RIDFAST OCTOBER 22

The 2022 Suzuki Katana features no
changes to the chassis and retains the same
suspension and braking hardware as its
predecessor. However, it has changed the
colours of the wheels, fork tubes, rear shock
spring, and it looks a whole lot prettier than
the first rendition.
Chassis wise the Katana has a rigid twinspar
aluminium main frame coupled with a
superbike-style braced aluminium swingarm.
Extending from the swingarm is a satellite rear
fender that hugs the tyre.
The 43mm inverted KYB forks have adjustable
compression and rebound damping, and spring
preload with a 120 mm of front wheel travel.
The link-type monoshock rear suspension is
tuned for progressive feel. It features
seven-way adjustable spring preload as well as
rebound damping force adjustment. It has dual
front brakes with floating 310mm discs and
Brembo radial mount monobloc calipers with
four 32mm opposed pistons. The front brakes
are complemented by a 240mm rear disc brake
with a Nissin single-piston caliper.
Both the front and rear brakes are modulated
by a compact Antilock Brake System controller
that matches stopping force to the available
traction. The large diameter, matte black,
tapered aluminium handlebars have a rise and
bend unique to the Katana. The floating design
with rubber mounts between the top bridge
and handlebar brackets reduces the amount of
vibration transmitted to the rider’s hands.
The relatively low 825mm seat height
combines with the shape of the seat and how
it blends into the fuel tank to allow the rider to
plant their feet firmly on the ground at stops.
The LCD multifunction instrument panel is
pretty cool. The panel’s amber backlighting
creates a contrast that clearly displays the
lettering against the black background when
riding at night but that looks white when
riding in daylight to maintain clear visibility
of the displayed information. The LCD panel
displays a digital speedometer, bar-style
tachometer, odometer, dual trip meters, gear
position, coolant temperatures, driving range,
average fuel consumption, instantaneous fuel
consumption, riding range, traction control
level, plus a lap-timer and clock.
So, how does that all translate into the ride?
Well… some good… some bad, depends on
your build, riding style and all sorts.
But let’s start with the bad and get it over and
done with. The digital dashboard is busy and
fiddly with lots of info displayed all at once. If
your eyesight is not that great then you may
need reading glasses to try and decipher all
the info… which I do. The problem is, with
my reading glasses on I can’t see more than
about a metre in front of me, so I forego the
ability to read the dashboard in preference
of being able to safely see where I am going.
With advent of the digital age and everybody
spending eighty percent of their lives staring
at one digital device or another I am not alone
in this hinderance and a lot of manufacturers
are starting to work that out and fit nice big
easy to navigate and read TFT screens or just
plain old analogue clocks with warning lights,
my personal preference in this instance as I
regularly find myself so intrigued by the TFT
dash that I lose focus and concentration on
the road and end up having to take evasive
action to avoid blaring hooters… and the same
happened on the Katana trying to sort out all
the dash info and navigation buttons through
squinted eyes.
Speaking of blaring hooters, at around five
thousand to fifty five hundred rpm, which is
almost exactly the posted national highway
speed limit (which none of really do anyway!),
the ‘Kat’ develops quite an interesting vibration
through the seat. I could feel a similar
vibration on my feet which tickled like crazy
and the only way to sort this out was to either
dawdle along at about a hundred kays per hour
or spank along way above the speed limit and
keep an eagle eye out for the Tsotsi’s in blue
looking for a free lunch.
The suspension does seem quite firm to
me, (even at 115kg’s in my birthday suit),
and I became quite the connoisseur of the
exceptionally uneven South African roads
network wandering which of the very many
bumps was going to destroy my ass. So some
set up there would be recommended to suit
each riders weight and riding preferences.
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