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SUZUKI KATANA Back in 1981 Suzuki’s original Katana stunned the superbike world not just with its unique look but also in the way that it had been created. Shaped not by Suzuki but by a German freelance designer named Hans Muth, the fourcylinder café racer gave the GSX1100 on which it was based a new lease of life and highlighted the potential for collaboration between Japanese factory and European styling house. Fast-forward almost four decades, and a new Katana is following its famous forebear in both respects. Angular silver shapes echo the original model’s appearance if not its boldness, justifying the name’s derivation from an ancient ceremonial sword while giving a naked donor bike – in this case the GSX-S1000 – a sharp new set of clothes. And once again the momentum comes not from Japan but Europe. This time it’s from Italian freelance Rodolfo Frascoli, who created a Katana-themed concept machine for Milan’s EICMA show in 2017 and was then commissioned by Suzuki to help bring it to production, complete with trademark features including pointed nose, tinted flyscreen and rectangular headlight. There’s no change to the GSX-S’s 999cc, dohc liquid-cooled engine, which produces a healthy maximum of 148bhp. A less impressive figure is the fuel capacity of just 12 litres; the Katana’s sleeker tank cover necessitated a reduction from the GSX-S’s 17 litres. In place of the old bike’s steel frame and twin-shock rear end is a modern combination of aluminium frame, monoshock suspension and a number-plate holder mounted on the swing-arm.