Hello from Victoria, BC

[Earp]

Hello all,

Last week I purchased a used 2003 Katana 750 with 25,000 km's that was never dumped or molested. I couldn't refuse the price point and am pretty happy with it so far. I've had a few bikes over the years and this is by far the funnest bike I've owned! (It's also the 1st sport bike I've owned...).

A couple quick questions:

1: Anything (known issues) that I should be aware of with this bike?
2: What RPM do you sit at on the hwy (100km/h)?

Cheers!

[shpielers]

Welcome!

Known issues: it's got weak suspension. Easy/cheap enough to upgrade the fork springs to something proper for your weight. More expensive to upgrade the shock. But man oh man does it make a difference.

RPMs - I dropped 3 teeth in the rear so I'm running lower rpms, but stock should have been around 6000. If you want to see how different tooth counts will affect RPMs, check out gearingcommander.com

[zuma]

Nice bike. Sport bikes are my favorite. You can ride forever on the Kats. Victoria is a beautiful place. Welcome!

[Earp]

Thanks, good to know about the suspension.

Dropped by a local shop today and had a new chain put on. Rides like a different bike now (quieter and smoother). Asked if I should be changing the sprockets as well. They took a look at them and told me not to bother at this time as they are in great condition. Found me an X-link chain that was longer than I needed and on sale (cheaper than the 116 link chain I required). They cut it to the correct length, installed it and had me out the door in about 20 minutes. Just checked the price on Amazon.ca and they sold me the chain for less than I can buy it for off Amazon... There's something I'm not used to!

Talking to the shop mechanic, I posed the same RPM question. I find that I'm hovering around 4500RPM at 100km/h and it just seems relatively loud to me. Interestingly enough, the mechanic mentioned that lubrication in the motor may suffer if I keep it at too low of an RPM. He also mentioned the charging is also limited at lower RPM's.

Two decent tidbits of information and they didn't rape my wallet in the process. It's a good day so far!