1982 Suzuki GSX / Katana

~ Originally I saw the first Katana in 1982..parked on a street...and was amazed at how great it looked..and I wanted one!!, but I was just a kid...and I never saw another katana again for 26 years.....I had owned many bikes over that period however, a suzuki GT750 water buffaloe was my first, then a 74 honda CB750, a 78 Yamaha 750 special, then an 81 Honda CBX , then an 80 Suzuki GS1100E which I owned for 14 years..and still own...but I was getting tired of it...and was looking one day on the web for similar bikes...and came across a 82 Suzuki GSX750SD Katana and just stared. ..there it was.. .and it was for sale!... and , what?..it was for sale...in my home town!!!,,,and...it was inexpensive!!!...and..I could not get it out of my mind!!! ...It revitalized my interest!!...all of a sudden I knew that THAT bike..was special...! Then...strangely enough I called the ad number and talked with the owner...a motorcycle wrecker, although I did not know that at the time...AND the strange part was...that I actuually KNEW this fellow..for many years!!, yet did not make the connection at first... I thought about the Kat alot...for a week...and then,,, realized, That I knew the guy I had talked to about it!!...i called him back..we both laughed when we realized it..lol..so..I met him.,,and we made the deal, and I drove it home in need of numurous repairs..but it felt GREAT..although kinda an unsettling ride home as the front brakes were not operative..and it was running ruff..but not a problem..I LOVE working on bikes..and having a suzuki GS1100 E for years..I knew most everything about the bike!!.~ Since owning the bike for a year now, I have almost completed restoring it with parts from Ebay and specifically from marcel blabolil's store (great Katana Items!! great Ebayer!!)
~ AND I LOVE riding this Katana everywhere!!..It feels like a dream to ride this piece of motorcycle history around town and everytime I stop, someone stops to talk or makes a comment..This motorcycle has a soul!!! If you can ever find a Katana ~ BUY it~ ..you wont regret it! Heck, I just might find a reason..to buy another one! :o) ~

~ Here is a link to some history on this bike: ~
http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/classics/bike.asp?id=31
~ ]-[appy Trails !

I'd been really inactive in the bike scene for about 5 years, despite working freelance as an illustrator for "Motorcyclist" for a number of months in '81. I was still unaware that Suzuki had a big surprise in store at the LA Auto Show.

Saturday, November 14, 1981 I went to the show with my wife, mostly to find a replacement for her aging Ford Fiesta. Nada...but on the way out of the LA Convention Center, we noticed a couple of bubble huts tucked off to the side, and on our way to the parking lot, we stopped inside.

Sitting on a revolving display stand, watched over by a uniformed guard, sat the Katana. Thinking it was an unavailable concept study, I asked a salesman when it would be available to the general public. His reply:"Monday!"

At 10 am on Monday, I was at Pasadena Suzuki. They had received two Katanas the previous Friday. I wanted one, period, no questions, no haggling. The sales manager took a deposit and asked me to come back in an hour, as the bike had to be prepped and checked out. I went across the street for breakfast at Denny's. An hour and some minutes later, and $3299.00 lighter, I was riding it down Colorado Blvd., first person to own a new Katana in Los Angeles.

I took good care of it, and only rode it 4K miles in its first 4 years. I then sold it on, a move I came to regret.

In 1996, I was buying a cable for my car stereo installation in Newport Beach, and I spotted a familiar-looking taillight poking out from under a dropcloth. It was another Katana, and it was for sale. 16K miles, bone stock, great runner. $2200.00. It was my main ride until April of 2001, when I sold it for $2600.00. More regrets...

After a few years in my new job in San Francisco, I got a hankering for another Kat. An Ebay search turned up nothing but abused junk for over six months. Then, four in one week. One was for sale in the same Zip Code as my office! 8K miles, very nice all around, but stored for many years, so the carbs were out of whack. No matter; I sniped it at $3200.00.

Turns out it was literally two blocks from my office.

This one I'm keeping.

I remember riding my first one on the desert near Borrego Springs one early morning, at close to its top speed (around 140, calculated, as the '82 speedo only goes to 85 MPH!), and hitting a tall expansion joint, and going airborne for what felt like 100 yards. I recalled hopping onto my second '82 Kat to visit my wife in the hospital after she gave birth to my 11-year-old daughter in '97.

And I'm sure that this one has some great memories waiting. It just had to find the right owner!

Nope, I don't ride it much in the city. It's mostly for weekend trips around my house in Mill Valley and the Marin Coast. Because of the riding position, about 100 miles is all my 60-year-old back can take at once. But every mile is a nostalgia trip. This thing is loooong, fast, stable as all-get-out, and feels more solid than any other bike I've ever ridden (and that is saying a lot!) Anybody who tells you it's comfortable is lying through his teeth; quality is as good as a mass-produced motorcycle can be; performance is bland by today's standards, although its still a fast freight train, and reliability--even on this 25-year-old bike, is never an issue.

A friend who is a motorcycle journalist, is envious and claims that '82 Kats will hit $50K in a decade. With only 660 imported into the USA and a sizable percentage of these trashed or boy-raced, there are not a lot of original ones left. Buy one!

I was twenty one in 1982 and bought my first new motorcycle . And that was a 1982 katana 1000cc master piece of design . I knew when I first seen it on paper I had to have one . It was every thing and more . Speed, power ,performance And talk about looks hands down the best looking bike for years to come. All show and go to boot !! No matter how many I see I never get tired of looking at them. I can say "I told you so " I own a museum piece ! A real work of art ! Being able to buy one ,I was able to buy something I should have never sold in the first place . Every time I go for a ride I'm Twenty one again But just smarter and wiser . I think I'll go for a ride and take my license in case I get carded .If you own one enjoy and if you could buy one "BUY IT".

best performance for the year; great reliability and cheep parts and still easy to find parts. Nice and smooth power and great comfor. During the 80s this was a work of art when it came to the design redition. A masterpice is what this bike is.