THE CLUB KATANA FRANCE MAGAZINEkatana.france.pagesperso-orange.fr/PDF/KM4_EN.pdf · reminding the...

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A Katanafor the nextgeneration !

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THE CLUB KATANA FRANCE MAGAZINE

Alexandre

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Grazie mille, ragazzi!

And "arigato" to Suzuki: thanks for once again producing our favourite motorcycle!

Thanks to Motociclismo magazine for reminding the brand that the Katana, the Samurai’s sword, demands a regular polishing. Or else... its blade rusts!

The genesis of this "Katana 3.0" is a nice nod to history: once again, Europe shakes the Suzuki management and shows what we are waiting for.

At last! nearly 20 years after the last new Katana left the factory, a modern version will be on show at dealerships.

KM December 2018 - P02

Foreword

Contents- Page 3 : Agenda 2019: The Sunday Ride Classic- Page 4 : Agenda 2020: The EuroKat IX- Page 5 : The Katana 3.0 shown at Intermot and EICMA- Page 6 : The last samurai: first road test of the 2019 Katana!- Page 7 : The accessory line- Page 8 : The 2017 prototype- Page 9 : An angle of view- Page 10 : Souvenirs from EuroKat 8- Page 12 : 1981 English ad for the GS650GX- Page 13 : Bakuon!! The schoolgirls are bikers!- Page 16 : Concrete Western: the origins of the Black Katana- Page 19 : Shopping - Christmas Kats- 0 : 1982 French ad for the GSX1100SZ

Alberto Strazzari - Engines EngineeringMarco Riccardi - Motociclismo

Fabio Orlandi - Engines EngineeringFilippo Behar - Motociclismo

From left to right:Rodolfo Frascoli - Frascoli Design


Agenda 2019

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Photo : Sunday Ride Classic

Wes Cooley and Freddie Spencer at SRC 2018.The US Superbikes US at SRC 2018.

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The CB750 Four will celebrate its 50th Birthday!

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Some regulars of the Castellet circuit!

The Team Classic Suzuki Kat at SRC 2018.

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In fact, Suzuki wants to show off the new "Katana 3.0"! We will be allowed in the parade (two circuit laps, only for Kats), a display booth will be installed for us, and we will be offered a reduced entrance fee.

Come and join us for a Katana raid on the event! Let’s show what our 35-years old bikes can do on a race track (we’ll be accompanied by some famous racing Kats, too !-).

The CKF is invited for the Sunday Ride Classic on the beautiful Castellet circuit (Paul Ricard)!

Information about the event on the official page: www.sundayrideclassic.com

11-12 May 2019


Hans and Trudy sent us the price list below, so you can organise your trip early, and budget it comfortably!

14-16 August 2020The Club Katana France will hold the EuroKat 9 in Dordogne!

The campsite is ready to welcome us, and tent space is unlimited. But if you want to sleep under the roof of a caravan, cabin or flat, you should go to www.motocamp.frand book one quickly !

EUROKAT IX

Saint-Aubin-de-Nabirat24250, France

14-15-16 August

2020

Agenda 2020

Hosting type /Night 1 pers. /Night 2 pers. Available Qty

Tent spot € 15.00 € 30.00 250

Camping-Car spot (5 ones have electricity) € 17.00 € 32.00 10

Cabin € 27.50 € 42.50 4

Luxury cabin € 47.50 1

Caravan € 25.20 € 40.50 2

Chalet € 29.50 € 44.50 3

Mobile Home (minimum rent 1 week) € 485.00 1

Church appartment (minimum rent 1 week) € 700.00 1

INTERMOT & EICMA


http://www.globalsuzuki.com/eicma2018/

Meanwhile, the Motociclismo stand was displaying the clay prototype they created in 2017. (Thanks Davide for the picture !-)

On november the 6th, it’s at the Milan EICMA that Suzuki surprised us with the first factory black Katana! It harks back to the famous GSX1100X (more info on page 16).

The official information si here:

On october the 2nd, Toshihiro Suzuki officially unveiled the new Katana during Intermot in Köln.

http://www.globalsuzuki.com/intermot2018/

Suzuki-San is seen riding the Katana 3.0, with Masahiro Nishikawa, executive manager (left), and Rodolfo Frascoli (right), the designer of the new bike.

