone can see it. I'll wave as I ride by.

[Nero]

The really funny part of that ride, another friend on a ZX6rr wanted to trade for the ride back, his butt hurt

[bubba]

In your rear-view mirror, right bubba?

hell yeah! Those squids might have 300 more CC's, but I've got 300% more skill!

[hougy]

I like it. Might get another when Im back in GA, or a VFR. Kat's aren't the fastest, but they can sure as hell keep up with other sport bikes if you know how to handle it!

[KatanaSoldier]

Many have said it well and I will reiterate that if you are happy with the Kat, then others opinions of it should go in one ear and right out the other.

[Zepp]

When I ride with other sport bikes they want to stop every 45 - 60 minutes. I can ride for hours and hours and still not even want to stop other than to use the bathroom or get a drink. They have to stop, especially the ones that aren't young guys anymore.

[Qweezark]

If you come across anyone who puts down the kat it's only because they haven't riden it before. I have never heard anyone put it down who has. I had one of my buddy's talkin crap so I made him ride it (he was quite reluctant at first) but he has nothing bad to say about it anymore. So anyone who dogs on the kat can be filed under deprived and ignorant and shruged off.

[PADEROLIS]

hell yeah! Those squids might have 300 more CC's, but I've got 300% more skill!

I've got a buddy with a 05 1000rr so far its got to be the slowest liter bike I've come across with my Busa( and the busa is stock) it's so effortless to leave it even in the twisties! We're not all squids.

[katgozoom]

If I had a dollar for every time I was in the twisties and walked away from the members of the Gixxer nation on my humble little Katana . . . . . . . . . . . . . smirk.

[arsenic]

okay, I love the Katana, but if you think it can burn a gixxer in the twistes, then whoever is riding the gixxer is a dip****.

[katgozoom]

okay, I love the Katana, but if you think it can burn a gixxer in the twistes, then whoever is riding the gixxer is a dip****.

Agreed. The point being that there is often little correlation between the capabilities of the bike and the capabilities of its owner. Idiots are allowed to buy Ducatis also. A modest bike ridden well still beats a great bike ridden so-so.

[arsenic]

agreed