[MinnGreenGT]

I saw a post, a day or two ago, on a different bike forum...

Happen to have a link to that thread/forum?

BTW - I've had my kat for just shy of a month now, and finally got around to calling my insurance company (USAA) and dropping my '88 Honda and adding my '92 Kat. Doing so (along with adding glass coverage to my daily driver) - actually dropped my rates! WooHoo!

[JohnbliYayzzy]

Insurance wasn't $3000 a year like all the supersports were. That's the main reason. I could afford purchasing the bike right out, which gave me the option to only get liability on the bike for less than $200 a year. Financing a GSXR would make me get full coverage, ended up being $3000 a year although I havent got a ticket in 4 years or been in a wreck in over 5 years. I called all the insurance places too! Well, now that I turned 24 maybe things will change...I'm gonna go call the insurance company right now!

[nurider]

I saw a post, a day or two ago, on a different bike forum. A guy asked why the majority of Kat riders generally seemed happy with what they were riding.

I figured it was going to be a "kan a tuna" kind of post, but the guy himself went on to say that apparently Kat riders enjoyed their rides more than guys on gixxers, etc., looking to out do others. Not that I'm knocking gixxers (would love to get my hands on one of those, too!).

Of course, there were the obligatory schmucks with their takes on the capabilities of the Kat .... but who cares.

[Texas Blonde]

I like the looks and it fits my personal riding style. I'm on Kat #2 ... and very proud of it. The Kat makes me happy and I'm the only one I need to please while out riding.

[Lagmo]

90' Kat 600 = 8000$ 2K4 SV liter = 23000$

Just got the best possible bike i could afford

*laments Danish registration taxes for the umphteenth time *

The REAL decision came down to more practical things, i'd already ridden an old CZ 185cc 2-stroke for a bit and i wanted to move up to a REAL bike.

The Kat just had it all, great handling(ya it is :P compared to most of the late 80's crap) speed, comfort, reliability, availability and affordable insurrance.

Found a very nice old Kat (had about 14K miles on it), looked in fairly good shape and got a sizable discount, because it had a few bumps and bruises, but mechanically it was top-notch.

Then i found KR.. and i'm hooked, bait, line and sinker
Combined my two favorite hobbies: my bike and ranting aimlessly on the Internet
Also still being a fairly newbie rider, it never hurts being able to buy a complete bike for replacement parts for around 2K$

Even though so many people complain about the shortcomings of the Kats; it's still without a doubt bar none, the coolest, most exciting, addictive and rewarding thing i've ever owned.

Can't help but arrive grinning like a fool every time i commute on it to work in the morning and belive me it takes something a-kin to a miracle to make me smile in the morning

[Süsser Tod]

Would you believe about 120 lbs. less and nearly 50 more hp.
Kawasaki ZX6R=362lbs and 135 Hp. WOW
5th gear wheeliesat 90mph are no problem, if your into that sort of thing.

Thankfully, not, I'm not into that kind of riding. I do like riding and want to keep riding for a long time, and you know what they say: "stupid hurts", so I always try to keep the shinny side up

[skasner]

I picked up my kan-a-tuna "by accident" one day while picking up some parts I had ordered for my 95 Yamaha XJ600S (first bike). After owning it for only a month I noticed it would skip out of second gear under torque.

For the heck of it, I started browing the used bikes and asked a salesman... what can i get for under $5k. He pointed at a 99 Kat 600 (mine now) and a 98 Kat 750. All of the other SS bikes (which i wanted soo bad but knew were impractical) were out of my price range.

I then had him check what I could do on trade and he offered me almost what I had paid for the bike, so I picked the 600. I'm a light guy (~140 soaking wet) so I figured the 600 was plenty and the insurance would be cheaper.

I'm happy with it since I do a lot of 2up riding. Once its paid for I'm going to look at either trading it in for a new VFR800 or keeping it and getting a ZX6R to play with.

[katmanblu]

Looks, power, comfort, price.

[loudnlow7484]

I refuse to believe that a 636 makes 135hp to the wheel. No way. A buddy of mine has 140 to the wheel in his ZX9R, and he's doing 9.60's in the 1/4. 636's, I believe, do high 10's, pro ridden. I'd guess 95-100 hp to the wheel.

[BobKat2002]

I wanted to get a bike, it had to be a Suzuki, and the only two I really liked the look of were the Kat and the SV. My first bike, so I didn't want anything bigger than 750, but I didn't want anything small that I'd quickly tire of, so I figured anything below 600 was out.

I found a very nice Kat well in my price range, so that's what I'm riding

Hmm, considering that a modern SS 600cc bike makes about 30 hp more than a Kat750, and weights about 50 pounds less, I would hardly call them "boring".

Would you believe about 120 lbs. less and nearly 50 more hp.
Kawasaki ZX6R=362lbs and 135 Hp. WOW
5th gear wheeliesat 90mph are no problem, if your into that sort of thing.

[nurider]

Long story short, I got my motorcycle and have been feeding my addiction ever since.

Sharp looking bike.

[mx916]

The Kat just does everything I need a bike to do.
Twisties to 300 mile daya and anything I do inbetween.

[Blacktog]

a very nice an cool bike for a very nice price!!!
power enough for cruising! 8)
by the way from a german, you know the sentence you wrote!

[The CyberPoet]

I guess it boils down to biggest bang at the price-point...

I walked into the dealership to buy an used Honda (can't remember which anymore -- probably the VFR), and the salesman pointed out that for the same price (or actually, a couple bucks cheaper) I could have a brand new Katana or a new-in-the-box one-year old Bandit. I weighed the options, decided the riding position, full fairings, visibility and dual headlights made the Kat the best choice out of what I was considering. Then I grabbed an used one they had and test rode it, as well as the Honda I had shown up to get. I opted for the brand new Kat.

20 months and 28k-30k miles later, I did it again -- this time taking an two year old Kat that had 1500 miles on it for under book. No regrets.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[katrider]

My Kat can do almost anything any other bike can ( maybe a little slower ) but my behind won't be as sore as the ss riders at the end of the day. I know people say it's old technology but it's proven itself to be reliable. My Kat suits me perfectly for my needs, and what's the big deal if I get to the 1/4 mile a few seconds behind a busa. It's more power than I'll ever need.

I too consider the Katana, especially the 750, as a viable alternative to the techy and pricey VFRs. We're gonna have stones thrown at us from the Sport Touring people, but it doesn't mean we're wrong

I bought my 600 because I like the 'old school' look and the bike has the ergos that fit my smaller frame. Now I wish I had gotten that 750 I had looked at...but I still like my 600 8)