Why do you ride a Katana?

[Süsser Tod]

When I bought my Katana I was looking at other bikes, such as older CBR600s and FZR600s. I also looked at some literbikes, a CBR900 and an FZR1000.

Thankfully I came to my senses and decided to look for Katanas.

They were a little bit cheaper, BUT, in my tight budget they were the best option. Why?

Well, I don't have enough money to be replacing expensive parts nor tires, and I love to work to work on my bikes, and the Katana is a very DIY mechanic friendly bike!

It is a bulletproof bike, cheap to repair and DIY friendly, perfect for my small budget!

That and the fact that I like to ride long distances, and it is a very comfortable bike!


What are your reasons to ride a Katana?

[midqetsex]

I'm using it as a beginners bike. There were many reasons why I chose the Katana. I loved the looks of it. I liked that it was front heavy and easier to keep from doing wheelies. The weight was also good for the highway use I get out of it. It was inexpensive for a fairly new model. I was afraid I'd grow out of a bike like a Ninja 250 too quickly. I liked the riding position. The other bikes I was looking at weren't available in this area used. I got an insurance quote and liked what I heard, so I started finding used ones in the area to look at.

[loudnlow7484]

I got mine cuz....
#1- it was cheap ($800)
#2- previously having an 86 Gixxer750, I knew the engine pretty well, and felt confident that I could fix it if necessary
#3- other options were either really old, (GS1000), really slow (KZ400, CB650, GS500), or watercooled, which I'm unfamiliar with (FZR600, CBR600)
#4- as far as sporty bikes go, these things are dead reliable, and being that I work an hour from home, getting stranded isn't on my list of things to do.

[duff daddy]

i like getting made fun of

[Katgirl]

I had seen one around town and thought it looked sharp, however when I mentioned it to the ex he said he didn't like them.
I initially went to a Honda dealership and was looking at a new F4i, and the guy was a knob, and was talking to my ex the whole time, like I wasn' t there.
We went to another delaership (Cycle City) and they had a new Katana there, in yellow which is what I wanted, it was really comfortable and was a good starter bike. The sales person was a woman and was awsome, I bought it on the spot.
Thought about getting another bike, but I am still happy with the Kat.

[loudnlow7484]

i like getting made fun of

I like getting made fun of too, especially in the staging lanes at the dragstrip...... and then promptly shutting everybody up at the lights.

[JesterGfx]

I got mine because all the convenient stars just happened to line up. After getting married, moving half-way across the country away from my accessable motorcycles, and learning to live with actual winter, I was going through withdraws. I knew I wanted to look for a sport-tourer b/c that way I could get my wife to ride with me, thus swaying her to maybe let me buy one. (anyone else hear that whip crack?)

One day my wife and I passed a Katana being sold outside a guys home and we stopped to look. '03 with low miles, and WAY under blue book. Guy wanted a Harley instead so he just wanted enough to pay off the Suzuki. Long story short, I got my motorcycle and have been feeding my addiction ever since.

[katana bob]

after looking at several bikes both new and used the Kat stood out as having all the things I wanted looks, power, rider position. and the price was right too.

[md86]

It was cheap and it was running (my OTHER bike wa not) . I just wanted to ride .

[Süsser Tod]

Interesting, I was expecting to read some "I like the katana" replies, but so far it seems that everyone got it just because it was cheap...

[SoloScott]

-I like the looks
-it has less power than true sport bikes, so I was comfortable learning on it.

I guess that's about it. I only learned after owning it, that it was easy to work on and pretty reliable.

[md86]

Interesting, I was expecting to read some "I like the katana" replies, but so far it seems that everyone got it just because it was cheap...

Hey , when I test rode it , I LOVED the power it had over my other non-running bike . But the simple fact of the matter was this : it was running , and it was cheap , so I jumped on it .

[Mr Nice Guy]

I was looking at FZR 600s and other early to mid 90s bikes. The ones that I found were way over book and out of my price range. Then I saw a 92 Katana in a Thrifty Nickel ad for $1250 and jumped on it. After checking it out I gave the guy a deposit and came back 2 days later and picked it up. I had read a little about them and thought they'd be decent to learn on. Not too much power, not wheelie happy, etc but not slow or lame looking like some other "beginer" type bikes either. Seemed like a good fit and has been great for me so far. I have learned a great deal riding it and I would recomend it to others looking for a fun comfortable sporty bike.

[My2K]

My main reason was price. And after reading all the reviews, everyone said it was a great beginner bike. I like the looks and everyone that's seen it said it was a nice looking bike. I've only had one guy knock it and he had a hayabusa. He just sold it so he's riding nothing now.

I'm a short guy (5'6") so I wanted something that was "short person friendly" and the Kat fits. That rules out all the gixxers, but I'm a biginner and didn't even bother to look at those.

[katman05]

I was choosing between the Kat and a VFR800, the two of them are so far apart technologicaly speaking. I love the look of both bikes but what it came down to was price, I could buy a brand new Kat or for the same amount of money I could have a 2000 VFR. The choice was easy and I don't regret it for a second. 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.