A beautiful stand was set up for the event with a 1100SZ and a 750S3 showing the legacy. A pair of cute ninja girls was in charge of the glamour part! (Thanks Christian for the pictures ;-)

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Photo : Davide Cagnin

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Flags: VectorTemplates.com

The last SamouraïThe world premiere test,

on the Ryuyo circuit,of the 80's iconrevival roadster!

in a few extracts!

An exclusive from

MOTOCICLISMO

Tranaslation by Alexandre GodardBy Nicolò Codognola,

With the kind permission of MOTOCICLISMO

It was born as a game, a challenge: the desire to recreate a past myth with a modern twist... And we have had the privilege to be ride the Katana first, and to follow its genesis. OK, This might sound self-indulgent...

Allow us to bloat. Even if just to take a deep breath, because Ryuyo – the Suzuki test track in Hamamatsu – is anything but an easy circuit…

...under the new Katana clothes, the heart of a GSX-S1000 beats: frame and engine come straight from the naked. The first one is a twin aluminum spar combined with adjustable suspensions, the second is the 1000cc inline-four from the 2005-2009 GSX-R1000 (which produces 150 HP in this application)....

...Now there is a high and wide handlebar, like a real roadster. The riding position becomes comfortable, even for the taller riders: the bust is straight and it is easy to touch the ground with both feet. Seat and tank are well connected, and the little side skirts in contact with the thighs are well designed, so you get a nice support for sports riding...

...Like a quiet samurai of delicate manners who, on clutching his sword, becomes a frightening warrior...

...The original, who was the sensation at Köln in 1980, is now an icon; but it was freshly received, in Europe at least...

...In Japanese culture, the Katana sword is not just a weapon: it is something spiritual, it has got a soul. The concepts it relates to are strength, pride and loyalty, all linked to the Samurai myth. That is why the Suzuki Katana so strongly impressed back there. Its rider is a warrior, with an out-of-this-world mental and physical strength. What a fascinating country Japan is!

(with full text and great pictures!)by clicking on this magazine,or on the link below:

If you enjoyed these extracts, you can orderthe original version in PDF format

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http://shop.edisport.it/motociclismo/servizipdf/view/7575

KM Décember 2018 - P06

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Photo : Suzuki

http://shop.edisport.it/motociclismo/servizipdf/view/7575

Givi cases, Rizoma bars...

carbon accessories...Note that the aftermarket brands are ready, too:

Raised windshield, red highlights,

fitted trick Akrapovič exhausts,in Milan, some bikes on the stand were

The accessory range is in the starting block at Suzuki!

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The accessory line



The 2017 prototype

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Photo : Young MachineNote a few mods between the 2017 prototype and the production model:

- bespoke instruments...Small little: the bike was designed for production from the start!

- visible fairing screws;

- high tubulare handlebar;

- black footrests;- more vertical windscreen;

- rectangulaire heandlamp;- stick-on logo;

Yes, that bike was drawn in Germany for Europeans, but with a strong conscience of the Japanese heritage, so much so that it became the "Soul of the Samurai" and the very first of a generation of wedge-shaped bikes carrying minimal decoration.

Well, last year, the Italian Motociclismo magazine who became the shaker. Oh yes, we have had enough of ugly Suzukis! So the Italians came to the rescue, remembering the emotion created but the first Katana in 1981.

Funny how history can repeat itself! Do you remember how the German importer shook Suzuki in 1979, by trusting target DESIGN to restyle the GSX1100?

See how the method itself changed so little in 40 years: the designers’ models are still made of clay!

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An angle of viewMy apologies to Jan Fellstrom formanipulating his 1980 ED-2 sketch,to ease the comparison !!!

And the production models becomes more vertical, i ts tank points upwards together with the handlebar... It looks made for stoppies, and promises a super agile bike. If it won’t go much faster than the 1981 Katana (10 more kph...), it sure will be fun in the twisties!

With the production version, the details are refined to move the weight up and forward; the nose becomes conical thanks to the matt black coverings. The bike becomes longer with its seat (even with an eye-cheating dual colour treatment) and the master line points far away on the ground.

