Hi from Northumberland, UK.

[KatanaAl]

Hi All,
Bought the bike in September from the local Yamaha Dealers Ian Bell Motorcycles. It's the blue one, the silver bike is a bit too silver for my taste. Ian fitted the Yamaha heated grips as part of the deal, neither of us could understand how a bike costing this much money didn't have them as standard so he fitted them. I have also had the engine bars fitted and have a Remus can on order. Really like the bike and have already done one long trip to the Scottish West Coast where we visited the Isle of Arran and the Isle of Skye. The bike never missed a beat which can't be said for one of the BMW GS's on the trip which broke down on the Isle of Skye. It was an 09 bike with 9,000 miles on the clock.
I've been riding bikes for over thirty years and also have a modded 1984 Suzuki Katana in my garage which gets out on sunny days and a Honda CB500 which is my winter hack, picked it up for £900, one owner with 4,000 fully documented miles on the clock, had to be a bargain.
Regards
Al

 

[Venture]

Re: Hi from Amble in Northumberland, UK.

Hey Al, welcome!

I ride with a fellow who has a 2004 Katana, I honestly didn't know the lineage dated back to 1984. What kinds of mods have you done to it?

 

[Swagger]

Re: Hi from Amble in Northumberland, UK.

Hi Al ... Welcome to the forum. Love those Katana's.

 

[HoebSTer]

Re: Hi from Amble in Northumberland, UK.

Welcome Katana AL.

 

[SpeedStar]

Re: Hi from Amble in Northumberland, UK.

Welcome to the forum. Look forward to hearing about the Remus once you get it fitted.

 

[KatanaAl]

Re: Hi from Amble in Northumberland, UK.

The Kat is what we in the UK call a proper Katana, we affectionately call the later American Spec bikes "teapots". The bike is the one shown in my avatar. The bike started life as a UK spec 1984 GSX1100SD Katana.
The current spec is as follows :- GSXR 1100N front forks, mudguard and wheel, Koni Dial a Ride rear shocks, JMC braced swingarm with Bandit1200 rear wheel. The brakes front and rear are Bandit 1200 items. The frame has been stove enamelled and all fixings and fastenings have been changed out for polished stainless steel, the footrest hangers, gear linkage and brake pedal have all been chrome plated. The top yoke has been replaced and braced handlebars fitted to improve comfort. The seat has been recovered to a very high quality. The exhaust is a stainless steel Eagle system which gives a healthy burble without being intrusive. The mirrors and indicators are non standard but high quality items in keeping with the bikes style.
The engine and the bodywork with the exception of the front mudguard are standard.
The bike runs, stops and handles every bit as good as it looks.
Regards
Al

 

[trinc4me]

Re: Hi from Amble in Northumberland, UK.

Welcome Al....

 

[Jakeboy]

Re: Hi from Amble in Northumberland, UK.

Welcome! Suzuki builds some great motors. I had an '02 Bandit 1200S (which I built into a street fighter). Very sweet, but not for high mileage trips. The S10 is the way to go for a "worry free, do everything", bike.