Let's hear some interesting stories! So how exactly did you find yourself on a Katana?
I picked mine out in '06, last year they were made. I had no money but didn't realize that financing was so much more difficult on bikes vs. cars. Walked into a dealership not knowing what I wanted; leaned a little more towards sportbikes over cruisers, mostly because I liked having plastic wrapped around everything.
Most of the sportbikes looked cookie-cutter, save for the Katana. It had a bold torso and a slender waist. It had an actual tail, not one that looked like a diamond of gym-mat over cardboard. I really loved the "grab bar" - but I would have called it a spoiler at the time. The headlights looked like it was wearing some ray-bans. Those front turn signals looked like tusks from the front, or perky nippies taken in other context ( ).
OK mostly I liked the price tag. The fact that it used "older" technology (as the salesman explained it to me) indicated that it would be more reliable, and provide a better learning experience when I had to start maintaining it.
Alas I didn't have the money to buy until 2010, but I'd already had my mind made up. Foolish but typical noob I thought 600cc sportbikes were perfect beginner bikes. Dealership right down the road had a black '06 600 with low miles for cheap. I asked how much they needed for down payment on a layaway. I came back a few weeks later with the $1500 they'd wanted - they still had a black Katana, but they'd sold the 600 and got in a 750 that day. So I bought the 750. And I love it.
You?
I picked mine out in '06, last year they were made. I had no money but didn't realize that financing was so much more difficult on bikes vs. cars. Walked into a dealership not knowing what I wanted; leaned a little more towards sportbikes over cruisers, mostly because I liked having plastic wrapped around everything.
Most of the sportbikes looked cookie-cutter, save for the Katana. It had a bold torso and a slender waist. It had an actual tail, not one that looked like a diamond of gym-mat over cardboard. I really loved the "grab bar" - but I would have called it a spoiler at the time. The headlights looked like it was wearing some ray-bans. Those front turn signals looked like tusks from the front, or perky nippies taken in other context ( ).
OK mostly I liked the price tag. The fact that it used "older" technology (as the salesman explained it to me) indicated that it would be more reliable, and provide a better learning experience when I had to start maintaining it.
Alas I didn't have the money to buy until 2010, but I'd already had my mind made up. Foolish but typical noob I thought 600cc sportbikes were perfect beginner bikes. Dealership right down the road had a black '06 600 with low miles for cheap. I asked how much they needed for down payment on a layaway. I came back a few weeks later with the $1500 they'd wanted - they still had a black Katana, but they'd sold the 600 and got in a 750 that day. So I bought the 750. And I love it.
You?
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