40 years later, Rodolfo Frascoli draws a short bike, stubby but still "pointy", whose weight seems to entirely rest on the front wheel. The passenger seat becomes a simple bracket for the sculpted tail light! The master line points closer now.

It is interesting to note how the wedge design evolved since its first use by target DESIGN: see how Jan Fellstrom’s proposal is slender, how its global shape is that of a bullet resting on the engine. The master line is horizontal - even for the exhaust.

Photo : target DESIGN

Photo : Motociclismo

EuroKat VIII memories


On 17-19 August 2018 , Denmark welcomed the eighth European Katana meeting!A genius new destination, on remarkable asphalt. Søren and Morten organised lodging and food at the MC Touring Camp, and got us an invitation at Otto’s place - he’s the mad collector! Here are the pictures taken by the lovely Henriette Petersen (HPT Fotos) during the Saturday afternoon.

EuroKat VIII memories

By the way, if you want to visit the mad collector’s lair, or order « New Old Stock » parts for rare models such as a GSX750S3, don’t hesitate to contact Otto at the Djurslands MC Museum - phone: +45 40 28 25 76 and mail: [email protected]

(cont.)



Let’s admit that nothing here is serious - we are into a world of "fan service"!

The action takes place in a girls’ High School, where students are allowed to ride bikes (!). We follow freshman’s Sakura Hane, on her first day at school, and she is amazed by those bikes - she’s so tired on her bicycle ! We’ll see her pass her licence, buy her first bike, enjoy her first road trip...

The series is made for biking males, who will be delighted with panties, big breasts, starry-eyed girls and nice motorcycles. Of course it is silly! But it is well made, with a true biking spirit... and as there is a GSX400S in the cast, we can enjoy the show unashamedly!

Bakuon!! (litterally "Roarr !!") is a manga created Mimana Orimoto in 2011, in 11 volumes. An anime series was derivated in 2016.

She caused a road crash to her Dad when she was a young passenger on his Katana.

Since then, she rides the same GSX400S, her father having reached our Grail: he rides one of the f ive mythical Yoshimura Katana 1135R!

Our real heroin, is Rin Suzunoki, very big-breasted blonde, Suzuki fan (she has the "S" logo tattooed on her left bum) who will get crazy if anyone criticises "her" brand.

Bakuon !!

These schoolgirls are bikers!!

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Sakura passing her licence on a « castrated » bike (really!). The coloured lights allow the examiner to see which controls the rider uses.

Rin would like to belong to the Samurai group on their real 1100s...

She would not be seen dead with the losers riding their GSX250S! With just one brake disc!

Alone on the road, trying to catch up with the other girls on their trip...

...Rin remembers her father when he carried her on his Katana 400...

Her Dad who, thanks to a letter she wrote to Yoshimura, now rides the mythical 1135R...

Anyway, it is not today that you will see the tattoo on her left bum!

Rin cleans her beloved GSX400S with... how to put this?... Tender and Loving Care!

(cont.)Bakuon !!

Photos : TMS Entertainment


(cont.)Bakuon !!

The complete Season 1 is available on an English-subtitled DVD.On eBay Malaysia, it will cost you around 10 euros/dollars/pounds!

A pleasant surprise for bike lovers: the motorcycles are well drawn, many events are what we have been through, like getting a bike licence, the bodges on the side of the road, the rides among friends and the discovery of the world...

The series was so popular, it gave birth to many products and toys, among which was this figure created by Phat! Company.The bike and the doll are of excellent quality, the motorcycle can be displayed alone and show great detail (cables and hoses, fine lines, correct proportions). Rin has her famous tattoo, which can be seen by raising her soft skirt (!).Only criticisms : the scale is unusual (1/10th instead of 1/12th) and the price is high (around 150 euros/dollars/pounds).

A more accessible model was edited by Bandai in their SH Figuarts collection.This time, the scale is a regular 1/12th, which allows it to be displayed along the traditional Tamiya models! The finish is less refined though, but the lines of the bikes are correct.

The price is lower (around 80 euros/ dollars/pounds) but the action figure is very fragile. This is not a toy for destroyer kids!

Rin is articulated here, able to take many realistic poses, and has several different faces and a helmet that can be changed on demand.

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Vu à la téléThe TV series Seibu Keisatsu ("Concrete Western") is a police action program shown in Japan on Sundays in "prime time" from 1979 to 1984. Extremely popular, it had many sponsors, including Nissan and Suzuki, and the heroes drove machines that got more incredible with the passing of seasons.

The main character, detective Keisuke Daimon (Tetsuya Wataru), used to shoot the baddies with a shotgun, Dirty Harry-style. His cars would receive KITT-shaming gadgets (grenade launchers, jet reactors, water sprays, tear gas diffusers, notwithstanding advanced radars and mobile phones).

He was assisted by Eiji Hatomura (Hiroshi Tachi), a hotshot "trained in the USA", who rode our favourite bike! He progressively climbed the Kat ladder, from 650 to 1100, always in black, until he got a race version of the Katana that predates the GSX-R !



Concrete WesternAs seen on TV!

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The Hatomura character (Hiroshi Tachi, left) appeared on episode 109 as the leader of a GS650G fleet (lower left). After a few episodes, he was promoted to the first ever Black Katana, still a 650 ED-1 (below, center). There was also a "Police" version in the show, equipped with a fairing and the mandatory red lights (right)!

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The bike was used by detective Hatomura during most of chapters II and III of the show. It was very close to original specifications, but its mods earned it the GSX1100X code; even if it did not carry the electronic gadgets installed on detective Daimon’s car fleet!

That did not stop it from appearing on the front line of every car chase! For the record, in 236 episodes, 4680 vehicles were destroyed thanks to 48 tonnes of explosives. 320 buildings were demolished... and nobody was (really) killed - only 6 wounded men were counted!



(cont.)Concrete Western

The first "Black Katana"

Photos : Eiji Shimamura

This is the best known Concrete Western bike, the Black Katana ridden by actor Hiroshi Tachi from the second part of the series (1982). It is an "import" 1100, as the Japanese market forbade Japan Domestic Market bikes over 750cc (hence the mph/kph speedometer).

Mini turn lights and no fins at the front.

Standard engine; exhaust went from original to 4-in-1 over time.

Minimalist truncated tail!


The missing R-Link?

At the end of part III of Concrete Western, the GSX1100X was destroyed in an explosion to be replaced bu this GSX1100 Katana R.It had become an endurance race machine, whose mechanic introduced this way in one episode: « the engine goes from 110 to 170 HP. Top speed 270 kph, Quarter Mile in 10 seconds, frame and suspensions modified to contain the power »!Knowing Suzuki provided the bikes, one can imagine this was a way of gauging the reactions of the public to the future GSX-R... especially with this « R » codename!



What if this Katana, born in 1984 for a TV show, had been the missing link in the GSX1100 genealogy?1980 : GSX1100, 1982 : GSX1100S Katana... ...1986 : GSX1100R...

Its moniker is really intriguing!

Concrete Western

The full fairing is made of FRP and houses a red Police light!

Wide tank with aero tap: smells like racing spirit!

Instruments encased in foam before it became fashionable!

(cont.)Photos : Eiji Shimamura

Photo : Maël Kerneis

Photo : Alexandre GodardPhoto : Alexandre Godard

Shopping

Note the very attractive price (around thirty euros/dollars/pounds) which makes it a very serious Xmas gift proposal !

Aoshima will launch for Xmas 2018 a series of three Katanas in their "Skynet" range.

This is first time a 1100SD is made available as a fully built model, and more remarkably as a US version! It does carry a set of side reflectors... But alas, it misses the longer tail lamp cover and the removal of the front fins pour to be road-legal on the North American market.

GSX1100SE 1984 (Red/silver)

GSX1100SD 1983 (blue/silver)Ref : 4905083-105245

Ref : 4905083-105238

GSX1100SL 1990 (Silver)Ref : 4905083-105221

Frame and tank are made of metal and the accessories of ABS plastic. The rear suspensions are functionnal. Scale is the regular 1/12th (total length: around 19cm).

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Christmas Kats


Photos : Aoshima

THE CLUB KATANA FRANCE MAGAZINEkatana.france.pagesperso-orange.fr/PDF/KM4_EN.pdf · reminding the...

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